(Raleigh, N.C.) – The show will go on at North Carolina’s officially designated community theater, with a little help from State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, and the Department of State Treasurer’s (DST) Unclaimed Property Division (UPD).
The Thalian Association Community Theatre, which traces its rich artistic roots back nearly two and a half centuries but has been financially affected this year by the COVID-19 pandemic, was presented with a $3,000 check by Treasurer Folwell on Thursday, Dec. 17.
“I am pleased to be able to help The Thalian Association Community Theatre, which has been a dynamic part of the arts scene in the Cape Fear region since 1788,” Treasurer Folwell said.
“Many local governments, businesses, charities and individuals have been suffering during this pandemic,” Treasurer Folwell said. “We are in the check delivery business, and this money will be helpful to continue the important role of providing arts education and materials to teachers and students, as well as maintaining cultural offerings for the community.”
While reviewing records, UPD staff identified the $3,000 in unclaimed assets that belong to the Thalian Association. There are approximately 17 million properties in the UPD database valued at roughly $919 million. By law, DST safeguards the money, uncashed checks, forgotten bank accounts, utility deposits, stocks, bonds, and personal property from abandoned safety deposit boxes until the owner claims it.
The N.C. General Assembly named the nonprofit organization the official community theater of North Carolina in 2007. In addition to arts education, youth theater and community events, it produces five major productions annually on the Main Stage at historic Thalian Hall.
“This is such a godsend for us,” said Susan Habas, Thalian Association executive director. “We’ll be using the funds to support some of our smaller-scale activities and continuing our arts education mission.” That includes making videos of youth theater presentations that feature cast members ranging from 7 years old to high school age.
Restrictions on indoor gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic have taken a toll on the organization.
“Although the theater is dark, we have ongoing expenses that have to be met — staff, storage, insurance, business expenses,” Habas said. “Obviously we can’t do our large community theater productions with production costs of $50,000 to $60,000.” That cut off a main funding stream of live performance tickets that averaged 150 to 160 sales per show.
“When we were faced with this last summer we decided the best thing we could do is film everything,” Habas said. The youth theater presentations are produced using best practices and safety precautions.
So even though schools aren’t sending students on field trips to the theater, videos of the youth theater shows are provided for classroom use, and the teacher resource materials align with state standards for arts education, Habas said.
To check the UPD database to determine if you, family members or friends have money waiting for you go to NCCash.com and follow the simple instructions that are provided on the website.