Brilliant and Resilient

Contributed by Cyndy Marion 


2012 was a year in theater of being resilient, resourceful and affordable. It was a year of small theaters pulling together more than ever and pooling their resources via co-productions, sharing space, sharing resources, sharing talent and ideas. It was the year of the LITFund—a brilliant idea from The League of Independent Theatres, where Off-Off-Broadway theaters donate a small portion of their ticket sales (5 cents a ticket) in order to generate a theater reserve fund accessible to all member theaters. It was the year that small theaters had to find ways of keeping rehearsals and shows going in spite of the setbacks of Hurricane Sandy and many even rallied to the cause of those in need by hosting fundraisers and events to benefit those who lost their homes. It was that year that the new Signature Theater began offering subsidized $25 tickets allowing many who normally could not afford to attend Off-Broadway productions to do so. I hope that this becomes a trend with other theaters—and that more patrons will step forward and provide the funding needed in order to make this happen.

Theater should not only be about big stars and making money, it should be about creating community—and in order for this to happen, theater needs to be accessible to everyone in the community. Thank you to Signature for leading the charge--hopefully other theaters will follow suit. In times of crisis, Off-Off-Broadway artists rise to the challenge—we are resilient, resourceful and committed to our mission of making theater. We are ready for whatever comes our way and also ready to help those around us.