Departures rock a second Rochester arts group

When Greg Miller arrived at the Rochester Civic Theater on Monday, the board told him that his job was being eliminated.

Miller, who has worked at the theater for 27 years, said he was blindsided by the decision. But in retrospect, he should have have predicted changes were afoot — especially after he was told he no longer had to attend the annual board retreat.

"I found it that odd since I'm the head artistic officer in an arts organization [and] I was no longer required to come speak at board meetings when my job description states that that's required of me," Miller said.

The board said it will use a revolving cast of contractors to direct future shows as a way to diversify the theater's artistic vision and save some money in the process.

Miller's departure comes at a time of transition for the civic theater and for Rochester's arts scene. Earlier this year, the theater's executive director left after 10 years on the job. And the nearby Rochester Art Center has faced its own financial and personnel issues, recently setting forth a spare budget to right years of fiscal mismanagement.

Like the Art Center, the Civic Theater gets annual appropriations from the city. In 2017, that figure is projected to be roughly $228,000 — about $50,000 more than last year.

The decision to eliminate Miller's job was not purely financial, but rather a strategic decision to make the theater more relevant to theater-goers, according to theater board president Heather Holmes.

"Setting a reset on our leadership is kind of cleaning the slate, if you will. It's allowing the opportunity for a variety of individuals to test their creativity," Holmes said.

Holmes also said contracting directorial work will also save the institution money, but she could not quantify just how much. This fiscal year, the theater is running a projected defect that could hit $60,000. But Holmes said she believes the theater can close that gap in a short period of time.

That shortfall stems from a new, $4 million "black-box" theater that has failed to produce revenue. The reason? Too few seats. It was expected to seat nearly 300, but toward the end of construction, theater leaders were told it could only seat half that number.

Now, Holmes said theater leaders are focusing on renting the space and partnering with other performing organizations to make up the difference.

For theater volunteer Tommy Rinkoski, the decision to suspend traditional programming in the black box is just one example of how the theater has moved away from its mission as a community theater.

"We want it to be the Rochester Civic Theater, not the Rochester Civic rental space," Rinkoski said.

The board's decision to eliminate Miller's position represents that change in mission, according to Rinkoski's wife Audrey, another theater volunteer.

"Greg encapsulates the spirit of community theater," she said. "He fosters a very welcoming inviting community. People want to be around that."

The two are part of a large group of volunteers who act, produce and operate the theater's shows. They're also among members who have become increasingly frustrated with board leadership in recent months, and who are defending Miller's role in the theater. Some say say they may not come back to the theater if Miller isn't there.

They and other volunteers also point to the board's recent decision to remove the members' ability to vote on board members.

Holmes said the the decision to change the nonprofit's bylaws came before the decision to eliminate Miller's role, in part to make the rules more consistent with other nonprofits — and to stop volunteer members like the Rinkoskis from voting to change the board's make-up, a maneuver that Tommy Rinkoski said was discussed by volunteers.

For her part, Holmes said she's not concerned that volunteers will stay away from the theater under a new leadership structure.

"We have a vast number of volunteers, all of them are equally important and viable to the organization," she said. "What I hope is that this group of individuals who feel disgruntled, I hope they come around."