Theatre in the Square.
File photo
File photo
Russell has asked the Marietta City Council for $50,000 to help open the proposed Trackside Theatre Company.
The Council is expected to make a decision on the request before adopting its budget for Fiscal Year 2013 on June 13, said Shannon Barrett, assistant to the city manager.
Funding would come from the city’s auto rental tax, which the Council allocates to various downtown cultural groups to promote tourism every year.
Mayor Steve Tumlin said he met with Russell and Susan Reid, who would serve as the new theater’s producing artistic director, last week to go over the proposal.
“Part of their integral plan was to raise $425,000,” Tumlin said.
Given that Theatre in the Square had to close because of a lack of funding, Tumlin said he has reservations about this new theater operating successfully.
“These are basically the same people, so that’s where my reservation about jumping for joy is happening,” Tumlin said. “I hope they have a plan, and I hope they have good success as they spread the word.”
In his request for city funding, Russell proposed opening the Trackside Theatre in October with the play “Diary of a Worm, a Spider & a Fly,” based on a children’s book series. That play would be followed by the “It’s a Wonderful Life” in November; the drama “Tigers Be Still” in January; “HELP,” based on a story about the Beatles, in March; and the Southern comedy “The Red Velvet Cake Wars” in April.
All the lights and seating are still in place in the former Theatre in the Square. Councilman Philip Goldstein, who owns the building, said he bought all the furniture, fixtures and equipment from Bank of North Georgia, who received them from Theatre in the Square when it closed due to a loan agreement.
Goldstein said Russell’s group was interested in leasing the main 225-seat stage, while he had an offer from another group interested in leasing the smaller 125-seat Alley Stage in the building.
“I look forward to getting any part of the theater leased,” Goldstein said.
Palmer Wells, who co-founded Theatre in the Square 30 years ago, said no one from the old board has contacted him about the proposal.
“I don’t know what to think,” Wells said.
Wells was against closing Theatre in the Square, but was outvoted on the board.
“Apparently enough ground work was laid that this has been going on for some time, much longer than when it was announced we were closing,” Wells said of Trackside Theatre, pointing out that Trackside’s articles of incorporation were filed on April 11, less than a month after the Theatre in the Square’s board voted to close.
“To get a season together and lay all this ground work had to have been done a good while in advance of even the board voting,” Wells said. “It smacks of duplicity, certainly.”
Russell and Reid could not be reached by press time.
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Although much of what I want say is already been said and echoing here, I would add that your gender divisive/dismissive comments are strange, and likely more revealing than you are even aware, Please drop the "war on women" junk. If anything this whole situation is the final result of a long tern, on going "war on Palmer Wells". While Ms. Reid didn't start that war, it appears she assisted with the final salvos, and is now primed for the gathering of the spoils.
There are FACTS and then there is TRUTH.
Thanks for tipping your hand "JUST THE FACTS"..
Unless you are a clever person...all who want to know now know there are 2 other 'women' involved.
That Narrows the pool by about half!
When is Susan Reid going to make a statement to that effect? So far she has been very quiet!!!
Come Out! Come Out! Wherever You Are!!!!!
I agree with "THE REAL FACTS" that you must be involved in this Trackside venture, or at least closely associated with someone who is.
Getting a portion of the story without talking to Susan Reid, and then spinning it into a conspiracy is beyond dishonest. I'm ashamed of Palmer Wells' willingness to throw her under the bus. I'm more ashamed that people can read the speculative opinions of an uninvolved man, and swallow it without question as fact. As much as I loved working for Theatre in the Square, you cannot say Palmer had nothing to do with why the theatre failed. So be mad at Theatre in the Square for its shortcomings; but don't jump on a bandwagon of speculation and slander when people who LOST THEIR JOBS decide to be entrepreneurs.
Extremely poor judgement if you ask me and may very well be why she never gets the support she COULD have had.
Fact, Timothy Bailey, a Theatre in the Square board member, is the only other name Besides Susan Reid's on Trackside's incorporation papers.
Fact, tracksidetheatre.com, .net, and .org were registered by Carceron, Theatre in the Square board member Chad Massaker's company
Fact, Phillip Goldstein, quoted above, refers to Trackside as Russell's group, making it clear Russell is involved in negotiations for 11 Whitlock Ave.
Fact, the city has recieved a grant proposal from Trackside from Susan Reid and Mike Russell with Russell called out as "Interim Board Chair"
Trackside wants nothing to do with Theatre in the Square's board? That's a ridiculous statement at this point.
