The Proctors Un-Gala A CELEBRATION OF CREATIVITY Philip’s fire CEO Morris’ passion, ideas have carried Proctors to new heights. An event Saturday will pay tribute to him and raise funds for the theater’s educational programs. BY BILL BUELL Gazette Reporter
Nobody ever had to light a fire under Philip Morris. Not in his 25 years working in arts administration in Chautauqua County, or here in Schenectady during his 10 years as Proctors CEO. “Working with Philip is like having a tiger by the tail,” said Tony Mashuta, chairman of the board at Proctors. “He’s a visionary who’s always thinking outside the box. He’s a sponge who never stops taking things in, and never stops coming up with new ideas.” The Theatre Guild at Proctors will honor Morris and commemorate his fi rst decade at the helm here in Schenectady with a “Proctors Un-Gala, A Celebration of Creativity,” at 6 p.m. on Saturday . A cocktail hour will kick things off in Key Hall, and then dinner and entertainment will be offered on the main stage at 7 p.m. Morris began his gig at Proctors on March 4, 2002, after spending 25 years in western New York as executive director of the Arts Council of Chautauqua County. Other than spending a few months during the summer of 1977 working with his uncle’s roofi ng business after graduating from Hamilton College, it was Morris’s fi rst job. Two and a half decades later, at the age of 47, Morris accepted job No. 2 when he came to Schenectady and began working at Proctors. “I was stunned at how bad downtown looked, but I could also tell there were enough board members that were really teed up to do something,” said Morris, remembering his first visit to the city and his initial interview with the board of directors. “There was a sense that the city had hit rock bottom and these people were going to do something about it. They weren’t sure what, but I had this real sense that I could be on the ground fl oor and really do something to help.” For Morris, the goal wasn’t just to put people in seats inside a beautiful and historic theater. The idea was to help revitalize Schenectady’s downtown area, “If you couldn’t imagine this changing,” said Morris, referring to the reinvigorated streetscape just outside the Apostrophe cafe that is now part of the Proctors complex, “then you couldn’t imagine all of this succeeding. Proctors was all by its lonesome here downtown, and people don’t want to come to an island. We had to be a part of something bigger if we were going to succeed the way we really wanted to.” When Morris showed up in 2002, Proctors was alive and well, but certainly not the regionwide attraction it is today. It was known as Proctor’s Theatre then, named after Frederick Proctor, the “Dean of Vaudeville,” who built the place in 1926. Along with plenty of Vaudeville entertainers, Proctor’s Theatre hosted the first public demonstration of television in 1930, and became primarily a movie house throughout the 1950s and 60s. It was closed for a while and in danger of being demolished before a group of concerned citizens named ACT (Arts Center and Theatre of Schenectady) saved it from the wrecking ball and reopened the facility in 1979. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and throughout the next two decades served the community as an entertainment venue with varying degrees of success. Then Morris came along and things really started happening. In 2004, a $30million renovation project was begun, and by 2007, a number of improvements had taken place, most notably the mainstage was now big enough to host Broadway’s most majestic musicals, such as “Phantom of the Opera” and “The Lion King.” Also, a number of new performance spaces were created, including the GE Theatre and the Fenimore Gallery, along with an expanded lobby area and a restaurant. Lionel Barthold, a member of the board who served on the search committee that interviewed and hired Morris in 2002, remembers that the vision he and his fellow board members had for Proctors wasn’t nearly on the same grand scale as Morris’s. “I can remember that Philip was different, and he seemed awfully ambitious,” said Barthold, who owned and operated Power Technologies in Schenectady until 1999. “He had a lot of ideas that went beyond what we were focusing on. We were worried about operating a theater, and he saw a much bigger picture than that.” They had taken notice, however, of what Morris had accomplished in Chautaugua County. A native of New Haven, Conn., Morris was a history major at Hamilton who thought about becoming a lawyer. He actually drove onto the campus at Villanova University in Philadelphia having been accepted to the law school there before suddenly changing his mind. “I just realized, ‘Oh no, I don’t want to do this,’ so I got back in the car and drove to Utica,” remembered Morris. “I spent that summer painting houses and working with my uncle’s roofing business, and then I thought, maybe there is work in the arts administration field. So, I started looking, I found a job in Chautauquay County and off I went.” INVOLVED IN THE ARTS Morris had been very involved in the arts at Hamilton College, serving in a variety of functions. He wasn’t performing himself, but he was organizing trips for the school’s choir, band and jazz ensemble, and was also working in the studio lab — where he made sure all the taping equipment was functional — and the lending library where he was in charge of dispensing vinyl albums to his fellow students. That kind of experience, according to Morris, made him more than qualified to serve as executive director of a fledgling arts group. “I was qualified for it because it was a nothing job,” said Morris, laughing at the recollection. “I can remember I had a very nice lady working part-time for me, and we were done with the newsletter, and we had this small performance series at Fredonia College all set. I said to her, ‘What do we do now? The newsletter is out, the concerts are set with their brochures. Is this it?’ I guess I was probably underqualified in a lot of ways. It was just that the job hadn’t been flushed out yet.” Morris quickly began making things happen. As director of the council, he oversaw the development of 15 downtown properties in Jamestown that would benefit the arts community, including the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, which opened in 1996. “We did a lot of stuff,” he said. “We renovated buildings, we found housing for artists and their galleries. It was all good, but none of it seemed to spark change. I don’t want to say it was depressing, but I felt like the work wasn’t doing what I thought it ought to do.” So when the opportunity came to move to Schenectady and face another challenge, Morris didn’t say no. He was hired after a second job interview with the Proctors’ board at Glen Sanders Mansion. “There was one of the board members who wasn’t used to being disagreed with,” remembered Barthold. “He was one of those corporate leader types, and Philip disagreed with him on something and actually convinced him that he was right. We were walking out of Glen Sanders and the guy said to me, ‘He’s your man.’ I had already decided myself, and we were right. Philip turned out to be a great leader.” Betty Barlyn, a former board member and now a member of the Theatre Guild at Proctors, said Morris made a signifi - cant first impression on her. “I wasn’t on the search committee, but I escorted him out of the building after his first interview,” remembered Barlyn. “That was my first encounter with Philip, and my first impression was that he stood out from all the rest. I didn’t have the opportunity to get to know him that fi rst time, but you could tell he just seemed special, bigger than life.” CREATIVE IDEAS Her second interaction with Morris left her convinced he was the man for the job. “He had all these creative ideas, and he really thought outside the box,” she said. “He was a visionary, and what was so nice was that he always treated everyone with respect. What he’s done for this place and this town is amazing.” Mashuta, a Schenectady native and president of Cool Insuring Agency Inc., in Latham and Queensbury, said that the connection between the city’s downtown revitalization and Proctors’ success can’t be overstated. “Proctors is the little engine that could, and I think our success allows for the success of downtown, and the whole area,” said Mashuta. “People come to downtown from the entire region, and I can’t imagine one other person making the kind of difference that Philip has. In order for us to be an incubator, we had to have live entertainment a couple of hundred nights a year to bring people into our restaurants and bars. He’s done that. He’s a bundle of energy, and no project is too big, no idea is too big for him.” Morris, who with his wife Kathleen recently relocated from the Stockade neighborhood to a rural area of Rotterdam, said he loves just about every aspect of his job as Proctors’ CEO, even the schmoozing. “All of what I do is schmoozing,” said Morris, laughing. “The personnel part is schmoozing, buying the Broadway shows is schmoozing. Getting people in here is schmoozing. Those of us in the arts industry have a huge job to do. There’s so much entertainment available, and you can get it on your iPhone now, or you can watch television or play a record. That’s the easy way. But if you’re doing something live, you want people in the seats and that’s much harder. We have to remind people that by showing up they’re helping to support a creative life, and the social contact is a big part of it. We have to remind people that there’s real value to that.” As pleased as he’s been with the response to the big blockbuster musicals he’s brought to town, what really makes Morris happy is just seeing the place used to its utmost capacity. MEMORABLE NIGHTS “I have multiple most memorable nights, and my wife knows this when I come home on a Friday night with a big smile on my face,” said Morris, whose father immigrated from Greece. “They’ll have been something going on at Key Hall, something going on at the Fenimore Gallery, the mainstage, Robb Alley. That’s when I get ecstatic. On the Friday night of “Beauty and the Beast,” we had all these little girls showing up dressed as Cinderella with stars on sticks. We had a high school prom going on in Key Hall, and we had a women’s bodybuilding contest going on in the GE Theatre. Watching them all go to the women’s room was amazing. We had these little girls in pink, we had their 18-year-old cohorts dressed to the nines with their bosoms pushed up, and we had these women basically wearing nothing, their bodies bronzed and shiny, all standing in line together to get to the rest room. It was wonderful. Just what community should be.” ............................>>>>.....................>>>>..........................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00900&AppName=1
“We did a lot of stuff,” he [Morris] said. “We renovated buildings, we found housing for artists and their galleries. It was all good, but none of it seemed to spark change. I don’t want to say it was depressing, but I felt like the work wasn’t doing what I thought it ought to do.”
