Biever Looks to Cut State Theatre’s Debts, Strengthen Programming in New Year

Richard Biever doesn’t spin it.

The State Theatre Inc., the nonprofit group behind the State Theatre in downtown State College, had a fairly rough 2011.

Donations and overall fundraising slipped. Finances got so bad, in fact, the group withheld portions of ticket revenue it collected on behalf of arts organizations renting the space.

The theater needed money to cover its own expenses, and so it held onto some box-office receipts that otherwise would have gone promptly to the renters, Biever said last week.

At times, it paid out the box-office receipts on a payment plan.

To participating arts organizations, and to some vendors, the theater still owes about $50,000 from 2011, Biever acknowledged. He took over as the theater’s executive director last month, replacing Harry Zimbler.

Zimbler, who served in the role about a year, did not respond to a message from a reporter.

‘I think the thing with me — I have to do a little bit of rehabilitation,’ to reassure the community that the State Theatre can be healthy and fiscally secure, Biever said.

Among his top priorities is to wipe out that $50,000 in IOUs within two to three months, he said. He also is putting a prime focus on reducing — if not eliminating — the theater’s roughly $800,000 in outstanding debt.

About $500,000 is from a maxed-out line of credit; some $300,000, from facility construction performed by Poole Anderson. (The theater’s annual budget, by comparison, is roughly $1.2 million.)

Easing the debt load will be critical as the theater tries to reduce its rental fees, Biever said. He said the prices — $1,700 a day for nonprofit groups; $2,200 a day for for for-profit groups — are ‘prohibitive for a majority of local groups.’

Already, Biever said, he has a specific plan of attack.

Having moved to the State College area in 1992, he brings experiences not only in theater — he is a music-theater teacher — but also in theater development and management.

Biever started a musical-theater development company in New York a couple years ago and is co-founder, with his wife, Heidi Biever, of the Singing Onstage studio in State College.

He is the State Theatre’s third executive director since it reopened as a community performing-arts venue in 2006.

‘We needed to have more of a development component taking place with our executive director,’ theater board President Roy Love said. ‘ … Richard has a lot of experience in State College, a lot of experience with theater, is an outgoing person. We want that person to be the face of the theater; the person everyone knows; the person who stewards … and, in turn, can run a tight shop.’

A national executive-director search yielded eight candidates who were interviewed, Love said. He said a board search committee ‘clearly felt’ that Biever was the strongest.

Biever, in an interview with StateCollege.com, said he has pledged to be transparent in his leadership role. The community, patient as the nonprofit has endured ups and downs, will expect sustained progress in the theater’s overall health, he said.

To help foster that progress, Biever said, he has set several objectives. Among them:

• Encourage organizations renting the theater to find sponsorships that will help underwrite their event expenses. Those sponsorships can grant substantial exposure to the sponsors and, in turn, help the theater itself develop new institutional ties and potential fundraising relationships, Biever said. He said that could be a key to strengthening the State’s overall fiscal well-being and to eliminating debt.

• Place the theater on longer-term, financially sustainable footing, with no more ticket-revenue IOUs to organizations that rent the space. Slashing debt will be instrumental, Biever reiterated. (Asked if there’s a certain point by which the theater must become more sustainable or face likely closure, he said was unaware of any discussions of that nature.)

• Improve the scope and scheduling of shows at the theater, with emphases on booking varied events that appeal to different local demographics. Biever wants the facility to keep attracting more and more local organizations — in part through the sponsorship efforts, he said. (State Theater rentals by local groups doubled during Zimbler’s tenure.) In addition, Biever said, the State should bring in some bigger, more-national names, particularly in comedy and music. He would like to improve scheduling, too, so the theater can announce full-season, multiple-month event slates well in advance, he said.

• Grow community outreach, including through acting classes and Shakespeare workshops. And launch a formal, public fundraising campaign anew within 2012’s first quarter.

With Biever’s arrival, the mood at the theater — among staff members — has turned from grim to cautiously optimistic, theater insiders said. A Jan. 28 fundraising concert that’s to benefit the theater and Easter Seals — ‘Heart of Gold’ — has nearly sold out.

‘I really think this is going to be a turning year for the State Theatre in regard to more community involvement, more community usage, more nonprofit usage, more dual benefits’ like ‘Heart of Gold,’ Love said. ‘I want the community to feel proud of the place. I want the community to come and enjoy the place. And I want them to feel that they’re partially responsible for keeping this wonderful place … alive and vibrant.’

Biever, whose Singing Onstage group has used the State as a performance venue, said he cherishes the theater as a core element of the community. More than once, he emphasized that maintaining and growing the community’s support and affection will be pivotal.

And while he has some trepidation about moving into the executive-director role, Biever said, enthusiasm overwhelms any nerves.

‘I feel like it’s its last chance,’ Biever said of the State. ‘ … There’s an excitement about what a theater can bring to a community. There’s just no question about that.’

Earlier coverage

• At State Theatre, Zimbler Seeks More Community Engagement (Jan. 12, 2011)

• Mike Negra, Pioneer for State Theatre, Resigns as Director (Sept. 8, 2010)