There are plenty lawyers in Marietta who had nothing to do with Theatre in the Square. Why chose one who did to incorporate you? You can register web domains from any computer in the world. Why have a Theatre in the Square board member do it for you? If you don't want to be associated with Theatre in the Square's board why are you taking meetings with it's chair at your side?
I think the paper and the other comments here take quite a few facts into consideration that you are ignoring.
As for "entrepeneurs"? Considering who you are aligned is an important early decision. Filing papers to form a new theatre, with board members from a just bankrupted theatre, and expecting people not to think the worst of your plans shows a distinct lack of vision.
The FACT that three (that the public know of at this point) of Theatre in the Square's Board members are helping Susan Reid to start a new Theatre (in the same building no less), in itself reeks of duplicity & also highly unethical & despicable behavior. Regarding the three Board members noted above: one made the presentation to the City of Marietta asking for $50K, one filed the incorporation papers & the other registered/purchased several web sites Trackside could use. Need I say more? The fact that Trackside Theatre had a season chosen, a proposal for the City of Marietta & however many others, incorporation papers filed, domain names registered/purchased, etc. etc. could not have happened in the few weeks after Theatre in the Square closed. It implies this was in the works for some time. It also raises questions as to why, even after they would have had their hands on $200K, Theatre in the Square was closed.
Regarding Palmer Wells: Six and a half years ago (approximately), he did not want to hire a Managing Director as the Theatre could not afford it. He did not want to hire the Managing Director, who "resigned" in March, 2012. He knew she was not the right person for the job & he was right! Palmer went to the Board numerous times over the years and was ignored & the behavior of the Board and the Managing Director continued. Anyone with a brain knows that only one person on a Board, i.e. Palmer Wells, can only do their best, as he did, to right countless wrongs, if the rest of the Board & Managing Director only want to do what’s wrong. The staff was told numerous times that they would be able to speak to the Board about everything going on. Did that ever happen? Of course not. Palmer Wells in no way is responsible for the demise of Theatre in the Square.
It’s OBVIOUS that the “Just the Facts” original poster is someone affiliated with Trackside Theatre.
So far, this article states she wants to be the BENEFICIARY of close to $500,000.
Look up "beneficiary" if you need to; you certainly don't know the definition of "entrepreneur".
I believe the article above states that Ms Reid and Mr Russell could not be reached by press time. I notice they have not surfaced to "defend" their actions.
Anyone who ever had any association with the theatre knows that there was a "coup" to get rid of Palmer Wells. The General Manager, Associate Artistic Director, Production Manager..and likely Ms Reid were leading that coup, and there may have been a couple of new hires who alligned themselves with Ms Varney and company. Ms Varney ended up losing her job..but the others held to their opinion that Palmer and certain other staff members should go. Little did those in the original anti Palmer camp realize that another coup was being planned by Ms Reid and Mr Russell! And in the end...everyone lost their job...and the community lost a wonderful theatre.
You just made a bunch of people's day by being a little too specific.
1. You just aligned yourself with this trckside thing...(the first of 51 to do so!)
2. You made some comments that contradict known legal documents that are VERY public...and other documents that are public yet not so legal.
3. You made a gender refference...
4. You only said you had worked for TITS...This may not seem important at first, but I love rhetoric and semantics...Your's is the only comment buy passed employees/venders that doesn't include the word YEARS"!!! in their relationship with TITS...which kinda narrows it down.
Other people will connect those dots, and have as "to JUST THE FACTS" already did.
When TITS went down they left me holding unpaid invoices from last October. I kept providing wigs as well as period barbering for the group until they shuttered their doors in the middle of Flying West. In that 26 years I have never raised my prices for them or any arts group in Atlanta and continued to provide support always with the promise that I would be paid because I believe in the live arts and their enrichment of our lives and communities.
For the theatre to completely stiff me on payment really hurts, not only emotionally, but in my pocket as well. It seems my invoices went unpaid when others were paid, namely the costume designers for all of those shows. My contribution was as much an integral part of the production as the gowns, the suits and even the shoes on their feet and yet they thought it OK to continue to ask more work from me and not pay me.
I have no way to recoup that loss. I cannot write it off as bad debt. I cannot sell any part of of that work to another buyer. I cannot tell my mortgage company that I should be given a consideration that I cannot cover the loss.
All I can do is ask "why me?"
Why was I not paid over others.
