B Street Theatre's Regional Theater Revitalization

Lyndsay Burch: [00:00:00] If you're a fan of live entertainment and particularly in an intimate setting, you know, 365 seats is still intimate. Mm-hmm. Intimate way to see a comedian, a musician, there's great acoustics. It's a great listening experience, so you're not gonna see the bigger acts. That might be it press or a newly opening channel 24, but you're going to see some fantastic talent people who.

Many times are emerging whose careers are, are just now taking off, and we have the opportunity to provide them with a home at the Sophia.

Jeff Holden: Welcome to the nonprofit Podcast Network here. Our purpose and passion are simple to highlight the incredible nonprofits that make our communities stronger. Each episode is a chance for these organizations to tell their story. In their words, sharing not just what they do, but why it [00:01:00] matters to the people they serve, to their supporters, and to all of us who believe in the power of community.

Through podcasting, we hope to amplify their voices, inspire connection, and give them one more tool to reach the hearts of donors, partners, and neighbors alike. This work is made possible through the generous support of our founding partners. CAPTRUST offering fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations serving Sacramento, Roseville, and Folsom and online@captrust.com and Western Health Advantage, a local not-for-profit health plan that believes healthcare is more than coverage.

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Visit cx OR e.com. October is curtain up month. All month long we're spotlighting the stage stories and community impact of our region's performing arts theaters. From center stage to behind the scenes, discover how these cultural landmarks keep creativity alive and our community connected. Our first presentation shines the spotlight on one of Sacramento's most iconic cultural treasures, B Street Theater at their world class home.

The Sophia. Executive director Lindsey Birch joins me to share the theater's remarkable journey. From a scrappy children's troop to a world-class performing arts hub. We'll explore how they blend creativity and community, what it takes to keep the doors open and the big dreams, and in some cases, big names that continue to shape its future.

Lindsey Birch, welcome to the Nonprofit [00:03:00] Podcast Network. 

Lyndsay Burch: Thank you Jeff so mu much for having me. 

Jeff Holden: We're excited to hear what you've got to share because theater is so important in the community. Let me share something I found in my research that I'd like to get your feedback on. Regional theater in mid-sized US markets is experiencing a period of dynamic evolution characterized by resilience, innovation, and a deepened commitment to community engagement.

The challenges of recent years have prompted theaters to adapt creatively, ensuring their continued relevance and fostering stronger connections within their communities. What are your thoughts on that? 

Lyndsay Burch: Well, I think it's absolutely true, and one of the things I believe that B Street Theater has done very well since its inception is investing in the Sacramento community.

And so in many ways, we sort of started on third base with that, while other larger theatrical organizations or maybe even smaller ones had maybe a distance from their community, [00:04:00] we have always. Had a, a local staff, of course, but a local acting company, local artist that the audience and stakeholders have always felt very connected to.

But we realized, you know, having the Sophia is this incredible asset. We're so humbled and grateful to be stewards of it. We realized that the Sophia is yet another opportunity to connect ourselves even deeper into the community through the, the groups that we can have there and the folks that we can give a home to at the Sophia, whether it's other nonprofit arts organizations, other nonprofits that are non-arts related, or businesses or symposiums that are being hosted by the city or regional networks.

And it really, we see. Sophia is an intersection of creativity and community, and the fact that we're also able to bring in younger audiences or kids means we're also investing in the future of our community. So we're really trying to do that on all fronts [00:05:00] with the arts, with other types of arts besides theater, and also with the next generation.

Jeff Holden: We don't need to do anymore. You just answered all the questions in one. We're done opening Salvo. Thank you everyone. That was fantastic. The Sophia home of the B Street Theater. Give us a little history on the organization because you even interjected in that opening salvo almost anonymously. The Sophia.

B Street Theater. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah. And I think, you know, for folks who are maybe newer to Sacramento who didn't know much about B Street, it, it sort of can be, is it the Sophia, is it B Street? So I'm, I'm here to, you know, uncover the mystery of it. But the B Street theater was actually founded as Fantasy Theater for Children.

By actor Tim Busfield in 1986, shortly after its founding, his brother Buck came out and they were working together on what was a touring theater for kids. So they would go into schools, cafe a gymatorium as [00:06:00] we say, and they would put on about a 40 minute kind of bus and truck type of show for the children, ranging anywhere from the youngest grades to probably late middle school, early high school.

Then they were also doing some public performances, some folks in my remember who were listening to this On the Delta King? Yes. And at a few other venues in town. And that they didn't, they had a, like an apartment on H Street that they were operating out of for the, you know, business, the booking of the schools.

But. There was no physical space. And, uh, after they were of course met with much success doing the tour, especially with having, um, somebody like Tim and all these great actors that he had brought with him out to Sacramento, who are now people who have made their lives in homes here or almost the past 40 years.

