Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • May 14, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 11 WE PROVIDE CT BUSINESS LEADERS WITH THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO SUCCESSFULLY RUN THEIR BUSINESS. ARE YOU IN THE KNOW? SUBSCRIBE BY GOING TO WWW.HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM CLICK ON "SUBSCRIBE" FOCUS whether or not this will be a good summer (financially and otherwise) for the state's tourism industry? A. Many factors can impact travel, including consumer confidence, gas prices and weather, so we focus on what we can control. That includes focusing our marketing efforts on the most efficient and effective ways to maximize the reach of our mes- sage and inspire visitation, arming our partners with free resources and education, and working collaboratively to promote the state. This activity drives economic im- pact, including traveler spending and hotel tax revenues, and contributes to the individual success of attrac- tions. And thanks to Connecticut's ideal size, when one tourism partner benefits, others nearby do, too. Q. State tourism funding has been an issue in recent years given Con- necticut's budget woes. Where do things stand right now? A. The statewide tourism marketing budget has followed a downward trend since 2012, when it was $15 million. This fiscal year, the budget is $6.4 million. These funds are used to generate greater awareness for Connecticut as a prime New England destination, and drive visitation to and through the state. Quality Construction + Butler Manufacturing = Repeat Customers www.borghesibuilding.com © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. 2155 East Main Street • Torrington, Connecticut 06790 Windsor Marketing Group (WMG), Suffield, CT | 2006 | 50,000 sq. ft. 2008 | Addition — 40,000 sq. ft. 2015 | Addition — 80,000 sq. ft. Contact us at 860-482-7613 or visit us on the web. TheaterWorks to produce alternative programming that's a little riskier than normal. He also said additional downtown space would allow the theater to partner more in the local community. According to local real estate bro- kers, TheaterWorks has shown interest in potentially buying the vacant former Congregation Ados Israel synagogue on Pearl Street. It currently uses the building for storage. "We get a lot of requests to use our [cur- rent] space, but it's often not available," Rug- giero said. Diversifying the audience TheaterWorks has been very strategic about something that is at times available: last- minute tickets. Earlier this spring, in part- nership with the Hartford Consortium of Higher Educa- tion, which in- cludes Goodwin College, Central Connecticut State University, UConn, Trinity College and Capital Community Col- lege, TheaterWorks announced that "rush tickets" — would-be vacant seats by curtain call — would be made available to college students for free. "We hoped [this initiative] would encourage students, especially the growing educational communities downtown, to be interested," Rug- giero said. "We want to build an audi- ence for tomorrow." And its audience today, according to TheaterWorks subscriber surveys, is not only committed to the orga- nization — 60 percent of patrons re-subscribe to an annual membership before the season's productions are announced, McInerney said — but are equally enthusiastic about the upcom- ing renovations, even if it means tem- porarily moving productions off-site. In fact, 92 per- cent of respon- dents reacted positively to the idea of taking shows on an adventure to a new space. "And even those who weren't sure, said they trust us [to still have great shows]," McInerney said. "And that means a lot to us." Lupacchino said the renova- tion is a great opportunity to expand Theater- Works' creativity. He's also en- couraged by the development in the Pearl Street section of Hartford. The new apartments currently being constructed at 101 and 111 Pearl St. are expected to bring more young professionals into the area, and Lupacchino sees the theater as an an- chor for the neighborhood, which can drive new restaurants and economic activity and put TheaterWorks on a path to its next 30 years. "Next season there will be times when we can't get in the theater, but I think people are really excited and energized to see how [creatively] we will do it," he said. TheaterWorks' Financial Snapshot 2017 2016 Total Revenue $2.8M $2.4M Total Expenses $2.6M $2.2M Margin $179,439 $213,065 Source: Guidestar PHOTO | HBJ FILE Continued on next page >>

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