MILLENNIUM
MRC President’s Report - May 17, 2009
It’s been two years and five months since our Manchester Arts Center burned down. Since then we pulled together to continue the production of Charlotte’s Web at (Westwood Elementary School), I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change at Bear Hallow Theatre, TAG performances of The Proposal, The Bear, On the High Road and The Complete Works of Shakespeare-Abridged at (Duck River Electric Membership Corporation) and Are You Smarter than Dracula at Franklin County Library, WAG productions of James and the Giant Peach at WES, Hands-On Science Center and Franklin County Library and Hansel and Gretel and the Big Woods at Hands-On Science Center and Franklin County Library, and MRC’s Twelve Angry Jurors at Coffee County Administrative Plaza.
We have many accomplishments of which to be proud. Some of these accomplishments were achieved with the support of the Manchester Arts Commission and some without, since our decision to become self-sustaining a year ago.
I believe that our most significant asset is our membership, who has maintained a spirit of volunteerism and dedication to serve our community. MRC is about people, not money; service, not power; cooperation, not administration. We are in the unique position of being completely independent, wealthy with both money and manpower.
Coffee County now has two performing arts centers, yet we are homeless. We can use this to our advantage by remaining self-reliant. Our numbers are few, so our strength is in our dedication to our cause, in our spirit to endure, and in our determination to serve and support performing arts for the community without provocation.
DREMC and Hands-On Science Center have been extremely generous and beneficial to our efforts. I have hope that the future will enable our efforts to further our cause at places such as Coffee County Central High School, Coffee County Middle School, Coffee County Elementary Schools, Manchester City Schools, and even the Manchester Arts Center. However, we must proceed with caution and with vision. We need to ensure that our joint efforts with other organizations and facilities do not cripple our resources: money and membership. We need to secure a focus on what we want to accomplish in our community over the summer, over the next year, over the next five years, and into the future. Without that focus on a particular vision, we are aimless and less effective. Without that focus we have no defined purpose, identity, and cause with which our community can define us. Without that focus we cannot, nor can anyone, take us seriously.
So, I ask you: What is your individual vision for MRC? Can you clearly state it? What is our joint vision? Do we know what that vision is? Can you clearly state it? If you will allow me to put this to a metaphor: we are all riding together in a fine automobile, but is there anyone at the wheel, or are we just accelerating aimlessly? What makes a fine organization is a clearly defined goal with all members steadfastly behind that goal and all working together to make it a priority.
So, are you ready to make this a priority, or do you want to postpone to another time and wander aimlessly for a while? I have no problem with taking our time to answer these questions. I don’t have the answers but I’m ready to start asking the questions so that we can start searching for answers. I will start now by asking each member here to answer the question: what do you want out of MRC this year? [examples: I want to direct Camelot at (Coffee County Central High School). I want to perform in The Glass Menagerie at MAC. I want my children to perform in children’s theatre at Hands-On Science Center. I want to make theatre available to underprivileged children or minorities. I want to offer TAG coffee house activities or field trips to see performances at other theatres.] With that in mind, I want to challenge you to further think about what you want from MRC and what you think MRC should be doing for its members and for its community. I want to propose that we start a TASKFORCE committee to ask the question of what is our vision for MRC. —Noel Clements