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Home News Theater Mazzonelli Fired from Theatre Building Chicago
Mazzonelli Fired from Theatre Building Chicago Print E-mail
By Kerry Reid | Theatre   
11:01 AM, Jul 21, 2009 | Updated 3:53 PM, Jul 28, 2009

Theatre Building Chicago’s annual festival of musicals in development, Stages 2009, will run August 21-23. But by then, one of the people most instrumental in building the company’s reputation as an incubator of new tuners, TBC’s executive director, Joan Mazzonelli, will be out the door.


After nearly 25 years with the organization, Mazzonelli has been dismissed by the seven-member board of directors. Thom Van Ermen, currently the director of operations, will handle the day-to-day affairs of TBC while the board conducts a search for a new executive director. In a press release sent out on Monday, July 20, TBC board president Craig Wilson said, “Change is the one constant here at TBC. TBC will continue in new and exciting directions. We thank Joan for her great contributions, wish her well and have left the door open to possible endeavors with us in the future.”

During her tenure, Mazzonelli notes, the West Belmont complex of three 150-seat venues doubled its staff size, increased the use of the theatres (which have been rented by a variety of companies over the years) from 82 percent to 98 percent, and “went from the occasional musical presentation to a full season of 20+ new musicals in development,” with many of those shows developed through Stages, an annual staple since 1993.

The issues, Mazzonelli said, revolve around how much emphasis to put on Theatre Building Chicago's two missions: space rental and the development of musicals. Wilson and the board have been pushing for a few years now to have TBC do a full slate of new musicals each year. “I want that as well," Mazzonelli said, "but I was more cautious.”

Mazzonelli says she wanted to make sure more staff was in place to handle the development and production of new musicals. TBS currently runs with a staff of six, not including Mazzonelli and artistic director John Sparks (who announced that he will be stepping down in protest of Mazzonelli's firing). Of those six, three are box office staff and three run the rest of the theatre, including marketing, building maintenence and facilitating and producing staged readings and workshop productions. TBC currently runs around 25 staged readings of new musicals. Mazzonelli estimates that takes about 20 hours of rehearsal that her staff needs to set up. On the rental side, they work with around 16 different companies producting 20-25 full-length runs a year, plus over 200 events, including rehearsals, auditions, and community events.

“The first step is to increase staff capacity so there’s more appropriate focus,” Mazzonelli said.

But Wilson and the board didn't feel Mazzonelli was moving quickly enough, or had enough of a focus on outside fundraising and corporate sponsorships.

Wilson runs a management-recruitment firm and had his own musical, 2007’s Black, White, and Gray, featuring a score by Wilson and book and lyrics by Luther Goins and Myrna Petlicki, respectively, developed and presented at TBC.

Ironically, Mazzonelli’s firing came the same day that TBC announced that the company has received a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, part of the $50 million line item for the arts in the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act (a.k.a, “the stimulus package”) passed earlier this year. TBC is one of only 24 Illinois companies to receive NEA money from the stimulus (out of 631 nationally) and one of only nine focused on musical theatre. The press release from TBC identified Mazzonelli and fund raising consultant Leah Kaiser as “instrumental” in obtaining the NEA money. (To put it in perspective, last year the total amount of grant money TBC received was just under $140,000.) TBC plans to use the money for artists’ salaries associated with Stages 2009.
 

13 Comments

  1. Mike Thompson makes this comment

    Friday 14 August, 2009

    Thanks Carrie - and I understand your point also - I love Allen, John and Joan - but I just cannot support the organization that did what they did to Joan - after 24 years, with no respect for her history or the Building - I can't support the board of director and will urge others to not support also. I will respect and honor those three in other ways. But I totally understand your point also. Thank you.

  2. Carrie Kaufman makes this comment

    Thursday 13 August, 2009

    You know, Mike, I understand the sentiment, but boycotting Stages will only hurt Allen and Joan and John, who have worked very hard for the event. They are, in fact, honoring Joan and John Friday night.

  3. Mike Thompson makes this comment

    Thursday 13 August, 2009

    What is really bad (and sad) - the board lead by Craig... who wants his own musicals produced.... fired their leader 1 month before the biggest event of the year. They have hurt funders, audiences, their reputation... and they had no vision in mind when they did this - and no one is the better for it. NOW, this board, who has no clue about the business or mission of Theatre Building Chicago - just posted an ad to replace Joan - really.... they think they have the knowledge to hire someone after pulling such a dumb stunt last month. One can only pray that Allan Chambers is in on the hiring process - he is the only one left that understands that organization. I hope other people will be boycotting Stages in honor of Joan, and will be out front letting everyone going in what a horrible board of directors is in place there. Remember to write letters! Remember to boycott stages! Please - for the good of the theatre - this board is so clueless - especailly that Craig guy.

  4. Paul Cicchetti makes this comment

    Tuesday 11 August, 2009

    I have no idea what's going on in Chicago. But I knew Joan when she was taking her first steps in college theater and followed her growth through a lifetime of devoting herself to what she loved and was good at. Smart, funny supportive? Damn skippy. And it's not going to take her long to realize she has better opportunities where her expertise is appreciated: to wit, in her native NY, where she is still missed.

  5. volunteer makes this comment

    Thursday 6 August, 2009

    You should check out some of The Saints Board issues. No one is willing to ask questions or make suggestions for fear that they will be thrown out of the organization. www.saintsushers.blogspot.com

  6. CV makes this comment

    Tuesday 28 July, 2009

    I find it interesting that Mr. Wilson said that he and the board did not feel that Joan Mazzonelli was moving quickly enough, or had enough of a focus on outside fundraising and corporate sponsorships. HELLO!!! Isn't that the function of the board????

  7. Nik makes this comment

    Sunday 26 July, 2009

    WHAT A SHAME!!!!! What is going on with the Chicago Theatre Community???? It is sooooo apparent to my firends in NYC and very disheartening to me to see theatre community so quickly losing it's identity. What an invaluable asset Joan and John were to our community!!! There passion for the creation of bold new works is UNMATCHED and will be sorely missed as Chicago drowns in yet another revival of OKLAHOMA, Carousel, CABARET and ANNIE. First the fall ATC and now this :-( It is a sad and unfortunate time for CHICAGO THEATRE. Please, I BESEECH you to reconnect to what made you vibrant and viable and stop being SOOO DAMN STUPID!!!!!!!!

  8. Scott makes this comment

    Saturday 25 July, 2009

    Stupid, stupid, stupid. Boards are supposed to SUPPORT the theatre not run them. Mr. Von Ermen will regret this for a long time. The theatre community is small and don't forget when good people get slighted.

  9. Francine makes this comment

    Saturday 25 July, 2009

    I met Joan last year when I was in Chicago working at The Black Ensemble Theater. She was smart, funny and supportive. I wish her the best of luck. We would love to have her in New York.

  10. kaywosz makes this comment

    Thursday 23 July, 2009

    Amen to that!

  11. Hugh Spencer makes this comment

    Thursday 23 July, 2009

    Sounds a lot like what happened at Victory Gardens a few years ago. I say - KEEP JOAN AND FIRE THE BOARD.

  12. Hugh Spencer makes this comment

    Thursday 23 July, 2009

    Sounds a lot like what happened at Victory Gardens a few years ago. I say - KEEP JOAN AND FIRE THE BOARD.

  13. C makes this comment

    Wednesday 22 July, 2009

    I think Joan was headed in the right direction, just going slower than the board would have liked. In one or another I have been around TBC for a couple of years and they did A LOT with a small staff. It would of been murder to try to attain such lofty goals with the current staff.

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