<<DONATE ONLINE>>
May 14, 2008
Dear Loyal Gift Supporter:
Today, we stand at an unprecedented moment in the history of The Gift.
We must close our current hit production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot on May 18 th in order for our next production to open. However, several of Chicago's top theatres have expressed interest in having Judas grace their stages. One such company is the Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens where, six years ago, The Gift exploded onto the Chicago theatre scene with daring productions of The Countess , Language of Angels, and The Pavilion.
I am ecstatic to announce that our Jeff Recommended production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot will be moving to the Victory Gardens Greenhouse Mainstage in June. But to do that, we must also nurture the opening of our next show, the Pulitzer Prize-winning W;t . Such an endeavor is not cheap; higher Actors Equity contracts due to Victory Gardens being a bigger theatre, weekly rental at two theatres, the hiring of a publicist and advertisement costs places us in a position where we have set a goal to raise $25,000 by May 29 th to ensure that both productions receive the attention they deserve.
Therefore, armed with the belief that Judas' s message of love—wrapped in gorgeous, irreverent, and often hysterical writing—will catch a fire at Victory Gardens, we embark into the largest, most ambitious fundraising effort in the history of The Gift.
I am asking you to believe in us today. To believe that Judas will be the must-see event of the summer, to believe that we will sell out the Victory Gardens Mainstage, that careers will be launched from this production, and that our message of love will rise to the top in these times of fear. And I am asking you to believe in your ability to ensure that a new, larger audience can experience The Last Days of Judas Iscariot .
For six years, The Gift has produced plays we felt were urgent and important, plays that we loved, and we have never played it safe . Judas is no different. An irreverent and often vulgar play about Catholicism would not be most company's first choice for the untested, largely Catholic waters of Jefferson Park. But we chose it. And we did it. And look where we are.
I ask you today to propel this company and production into a bright future.
The time is now. I ask you to believe today.
It's that simple: Believe.
Yours very truly,
Michael Patrick Thornton
Artistic Director
The Gift Theatre Company
|