And they said, let's expand this. So they got. The physical space of 27 11 B Street, which many people remember, the intimate, scrappy, very, very well, uh, black box theater by the railroad tracks where you could hear the train going by. Yes. [00:07:00] And that's where they started doing the main stage, which I think now is probably what most people associate with the B Street Theater, doing some classics.

Um, mostly American classics, new and contemporary plays, very intimate, great acting. And they started to gain this adult following of theater goers. Of course that was, that was co-founded by Buck and Tim. Tim stepped away and, you know, went back to his amazing career and Buck took over the theater and you know, they always wanted to grow.

They always wanted to bring more theater to the Sacramento community. That was their objective. So then in 2004, the Resident Family series was added, which was where kids would come to the B Street to see. A professional production. Now the actors going out on the tour were professionals, but there was this dream and and desire to have kids have the full theatrical experience.

You know, lights set full costumes. The experience of sitting in a [00:08:00] theater, learning what that's like. And so that started in 2004. And was also met with much success because they already had all these incredible relationships with the schools. And from that Buck saw, it was quickly kind of met at capacity.

The space could only seat 112 kids on these benches where he'd pack 'em in, especially if they were tiny. And he had this vision along with the staff and the board at at the time of what is now the Sophia. What if we could serve more kids in the community, and what if we were able to increase our capacity, both for, of course, the main stage, but primarily for the children's shows because we were turning schools away.

Mm-hmm. There just wasn't enough weeks, school, weeks in the year to accommodate it. So. The Sophia, as many people know, was a long project in the making. There were many challenges, many obstacles, but the community stood behind it and we were able to break ground in 2016. Open the [00:09:00] Sophia in 2018. While it is the Sophia B Street Theater, we're very fortunate.

We're one of the few arts organizations in the country that is able to, you know, own and operate our building. So we are our staff. Myself, our board of directors, we're the sole operators, but the Sophia. Of course not only tripled the capacity of the children's series went from 112 to 365 seats. 

Jeff Holden: Oh my gosh.

That 

Lyndsay Burch: was a big, big jump. But of course, the, the main stage was, is now larger seat seating capacity, and the Sophia itself has so many more opportunities to, of course, feature more B Street productions at a higher production value because of the resources of the building. Also to feature many other community groups, other artists, musicians, comedians, storytellers, many of which are local or regional.

But we also have people come nationally or internationally, and I think. On the whole, anybody who comes to Sacramento not familiar [00:10:00] with, you know, the Sophia or the art scene in general is blown away. They're blown away by the facility, how much the community believed in it, and how loyal and supportive the audiences are.

And it, it was truly. It was a labor of love by so many that everybody just continuously believed in that this would benefit Sacramento and help make Sacramento a better place to, to live and work. So we're incredibly fortunate. The Sophia's wonderful. 

Jeff Holden: Well, in the words you used, blown away. I think that's so true.

I remember the opening of the theater. Yeah. And when we went there. Just the presence of what it was, yeah. Was amazing. Not only the location, what a wonderful location it was pre the para Gary's the hotel. Yeah. Hotel being done and all the remodel on the corner and how everything has turned out to be what great foresight and vision everybody had for that compound, so to speak and space.[00:11:00] 

And ease of access to so many things. You know, had dinner before or a night out and spend it. Yep. At the hotel and 

Lyndsay Burch: at the hotel or dessert after drinks after. It's the hotel. Of course, you know what Randy and his team did? That's an amazing addition. 

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Lyndsay Burch: But of course there's fantastic restaurants both right by us and just a few blocks away.

It's really, I think the vision of it being a destination is, is a reality, and that reality is continuing to blossom. 

Jeff Holden: So what started out as something for children only has grown so much to it's incredible children and adults and community and other nonprofits. What can I expect as either a visitor or a resident in terms of the performances?

Is it all local, cast, other traveling shows? What ends up at the theater. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah. And you say that it's next year's, our 40 years, so I'm really doing a lot of reflecting [00:12:00] on, on everything that has been accomplished. But if you come to the Sophia, there's I we like to say there's a bit of something for everybody and there, so you can expect almost everything that you mentioned.

What you're going to see on both the B Street main stage, which is primarily for adults, is going to be members of our acting company who. There's many kind of fan favorites and familiar faces there doing contemporary works, new plays, you know, some adaptations of maybe classic titles that people are familiar with.

I mean, you've got Jesus and Wooster behind me. Many folks know those stories, but those, the acting companies also gonna be mixed with some new faces. And some of those faces are gonna be local. And depending on the show, this, this upcoming production, Noe is gonna be. People from, somebody's from Boston, someone else is from Atlanta, someone's from la.

So. It is a mixture, but most often there'll be, uh, one to two familiar faces of Sacramento actors and, and same for the Family [00:13:00] Series. And on that series, you're gonna see the same professional actors that you would see on our main stage. It, we really are committed to it. Not feeling lesser than, because it's for younger audiences.

