A few nights before Hurricane Rita hit in 2005, a sold-out crowd enjoyed Theatre Baton Rouge’s opening night performance of A Chorus Line.
After the opening performance, Keith Dixon, a passionate executive director who was just in his second season, would have to switch to crisis management.
Production costs skyrocketed. Volunteers were living without utilities during that summer, with hurricanes Katrina and Rita hitting the Gulf Coast.
It was a time of uncertainty for many, including this local theater organization.
However, by the time its production of It’s a Wonderful Life came along at Christmas, theater had become a refuge for the community. The classic play sold out its run. Performances had to be added on the back end.
“I feel like we demonstrated the power that theater can have within a community,” Dixon says. “We were relevant to the community.”
That relevance was something Dixon hadn’t felt until 2005, the company’s 60th anniversary season.
“There’s that saying, ‘When life gives you lemons …,'” he says. “Well, we have learned very well how to make lemonade.”
For a decade, Dixon has been at the helm at Theatre Baton Rouge. In February, the nonprofit announced he was stepping down. This summer, he is moving to Spokane, Wash., where he has been named the new artistic director for the Spokane Civic Theatre. A search committee within Theatre Baton Rouge is currently working to find its next leader.
The departure is bittersweet for Dixon. Though the nonprofit isn’t without its challenges in the Capital City, Dixon says the timing was right to make a change for himself.
“It’s not so much that I was looking to leave,” he says. “It was just time for a shift for me. Artistically, it’s time for a new canvas. I’ve painted a beautiful picture here. It’s time to paint another one.”
When Dixon started as executive director, he quickly learned the value of communicating his passion for theater to potential sponsors and audience members. Theater is never an easy sell, he says.
“People see the finished product, and they often don’t realize the hours and planning that go into that one show before it even hits the stage,” he says. “I think a lot of commercial business people have a hard time relating to the business of theater sometimes because it is a labor-intensive industry, yet its product is so subjective.”
In Dixon’s early days here, he learned how to balance the artistic side of Theatre Baton Rouge with the business side as well as fostering relationships within the city. He figured out that statistics were the way to get business professionals to understand and support the nonprofit.
“We take a product, the show, we build a place to sell it, the set, costumes and all the other physical aspects of the production. We train a staff to sell the products, the actors, and we do it when we say we’re going to open at or below our budget,” he says. “We do that eight to 10 times a year. With the exception of acts of God, we have a 100% track record of hitting our target opening date. I challenge you to show me a business out there that has that track record.”
While honing those tactics, Dixon also discovered his affinity for working with volunteers on all the theater’s productions. He says the word amateur shouldn’t be considered something negative, but a badge of honor. Part of the joy of working with volunteers comes from seeing how cast members discover their characters’ motivations.
“With volunteers, that a-ha moment has so much more satisfaction for the actor as well as me,” he says. “I’m watching their growth. They learn about themselves and become a part of something that is greater than themselves. The fun part is I’m working with varying skill levels. Some have never stepped foot on stage. I realized there is great joy in getting all these people to the same place for that one show.”
When Dixon takes his final bow June 6 after Theatre Baton Rouge’s opening night performance of Annie, you can expect a wave of emotions. Right now, he says it’s hard to quantify all the work that’s gone into his 10 years as executive director.
“There are a lot of memories,” he says. “They are too numerous to go through. When I came here, I just wanted this to be a good theater. As much as I get the sense that I’ve had an impact on people’s lives, the people in this place have had an impact on me. For all the good and hard times that go along with living life and running a business, I wouldn’t change anything.”
In the midst of this comment, he gets caught up in the moment. He looks off in the distance for a second, collecting himself.
“I can say in all certainty that this is a very special place,” he says. “This is a jewel. It is special enough that when I made a decision to start looking for other opportunities, I wasn’t looking for another job. I needed to look for something special, because this was special. This place has set the bar very high for me.”
