Saving America’s Theatres
Some of America’s most beloved regional theatres, like North Shore Music Theatre that may have to close its doors after 55 years, are the latest victims of the economic downturn.
As you can imagine, lots of theatre folks are upset. And some have even joined the Facebook Group: Save America’s Theatres
But this problem is one that effects more than just the theatre community, or even the arts in general. It affects each and every one of you who ever even contemplated seeing a show. If the regional theatres don’t survive, the development of new theatre in this country will be severely stunted.
Not only are we handicapping ourselves now by putting lots of people out of work, but we’re also handicapping ourselves in the future.
The idea of writing letters to congresspeople was floating around the group, and I decided to write a template for people to use. Tweak it to make it your own, or just sign your name at the bottom.
Most Senators and Representatives have email addresses, but good old fashioned letters will probably get more attention. Contacting your congressperson is easy. Click here for all the information you’ll need.
Below is the template letter (about one page in Microsoft Word). You can copy and paste directly into Word (or any other program you’re using). It is in 12pt font…Between 10-12 should work fine.
Happy Letter Writing!
–Sue
_________________________________________________________________
Congressperson
Address
Address
1/13/2009
Dear {Insert name of Congressperson here},
I am writing to you today about an issue of vital importance: Saving America’s Theatres.
With a failing economy, joblessness on the rise, and a host of problems abroad, the state of our nation’s theatres may seem trivial by comparison. In reality, theatres serve many vital purposes.
The brief period of darkness in a theatre can shed light on who we are — in our families, our neighborhoods, our communities, our country, and even the world at large.
Our hopes, fears, and dreams are all illuminated, and can thus all find a voice in a dark theatre…
Besides the importance of reflection and expression, theatre provides entertainment — a means of leaving our increasingly busy and fast-paced lives for a while.
The most vital purpose our theatres serve is as a physical place for us and our neighbors to come together as a community.
With so many outlets for diversion nowadays, we’ve become so splintered in our communities — not even recognizing our neighbors because we’re so caught up in TV, movies, the internet…
Especially at a time like this, our ability to come together as a people, as a nation — that will be our saving grace.
If all of our local and regional theatres don’t get the assistance and support they need, we won’t have any physical or emotional place where everyone, from each sex and every race and religion, can come together as one.
By preserving our theatres, you are preserving our communities. You are saving so many of the jobs of your constituents now and in the future, and sustaining a vital resource — where we can all learn and grow.
Please insure the survival of America’s Theatres by protecting the current funding in place and pushing for additional funding to be allocated to theatres and the arts in general.
Thank you for your time and continued efforts to Save America’s Theatres.
Sincerely,
2 comments January 13th, 2009
