2008 Educational Activities

* Current as of 5/1/08. Subject to Change *

REGISTER NOW •
Sponsorship Info •

Tax Credits Pre-Conference Seminar •
Marketing Pre-Conference Workshop •
Peer Discussion Breakfasts •
Tools & Techniques (Concurrent Workshops) •
Fox Labs •
Resource Room •

Optional Pre-Conference Seminar: Tax Credits - Financing Historic Theatre Rehabilitation Projects

Optional, pre-conference seminar with additional registration fee
Tuesday, July 15th, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Wednesday, July 16th, 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Georgian Terrace Hotel Conference Center
Click here for seminar presenters' biographies

As several League members who are rehabilitating historic theatres have learned, converting federal and state tax credits into equity can be an important component of financing their projects. But meeting the numerous technical requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Service, National Park Service, as well as investors can be a daunting task, especially for non-profit organizations. This seminar will de-mystify the tax credit process by providing information, tools and resources for historic theatres that are considering this important funding source.

Designed for senior executives, board members and community leaders planning rehabilitation projects for their historic theatres, the seminar provides valuable information and resources for assessing the value of tax credits for your organization. You'll identify potential benefits as well as barriers to securing tax credit equity financing and other resources necessary for accomplishing benefits of tax credits for your organization.

Has your theatre determined the need within your community that it will meet? Has your organization defined the economic benefits of your historic theatre to your community and translated that information into a definition of program and functional needs for the building? Has your organization consulted with architectural and historic experts regarding the applicability of rehabilitation? Does your organization have a general business plan, including marketing plans, mix of program and methods of presenting, competition, rental rates, target audiences, concession policies, operations and programming costs, parking requirements, property and other taxes? Does your theatre have personnel and financial resources to invest in pursuing tax credits? If your answer to these questions is "yes," then you're ready for the next steps in assessing the value of tax credits for your historic theatre's rehabilitation.

Seasoned historic theatre professionals and other financial experts with direct experience in the often difficult process of security tax credit equity investments for historic theatre restorations and renovations will provide valuable tools for assessing the impact of tax credits on a historic theatre's rehabilitation process, timing and funding.

Seminar presentations will provide tools and resources to help you answer the following critical questions:

What are rehabilitation tax credits?
What is the process of securing tax credit equity investment?
What costs – financial and human — are involved in securing tax credits?
How do State Tax Credits and Federal Historic and New Markets Tax Credits relate to your project?
What resources are available for your project through the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Loan Funds and National Trust Community Investment Corporation?
What have your colleagues in other historic theatres learned from the process of securing tax credit equity financing for their rehabilitation projects?

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Optional Pre-Conference Workshop: The Building is Saved, Now What? – How Product Relates to Audience Development

Optional, pre-conference seminar with additional registration fee
Wednesday, July 16th, 9:00 AM – 12:00 Noon
Georgian Terrace Hotel Conference Center
Click here for seminar presenters' biographies

Develop new skills in theatre programming and management through this workshop focusing on the interrelationship between programming decisions and potential audience size and make-up. You'll gain new insights into the audience development and marketing implications of your programming decisions. If your organization has determined its overall programming strategy, you'll learn how to operate creatively within that context to increase audience size or change its demographic make-up.

You'll develop new marketing ideas through a case study of the Tampa Theatre, one of America's most elaborate "movie palaces." Designed by famed theatre architect John Eberson, the Tampa is a superior example of the "atmospheric" style of theatre design. Inside the Tampa, audiences are transported to a lavish, romantic Mediterranean courtyard replete with old world statuary, flowers and gargoyles. Today, the Tampa Theatre is a remarkable success story, presenting and hosting over 600 events a year. With a full schedule of first run and classic films, concerts, special events, corporate events and tours, the theatre is one of the most heavily utilized venues of its kind in the United States.

Workshop topics will include:

Key strategic and tactical elements of marketing
Product as a strategic marketing element
Considering the relationship between product and potential customer base
Understanding how programming decisions affect your marketing options
Implications of producing, presenting and/or renting for branding and audience development
Branding
Messaging
Cross promotion
Product choices
Fundraising options
New product development

This workshop is presented in association with the Arts & Business Council of Americans for the Arts' National Arts Marketing Projects, which was developed through the sponsorship of American Express. The workshop is hosted by the League of Historic American Theatres.

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Peer Discussion Breakfasts

Join your colleagues for discussions on topics of mutual interest during breakfast each morning in the Georgian Terrace Hotel Conference Center. (Check back for updates on session topics.)

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Tools & Techniques (Concurrent Workshops)

Panel discussions, hands-on workshops, case study presentations and presentations of research from the field will be offered on a variety of topics related to best practices and emerging trends in these four sessions at the Georgian Terrace Hotel Conference Center:

Session I: Wednesday, July 16, 2008, 3:00 – 4:15 PM

Successful Tools for Fundraising
Generational Marketing
Springer Opera House Programming: Honoring the Past, Acknowledging the Present and Saluting the Future
Eat, Drink and Be Profitable
Saving The Fox/Transforming Midtown Atlanta
Financing Historic Theatre Rehabilitations

Session II: Thursday, July 17, 2008, 3:15 – 4:30 PM

Generational Marketing
How to Run a Digital Filmmaking Summer Camp
Rediscovering the Treasure of Balboa: Exploring the “New World” of High-Tech Techniques
Historic and New Markets Tax Credits – What are They and Might They Apply to Our Theatre?
The Envelope, Please
The Green Theatre: I Know I Should Save the Planet, But How?

Session III: Friday, July 18, 2008, 2:00 – 3:15 PM

Is a 501(c)(3) Right for You? A Guide to Non-Profit Basics
Disaster: Are You Prepared?
Renovation of the Fox Oakland Theatre
Energy Strategies for the Historic Theatre: Power, Heat and Lights Up; Usage and Costs Down!

Session IV: Saturday, July 19, 2008 , 4:00 – 5:15 PM

Human Resource Management in Small Businesses
Creative Local Programming
Fresh Eyes - Understanding What our Customers Want and Experience
The New Historic Theatre

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Fox Labs

Scheduled on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon during Tools & Techniques, these sessions in the Fox Theatre, directly across the street from the Georgian Terrace Hotel, offer unique demonstration opportunities on a variety of preservation and restoration techniques:

Session I: Wednesday, July 16, 2008, 3:00 – 4:15 PM
Stencil-Making and Decorative Painting

Session II: Thursday, July 17, 2008, 3:15 – 4:30 PM
Appraising Your Historic Collections

Session III: Friday, July 18, 2008, 2:00 – 3:15 PM
Preserving Historic Photos

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