One of the many challenges we’ve faced this fall was the unexpected loss of funding for our education outreach programs connected to The Tempest and 1984. Long story short: it actually costs us money to perform weekday matinees for middle and high school audiences even if every student pays for their ticket due to cost caps set by the county ($7.50 for middle school, $10.50 for high school). We also work with a number of schools who have student populations unable to afford those rates and so we admit them for free. With As You Like it we gave away almost 500 tickets this way. Finally, the pre- and post-performance classroom outreaches that we offer, sending artists directly to the school to work with even more students, require additional funds that the schools are also not in a position to pay for.
The only way to offer in-class outreaches, and professional theater of this quality, to our schools is by finding businesses, individuals, or organizations who believe in making these experiences accessible.
We are now offering an opportunity to get involved with our work via community sponsorships. We are very thankful for Hal Freedman and Willi Rudowsky for first stepping up as our community sponsors for 1984. Susana and Yann Weymouth have stepped up as community sponsors for The Tempest, joining Healthy Agile LLC from the business community. We still have one more sponsorship slot remaining for The Tempest to ensure we can do all we set out to do with the production, impacting up to 1,200 students at the theater and four times that amount directly in the classroom. This opportunity is available for a tax-deductible donation of $1,750.
A community sponsor for any show is credited on all materials created and distributed: ads, posters, postcards, the press release, the window display, the study guides, and so on. They will also be thanked in our curtain speech and in the program at all performances, and will of course receive complimentary tickets and invitations to all all cast functions like our opening night cast party at Barrymore Hotel’s Waterworks Bar & Grill.
I would love to talk to you about this great opportunity to make this educational program possible, allowing us to hopefully make a difference in up to 5,000 young people’s lives. Email me through this post, reach out over social media, or call me in the office at 813.476.7378.Ideally we would have this sponsor in place no later than Dec. 31 so that we can be sure to get them properly credited on everything.
David M. Jenkins, PhD
Producing Artistic Director
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