Statements

Mission

Lakewood Theatre Company is a nonprofit organization which has served the Old Hickory, Hermitage, Lakewood and Greater Nashville communities for over 30 years. We are a family-oriented, diverse theatre company committed to partnering with our communities through the arts with the goals of strengthening and encouraging local artists, undeserved segments of the arts community, especially, young people. In addition to our traditional theatre offerings, Lakewood Theatre Company is committed to featuring programs throughout the calendar year which spotlight emerging local talent, serve the deaf and the hearing impaired communities in Middle Tennessee, and nurture and advance our youth.

Background

Over forty years ago, a popular acting troupe known as Lakewood Theatre Company performed in unusual locations, such as their first production of Our Town, which was produced along the banks of the Cumberland River. This talented group of actors needed a home. Soon they found that old Becker's Bakery, located in the heart of the Old Hickory Community and positioned in one of the oldest buildings in Davidson County, had closed its doors. But in 1983, Lakewood Theatre Company renovated the old building, gave it new life, and opened those same doors to the world of theatre. Thanks to continued community support, Lakewood Theatre Company, in 1999, was able at last to purchase the whole building, and a place they've called home since 1983. From this auspicious beginning, the theatre has continued to be one of the finest community theatre groups in Middle Tennessee. The theatre is organized by a volunteer group of board members who work closely with the community in selecting plays and opening up the theatre to other events. Lakewood Theatre has been the recipient of numerous Metro Arts Commission grants as well as various grants through the Tennessee Arts Commission. Lakewood Theatre Company utilizes the funding to provide culture, entertainment, and enrichment for the community. Quality productions of such scripts as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Bud, Not Buddy, Flyin West, A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas, The Miracle Worker, Peter Pan and A Christmas Carol have been enjoyed by audiences of all ages at Lakewood Theatre Company over the years. The 2019 Season includes classics by George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, a summer season of popular plays, a comedy Nana's Naughty Knickers, and of course a Christmas show.

Impact

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 1. Lakewood has scholarships in place for our Summer Youth Workshops to enable more children to participate. We publicized much more on social media about our scholarships and our camps. We were able to give out 5 scholarships to drama campers in 2017, several in 2018, and plan to offer them in 2019 thanks to the generosity of our supporters. 2. Lakewood Theatre has made it a priority to offer at least one original each year, with an emphasis on local playwrights through our Playwrights Festival. 3. We have upgraded and doubled our bathroom facilities for patrons and cast and crew.4. We continue to enhance our website with blogs, more information about the theatre and our family of actors, and are continuing to develop our social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as a way to interact with our Middle Tennessee community. Through our annual Lakies Gala and award show, we recognize our patrons, our sponsors and our volunteers with accolades and appreciation.5. Our Marketing and Fundraising Committee strives to develop uniformity in fundraising and marketing our productions and community inclusion programs. We have a logo to brand Lakewood Theater on promotional and fundraising materials. The Marketing and Fundraising Committee have attracted local businesses and entrepreneurs to Lakewood Theatre for sponsorships and promotional opportunities on our web site, our show programs, and featured on the walls of our lobby. GOALS: 1. To train and nurture youth and new volunteers in the areas of acting, directing, writing, lighting, sound, and stage management. Expansion of our children and youth programming is already underway with our Youth Board. Participation in the youth board gives the students the opportunity to learn theatre skills such lighting/sound design, directing and playwriting. Anna Voorhees is working with staff at Dupont-Hadley Middle School, in their after school programs. The school is just two blocks from the theatre. 2. To become a leader in our community by cultivating relationships with businesses, civic organizations and other non-profits in an effort to build partnerships that are mutually beneficial and will cross promote products and/or services that will raise awareness of the arts. Lakewood Theatre Company is an active member of the Old Hickory Chamber of Commerce. 3. To continue seeking outside funding for building upgrades (i.e. grants, other creative fundraising sources like the Big Payback, and by asking for donations on our web site, and through our ticket purchase software, and inviting donations at every performance.) 4. To continue to bring a level of excellence through our performance productions that is engaging, entertaining and interactive for our audiences. 5. To continue offering new writers a forum for showcasing original works. Lakewood Theatre held it's first official Original Playwrights festival on August 26, 2016, the TN Playwrighting Theatre Festival! Two One acts were and two full length plays were featured. 6. To continue to update our bylaws, our policies and procedures guidelines as required and to address and respond to feedback from our community. Our revised bylaws were approved by the Lakewood Theatre Board of Directors on February 20, 2019 and the Polices and Procedures committee will revise the Directors/Producers Guidelines during the 2019 season.,

