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| Don't Let This Happen To Boston's Fringe Theater Companies! |
It would not be a proper Blog piece in The White Rhino Report without a bad pun or two, so here we go. Let's go with the gym and parking lot motifs. Those of us who love and support the Boston theater scene must put our heads and hearts together, do the heavy lifting and work out a way to find a new home or homes for these theater companies listed below. We need to help find them a place to park themselves, their props and costumes and their audience's butts.
Please reach out individually to leaders of the theater companies listed below and offer your blood, sweat, tears and dollars to find a creative solution. Let's help raise the curtain on a new era of theater possibilities in this great city!
Here is Mikey's message:
"I write you today with a very heavy heart.
The Factory Theatre has been told to close its doors on
10/31/14 to make way for a gym and an enclosed parking lot. This displaces so
many young companies such as: Happy Medium Theatre, Heart & Dagger,
Sleeping Weazel, Fresh Ink Theatre, Maiden Phoenix, Science Fiction Theatre,
among others.
As the Artistic Director of a fringe theatre group, I am
crushed. I am heartbroken. The Factory has afforded so much to the arts in
Boston, and to lose it is nothing short of soul-crushing. We, as fringe theatre
artists, have been dealt a huge blow, but hopefully not a TKO. That is, until
we can find a new home because, in short, we're homeless.
My hopes in writing this email is to get something out there
to the public. You are the premiere reviewers for the Boston scene, and we need
some help getting this recognized by folks who might not know how much this
hurts the arts in our community. If you do the math, it is quite possible that
dozens of: artists will not be showcased onstage this next year; playwrights will
not be produced; new works will not be seen; designers will be without work,
etc.
Thank you for your time in reading this. I hope to hear from
you.
Best,
Mikey DiLoreto
Artistic Director
Happy Medium Theatre"
Thank you very much for your thoughtful note, Al. I think it's important to also say that, in raising awareness of what this will do to the community, we should offer up a call to action. Let's pressure the owners at the Piano Craft Guild into giving us until at least this time next year in the space. This will give all the displaced companies more time to find new homes and raise the more money we'll need to pay for these new homes.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being such a friend to HMT and the other companies in Boston, Al. You are a true asset to the fringe community.
Audrey