Writing Assignment 3: News Story

Collierville Town Administration Drafts Alcohol Ordinance For Arts Council.

By Jamie Markham

10/12/2023​

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The Collierville Town Administration is set to draft an amended ordinance for alcohol sales for the Collierville Arts Council.

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After 12 years of trying to get town ordinance changed, the Collierville Arts Council is finally outlining its plans for sales of alcohol, the changes needed to generate revenue, and their proposals for new development.

 

Terry Dean, Executive Director of the Collierville Arts Council, believes that it is time for their community to allow spirits in theatre environments. “It’s a social thing. It’s profitable in the community, and it’s not like people are going to force you to drink if you don’t want to.” Early calculations show that the council will make around $4,000 to $5,000 in alcohol sales per production.

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The Collierville Arts Council’s plans to sell alcohol will start off small. “We’ll most likely start off with a small bar at the concessions stand,” said Dean.

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The Harrell Theatre already grosses some revenue through selling chocolate bars donated by the Dinstuhl Family. Initial selections of alcohol appear to consist of red and white wine, but after several council members receive their Alcohol Beverage Commission (ABC) license, they will provide more beverages.

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“I think it’ll be a good change for us, and I’ve gotten positive feedback. I even had a Memphis brewery call me and say they’d like us to feature their beer,” said Dean.

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Without alcohol sales, community theatre is rarely a profitable venture. The Collierville Arts Council’s prior production, Titanic, couldn’t recoup its expenses with a budget reaching nearly $30,000; the show lost over $4,000 in revenue, nearly the same amount that estimates of alcohol sales could have fixed.

However, Titanic wasn’t slept on either. At the Ostrander’s, Titanic was nominated for 18 awards and won four.

Due to town ordinances, the Collierville Arts Council cannot sell alcohol located near any schools, churches, or public institutions.

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While an amendment to the ordinance still requires three readings, Dean states that revenue generated could be used to fund a new rehearsal studio for productions entering the Harrell Theatre.

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In order to reach their financial goal, the Harrell Theatre is often rented out to local productions. “One issue that we face with renting the theatre out for outside troupes is that our own productions are unable to practice,” Dean said.

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However, a former Lighting Stage manager at the Harrell states that the theatre could utilize a brand-new lighting system.

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“Oftentimes, we have to borrow equipment from other places to pull off what we want to happen,” said the Stage Manager.

Most new theatres in the area are built and updated to use LED-based lighting systems. Compared to the Harrell Theatre’s dimmer-based lighting systems, LED lights are cheaper to maintain, have easier accessibility, more color options, and more sophisticated programming features that would make life easier for lighting designers.

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The Harrell Theatre only runs three performances yearly: one in the summer, one in the fall, and one in the winter.

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Before COVID-19, the Harrell Theatre would do a straight play in February. This upcoming February, the Collierville Arts Council will forego its straight play and will rent the Harrell Theatre to St. George’s Independent School.