Why wasn't my contribution valued in the grand scheme of things.
Why wasn't my support realized.
Why was 26 years of support cast away so easily.
The Atlanta theatre COMMUNITY is large and we tend to support each other in many overlapping ways. Atlanta actually supports a lot of actors and designers and theatre technicians.
That is a lot to be said, especially in this economy.
I, for one, would say that for the theatre to reopen and be able to hold its head up high they should be honorable and settle their debts. Not walk away from them with a smirk and a snicker. Yes, that is exactly what it seems like.
I am not the power company. I cannot afford to say "oh well". In my life every penny counts.
Maybe these are not the people to reopen the theatre. I certinally wouldn't give them a cent. It may be a new name on the expensive marque out front, but the core is still rotten.
Who in town would trust them to work there?
I'm sure they owed you more money...and i know there are other venders out there that got truly and properly ......
But even the 2 digit amount they owed me still ranckles!
A more important point here may be that Mike, and Susan took a scorched earth approach to mangling a company that had many experienced hands...(That is to say..that dissolving TITS was exactly the opposite of stimulating the economy)..., and that they no longer retain the human resources to make any theatre company work.
Well I have only one thing to say to that...irony intended...
You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene
(To illustrate his last remark
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
What did they do
Just when everything looked so dark)
Man, they said we better
Accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
No, do not mess with Mister In-Between
Do you hear me, hmm?
(Oh, listen to me children and-a you will hear
About the elininatin' of the negative
And the accent on the positive)
And gather 'round me children if you're willin'
And sit tight while I start reviewin'
The attitude of doin' right
(You've gotta accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between)
You've got to spread joy (up to the maximum)
Bring gloom (down) down to the minimum
Otherwise (otherwise) pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene
To illustrate (well illustrate) my last remark (you got the floor)
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
What did they say (what did they say)
Say when everything looked so dark
Man, they said we better
Accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between
No! Don't mess with Mister In-Between
Good luck with MRS. In-Between!!!!!
If Marietta, or the DMDA gives them a penny then it is nothing short of Taxpayer Sponsored FRAUD!...The only way to Zero the books, and get rid of Palmer Wells was to declare bankruptcy and then make a deal with Goldstein to buy the lien from the bank at 'fire-sale' prices... in order to insure the new regime would not have to come up with all the necessities that are required to produce...no doubt Goldstein did so for at least one reason out of two...1: if the company is in bankruptcy he can not will not have the ability to clear the space in order to rent it. 2: If he makes a backroom deal to by the stuff cheap with an incentive from a corp. like TrackSide for future rents...then that is also in his best interest.
This Closing/Filing/Lien Buying (by a city counsel member I might add!!!!!!!) is so muffing sketchy it defies all imagination...Shame on the participants, and shame on anyone who endorses it with financial backing.
Tumlin is right to have reservations...This stinks so bad its not even funny...Goldstein's interest are at heart here...Why else would he have bought the lien from the bank if he hadn't already made a deal?
The Simple Fact that a member of the City Council has interests in this affair should alarm everyone!!!, and if that's not enough...Susan's Duplicity, and the Fact that Russell already bankrupted the place once should sound further alarm bells.
Let Trackside Theatre grovel for money elsewhere...maybe Thorson will right them a check?
If the board wanted to replace Palmer Wells, they should have just done it, restructured the organization and devised a plan for paying down their debt and attracting new donors. Instead, they took the smarmy way out, went through the sham of shutting down the theatre and then - poof! - reappeared as a NEW company that has no debt! That's unethical and probably illegal.
I think the IRS and Secretary of State will see this for what it is - fraud.
This dog won't hunt.
Oh yes, there was duplicity and more.
Gene Bradley
House Manager
Theatre in the Square
It appears as if these Johnny-come-latelies intentionally blew up Theatre in the Square so they could push Palmer out and walk away from their debt.
A much more rational plan would be for a completely new board to form around Palmer Well's leadership, reconstituting Theatre in the Square with a new charter and retaining the institutional memory and legacy of this great organization.
Russell and Reid don't have the background or the chops to make a theatre work and the proposed season outlined in this story arrives with a resounding THUD. Let the grownups handle professional theatre in Marietta keep these dilettantes and dabblers away from the square.
There is another organization run by idiots.
Whatever happened to all those offers?
Criminal. Should be charged.
Susan, you need to run from this one... nothing good will come of his ideas--- this is well proven by History... you are a good person- you should have tried a different route.