Whenever you launch a sizable capital campaign you always wonder and worry about whether or not it will be a success or if it will take very long, and all the other little issues surrounding the drive to succeed. Well, if you want a truly stress-free example…check out the overwhelming success of Benton Harbor’s GhostLight Theatre this month.
GhostLight Productions, Inc. and its GhostLight Theatre are ecstatic over the tremendous success of their capital campaign. Through the Public Spaces Community Places matching grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), GhostLight launched its $50,000 capital campaign on Sunday, August 19th. It was literally complete four days later! A celebratory event will be held on September 29th, with details coming soon, to be announced on GhostLightBH.com.
The KickOff Event, titled “The Next Five Years”, was held on Sunday, August 19th at a riverfront home in St Joseph, and included performances by Paul Mow and others. Over 140 donors attended the event, and enjoyed food catered by Cravings Catering, an open bar, and the marvelous singing and dancing.
At the start of the event, the GhostLight Promotional Video was shown on two screens. At the beginning of the video, a 2010 video clip showed a young Deavondre Jones, a senior at Benton Harbor High School at the time, speaking of how his life was changed when he learned to dance in the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra’s production of Carousel, directed by Paul Mow in 2010, which was staged to honor the opening of the carousel at Silver Beach. In that 2010 video, Deavondre said “Paul Mow should look into doing this again, he should bring workshops and things like this to Benton Harbor. Round up kids and get their mindset on theater.” Paul said that Deavondre’s comment stayed with him for these 8 years, and it became the seed for his dream of the new GhostLight Theater.
After the video, Deavondre spoke of his career as a choreographer in Grand Rapids, and credited Paul Mow and the opportunity he had in 2010 with his career path. Then he entertained the crowd with an amazing dance and was joined by his young student, Rylee Broome.
Between songs, various donors stood and announced their donations. Rylee’s grandmother, Suz Schalon of the Schalon Foundation, announced that the foundation was donating $15,000 to the GhostLight campaign. Other donors spoke of their excitement over the creation of The GhostLight Theatre, praising Paul Mow’s vision and the efforts of the Board of Directors, Advisory Board, and resident artists.
Jeff Dunlap, Senior Director of Principal Gifts at The Henry Ford in Dearborn Michigan and a member of the GhostLight Advisory Board, talked about his support for The GhostLight, and the importance of supporting the performing arts in the community. Pat Hahto, School Superintendent in Steger, Illinois, announced that her school district was donating a grand piano to the new GhostLight Theatre. Paul Mow announced that Boulder, Colorado resident Lynanne Kunkel, the mother of one of Paul’s former students and a former Whirlpool executive, had donated $10,000 to the GhostLight capital campaign.
At the end of the presentation and entertainment, Suz Schalon asked to speak again, at which time she announced that the Schalon Foundation would match the first $50,000 that was raised by the GhostLight capital campaign. A tremendous response from the crowd followed, with a standing ovation for Suz and the Schalon Foundation. She told the group, “The Schalon Foundation is pleased to support this unique performing arts initiative in the Benton Harbor Arts District in memory of our founders, Ed and Marcie Schalon.” She added, “By providing funding towards the GhostLight Kickoff Campaign and an additional $50,000 matching grant, we hope to encourage other donors for this project which will benefit so many Benton Harbor and Southwest Michigan young people.”
Led by tenor Paul Mow and pianist Josh Goines, the final number “I Know Where I’ve Been” from Hairspray included all the singers: Aiden Ankli, Pierre Cooks, Meredith Best George, Kacie Mercer, Kortney Moore, Mariah Rifenberg, Anthony Tibbitts, Abby Murray Vachon, and Ray Wallsten.
By Wednesday, August 22nd, The GhostLight Theatre had reached its $50,000 goal. Because of the MEDC matching grant and the Schalon Foundation matching grant, GhostLight had raised $150,000 in just 4 days!
This was the first Public Space Community Places grant in the city of Benton Harbor, and Mahala Clayton, Program Director of Patronicity — the company that supports the crowdfunding site for the MEDC — says, “We are so proud of the GhostLight Productions team and their efforts to create this community space for theatre and the arts in Benton Harbor. The amount of support the GhostLight Theatre has received within a week of their launch is astounding and a testament to the efforts of their organization.” She adds, “This space will serve so many functions beyond shows and we are so excited to be a small part of this project.”
Dan Gilmartin, CEO and Executive Director of the Michigan Municipal League says, “Developing and supporting arts endeavors is key to great placemaking.” He notes, “GhostLight Theatre fits the bill, adding a unique, engaging arts experience for the Benton Harbor community.”
Renovations will begin immediately. The first $150,000 will fund a new roof, new HVAC and plumbing, electrical upgrades, and painting. Fundraising continues for stage lighting, state-of-the-art sound system, audience seating, rights and royalties for the first season of productions, as well as programming for classes and workshops. Through September 30th, donations may still be made to Patronicity.com/GhostLight, or by mailing a check directly to The GhostLight, PO Box 72, St Joseph MI 49085.
The brainchild of New York Opera tenor Paul Mow, originally from Coloma, The GhostLight Theatre is a collaboration of local performing artists, business people, arts supporters, and enthusiastic audience members. For years, Paul had his dream of a community-based theater and, when he partnered with Martha Hesse, the dream took form. In January 2018, they leased a building in the Benton Harbor Arts District, and began plans for creating a “black box” style theater, backstage and workshop areas, two offices and a beautiful front lobby. They plan to open their doors in May 2019.
The funds from this campaign will complete the transformation of a vacant building in the Benton Harbor Arts District into a theater and community events space. The space will serve as a venue for plays, musicals, recitals, cabarets, workshops, classes, banquets, and other events. In addition to the large black box theater space, the plans include a front lobby, all new accessible bathrooms, workshop space for set building and costume production, backstage with dressing rooms and makeup stations, and two offices. The GhostLight Theatre will also host workshops, lessons, and seminars designed to teach and inspire.
As Artistic Director for GhostLight Productions, Mow says, “Through this campaign, we are planning to create our black box theater by renovating our building at 101 Hinkley Street in the Benton Harbor Arts District. Our goal is to engage the community and provide opportunities in performing arts that are not currently available.” He adds, “The space will be available to the community for whatever they can envision. We are grateful to the MEDC for this opportunity and for their essential support.”
Executive Director Martha Hesse says, “While we are working on our remodeling, choosing a season of productions for 2019-2020, and putting all the right people in place, we continue to offer a variety of entertainment opportunities in the area. Our website is updated frequently with our various productions and events.” The GhostLight website is GhostLightBH.com and the Facebook page is facebook.com/GhostLightBentonHarbor.
In addition to Paul Mow’s creative and artistic input, the GhostLight organizational team includes many residents of the Benton Harbor and St Joseph area. The Board of Directors include Brady Cohen, Shane Kissack, Brett Lutz, Rick Molitor, Deb Sailor, and Dave Wood.
The artistic staff includes Meredith Best-George, Andy Sawyer and Larry Underwood. Members of the Advisory Committee are Ken Ankli, Don Dettman, Jeff Dunlap, Dottie Gietler, Leslie Pickell, and Norma Tirado. Paul Mow is the Artistic Director and Martha Hesse is the Executive Director.
Here is a direct, clickable link to the ongoing fundraising for your convenience:
http://Patronicity.com/GhostLight
Shown in the photo accompanying this story at Moody on the Market, provided by GhostLight Productions are Suz Schalon and Paul Mow at the kick off party.
