The Performing Arts Committee met on September 17, 2026 (agenda and public materials list the meeting as Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 6:15 p.m. Pacific; the meeting was called to order at 6:27 p.m.), in the Atrium Conference Room at 500 Castro St., Mountain View, with a virtual Zoom component. Roll call showed Chair Donage, Vice Chair Fenwick, and Committee Members Barwa and Garcia present, along with a fifth member whose name was unintelligible in the transcript. The agenda included approval of the June 24 and August 19, 2026 meeting minutes, no public oral communications, and one new business item: the annual review of resident company Theater Works Silicon Valley. In a wide-ranging discussion, Theater Works leadership described shifted performance venues, declining rental weeks, board composition, and the possibility of a permanent home, and committee members offered to help facilitate community partnerships.
New Business 5.1 — Theater Works Silicon Valley Annual Review
Note on discrepancies: The agenda lists the meeting as Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 6:15 p.m., while the session timestamp indicates September 17, 2026, 14:15 UTC; the transcript's verbal date of "September 6th" appears to be a transcription error. The meeting was called to order at approximately 6:27 p.m., and the August 19 minutes item does not show a separately recorded vote in the transcript.
Okay. Oh yeah. We can just get rid of me again. All right. I call this meeting of the City of Mountain Views Performing Arts Committee on Wednesday, September 6th, 2026 to order at 627 p.m. This meeting is being conducted with a virtual component. Anyone wishing to address the committee virtually may join the meeting online at HTTPSlash Mountainview dot zoom dot us backslash J backslash eight to eight eight four five seven eight eight eight nine or by dialing six six nine nine zero zero nine one two eight and entering webinar ID two sorry eight two eight eight four five seven eight eight eight nine when the chair announces the item on which you wish to speak click the raise hand feature and zoom or dial star nine on your phone when the chair calls your name to provide public comment if you are participating via phone please press star six to one new uh item number two roll call staff enroll call chair donage here vice chair fenwick uh committee member barwa here committee member Garcia present committee member um eight uh going along to item three minutes approval three point one minutes approval recommendation approved the June twenty-fourth twenty twenty-six performing arts committee meeting minutes and they are attached are there comments corrections I uh I've noted that um last time we had tabled the approval because we didn't have our previous months no it's in the felt like there was a missing section of the work plan and Teresa to check the recording and confirm yes we did and we checked the recording and as amended was fine there wasn't anything significant that needed to be noted okay perfect that's all my own comment so is there a motion to approve um those motion to approve minutes from each second all in favor aye aye okay let's move along to 3.2 minutes approval recommendation approved the August 19th 2026 performing arts committee meeting minutes and they are any comments okay there well find me does anybody okay i oh I move to approve the august nineteenth minutes as submitted I second that motion okay everybody in favor aye aye motion passes unanimously we're gonna have to go back to the speech okay item four oral communications from the public are there any members of the public who wish to make a comment no none comment okay um so there being no members of the public uh we'll move along to item number five new business five point one resident company presentation Okay. Item four oral communications from the public. Are there any members of the public who wish to make a comment? No. None. Comment. Okay. Um so there being no members of the public. Uh we'll move along to item number five, new business 5.1 resident company presentation from theater works Silicon Valley. So we have some attachments. I believe it's customary. Lisa, would you like to have a staff memorandum that I'll read for those that might be listening online? And then we have the season analysis specific to Theater Works Silicon Valley, and then I will let them take it over from there and presentation and answer the talk rooms that have been provided to them. So fiscal year 2526 annual review for a resident company Theater Works Silicone Valley backgrounds. Theaterworks Silicon Valley is governed by a 26 member board of trustees led by board chair Katie Blaget. Am I saying that right? Uh Giovanna Sardelli took on her role as artistic director in July of 23. And Phil Centora joined Theater Works as their executive director in July of 25. So Theaterworks relies on both earned and contributed revenues with a significant portion coming from contributions. For the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2026, TheaterWorks final numbers are being calculated as part of the audit prep. However, preliminary numbers show the fiscal year 2526 revenue total was 9,094,306. That included 3,366 in earned revenue and 4,934,096 in contributed revenue and a draw on prior operational surpluses of 523,552 against what has been budgeted draw of 1,200,000. Total expenses were 9,094,306. As noted above, the budget asset draw was reduced by 676,448, resulting in a balanced budget and preserving more liquid assets for the future. For fiscal year 2627, the anticipated total revenue is 10,323,925, with 4,18,925 in earned revenue, 5,555,000 in contributed revenue, and a budgeted 750,000 draw on prior year surpluses. Total expenses are anticipated at 10,322,600 662. Say that three times fast, leaving a surplus of 1,263 for the fiscal year. Theater works benefits from a long-standing resident company agreement with the city of Mountain View, providing stability and mutual benefits through the use of the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. The analysis, the annual review provides an overview of expenses, usage days, performance days, and gross ticket sales for Theater Works Silicon Valley, as well as revenues for the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Theaterworks will provide a summary of their efforts for the 25-26 season. You'll find attached to the season analysis of the season 55. Last year, they had little women in September on the main stage. Number of performance, 22 performances, total ticket sales of 7,287 for that show. 55% of seats sold. A driving beat was in the second stage in October. And that was uh total tickets 4,230 sold with 83% attendance and Hershey Felder with a piano and me in January for total tickets of 1,3810 and 82% attendance and close the season with come from away in April or May with 14,366 tickets and a percentage of 80 percent. So that comes to a total for the main stage performances at 75% attendance. And with that, that closed the staff is the staff report, and I will turn it over to Theaterwork Silicon Valley. Um did you want us to? I was going to talk through the report. Did you want us to read the report? Is that necessary on screen? I want to follow protocol.