I have to comment on Stephen's suggestion that the Theatre techs could be running the Bonner. This is a personal pet peeve of mine so I will be a tad harsh.

The fact is that the techs and faculty designers (scene, costume and lighting shops) in the Theatre Department coordinate 11 productions each school year. They also are asked support activities by other campus departments, programs and offices, CSU Summer Arts, University High School and a variety of other schools and arts groups in the community. And then there are those pesky classes and lab hours for the students. Most of these technicians are not 12-month employees so they accomplish this in 10 months. Let me see . . . 11 productions in 10 months now subtract 2 days a month for furloughs. You do the math.

Theatre does not just happen. It isn’t an “Andy Hardy” movie where we “save the orphanage” by putting together a show in the afternoon and come out with fully realized sets, costumes and lights right after dinner. It takes a lot of work and a lot of time by a lot of people and the people of the Fresno State Theatre Department are really good at it. It may look easy – trust me - it isn’t!!

You may think that the Bonner it isn’t that much trouble because it is kind of low tech and the people who use it are single use or limited return renters. Those people are high maintenance. They don’t produce shows/events on a regular basis, don’t consider all the factors and understand that there are other events happening. (It is why a smart bride usually hires a wedding planner.) The average first time user of a Theatre Department space requires 15 – 20 hours of hand holding (visiting the venue, another venue visit with others on the committee, budget review, another visit with the committee members who weren’t able to make the first two visits, phone consultations, another visit to the venue just to make sure, panic calls about forgotten needs, post event billing questions, space prep and strike) just for a 2 hour event.

Many people wonder why I won’t give them a specific price to use the space over the phone. How can I? There is currently have a 2-page application (soon to be 3 pages) for perspective renters that asks many of the questions people forget to consider. If you can’t/don’t tell us what you need how can we tell you what it will cost or when a rental shows up unannounced 2 hours before they’ve scheduled the facility to do set up they are charged additional rent.

That felt good - I will now step down from my soapbox and hope that the museum and Fresno State can establish a collaboration that will benefit both and the community.