Needs

1. To pay off the loan for the new HVAC unit purchased in 2018. A fully functioning Heating and Air Conditioning unit is vital for the comfort of our cast members, our technical crews and our volunteers and patrons. Last fall we had to purchase a new unit for $8000+. We were able to pay for half of it from our building find and we had to take out a loan for the remainder. It is our goal to pay off the loan in 2019. 2. To fund a budget for an enhanced marketing program and customer contact software. Due to unforeseen circumstances our patron, cast and volunteer database was lost. 3. To fund effective street front signage that will advertise upcoming shows and provide parking directions, to better inform the patron community.An investment in more effective communication tools with our patrons and our community in general will increase our revenue from ticket sales, concessions and donations. That additional revenue will allow us to expand our programs and special events, and introduce innovative and topical programs to better meet and respond to the needs of our community.

CEO Statement

Lakewood Theatre Company has been providing theatrical entertainment and education for over 40 years. Lakewood Theatre Company started as a children and youth theatre company and has diversified it's programming substantially. Our success as a theatre company can be contributed to consistently providing a place for families to share their love of the theatre. We provide nurturing support for children of all ages through our yearly workshops, inclusive and diverse opportunities for personal growth in production, artistic pursuits, and community service, and a warm and caring environment that makes everyone involved feel like a welcome Lakewood Theatre Company family member. Our dedication to our community and the family begins with the children. We have opportunities for you to sponsor children of low income families in our kids camps, or just to come and see a live play in a intimate space. Imagine a place where an eight year old girl gets her first live theatre experience sitting on the front row five feet from the actors, gets involved in acting through a fun summer workshop, and by the time she has graduated college has been in over a dozen different plays on our stage. She later brings her own daughter to see a show on that same stage. That is the Lakewood unique family experience. Lakewood theatre is fortunate enough to own its own building, but 'don't clap too hard - it's a very old building. The building needs upgrades and renovations, including plumbing, electrical, lighting, seating, and storage area improvements. Contractors and the materials needed cost additional money over our rising production costs. We can often make a dollar go further through deep discounting and some donations by generous vendors. We face many challenges going forward and have many fine people devoting their time to the theatre and its productions, but to keep our doors open and the building functional we need the support of businesses and individuals like you. Thank you so much for taking the time to investigate donating to our theatre. Please check us out on our website, lakewoodtheatre.org and let us show you what we are up to for our 2019 season. Also sign up to join our Facebook group, Lakewood Theatre Friends and Volunteers so that you can be in the know and enjoy updates on our productions, cast photos and more!

Board Chair Statement

Lakewood Theatre thrives when the whole family is involved. Perhaps the youth are performing in the show and the parents are volunteering with set building, costumes and make up, and helping out with concessions. When our youth camp performers grow into award winning actors on our stage as well as in other forms of entertainment and careers, we are proud 'parents' and all that time, training, and hard work was worth it. Additionally, we own our facility, which allows us to save production costs on props, sets and costume storage, as well as dodge the challenge of finding a venue for performances. However, as previously mentioned, our historic building still needs upgrades. Every year we make strides and improvements, but there is always more needed. Right now our priority is to pay off the loan for our new HVAC unit. We have made some improvements in our challenge of helping others find our location through temporary signage and now working on getting a new permanent sign made, again through a business sponsorship. We have continued to maintain our ticket prices without introducing a service fee. We are developing new programs that include expanding our summer drama camps and opening our theater for other art outlets in the community. Though we are experiencing some growing pains, Lakewood sees the potential for new alliances in the arts and service sectors. We have increased the number of shows we do from 6 per year to 8 not including the Playwrights Festival. This has a tendency to wear out our board and volunteer force, so we are constantly recruiting for new and talented volunteers. Although this process seems slow our intentional efforts are reaping some benefits. We use all of the resources available in our community to present quality productions and youth programs as we continue to re-invent ourselves in the community we serve.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Theater
Secondary Category:	Youth Development  - Youth Development Programs
Tertiary Category:	Community Improvement, Capacity Building  -

Areas Served

Lakewood Theatre Company is located in the heart of Old Hickory, TN on the border of the Wilson County/Davidson County Line. Audiences and volunteers, which include actors, board members, directors and crew members hail from Old Hickory, Mt. Juliet, Donelson, Antioch, Hermitage, Madison, Lebanon, as well as communities of Smyrna, Hendersonville, and Gallatin and Clarksville. This has allowed us to be more diverse in our arts and service programs, castings, as well as helping to dictate additional programs that we have and are currently developing to render growth.

TN - Williamson

TN - Robertson

TN - Montgomery

TN - Davidson

TN - Wilson

TN - Rutherford

TN - Sumner