Subscriptions update

The nice thing about blogging is that it can be done anywhere, at any time. I'm currently enjoying the third day of my vacation on the sunny shores of southern North Carolina. Jealous? I am enjoying a much deserved break, if I do say so myself. The past two weeks have been very busy at work, for a very good reason. I'm thrilled to announce that the Modlin Center has already received a record number of subscription orders for the upcoming 2008-2009 season! And we still have over a month before the season starts!

Our previous record was from the 2006-2007 season, when David Sedaris first visited Richmond and sold out the Landmark Theater. That season also had two of our other top selling events: MOMIX dance company and Cirque Eloize, the Canadian circus troupe that combines dance, music, acrobatics and theatrics. With all three of those back for the 2008-2009 season, we had hoped for a good response through subscriptions. But, add in a few other big sellers--Garrison Keillor, The 5 Browns, Frank Rich, Stephen Sondheim--and we've broken all records.

In the past two weeks, my staff and I have seated all our subscribers and, with the help of a lot of other people*, were able to get all subscription packets in the mail so I could go on vacation. Actually, I would have taken vacation anyway but it was a huge relief getting all that done before I left. :)

Don't worry, though--we'll still accept your subscription order. Although some events are selling out (Frank Rich and first performance of Cirque Eloize), there are still great seats left for most of our events. Subscribing is really the best way to guarantee your seat in our audience. And with 45 events to choose from, we really do have something for everyone.

So, take a look and place your order. I'll need something to do when I get back from vacation, right? Help me out!

Signing off from the sunny, sandy shores of NC,
Samantha

*Special thanks to David, Dana, Kaitlin, Donna, Christine, Tiffanie, Caitlyn, Nancy, Susan, Katy, Irin and Mike

Summer Days, Summer Nights are Gone...

It’s July? Seriously? It’s hard to believe that the summer is already half-way gone. While our marketing department has kept busy getting the 2008-2009 season ready to go and taking orders for the many great events it holds, summer in the production world is a bit different. You might think that when the last show is finished in May the production crew packs their bags, jumps in a car and goes on vacation for the production-less summer. You would be wrong. Just because the next great event is months away doesn’t stop the work from pouring in.

It begins with a heavy helping of graduation related events – the School of Continuing Studies graduation, Jepson School Senior Awards and the Henrico County Teacher of the Year Awards. Every summer the Jepson Theater hosts a handful of local dance studios in their end of the year showcases, such as the Village Dance Studio and Bon Air Dance. May ended with the Kitts Piano Sale, a weeklong event that takes over Camp Concert Hall and the rest of the Booker building. There’s Partners in the Arts – another weeklong series of workshops for teachers K-12 aimed at showing the benefits of the arts and encouraging their use in every subject. The entire month of July is consumed by Governors School – a special session of classes and events for incoming high school seniors in Virginia that were hand selected by their teachers to represent their schools in a specific subject area. We host the Arts and Humanities group, with topics ranging from dance, art and music to archaeology, sociology and beyond.

Before you know it, it’s August and we are knee deep in contracts, making phone calls and exchanging e-mails to figure out who needs what production-wise for the upcoming season. In late August, a new class of freshman has arrived and we are busy running the many orientation events in Camp and Jepson. September rolls in and a new season begins.

Needless to say, there is never a dull moment at the Modlin Center.