Mm-hmm. It's for all audiences and there's many adults who subscribe only to the Family series because they like the content. It feels more wholesome, maybe. Yeah. Or familiar. And those are going to be largely there. They're also going to be new works, but there'll be a lot of familiarity there with adaptations.

Profiles of historic figures or historic events. Coming up next is our adaptation of the Hardy Boys, which is very familiar to many of our audience members on the main stage. And so, 

Jeff Holden: and by, I have to make clear for everybody we're recording this. In 2025 March. Yes. So coming up next may be different when you listen to it.

That's, 

Lyndsay Burch: that's true. It might be different. It'll be, but it's giving you the scope of, it's giving you the scope. It will be coming up in the fall. It'll be Never Fear Shakespeare. So you can see that. And the, those productions, they're some of my favorites because [00:14:00] watching the kids watch the shows is incredible.

But also watching the adults see Sure. The wonder and the magic of theater, I think almost through a kid's eyes is really enjoyable. And outside of the theater, you're. You know, for instance, we have a, a storytelling series, which is curated by local, um, comedian and producer, Keith Little Jensen. So that happens the last day of every month.

You're gonna see some local faces. You're gonna see folks who maybe got their start in Sacramento and now are having great success. Other places see the Sacramento Ballet, they were just there last weekend, and they'll be back for beer and ballet. We have another local dance company there this weekend, and then last month we had Alton all the way from Ireland.

So there's just a, there's so much variety. It's a wide, yeah, wide variety, wide spectrum. It's a wide variety and, and my joke is it's your one-stop shop for entertainment. You never have to go anywhere else. And you know, of course that is our joke, but in many ways, if you're a fan of live entertainment, and particularly in.

And a high [00:15:00] quality space, as you mentioned, and an intimate setting. You know, 365 seats is still intimate. Mm-hmm. Intimate way to see a comedian, a musician, a you know, we have some virtuo musicians come through with, there's great acoustics. It's a great listening experience, so you know, you're not gonna see the bigger acts that you, that might be it.

Press or, you know, the newly opening channel 24, but you're going to see some fantastic talent mm-hmm. In an intimate setting. And people who many times are emerging, whose careers are, are just now taking off and we have the opportunity to provide them with a home at the Sophia. 

Jeff Holden: Isn't it great that you do that?

We have a place for these, these sorts of talent to provide their service first of benefit. You know, it's just something that. I think makes a statement for Sacramento that people typically get lost on all the other stuff. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yes, and it does, and it's, it's incredible the, the community really comes out to, to support these [00:16:00] events.

And, and I think in many ways, you know, the, the sort of brand of the B Street theater, which was based on unfamiliar titles, right? I mean, we weren't doing Shakespeare. We, we weren't doing, you know. Tennessee Williams entire Cannon, for example. So there were unknown titles of plays and people came because they trusted the experience.

Mm-hmm. And that is something we're, we're, we've been working to and translate to the Sophia out beyond just theater is, is trust that we're, we're curating, we're working with amazing talent across the board and come and have a great experience. 

Jeff Holden: You talked about some of the collaborative efforts in the opening.

Monologue piece. Tell me a little bit about the organizations that you do. Obviously the schools and the right, the children, yes. Are really involved, but it's much more than that because I've been to the Sophia for events that are not in theatrical. [00:17:00] How do you do that in the community? Who are some of the organizations that you see?

Engage with you in different ways other than just performances? 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah. Well, and yes, there's many who do perform. As I mentioned, Sacramento Ballet has a residency, teal has a residency. Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theater, who's there this weekend has a residency. But it's not just performance based. We, we work with Hope Cooperative, which is a fantastic charity that works with the unhoused community.

Jeff Holden: We've done an episode with them. 

Lyndsay Burch: Oh, Fanta, they're, they're amazing two, actually. They're, they're incredible. They do their fundraiser at, at the theater. We, on the business side of the community, we work with Midtown Association and the Metro Chamber. Leadership Sacramento to provide spaces for some of, uh, their networking events and their conferences.

We, um, of which 

Jeff Holden: you are a fellow, correct? I am Leadership Sacramento, yes. I'm a graduate 

Lyndsay Burch: of, of the Ill-fated class of 2020, but Oh, oh, it's amazing program in the [00:18:00] Chambers. A fantastic organization. And, you know, we work with SVP on their philanthropic Yes. Sacramento 

Jeff Holden: Venture Philanthropists. Yes. Thank you.

Brad Squire's group. 

Lyndsay Burch: And they, they have. They help organizations build their philanthropic reach and skills with um, you know, I think maybe the most known as the fast pitch. Yes. And I was 

Jeff Holden: fortunate enough to be a judge last year. You were a judge. 

Lyndsay Burch: Oh my gosh. And 

Jeff Holden: I got that whole backstage experience Yes.

