Bryan Rives took over as director of Sangamon Auditorium in October 2017 and has been busy for the past six months reimagining the 40-year-old, 2,005-seat venue both physically and conceptually. His plans include a revamped approach to booking and some long-overdue renovations as well as an upcoming overall rebranding.
“It’s been going fantastic,” said Rives during a recent conversation in his office in the Public Affairs Center on the campus of University of Illinois Springfield, which also houses the auditorium. “The staff here is wonderful, the university administration is very supportive. They are definitely looking for us to build on the past success and to present a wide range of shows.”
Increased attendance and more fiscal responsibility are high on his list of priorities. “We need to focus on presenting shows that will attract a large audience – at our capacity, it’s not a good feeling for the performing artists, or for the audience, when only 300 people come for the show.” He explained that there is a large amount of financial risk every time the auditorium presents a show. “Jazz at Lincoln Center and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater were both incredible performances with high artistic quality,” he said, “and I’m glad they were presented here. But each of them came at a financial loss of about $25,000. That’s two shows, a total of maybe four hours of entertainment, that ended up costing the university $50,000.”
The story was reported by the Illinois Times on April 5, 2018.
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