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CAMELOT THEATRE Board action prompts Genise to resign from Camelot Theatre By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 1, 2016 @ 5:50 pm Updated Apr 1, 2016 at 5:52 PM By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 1, 2016 @ 5:50 pm Updated Apr 1, 2016 at 5:52 PM » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Livia Genise has quit as artistic director of Camelot Theatre after its board of directors pulled the plug on the play she had planned for September. She turned in her resignation Thursday night, effective immediately. Genise said work already had begun on “Chess,” a rock opera/musical loosely based on the American chess player Bobby Fischer. A production of the musical ran for three years in the 1980s in London, but another ran just two months on Broadway. The musical is in Camelot’s 2016 promotional materials and on its website. “The board said I could do ‘Chess,’ and later I was told, ‘We’re not going to do it,’ ” Genise said. “I told them if they canceled it, I’d take it as a vote of no confidence.” Genise originally announced her retirement last month but said then she planned to stay on until the end of the 2016 season. “We’re sorry she’s leaving,” said Kimberley Boesche, president of Camelot’s board. “She made a huge contribution over the years.” Camelot Executive Director Dann Hauser said the board’s problem was not with Genise’s artistic ability but with the commercial reality of running a theater. He said the theater lost about $100,000 in 2015 on three plays that did not do well at the box office, “The Last Five Years,” “Sunset Boulevard” and “The Manchurian Candidate.” The theater’s annual budget is about $700,000. Hauser said donors stepped forward to cover large losses two of the last three years. He said the board was convinced “Chess” would bomb at the box office. “We can’t take the loss,” he said. “It’s a matter of, do we do this and lose the theater?” Hauser said he hoped to announce a replacement for "Chess" soon. Genise took the artistic reins of the former Actors Theatre 14 years ago when its home was a converted feed store in Talent. Under Genise's leadership and offering a mix of straight plays and Broadway musicals, the company built the state-of-the-art James M. Collier Theatre next-door, and annual attendance went from about 8,000 to 26,000. “In that time, my choice of plays was never questioned,” she said. Camelot is a nonprofit community theater whose 2016 season consists of four musicals, three plays, four spotlights (musical salutes to popular singers) and a musical performed by students of its conservancy, or education wing. Longtime actor/director Paul Jones, who has worked in many Camelot productions, called Genise’s sudden resignation shocking. “She’s an amazing person, and what she’s accomplished is a miracle,” he said. He said he would expect the theater to “regroup into a Camelot that’s slightly different and go on from there.” Genise said tension between her and the board had grown to the point of creating a hostile work environment, and that she felt condescension from the board. “That has absolutely no merit,” Hauser said. Genise said the board told her repeatedly she picked a bad 2015 season. “I was chastised for the last six months,” she said. She said sales for 2015 were down by just 250 tickets from 2014, which had seen an attendance jump of 12 percent over 2013. Hauser said it’s ticket revenues that matter, not the number of tickets. He said many 2015 tickets were sold at a discount to fill seats at unpopular shows, and the year ended in the red. He said 2014 is the only year the company has been in the black — to the tune of $140,000 — since it moved into the new building. Genise said the cost of the executive director’s job strained the budget when Hauser was hired in late 2014. Boesche said Genise agreed to the hiring of Hauser, who became responsible for marketing, an area in which Genise was known for working hard. “Marketing was taken out of my hands,” Genise said. Ticket prices were another sore point. Genise said she’s told the board the theater is pricing itself out of the market. Tickets are $27 to $34 for straight plays, $29 to $36 for musicals and $26 to $33 for the Spotlight series of musical salutes. Camelot is raising ticket prices on some seats by $2 and $3 as of April 1. Forty percent of seat prices remain unchanged, Hauser said. In an e-mail to Camelot actors and theater artists announcing her resignation Friday, Genise wrote, “Up until 16 months ago, I felt we had a rep (repertory) company, but more importantly, a family. That is no longer true. And for that, I am sorry.” Genise acted on Broadway and on television and worked at Willows Theatre and the Marin Theatre Company, both in the San Francisco Bay Area, before taking the job at what would become Camelot in 2002. She has directed many plays there in addition to acting, singing, programming, casting, marketing and other duties. She said “Chess” was cast except for one role, and theater artists were working on the music and choreography. The group might present a concert version of the show in a venue to be determined, she said. She said she’s clearing her home office of charts and other Camelot materials and plans to audition for stage roles in Portland and Seattle. “I’ve been through the seven stages of grief,” she said. Hauser said the board has great respect for Genise, and he hopes she’ll return as a guest director. “Her legacy is great,” he said. But, he added, the theater can’t go on losing money. Reach freelance writer Bill Varble at [email protected] . By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 1, 2016 @ 5:50 pm Updated Apr 1, 2016 at 5:52 PM » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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