Of the theater. What a blast that was. 

Lyndsay Burch: It's amazing. And it's, so just to kind of side note on that, it's so funny when we have musicians who are, you know, used to, or comedians especially, who are used to. Playing bars and things like that. Yeah. And they see backstage of the Sophia and it's like a palace to them.

Yes. It's really a fun experience. But yeah, so Fast Pitch is there. We work with the regional foundation. We had the philanthropic Summit, we had the Metro Edge Summit, as I mentioned. There's the, the list we work with ca. Friends of the Arts, they have their gala there. And what we, what we've found is be, you know, we're, we're theater [00:19:00] people at heart, right?

All of us who are in leadership. And most of the staff started in theater or have a great love of theater. And I think people like being with Sophia because of course it is a wonderful venue, but we're we theater people are make it happen type of people, you know? Yeah, you're gonna gimme a slide show at the last minute, we're gonna run and put it in there and make it work because we know how important it is for an event to be great.

And so I think people hopefully really feel supported. We get so many compliments just on our staff because. It's, yes, we can make that happen because we want your fundraiser or your annual event. You know, we have to remind ourselves we do hundreds of performances every year, but this might be somebody's one night to raise money for their organization or to really get the message of their organization out to the community.

So. We, we wanna give them all the resources that we can. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. And not to be mistaken, it is a performance, even though it's not, as we think of a performance, it a theatrical [00:20:00] performance, that event to them, that is their annual performance. It 

Lyndsay Burch: is. And it's, it's their, it's got 

Jeff Holden: to be as good as it can be.

Lyndsay Burch: Exactly. It's like how we have to treat every show, every opening. But, and, and I think that that's a big reason why people like. Coming back and, and we've really had a lot of return bookings and partnerships that have developed because of the experience people have had, which means a lot to us because it, it truly, we want it to feel like the doors are open, the, the community built this.

Mm-hmm. And now we wanna give back as much as we can to the Sacramento 

Jeff Holden: and, and all the way back to that opening line that I read, community engagement. You really exemplify that community engagement with the resources and the people who are active in the facility and as again, as a patron, the experience there is wonderful.

Lyndsay Burch: Thank 

Jeff Holden: you. Your staff much is always wonderful. Disney Land, they're amazing. It feels that and it's, it is clean and it feels [00:21:00] that way, and the attention to the detail is everything. And I've seen some of those snafus of, oh my gosh, something's wrong with the. Tech. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah. X, Y, Z. You fill in the blank. You would never, 

Jeff Holden: no, you would never know the way you managed through.

It's the organization. Visiting who had the issue, but you made it right, so we didn't know. 

Lyndsay Burch: Thank you. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah, 

Lyndsay Burch: thank you. Oh yeah, I, the tree foundation, we've hosted them. There's just, there's a long list, but just you said Disneyland, one of our staff loves Disneyland and he's, he's our artistic and general manager, so he really helps train the staff.

And he's, that's the, he's said we want this to feel like Disneyland. So customer experience when he listens to this, he'll be thrilled that you said that. 

Jeff Holden: Well, here's, here's you said doors. Doors to me means gate. And there's a perception that retail oriented facilities, let's say, you know, it could be a museum, whatever it is, well, you have a gate, you charge, right?

Well, that's how you make your money. [00:22:00] Let's talk a little bit about the funding as we prepare for the second act. Let's take a brief intermission to hear from those who make our program possible. I'm speaking with Darrell Tet, CEO of Core. Welcome to our Family of Partners. 

Darrell Teat: Thank you so much, Jeff. We are really excited to be part of the family and contribute to the work that you all are doing.

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Jeff Holden: Why are these services such a lifesaver for small and mid-size organizations? 

Darrell Teat: Great question, Jeff. The reason why our back office solutions add value is because we save them time and money anywhere from 20 to 30% of what they would spend on that [00:23:00] back office solution. We work in it so they can actually work on it.

Jeff Holden: I have to believe that there's somebody right now listening and thinking, I could use that kind of help. What's the best way to get in touch with you, Darrell? 

Darrell Teat: The best way is at our website, cx OR e.com, and contact me directly at DT a t@cxore.com. 

Jeff Holden: Darrell, thank you for your investment and commitment to supporting our messaging.

And if you're interested in learning more about how CORE may help your organization, visit CXOR e.com. 

Scott Thomas: Hello, this is Scott Thomas with CAPTRUST in our Sacramento office. I specialize in working with local nonprofits and associations annually. We survey private and public nonprofit organizations across the country to better understand challenges they see in today's environment.

In our more recent survey, we hear concerns about proper board governance, mission aligned investment, and how to implement alternative investments. [00:24:00] If you would like a copy of the survey or do discuss your organization, look me up, scottThomas@captrust.com. At Western Health Advantage. 

