While Paul Jucha of the West End section of Johnstown is not a voting member of Arcadia Theater board of directors, he plays a key role in the operation of the facility as office administrator and bookkeeper.

“I’m acting as finance officer,” said Jucha, who has a long history with the theater.

“I give advice on their financial position, but I’m not a board member.”

With a background as a CPA with his own accounting practice, it has been easy for Jucha to establish a dependable, accurate accounting system for Arcadia and its box office.

“We’re fortunate to have a tremendous group of volunteers who run the box office daily and provide support for the shows,” Jucha said.

“Arcadia is one of the few theaters in western Pennsylvania to have a full volunteer force.”

Monetary value

He estimated the monetary value of Arcadia’s volunteers giving their own time to be $45,000 to $55,000 per year.

“That’s a token of their esteem,” Jucha said.

“They want to give their time to assure that Arcadia continues. Volunteers have been the mainstay from the beginning.”

Jucha said that price doesn’t include the expertise of Frank Cunsolo, who has served as chairman of the board and will continue his work as executive director.

Cunsolo said if not for Arcadia’s volunteers, the many people who have attended shows at the theater would not have what they have today.

Cunsolo remembers how good it felt to sit in a packed, renovated theater and have the crowd roar as they gave a standing ovation.

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Good years

“Like any business, it took us a good five years to get started,” Cunsolo said.

“We’ve had a good 12 years. We wouldn’t be around if people didn’t love what we’re doing.”

Cunsolo and his wife, Barbara, don’t have finances to go to expensive presenters’ conferences, but their reputation is such that they now get calls from promoters telling them about their acts.

“Frank called me a couple of months ago and asked if I could give him a hand,” Jucha said.

“Frank is a wonderful friend, but I didn’t want to do this. I agreed to a volunteer status, coming in a couple days a week.”

Jucha is working on getting Arcadia’s financial records caught up to prepare for an audit on the theater’s financial year, which ended Sept. 30.

Like all nonprofits, Arcadia is in a tight financial situation month to month, Jucha said.

While having a small base of working capital that can pay the bills, Arcadia would not be in a position to endure a large expense such as having the roof cave in.

“I’ve talked to my fellow CPAs, and this is symptomatic of all nonprofits,” Jucha said.

“Arcadia is viable financially.”

Cunsolo said ticket sales don’t pay the bills.

Sponsorships

Many board members work for area banks, defense contractors and other businesses that can provide sponsorship for Arcadia’s shows.

“We have more than a dozen shows and about 17 sponsors with more to come,” Cunsolo said.

“Sometimes a show has two sponsors.”

“Grants today are dwindling because of the economy. Years ago, we could depend on more grants. That’s why it’s so important to have participation from a variety of sponsors, and some of them are board members.”

Mixed market

Jucha said Arcadia caters to a mixed market, looking at each show to determine whether more or less people will attend.

“Our fixed expenses are 40 to 50 percent of the budget, which adds to the complexity of pricing tickets,” Jucha said.

With any bricks and mortar facility, there is a substantial amount of money built into the budget to keep it running, Jucha said.

Cunsolo estimated monthly expenses at $11,300.

“We also have to pay to meet code requirements and heating,” Jucha said.

“One of the things that make the performing arts difficult is keeping the venue available for its purpose. Some years, it can be good, for others, it’s not. Overall, we have enough to cover the bills and provide services to the audience.”

Jucha started his association with the theater in 1997 when there were no seats, lighting or speakers in the venue.

He was asked to help by Eureka Coal Heritage Foundation and untangled a financial report to the state that took four months.

He then worked with the architect to finish the building, helped write a draft of the bylaws establishing Arcadia Performing Arts Inc., established a freestanding board and set up accounting and administrative systems.

‘Baptism by fire’

“It was a baptism by fire,” Jucha said.

“Neither the architect nor I had any background. He had just finished the slope on the floor and started painting the walls. I selected fixtures for the bathrooms and the green room. We had to send the seats back twice because they didn’t have the appropriate finish.”

Close to original

Jucha and the architect also did research on the carpeting, making it as close as possible to the original, which at the time cost $100 a yard.

The stage still used sandbags to counterbalance the weight of the backdrops, and those had to be replaced with pulleys.

“There were no lights either, and I had to learn about the different kinds,” Jucha said.

“We were fortunate to find excellent people to teach us and help us work through everything. It was extremely rewarding to see it come together.”

After finalizing items with the state and obtaining a grant through the late Congressman John P. Murtha, everything fell together in time for the theater to open in October 1998.

Jucha was there another three years as Arcadia’s first executive director.

Free and clear

One of the reasons Arcadia can offer reasonably priced tickets is the fact that the theater has no mortgage to pay because of grants received when Arcadia was being restored.

“If we had a mortgage, it would not be practical to offer reasonable prices,” Jucha said.

“The grants we received made it possible to recapture history. We can use a structure that is contributing back to the community.”

Not able to get away from the performing arts, Jucha was a trumpet player in his younger days in Pittsburgh and still teaches social ballroom dancing with his wife.

“For now, I’m here to help Arcadia through the transition and streamline the process,” Jucha said.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but I can’t walk away.”

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