Show Your Support
From our board member, Jerry Stiller:
Dear Theatre Supporters,
I don't have to tell you that these are challenging times. But imagine, if you will, what it is like to be a young artist - struggling to earn money waiting tables by day, and then trying to put on a show that will sell enough tickets to break even! All this, plus paying more than $100,000 in student loans.
That is why I am writing to you today - to ask you to make a generous donation to A.R.T./New York. Because when things get tough, our theatres turn to them for leadership, funding, loans, office and rehearsal space, and assistance of all kinds.
Anne and I joined the board of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York - the service and advocacy organization for New York City's 250 not-for-profit theatres - because we know it makes a big difference to New York City's theatre companies, and the artists and audiences they serve. If only there had been an A.R.T./New York in the early days - a place to go for cash flow loans to help get the show up, for below-market office and rehearsal spaces, and for grant programs serving even the tiniest theatres.
Anne and I first became involved with A.R.T./New York back during the recession of the late 1980s, when we made a radio commercial promoting "Passport to Off Broadway," an industry-wide visibility campaign for New York City's not-for-profit theatres. Audience members took advantage of the two-for-one ticket offers and tried all sorts of theatres they hadn't known about before. And one MTA bus driver, who had never been to an Off Broadway production, bought tickets and loved the show! Now that's service!
One of the things that has made me proudest of A.R.T./New York, especially now, is the one-on-one training it gives to theatres. In fact, thanks to this training, New York City's not-for-profit theatres were better prepared to adapt when last year's fiscal crisis hit. Every day, the paper was full of arts groups folding all over the country, but not one theatre in New York City shut down because of the economy.
But we're not resting on our laurels. After extensive study, A.R.T./New York realized that its members can no longer operate as they have for the past decade. So we developed a plan. And last month, A.R.T./New York was one of only 18 groups chosen to receive funding from the Rockefeller Foundation's prestigious New York City Cultural Innovation Program. Our plan: to rethink the Off and Off Off Broadway producing model, so that its members can not only survive, but thrive, well into the 21st Century.
We are all adjusting to hard times. And I know that for every letter like this, you have 10 or more asking for money. But just remember this: every dollar you give to A.R.T./New York is a dollar that is helping New York City's 250+ not-for-profit theatres. Every dollar you give to A.R.T./New York helps ensure that New York City continues to be the place where young artists come (like Anne and I did) to do their art.
Most importantly, every dollar you give to A.R.T./New York is an investment in the future of the American Theatre since most of their members are small, young companies with annual operating budgets below $250,000. Remember, New York City without its young, aspiring theatre artists is like.....well, you fill in the blank. I don't want to offend anybody.
Thank you!
Yours,
Jerry Stiller
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If you have any questions about how you can support A.R.T./New York, please contact Director of Development, Jennie Miller at 212-244-6667 x231 or via email at .
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