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As a nonprofit leader, you need a health plan that understands the important of mission-driven work. Western Health Advantage is a local not-for-profit health plan that supports organizations like yours with affordable, flexible coverage options for your team. What truly sets them apart is their commitment to community supporting nonprofits like the American Heart Association, Sacramento Ballet, and the Crocker Art Museums Pay what you wish Sundays with access to top tier providers and dedicated local support.

Western Health advantages more than a health plan. It's a partner in your purpose. Explore your options today@westernhealth.com. Western Health Advantage, healthcare with Heart designed for those who [00:25:00] give back. I mean, because nothing could be further from the truth. The gate is good, but the gate doesn't cover everything.

And typically in regional theater it's maybe 70% ish. What does it look like for the Sophia? 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah, it's, and many, of course, many people think. The price of admission is paying for the quote product. Right, right, right. Because that's kind of how transactions work. But we, you know, we are of course, a nonprofit.

That's why we're here Yep. On this amazing podcast, and so thank you. Yes. The, the B Streets model, regional theater, I would say over the years has. Gotten further and further away from what we would call earned income, which is programs. Yes. So ticket sales, workshops, classes, rentals, you know, concessions, all that sort of stuff.

And gotten more towards contributed revenue, which would be grants, donations. [00:26:00] I'm sure all the listeners know all these things, but I just giving some background grants, donations, sponsorships, but not really. 

Jeff Holden: That's why it's important to share. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah. And, and so many theaters, you know, I think maybe a healthy model is, you know, around as people, it's around 50 50, maybe 60 40.

Mm-hmm. Um, 60 earned, 40 contributed, or either way, a lot of theaters are very much the other direction, the majority of their. Income is contributed based off of people who are supporting the mission, which is not a bad thing, but if funding sources or priorities shift, it can put an organization in jeopardy.

B Street has, you know, been almost so solely reliant on earned income in the past. I think at the old facility, uh, former location it was. Close to 80 20 almost, with the capital campaign being taken out of it. That was, of course, restricted funds. And I 

Jeff Holden: was gonna say, from the old facility, the maintenance was far different than it's today.

Yes. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah. And the SUD bill was far different than it is today. I can imagine. And so we've [00:27:00] shifted it. It is. I think we're, we're around, you know. 65, 35 we're, we're working to get towards a more balanced ratio. We would like to be 60 40 in terms of our contributed revenue. Mm-hmm. We, we do have significantly higher contributed revenue goals at the Sophia because.

You know, one of, we just did a strategic plan. Uh, we went through a wonderful strategic planning process with our staff and acting company and board, and a consultant who is a founder of a theater in Minneapolis. And we determined that, you know, you do the SWOT analysis. Yes. And one of our strengths was accessibility via ticket price, via working with nonprofits so that when they rent the space, it.

We don't wanna take all the money from your fundraiser just to pay for the space. We want you to succeed. Mm-hmm. Even if that's not putting as much in our coffers, that's who we are. And so, you know, we said how do we maintain the strength of accessibility and [00:28:00] also fund the needs of the organization, which is, you know, three point.

$8 million budget and 

Jeff Holden: thank you was one of my questions. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah. And with the cost of goods and staff and producing theater or producing anything going up, you know, that continues to increase. Mm-hmm. And we can't, you know, the reason we are a nonprofit is because we, we can't charge as much as it costs to make our product.

Otherwise, it would price us out of the market. People wouldn't pay as much as it cost, so. Yeah, we're about 65, 35. Our contributed revenue, as people probably know, Sacramento's not a huge corporate town, so our contributed revenue is primarily individual gifts, and we do get some support from, you know, California Arts Council, the City of Sacramento.

The, there is, you know, corporate support with, of course Sutter and Kaiser and Dignity Health. Mm-hmm. But at the end of the day, and, and Grants, we get some national grants as well. But it is really, it's the individuals in the community that step up to help [00:29:00] us both regularly and when we're in need and we feel like.

Our obligation, or our obligation is to continue to do high quality work and provide the best experience so that we can meet our earned revenue goals. And it's interesting, I, I think B Street might be in a slightly different position than many other theaters. We are exceeding our earned revenue goals and our contributed revenue.

Just because they're fairly robust with the Sophia are a little bit more out of reach. Mm-hmm. You know, we did major fundraising for the capital campaign, but didn't really have to do it for operations at the old facility. So it's, it's just a different business model that we were getting used to. And then the pandemic hit and changed the calculus of.

Everything. Mm-hmm. And now we're exploring, you know, what is, what is the breakdown of how we reach our contributed revenue goals? 'cause it is, I guess I can talk, it is about 1.2 to 1.5 million a year just to have, raise for operations. Mm-hmm. And that's, that's a lot of money for [00:30:00] anywhere, but especially in Sacramento.

