Metropolis Grapples with Setbacks, Plans for the Future

The Metropolis Performing Arts Center is at the center of Arlington Height’s downtown and dining district, a symbol of the village’s desire to promote the arts.

While it’s a noble endeavor, Arlington Heights must be practical when it comes to tax dollars. The village owns the Metropolis-which is run by an executive director and board of directors-as well as funds it. This week, the village board approved a $160,000 budget along with an additional $125,000 for improvements and new equipment.

Metropolis’s requested the additional funding, as it struggles to live within its means and find ways to make its programming more profitable.

The last year has been a challenging and sobering one for Executive Director Charlie Beck, who joined the Metropolis in late 2011. He needed to get a grip on how the Metropolis was doing so he changed the accounting system and began tracking each show’s profitability. Beck also started giving the village board quarterly reports that painted a realistic picture of how the center is doing.

Beck made tough decisions and the Metropolis board is fully supportive of what he’s done, said Joe Lynn, president of the board. There has been some anguish over departures, but the board understands those decisions had to be made in order to continue going forward, he said.

What Metropolis needs to do

“I was very surprised by the donors, I thought the base was much stronger,” Beck said, adding the recent Mardi Gras fundraiser was the biggest success of the year. “Other fundraising fell quite short of the mark. No one has a good explanation to offer.”

Metropolis needs to attract bigger donors and look outside of Arlington Heights for fundraising opportunities, Beck said.

It has donors who make smaller contributions but the donor base needs to be built up, he said. The Metropolis is working on that effort, meeting with groups and a volunteer would concentrate on that aspect.

Options

Last year, Beck tried new things like scheduling late night shows to appeal to a younger crowd. Those shows did not do well, he said. What did well were shows geared toward Baby Boomers, he said.

An option for the future is trying to appeal to other demographics like Hispanics, Eastern Europeans and Polish-speaking residents, he said.

A lecture series may bring in audiences on off nights and holding art exhibits featuring local artists are also being considered, he added. The idea is trying to fill niche markets, Beck said.

Experimenting with options

Beck will be scheduling productions from other theaters and cut back on original productions to 277 in the next year. The cost is significantly lower for “transfer productions” since the Metropolis would not have to pay for sets or costumes, he said.

“We’ll see if it pans out,” Beck said.

He also wants to negotiate rates with performers to help with additional savings, he said.

Trustee Joseph Farwell said he felt Beck reached his personal goals, but needs to work on making Metropolis’ shows more profitable. He commended Beck’s efforts to try new things.

“You took on an experiment to get a younger, late night crowd,” Farwell said. “This year it did not really work out, but it is not indicative of the theater in general.”

“I just think we need to get smarter about how we program,” Beck said.