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Dear Friends,
“I was only 12 years old when I stumbled upon Arena Civic Theatre. I found a voice, founda place where I learned to sing in public for
the first time and felt unstoppable. I never leftthe theater after that. It was imbedded in my soul.” These are the words of Elizabeth Perkins,who eventually left
her home in Shelburne Falls and has starred in such movies as Big,Avalon, The
Doctor, Must Love Dogs, and The Flintstones and Emmy-nominated for her supporting role as Celia Hodes in Showtime’s Weeds.
In
2010 Arena Civic Theatre will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary season. While most of us adults or kids won’t be starring in movies or television
shows like our most famous alumnus Elizabeth, her words show the incredible value that live theater and ACT can havein our lives. Theater is and can be imbedded
into the souls of all of its participants – onstage,offstage, and in front of the stage as our audience. Its value is priceless.
Forty years of exceptional excellence is a long run and we could not have done it withoutyour support. This is a critical time in the
life of ACT. Your support is more crucial thanever. Today many families, individuals, and communities are facing a difficult economic environment. Schools have reduced or eliminated
arts programs, including theater.
But forthose who have helped us in the past and to our new friends we ask
that you find a way to support
Franklin County’s longest running community theater. ACT is more than a community of actors, directors, designers, carpenters, painters, andvolunteers. When you come to one of our shows
you become part of our community becauseyou experience the immediacy that only live theater provides.
Without your help ourstage will go dark. So please consider a donation. Most importantly with school arts programs in jeopardy we have a vital role as a creative outlet for all children who, like the 12 year
old Elizabeth Perkins, want to have the opportunity to feel the warmth of the stage lights on their faces and the warmth of new friends.
Just some of the ACT shows that have made us laugh, cry, and sing along with: The Kingand I, The Wizard of Oz, The
Diary of Anne Frank, Arsenic
and Old Lace, Kindertransport,The Miracle Worker, Fiddler on the Roof, The Music Lesson, The
Foreigner, The Sound
of Music, and Inherit the Wind. Community
is a wonderful word. Please become part of our community. For a tax-deductibledonation of $35 or more you will receive two tickets to our spring 2010 production of To Kill a Mockingbird.
With warmest gratitude, Robert Freedman Robert
Freedman Board of Directors
Official Appeal Letter 2010 (opens in pdf file)
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