That's, that's, yeah. A, a large chunk 

Jeff Holden: and I think important to share so people understand. They know what that, that liability is. Yeah. You know, this is what it takes to sustain a valued asset in the community. How many people do you employ? 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah, so I saw this question. I was thinking about it. So we have about.

If you, if you count staff on all, all sides of it. We have about 25 full-time staff. 

Scott Thomas: Okay. 

Lyndsay Burch: And then, and that doesn't include actors or artists. And then we have probably about another 20 to 25 part-time staff. Both, you know, front of house, bar box office, some people in the shop, some part-time teaching artists who are going out into the schools or teaching the classes on campus.

And then, you know, the artistic teams mm-hmm. Are. Completely That could be, you know, a small show or a big show ebbs and 

Jeff Holden: flows with the size of the show. 

Lyndsay Burch: Exactly. And the time of the season. Like for instance right now, this is, we're [00:31:00] getting ready to go into rehearsal first week of April for two productions.

So our payroll kind of balloons at that time. Yeah. So at any given time there could be, you know, 60 or so or more people, you know, making their living at, at the B Street, which I think is fantastic. Yeah. And you know, that's not including the musicians or the rentals that are coming through and it's a performance based rental.

You know, they're getting a check for their ticket sales and the artist is getting supportive for what they did. So I always, I always am just amazed. I was at the old space, and so I remember when it was like myself and four other people who worked there, bug and Jerry. A couple of other folks and then people in the box office and the actors and that was it, and the interns.

And now it's just such a robust, incredible team of staff and artists and a lot of money flowing through the organization. It's it's a large operation. It 

Jeff Holden: is. And it's a lot of juggling too, because you have this variable payroll. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yes. As 

Jeff Holden: productions come in, it balloons, and then it goes [00:32:00] back to the maintenance staff.

Yep. And then it goes back up and down and up and down and events coming in and out. I, I just, that would make me nuts. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah. I think the, the, the biggest challenge of theater is you might balance your budget at the end of the year, but theater can be a cashflow nightmare. And, and theater is a very front loaded art form.

Mm-hmm. Right? You're investing in the rehearsal time, building the set, the costumes, the props, the designers who are working on their designs before, I mean, you have your subscribers and their money has come in, but before you really hit word of mouth and start and the, the show gets buzzed and really start selling.

So, which is 

Jeff Holden: always on the backside 

Lyndsay Burch: of it. Exactly. The 

Jeff Holden: investment's on 

Lyndsay Burch: the front. Exactly. And so it's, you know, while the money will come. Sometimes it's, it's not all there when you need it. It's that bridge. It's that bridge 

Jeff Holden: that's so necessary. It's 

Lyndsay Burch: that bridge. And that's, you know, that's why we, we have a program called the Circle of Support where you can pledge monthly.

Mm-hmm. [00:33:00] Um, to make a donation or, you know, annually you can do different types of pledges. But having those donations that we. Can depend on, or, you know, they're still considered liability, but that we're confident or coming really helps us to be able to plan during those, those periods when we're spending a lot of money before the revenue's coming in.

Jeff Holden: Back to the clarification that comes up, so often nonprofits are businesses like any other business. Yes. You have the same dynamics, the same challenges. The only difference is the tax status and you have to manage it like a business and run it like a business. You do. You do. 

Lyndsay Burch: Thank you. You know, and you've learned 

Jeff Holden: that.

Lyndsay Burch: Thank you. 

Jeff Holden: Let's take a minute to dream for a second. What would it look like? I walk in, Lindsay, I've got a blank check for you. If you give me a reasonable presentation of what this could be. What would you do with this blank check? What would the Sophia [00:34:00] look like if you had this unlimited opportunity to invest in it?

Lyndsay Burch: So I love this question because I love the idea of having a blank check, but don't we all? Yeah, exactly. That's one thing I love. But I also love this question because I talk to a lot of other leaders about this, especially when you're facing the challenges that live entertainment and theater and performing arts are facing.

The world is facing, you know, things are more expensive and just kind of, it's overall more challenging for organizations to sustain. It's so easy to get bogged down in the day to day. Mm-hmm. And as a leader, you have to dream and you have to vision for the health and growth of the organization, even if the growth can't happen at this moment.

So I love this question. Well, you know. First of all, I think I, I want to continue to invest in the community and being able to open our doors even more at a subsidized rate to other organizations is we've always wanted to [00:35:00] have more fully subsidized residencies. I mean, there's people who say we can't pay anything, and we say, well, we have to pay our staff.

I'm sorry. We just can't accommodate that. It's, that's a hard cost and, and it breaks our hearts. Sure. Because there are many worthy causes, so. We just wish that we, we could, you know, have actual, you know, we, these people are in residence and it's a wonderful relationship and we give them a discount and they bring their audiences or their supporters, but there's many ways in which we wish it could be a more of a funded residency and we could support them even greater capacities from the theater side.

