Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • March 4, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Frank Rizzo Special to the Hartford Business Journal W ho starts a theater company during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression? "Yeah, there was that," says Tracy Flater, referring to the far-from- perfect economic climate 10 years ago. Flater is one of the three found- ers and is the executive director of Playhouse on Park, the resilient little professional theater company on Park Road in West Hartford. But despite its shaky financial beginnings, this June the performance center will be celebrating its 10-year anniver- sary debt-free and even boast- ing a surplus from last season. Its journey from dubious arts enterprise to a solvent-and- stable facility illustrates the ne- cessity for institu- tional nimbleness, the importance of reserves and the need for a varied performance portfolio. Ten years ago, Flater, co-Artistic Direc- tor Sean Harris and co-Artistic Director Darlene Zoller were looking at possible spaces to present dance and theater and were considering a potential location in Collinsville. When that plan fizzled, another opportunity opened up with the closing of the Park Road Playhouse, which previously served as a venue for community theater productions. With lease in hand, a mere $3,000 investment and lots of pro bono help, they opened in fall 2009 with an ambi- tious season of theater and dance. But they faced setbacks from the start when they discovered lighting equip- ment missing, financial support from a bank falling through and delays in getting its nonprofit status. Over three seasons, the company gen- erated $300,000 in debt. As they went into the fourth season the leadership team had a "come-to-Jesus" moment, says Flater, who was previously director of off-campus programs and facilities for The Hartt School community divi- sion at the University of Hartford. That's when they decided "to be here or not — and we stopped walking around saying, 'We might close.' We had to make the decision that we're here for the long haul," Flater said. With a long-term plan and the hiring of a professional fundraiser, they at- tracted more donors and deeper board support, formed new partnerships in the community and became more en- trepreneurial. For instance, when actor housing was an issue, they found rooms at high-end senior-housing facilities such as Duncaster Retirement Commu- nity in Bloomfield and Avery Heights in Hartford, in exchange for being person- ally engaged with those communities. "We came out of that [fourth] season with the debt paid or negotiated," says Flater — and it had its first big hit with the production of "Cabaret," "which put us on the map." On surer footing, attendance and rec- ognition for the quality of its shows in- ARTS BIZ Small Stage, Big Hopes Now a decade old, Playhouse on Park is a little theater with a diverse portfolio Playhouse on Park is located at 244 Park Road in West Hartford. Playhouse on Park has grown a small, but loyal following through several popular works, including "Angels in America," a scene of which is shown here. Other popular plays include "Cabaret" (shown bottom left) and "Metamorphosis" (bottom center and right). PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED Frank Rizzo

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