At least you once had the sense of how every City property owner feels.
Proctors getting millions for a gold ceiling meanwhile driving through your former Stockade neighborhood is a vehicles worst nightmare (potholes, crappy sidewalks). The rest of the City is going to hell in a handbasket, yet millions in grants go to the sidewalks in front of Proctors.
What's that? You have "Wicked" coming again??? Yep, what a visionary.
I just saw this article in print here at work..............OMG............the gazetto did a great job of cheerleading!!!.........
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Waiting for DV or one of his imaginery friends to post here and do cheering for Morris.
but of course, DV will NOT tell us how Proctors has helped the city, helped the RESIDENTS, TAXPAYERS, AND HOMEONWERS.
How has Proctor's helped the tax base in the city? How has Proctor's helped the home values in the city? How has Proctor's helped the overburdened homeonwers-taxpyers?
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
Putting aside the past... all the tax issues, and tax free issues... just looking at things how they are now. TODAY! Is Schdy better off with Proctors and it's surrounding modernization or is it not?
If no, then the entire project was a waste. If yes... was it worth at least part of the increase in homeowners taxes?
I'm not involved in any way with city taxes, politics, the Plex, and I pay no city taxes... but as an outsider, I've posted many times, that the only reason I ever travel through or to Downtown, is Proctors, and surrounding establishments that are a part of the new downtown.
Do any homeowners in Schdy see the value in the overall expenditure? Is there any good that's come from the project? Is any part of it worth it?
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Waiting for DV or one of his imaginery friends to post here and do cheering for Morris.
but of course, DV will NOT tell us how Proctors has helped the city, helped the RESIDENTS, TAXPAYERS, AND HOMEONWERS.
How has Proctor's helped the tax base in the city? How has Proctor's helped the home values in the city? How has Proctor's helped the overburdened homeonwers-taxpyers?
Mikechristine1, once again I see that the mysterious pinada DV has found their way into the the conversation. I think that I'll have to spend some time going back in the site archives to try and get a better understanding of this DV. But I digress.
The main reason for my response is to ask if you, or for that matter anyone else knows how to access the accounting of Proctors. My understanding is that since Proctors is a not for profit that their books are available for public scrutiny. Am I correct? How would one find this information?
I'm not involved in any way with city taxes, politics, the Plex, and I pay no city taxes...
Do any homeowners in Schdy see the value in the overall expenditure? Is there any good that's come from the project? Is any part of it worth it?
Northeast left the Proctors arcade. Muddy Cup too. Guess they didn't find it grand.
Parker Inn closed, the crepe place, Olenders, Grossmans all closed....guess those millions didn't help them either.
It is worth it for me to pay over $10,000 in school and property taxes for a building assessed at $200K yet I couldn't sell it for a dime?
What has Proctors done for the community? Opened up its doors to poor children, held a fundraiser for the homeless....how about the very least...a blood drive? No, no and no.
Glad you come once in awhile to the City Box, but please don't tell me that your tax exempt ticket to "Wicked" is helping me pay my $10K in taxes to the City.
If Downtown was nothing, my taxes would be in the low $4,000s, the 600 foreclosures would not be, MAYBE the rest of the City had a chance at some Plex funds and Morris could be sucking millions elsewhere.
Putting aside the past... all the tax issues, and tax free issues... just looking at things how they are now. TODAY! Is Schdy better off with Proctors and it's surrounding modernization or is it not?
Box A Rox, I've given this much thought, and my short answer would no. Schenectady, that area bordered by Rotterdam, Scotia, Colonie and Niskyuana, the whole that is Schenectady is not better off. The area that encompasses the Proctors complex certainly looks better and on the surface it would seem it would be generating income to bring the rest of the city up with it. We don't even know if that is true however as the numbers aren't available, or so we are told.
If no, then the entire project was a waste. If yes... was it worth at least part of the increase in homeowners taxes?
To the first part, not necessarily. I think that the thought behind the renovation and revitalization of downtown was a noble idea. However the planning and execution fell far short and as a result the entire city is suffering. Like many other attempts at remaking downtown the management has been flawed. I think the idea of a vibrant arts community is just one part of the equation. But retail is in my opinion a more important issue. It seems those who planned adopted a "if we build it they will come attitude". In 10 years I see no evidence of that. Friends who have owned or currently own businesses downtown feel the same. Too much emphasis on Proctors and not enough on retail. The revitalization of our city cannot be based on the arts alone. If we do that we're doomed.
