Burbank Community Theater faces its own drama

Amid leadership tensions, Burbank Community Theater quietly canceled its December performance of “Annie Get Your Gun,” shortly after conducting open casting calls for the production last month.

The production still shows up in the ticket purchasing website Brown Paper Tickets, though it says ticket sales have ended, and the show has been removed from the theater group’s website calendar.

In only its second year, the nonprofit is going through a shake-up on its board of directors, according to a complaint apparently filed with the California Attorney General’s Office alleging the group’s president has violated the organization’s bylaws, misappropriated funds and retaliated against board members who raised concerns about her actions.

Kristin Ford, a spokeswoman for the state’s top attorney, said complaints are confidential and the office cannot confirm or deny any potential investigations, but a copy of the complaint was provided to the Burbank Leader by someone with knowledge of the events who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.

At a meeting last month, during which the board decided to cancel “Annie Get Your Gun,” two of the group’s board members claimed that Julia Swanwick, the theater’s founder and president, had spent at least $900 on payments on the organization’s production of “Into the Woods” without approval of the board and in violation of the nonprofit’s compensation policy.

Board member Bryan Snodgrass, the group’s education chair, sought to remove Swanwick from the organization over the allegations of “potentially unlawful payment,” according to the complaint. Board members and all but the director and music director are unpaid volunteers, it states.

“Swanwick has controlled the funds of [Burbank Community Theater] and has made some significant expenditures without board approval, and in at least three cases, after a board vote not to make payments,” it claims. “This is a breach of her fiduciary duties.”

A special board meeting to consider the removal was scheduled for Sept. 23, according to the complaint. Instead, Swanwick sought at that meeting to oust Snodgrass and a second board member, Jackie Brenneman, the compliance chair, which the complaint alleges was a form of whistleblower retaliation.

In addition, instead of considering Swanwick’s removal, said Ryan Luevano, who attended the meeting, the board chose to use its insurance money to hire an attorney to evaluate the evidence presented against her. Luevano was the music director for “Annie Get Your Gun,” as well as other Burbank Community Theater shows.

Swanwick founded the Burbank Community Theater in 2013 and raised nearly $8,000 in less than two months that before putting on the first production in December of that year — the musical “Annie.” Last year, the group put on “The Sound of Music” in June and “Into the Woods” in December.

The organization raised around $16,800 in revenue its first year, according to tax returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service, and spent roughly $10,000 on its productions and other services that year. Last year, the organization’s revenue was more than $60,000, with nearly $37,000 spent on the two productions.

According to the complaint, “Into the Woods” lost money, but Swanwick paid the show’s director an additional $500 for his set design work, which was supposed to be done without additional payment, and paid out two $200 “bonuses” to the costume designer and hair and makeup designer.

The complaint notes that Swanwick had stated in a meeting last June that “anything over $25 has to be voted on according to board rules,” but she did not seek board approval for these payments to the “Into the Woods” crew, which it said is part of a pattern of making decisions without consulting the board.

“Annie Get Your Gun” was scheduled for Dec. 18-20 at the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn, with Snodgrass slated to direct. The organization had conducted open call auditions in September, following which, according to the complaint, Swanwick sought to make decisions that were exclusively the director’s choice.

In particular, she sought to block certain cast and crew from participating in the theater group’s productions without notifying them because they “wouldn’t find out anyway,” the complaint alleges. She later invited one of the blocked crew members to participate “in a significant way” in this year’s production without discussing or explaining her choice to the board.

But Luevano said after call-backs, Swanwick objected to Brenneman being cast as Annie Oakley, claiming without factual evidence, he said, that she was a less than exemplary board member. Luevano said the production team told Swanwick that was an unacceptable reason for denying her participation.

When reached for comment on Friday, Swanwick said she was about to step into a meeting at work.

“Now’s not a good time for that,” she said, adding that she would be available later in the day, though she did not respond to repeated phone calls and emails.