Of course, I'm a theater person, so I, I love to dream about theater and, and what the theater could be. I really. We're now the only full time, uh, professional children see left in the state of California and, um, in the state of California, 

Jeff Holden: not just the region, the state, 

Lyndsay Burch: right? State of California. And it's heartbreaking the fact that.

Kids across the state. You know, Seattle has, or Washington State has Seattle Children's Theater. They're one of the [00:36:00] best in the country. So Pacific Northwest has that. But a state, a whole state of California, these kids might not be experiencing live theater. I would, I really want to be able to tour our Family series productions.

Um, this would. Give the actors extra work weeks, extra Health Insurance weeks as their union members. It would get our mission in deeper into communities. It would get more exposure for the directors and designers of those productions to have their work seen. So it would, it would be beneficial on all accounts.

There's the challenges. There's a lot of infrastructure costs associated with. Doing that. And, you know, our, our primary financial and focus and bandwidth focus has to be on the Sophia, but how can the work that's being done at the Sophia be seen by an even broader community? And so literally 

Jeff Holden: taking it on the road, 

Lyndsay Burch: taking it on the road, and, and kind of going back to the roots of the organization, going back to the roots of the organization.

But in, you know, the, the reason the family series was started, as I mentioned, was to really to expose them [00:37:00] to the full theater experience. And like, what if we could take that on the road? And Wow, wow. These kids in, in other parts of the state, or maybe other parts of the country, who knows, you know, silly one.

But I, I just, I wanna pay people more. I wanna, I wanna pay staff more. I wanna pay artists more. And I want them to be able to have benefits that they could get at maybe a larger theater company, but maybe even not in a different industry. Mm-hmm. Because we have such an incredible team and they're not there for the money.

They're there for the love of the mission and the organization. Yes. And I would just, there's, there's been so much loyalty, people who have been with us for decades and decades. I, I don't, we try to reward people with as many opportunities as we can, but it'd be nice to just say, thank you and here's some more.

And then finally, this was a dream that was kind of tossed around when the, the Sophia was being built. I mean, there wasn't the money for it and there, nor is there now, but money's a blank [00:38:00] check, remember? Yeah. It's a blank check. Yeah, that's, that's the question I'm answering. But there, there was this talk we talked about, and I dream about this.

This bridge, we were right across the street from Sutter Health and they were instrumental in donating the land and supporting us financially to build the Sophia. And we go to into the children's hospital and we do workshops inside the hospital with the kids about playwriting and self-expression. It's a wonderful program that we do with them.

But I've just dreamed about what if there was a climate control bridge that connected us where the kids could actually come over. Sure. And somehow watch family series in a climate controlled little room. That's almost like a stage manager's booth, but actually like it 

Jeff Holden: literally connects to the hospital.

Yeah. To the facility. 'cause you're just walking half away from each other. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah. Or, and even people who are at the hospital could just, you know, I'd really just like to take a moment away from visiting my loved one and just walk over and see mm-hmm. Some theater or some music. You know, take their kid, [00:39:00] maybe they're visiting a sick sibling or something.

Take, take the other kid and, and say, let's just just go take our mind off of it for what we're going through for a bit. And I think that would be really wonderful. And so I do that with the blank check. Then we do a lot of new work and we support a lot of playwrights. We have our new comedies festival, which is becoming nationally known in in terms of the work that we're doing, and I want that to be like the Humana Festival of New Plays and Actors Theater of Louisville.

I wanna be fully producing these plays. I wanna champion these playwrights. Across the country that are getting kind of many of them getting their professional start here in Sacramento. So I would do a lot of things with this check, but it would all be good things. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah, no, and I love that. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: And hopefully we have a contractor listening or a contractor vendor listening and they go, well, yeah, we, we can make that happen.

Exactly. That bridge is. It's, that's simple. That's just a Yeah. A construction project. Exactly. That's done and over with. 

Lyndsay Burch: Exactly. It's just a construction project. We already did one. Yeah. One of our board members says, [00:40:00] I just need a billionaire to believe in me. I could do a lot of good. Right. And that's how I feel.

I just need and and 

Jeff Holden: we have a few of those around town. Yeah. 

Lyndsay Burch: And they might be listening. 

Jeff Holden: Go back to reality. Yes. What's the greatest need? 

Lyndsay Burch: Yes. This is a good question and. It's, it's a bit of course operational needs. It's very expensive to operate. It's exp it was always expensive to operate the Sophia and like, so those 

Jeff Holden: unrestricted funds.

Lyndsay Burch: Unrestricted funds. But I, one of these things that is. Encumbering. The mission of the B Street Theater and therefore of the Sophia, is we have a large amount of facility debt that we do own our space. We have a mortgage, like probably many homeowners listening, probably at a 

Jeff Holden: better interest rate than it is today.

