The Skylight Letter Writing Campaign

There is an effort going in right now to contact the Board of The Skylight regarding the news that came out of the company yesterday regarding a new management structure, and the elimination of the Artistic Director position (the true steward of the mission of the organization in my opinion). If you would like to write a letter, here's the e-mails to send them to:

david.b.williams@sbcglobal.net, diane.weaver@na.manpower.com, fbartels@chw.org, gjorgensen@vjscs.com, howard.miller@assurant.com, jyovanovich@gehl.com, jeff@mmtadv.com, jplunkett8500@att.net, jina.amaro@harley-davidson.com, jeflanagan@michaelbest.com, jwhein@gbf-law.com, johnstollenwerk@yahoo.com, jvice@chw.org, Jmwa@execpc.com, kbuono@quarles.com, emory1488@mac.com, tobymiller@aol.com, gwrenz@gmail.com, mjf@quarles.com, michaelbula@northwesternmutual.com, michelle.mattson@we-energies.com, PLKraft319@yahoo.com, pcronin@rwbaird.com, psweeney@pscapitalpartners.com, pstuckey@ra.rockwell.com, rbeal1080@aol.com, rbell@johnsonbank.com, sgodfrey@firstweber.com, ssachdeva@koss.com, suzmail@wi.rr.com, tkurtenbach@deloitte.com, tamccuen@ra.rockwell.com, shiely.vince@basco.com


Here's the letter I wrote as an FYI:

Dear Skylight Board Members,

The news of the firings of the Skylight's Artistic Director, Company Manager, a key box office employee and one of the building custodians came as a huge surprise to me when I became aware of it yesterday. I'm sure by now that you are becoming keenly aware that it is not a popular decision, one that has in effect shattered company morale and made the current staff of The Skylight question all institutional actions to come.

I will offer that I have some questions, too. I ask these questions not as a performer (I have had the great fortune of having performed at The Skylight many times in the past 15 years), but as a ticket buyer and a donor.

What has always impressed me about The Skylight has been it's desire to adhere to a strong artistic vision. This is to say, The Skylight always seemed to know who and what it was, and though I didn't agree with all the artistic choices coming down the pike, I always knew they would be interesting.

A management shake up like offers many not entirely constructive speculations because in the announcement of this new plan there has been no expression of what the forward vision of The Skylight is going to be. The elimination of the Artistic Director position in its current iteration makes one believe that the Board is throwing all of its confidence into Eric Dillner, your Managing Director, to set the artistic vision of the institution. If that is the case, there are many lingering doubts I have about what is transpiring at The Skylight.

What is Eric Dillner's vision? What is The Board's vision? What are the plans for The Skylight? How will this make The Skylight a stronger company? What are some of the exciting plans for the future? These are some questions that I would love clarity on before I consider buying another ticket to The Skylight, offering another donation, or recommending that friends and associates support your company.

I'm a big proponent of plans, but the gap in the expression of The Skylight's plan and how the current firings are the best answer to all the available options is wider than I or others in the community feel comfortable with now. As stewards of the mission of The Skylight I expect that you will all issue some kind of statement regarding your decision to support the newly orchestrated management structure. I haven't turned my back on The Skylight, but it is clear that there is much work that needs to be done on communicating how this is a long term fix that has the best intentions of the company in its interests.

I respect the difficulty these types of budget bounds decisions present. I understand change needs to be made, I'm just concerned that this is the right change.

Please offer some elucidation for us all so that we in the community who love to buy a ticket and send in our modest yearly donation to The Skylight can feel confident that there is strong visionary leadership going forward. I respectfully ask that you collectively determine and communicate that vision to the community so all of what has just currently transpired starts to make a little more sense.

With great hopes for the future of The Skylight,


Jonathan West