SCR’s Budget for 2000-01 Increases 4%

South Coast Repertory has announced it will run on an $8.3-million budget in the coming 2000-01 season, of which $2 million is expected to be raised through donations.

The new budget is nearly a 4% increase over the past season’s spending total of $8 million. SCR raised $1.9 million in 1999-2000. The Costa Mesa theater is Orange County’s largest and most prominent stage company.

The recently concluded season included what theater officials said were the two most expensive productions in SCR history. “The Hollow Lands,” an epic-scale drama by Howard Korder, and an original musical, “The Education of Randy Newman,” cost about $750,000 each. None of the coming season’s shows figures to match those expenses.

Paul Folino was elected president of SCR’s 42-member board at the theater’s July 26 annual meeting. He is president and chief executive of Emulex Corp.

Other officers for the coming season are John Kensey, president of Avalon Capital Corp., who will be vice president, advancement; lawyer Veronica Gray, vice president, development; Pamela Reis, a retired banking professional, vice president, finance; and lawyer Elaine J. Weinberg, vice president, community relations.