Orlando Family Stage has established a new fund for fans to continue to support the theater, even after they’ve shuffled off this mortal coil, as Shakespeare would say.
The Next Stage Fund is a new endowment program based on the idea of designating money to the theater in patrons’ wills.
It was announced Thursday at the theater’s first-ever public annual meeting during a newsy time for the theater, which provided an update to the Sentinel this week on its continuing work with puppetry — an initiative that grew after Orlando Family Stage absorbed MicheLee Puppets in December.
The meeting also took place against the backdrop of funding challenges to the arts. After the Florida Legislature reduced funding in the state’s cultural-grants program, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the rest of the money this month, leaving arts groups empty-handed.
“It felt like a good time to start a more public annual meeting of the board,” said executive director Chris Brown, saying arts organizations need to do a better job of communicating their importance to the community. “We’re trying to elevate the knowledge of this place.”
The Next Stage Fund is part of a focus on long-term sustainability for the theater, which serves children and family audiences, as it approaches its centennial in 2026. For the 2023-24 season, the theater had a budget of $3.6 million and ended with a deficit of about $350,000.
“We need these kind of long-term plans to keep it going,” Brown said of the Next Stage Fund. “In their estate planning, anyone can leave a legacy.”
The founding contributor to the Next State Fund is Frank Santos, vice president of Rosen Hotels & Resorts. A supporter of multiple nonprofits, Santos was on the founding board of the organization when it evolved from the former Civic Theatre of Central Florida in 2002.
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“He is a wonderful steward of this place,” Brown said. “It takes one person to step up and raise their hand and lead the charge. We’re so grateful to him.”
Santos said more cultural organizations were starting to look at estate planning as part of their sustainability plans.
“I’m learning through talking to leaders in our arts community, particularly those directing philanthropy, that they’re just now starting to recognize this opportunity,” he said. “I hope that I encourage others to follow in my footsteps.”
In his remarks, immediate past board chair Adam Scheinberg reiterated the community service the organization provides. According to its 2023-24 annual report, more than 50,000 Central Floridians attended one of its shows. In addition, more than 5,000 students participated in various programs, while more than 100 teachers learned about integrating the arts into learning through the nonprofit’s workshops.
“We need to look at investing in Orlando Family Stage as not just a gift to the theater, but a gift to Orlando,” Scheinberg said.
Students and teachers will get a boost from the theater this fall when a new schools tour of an anti-bullying puppet show kicks off. MicheLee Puppets produced years of school tours focused on curriculum-based topics. Orlando Family Stage absorbed the company last year after its founder, Tracey Connor, died.
Since then, puppets have been seen in Orlando Family Stage productions and in a collaboration with Opera Orlando.
But educators have been asking the theater about getting the schools-tour program going again, said artistic director Jeff Revels.
“A lot of teachers used MicheLee to cover lessons,” he said. “It makes sense that’s one of the first things we would get back up on its feet.”
Follow me at facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Find more arts news at OrlandoSentinel.com/entertainment.
