Theater-Industry Retreat: A Hot Time at Alpine Valley
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Then the fireworks began. At the first retreat session, the past week’s events were put up for discussion. Eileen LaCario, marketing director of the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse and one of the new board members elected, calmly rose to explain what the commercial producers hoped to help accomplish as part of the board–goals that included better management of League affairs and increased attention to industry-wide marketing initiatives.
At the mention of better management, Jeff Ortmann, producing director of Wisdom Bridge Theatre–and a close personal friend of Diane Olmen–lashed out at LaCario: “What you’ve done is split us apart. Don’t sit there and make charges of mismanagement without specifics. That’s irresponsible.” This was a statement that Ortmann may soon have regretted, for the specifics he asked for quickly materialized. Last spring, retreaters were told, problems surfaced in the operation of one of the League’s Hot Tix booths–specifically, unauthorized IOUs in the cash drawer and in the booth’s Illinois Lottery bank, both written out by a booth manager, and $2,500 worth of concert tickets pulled by a manager allegedly for sale to “friends.” Upon discovery of the irregularities, the employee was immediately dismissed. Ultimately, of course, the booth’s activities were the responsibility of the League board of directors (as they conceded at the retreat), but Olmen was more directly responsible for management of the booth.
Bailiwick Expanding?
