Month: September 2010

Starting A Non-Profit

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Wow. Pink Banana Theatre Co is now officially a non-profit organization; recognized under section 501(c)3 of the IRS code.

I helped with the creation of PB about 6 years ago.  I was the Theatre Program Manager at Bucketworks, and part of my job was helping groups start and manage small theatre companies.  Flash forward a few years later after I had left Bucketworks, I received a phone call I got from Juanita, Pink Banana founder and producer.  She asked me to Co-Produce the theatre company with her, and one of the accomplishments on her to do list was obtaining non-profit status.  I took her up on the offer. Because I had worked on many PB productions, including the first show Pink Banana Theatre ever produced, I was familiar with the mission of the organization as well as the style of shows.

After about two and a half years of research, paperwork, drafts, edits, new drafts, more edits, the paperwork finally began to take shape into something presentable. The first step that began the paperwork nightmare was submitting a request for an Employer Idetification Number (EIN).  With this I could then file for our Articles of Incorporation as a Nonstock Corporation. I worked with the Board of Directors to adopt by-laws, a dissolution agreement, and the vision statement of the company.  Finally, everything was mailed along with all the official forms.

It was a huge undertaking, but I learned a great deal and certainly feel the satisfaction of accomplishment!

Time for an Upgrade

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I thought it was about time I made some major changes to this web site. Not just in the way it looks, but what I want to actually accomplish with it. The last major update I made, content – not just the way it looks, was almost two years ago.  Pretty pathetic for a self-proclaimed geek.

Don’t get me wrong, I do plenty of web site updating: I am in charge of no fewer than 6 sites, and own almost a dozen different domains for one passion or another.  It gets to the point when your hobbies turn into work, so the last thing I wanted to do was maintain an active website for myself.  I finally decided to make it fun again.

Matt sits at a table.
Beer goes great with Creativity!

Normally, I would design and code a site from the ground up, designing and maintaining every element so it was just right.  This is good for big projects like my job and the Milwaukee Comedy scene, bad for something like “my life”. For this site, that means never finishing, only starting. Because of this, I have thrown out the old model for my personal website, and moved to what you see here.  A template based blog.

I never thought I would go this route, but it makes me happy so far.  The new look is up and running, and I can focus on getting into the habit of posting every few days. So if you’re still reading this, you either stumbled upon it in the archives somehow and are drunkenly laughing with your friends, or want to know what’s up, so here is what you can expect:

  • More updates than last major redesign – I think I updated the site 3 or 4 times in more than two years. If I can’t beat that, I shouldn’t have a web site. Seriously.
  • Add old stuff – Over the next few days, I’ll add some old postings to the archives. Not everything, but some fun pictures, projects and such from past web sites.
  • It’s not all about me – Part of the reason people visit a site is to find stuff they like. Most people really don’t give a shit about my resumé or how many shows I worked on (which was the original purpose of mattkemple.com way back in 2002), so I’ll be writing about stuff I think is cool: Comedy, gadgets, theatre and the arts, technology, happenings in the Milwaukee area and other stuff.
  • I’ve learned to share – I find a lot of crazy stuff I think is funny or interesting. I’ll post stuff and you can read it, or don’t. You find something you think I’ll like? Tell me about it.
  • Still totally about me – Deep down inside I have this site for me. Sometimes I see something that makes me laugh so hard I want to be able to click on it anytime I want. Also, I forget easily so It’s nice to find it right away.  I like to remember the projects and productions I’ve been involved in, because they are what help create today’s productions and projects.

Enjoy!