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Community theater leaders warn new facility fees would end volunteer productions
Summary
Leaders and volunteers from Stagecoach Productions told the Millstone Township School District board that a proposed reclassification of their nonprofit to a higher facility-fee category would make performances unaffordable and threaten community arts and student learning.
Stagecoach Productions president Lisa Marie Capuzzo told the board the group is a nonprofit, volunteer-run program that provides educational and community opportunities and should not be reclassified as a higher-fee commercial user. "By the new policy, the board is singling out Stagecoach as class 3, requiring us to pay the same amount for the use of the [performing arts center] as for-profit dance companies," she said, adding that the company’s recent production involved a cast of 57 and more than 20 community volunteers.
Several other volunteers and parents echoed Capuzzo. A longtime volunteer said the facility was intended to serve community theater and that reclassification would risk turning the venue into a "white elephant." Andrea Began, a parent, described the program’s educational value: "It taught them teamwork, commitment, responsibility, and confidence." The board chair said an August 6 meeting will focus on the policy and urged Stagecoach representatives to attend.
