Mad Cow Theatre Receives Deadline To Pay Its Artists and Staff Members

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Mad Cow Theatre was given a strict deadline of December 1st to pay its actors and those they owe money to. This needs to be accomplished before they receive the $75,000 grant from Orange County.

The county's Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Council established the deadline at a meeting this past Thursday. Its recommendation is not official until approved by county commissioners, who will likely consider it later in November.

The recommendation also requires Mad Cow Theatre to explain how it plans to deal with its long-term debt moving forward. Theater officials said that they are already working on meeting the conditions. This is the theater's second strike in a three strike scenario.

According to the article, Mad Cow's debts was sparked by social-media posts from people who had not been paid. Since 2006, the county has given Mad Cow about $1 million. Brian McDowell, president of Mad Cow's board of directors, said the theater still owes about $16,600 in unpaid wages.

Thomas Chatmon, executive director of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency says, "We are now working on a concept that would relieve Mad Cow of the requirement to satisfy that debt."

The theater laid out other plans to bolster its finances, such as redefining the role of executive director MiTzi Maxwell. The former secretary and treasurer of the board, she has left those previous posts and is no longer a voting member. She will focus on production instead.

Mad Cow will also get outside help. The Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership at Rollins College will assess its organizational structure. Three retired business executives affiliated from SCORE, a nonprofit association supported by the U.S. Small Business Association, will serve as advisers. Also, the theater said a donor was helping establish a cash-reserve fund.

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