Though 

Lyndsay Burch: it, it is, it is better. It's not as good as we want it to be. Never 

Jeff Holden: comfortable. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yes. Never comfortable. It's never low enough, right? 

Jeff Holden: Right. 

Lyndsay Burch: But our, we do have a mortgage and it is [00:41:00] substantial. It's our payments. It's sitting at around $11.5 million, and our payments are 66,000 a month, which is for those who maybe don't have a full context, isn't basically an annual salary for a full-time person, at least in a lot of theater organizations, maybe not management.

So 

Jeff Holden: there's 12 people right there. 

Lyndsay Burch: There's 12 people right there. Even if you didn't spend it all, that could be six people. Mm-hmm. Um. Or paying the people that we have a little bit more. And one of our strategic priorities that came out of, of the strategic plan and the board's priority is how do we reduce this for the long-term sustainability of the organization?

Because while we are servicing the debt, which is. To me, unbelievable, because I, I know how much that is. For a non-profit, that's a great 

Jeff Holden: accomplishment. 

Lyndsay Burch: It is a great accomplishment. But in order to really make more mission oriented decisions and do some of these things, I think some of the things that I mentioned definitely would be [00:42:00] possible with, you know, a greater amount of cash reserves.

So really getting that reduced and also so that. We with that we're it. It's difficult to fundraise for debt as people know. So sometimes I hesitate to talk about it, but it really is, that's what's encumbering us the most to fully realizing I think, who we can be at the Sophia and everything that the Sophia can be in the community.

Jeff Holden: Again, back to those who are listening. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: Here, there it is. You just shared it all. What's the best way for somebody interested in not only learning about more, but. Possibly considering the facility for an event plays, performances that are coming up, where do they go? 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah, so the best way is our website, b streete theater.org, all spelled out we're, our box office is open six days a week, and we still have people that answer the phones.

Uh oh my gosh. I know it's pretty, it was one of Buck's things, and it's now become one of my things because I just get. [00:43:00] So I lose my mind when I get stuck in those phone trees. Yes. So we still have people that will answer the phone and talk to you if you want some recommendations. And we'll get you, you can submit a rental inquiry on the website, but you can also just give us a call.

And again, we're open six days a week, so you wanna, you're having lunch at Cafe Bernardo or T Bar somewhere and you wanna stop by and grab some flyers and check out what's happening. You know, we love to just have people. Even seeing the lobby of the space, I think. People say, oh, I didn't, that's one of our biggest things too.

You just tell if, if you, if you're listening and you love the B Street, you love this Sophia, tell people about it. 'cause people are still learning, oh, I didn't know this was here. Yes. I didn't know this was in our community. And so, you know, with limited marketing resources, 10 years later, yeah, 10 years.

Yeah. And it's 

Jeff Holden: still, it's still novel. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yeah, it's still novel, which is great. Yes. We're still capitalizing on that, but just spreading word of mouth. You know, we don't have unlimited marketing dollars or branding dollars to be on every billboard, but we have. I [00:44:00] think a lot of goodwill, uh, within the community.

Mm-hmm. And those, those folks share and say, go, go see a B Street play or go to Sophia. It's a great experience. 

Jeff Holden: Well, and, and I'm looking at the website behind us. Is there an opportunity on that website as well? You have a newsletter or to get. Updates on plays and performances that are coming up. 

Lyndsay Burch: Yes. So I think when you first go to the page, maybe there's a popup that comes.

Oh, sorry. That's okay. You're talking Mike. There's a popup that comes up, but if not, you can go to the show page and sign up. Perfect. 

Jeff Holden: Perfect. Lindsay, what you represent the number of years you've been involved with it, just the intellectual and experiential equity that you've got with the theater. The nuance of all that it takes in Sacramento to happen.

You've seen so much over the course of your time. Yes, with it, you don't look capable of being there for the duration and not to mention what that duration has looked like in [00:45:00] the ebbs and flows as the community. I mean, we had the recession and we've had COVID and the things that really impact so much of what happens in any, you know, regional space, but.

What you've been able to do, what you have built, what you and your team represent for Sacramento. It is a valued treasure. It's an thank you so much and it's an iconic space. Thank you. And we appreciate and thank everything you do. 

Lyndsay Burch: Thank you so much, Jeff. Yeah, we, we just changed our mission statement to, to talk about the work that we do, and then at the end it says, at our world class home, the Sophia.

We truly believe that we believe that what the community worked together to build and this credible gift is world class. And thank you just so much for giving me the opportunity to speak about that and, and the work that we're doing and letting folks know how they can support. And I really look forward to sharing this with our stakeholders and also people who are interested in learning more.

Jeff Holden: Well, and let's keep elevating the presence of performing arts in our [00:46:00] community through. Such a relevant and wonderful space as the Sophia. 

Lyndsay Burch: Thank you so much, Jeff. Thanks for having me. 

Jeff Holden: A pleasure.

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