CEO’s note: The following is a report from Brandon Smith, CEO of The Scioto Society, which produces “TECUMSEH!” — and a variety of other offerings — at Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheatre. It’s a great report about the amazing success, and challenges, he and his group face in putting on quality

As the last run of the headless horseman went through the covered bridge set at Sugarloaf Mountain on Saturday night, the books also closed on the 2019 season.  It marked the end of a highly ambitious year of presenting and producing which saw the theatre in use for a record number of days.

The season began in May with the highly acclaimed production of “Mamma Mia!,” produced by Brian Clowdus Experiences in partnership with The Scioto Society.  Ten performances over two weeks ushered thousands of patrons into seats.

“The production served as a test run of sorts.  There have been a lot of ideas over the past few years that we thought had some merit and a spring musical was one of them.  Our relationship with Brian Clowdus allowed us to work with another organization to make it happen.  You never really know if something will work until you try it, and Mamma Mia was a big success on a number of levels.  Of course, ticket sales are the ultimate measure of success for a production, and while we didn’t quite get to where we wanted to be, it was strong enough to do it again.  We’ll be announcing quite soon,” said Brandon Smith, Scioto Society CEO.

The summer season saw a production of “The Winters Tale,” part of the Shakespeare on Sugarloaf initiative.  Since its inception in 2015, nearly 10,000 people have taken advantage of free tickets to over a half a dozen professionally produced shows.  The free performances have been funded through generous donations from patrons, local businesses and the Ohio Arts Council.

The inaugural Boomin’ Bluegrass Fetstival took place in August and featured Grammy Award Winning band The Steeldrivers, along with Dale Ann Bradley, Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers and Chillicothe native, Jerry Salley.  While concerts have become an annual tradition in recent years, the concept of a mini festival was new in 2019 and was a success.  The festival will return in 2020.

Attendance for the Society’s main product, “TECUMSEH!,” continues to be an issue.

Smith commented:  “We’ve lost 19 shows over the past two years to rain.  That’s a tough obstacle to overcome.  The 2018 season saw a record 10 rainouts and it put us in a tough spot financially.  This year we tightened our belt and worked hard to end the season out of debt.  That’s a milestone we achieved.  However, we need to continue to find new ways of reaching and creating an audience for Tecumseh.  Attendance for Outdoor Drama across the country has continued to decline over the past decade and a lot of shows have not found ways to survive that.  The story of Tecumseh is more relevant today than ever, and we are determined to continue telling it.  I’d like to see attendance numbers go up by 20% over the next couple of summers.  We will do that by continuing to remove barriers to attendance including pricing, scheduling and interpreting.  The long term health of the organization is solely dependent on attendance for Tecumseh.  It is our #1 priority.”

The Scioto Society wraps up its year on Nov. 8 with it’s third annual Bourbon Dinner.  The event is sold out.