I'm not involved in any way with city taxes, politics, the Plex, and I pay no city taxes... but as an outsider, I've posted many times, that the only reason I ever travel through or to Downtown, is Proctors, and surrounding establishments that are a part of the new downtown.
And there lies the rub. I would ask, that when you enter the city to go to Proctors how do you enter? From Rotterdam, Scotia? Or do you enter from the eastern towns? And while in Schenectady do you venture to say Hamilton Hill? Vale?Bellevue? Goose Hill via Van Vranken Avenue? If you do them I'm sure you're aware of the conditions of these neighborhoods as compared to the palatial downtown.
I can only think of an analogy such as a medieval castle with it's resplendent ornamentation, jewels and Kings, Queens, Dukes and their ladies feasting on boar and sipping wine, while in the village below the serfs and peasants eat their gruel and wonder how they will come up with the next tribute money. A little melodramatic yes, but I don't think it's far from the truth.
Northeast left the Proctors arcade. Muddy Cup too. Guess they didn't find it grand.
Parker Inn closed, the crepe place, Olenders, Grossmans all closed....guess those millions didn't help them either.
It is worth it for me to pay over $10,000 in school and property taxes for a building assessed at $200K yet I couldn't sell it for a dime?
What has Proctors done for the community? Opened up its doors to poor children, held a fundraiser for the homeless....how about the very least...a blood drive? No, no and no.
Glad you come once in awhile to the City Box, but please don't tell me that your tax exempt ticket to "Wicked" is helping me pay my $10K in taxes to the City.
If Downtown was nothing, my taxes would be in the low $4,000s, the 600 foreclosures would not be, MAYBE the rest of the City had a chance at some Plex funds and Morris could be sucking millions elsewhere.
Not worth it Box...not by a long shot.
Rachel72, I don't mean to nitpick, but I don't think we can blame Morris for the failure of the Muddy Cup. Possibly he could be faulted for failing to see that the business was poorly managed, but that really is the reason for that particular business' failure. Mismanagement. I did have dealings with the Muddy Cup and it may have been the most poorly run business I have ever encountered. We need to look no farther than the Muddy Cup in Albany closing as to how well the business was run.
Rachel72, I don't mean to nitpick, but I don't think we can blame Morris for the failure of the Muddy Cup. Possibly he could be faulted for failing to see that the business was poorly managed, but that really is the reason for that particular business' failure. Mismanagement. I did have dealings with the Muddy Cup and it may have been the most poorly run business I have ever encountered. We need to look no farther than the Muddy Cup in Albany closing as to how well the business was run.
I tend to agree with your other points.
Well, when Apostrophe comes in (and they are 100% funded by grants and other taxpayer money), it's kinda' easy to judge other independent business isn't it?
They were this...they were poorly run...they were mismanaged....really? Guess that's what happens when an independent business person pays $10,000 monthly rental to Proctors and foot traffic sucks. Same reason NE left.
Proctors has NOT created an arts district...it's a fat tick sucking the life out of the City.
I know, I've paid taxes in this City for over a decade. It's gotten MUCH worse.
Well, when Apostrophe comes in (and they are 100% funded by grants and other taxpayer money), it's kinda' easy to judge other independent business isn't it?
They were this...they were poorly run...they were mismanaged....really? Guess that's what happens when an independent business person pays $10,000 monthly rental to Proctors and foot traffic sucks. Same reason NE left.
Proctors has NOT created an arts district...it's a fat tick sucking the life out of the City.
I know, I've paid taxes in this City for over a decade. It's gotten MUCH worse.
Rachel72, you are consistent in misinterpreting my replies. I am in no way supporting Morris or the running of Proctors. In fact, if you had read my previous reply to Box A Rox, then you would fully understand my position. Instead you chose to cherry pick my carefully thought out reply in a shrieking shrewish manner. I am very disappointed in the tenor of this forum. Even when one agrees with a viewpoint they are still attacked because no one takes the time to read and let the material digest.
You've paid taxes for just a little over a decade? My dear Rachel72, that would be a drop in the bucket compared to what I and some others have paid. I would suggest that like some others here have begun to do is cut your losses and find a more hospitable places in which to live.
Yep, there's Ron from the Rott Town planning board, spewing babble about a renaissance but can't explain where the renaissance is, he can't and won't produce any EVIDENCE that Proctors has helped the CITY, he REFUSES to state how Proctor's has helped the tax base in the city, how Proctors has reduced taxes, how Proctor's has helped home values
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
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