18/07/2026
A post of extreme gratitude: We had to add pages to the program to make room to thank everyone who made this production and this season possible!
Season sponsors, show sponsors, scholarship sponsors, food sponsors, parents who showed up, not just for their own children, but for every kid at camp!
A music director who extended her stay for an entire week to make sure these kids could pull off what they pulled off today.
A school system who, at the VERY last minute, allowed us to take over their space for 2+ weeks - rearranging maintenance schedules, and all with a “whatever you need” attitude. And a Facilities Manager who allowed us to be there until sometimes 1am so we could get our work done.
A recreation department that showed up every single day of camp at 12pm with snacks for 25 people so these kids had energy to finish out the day.
Our own siblings from out of town who spent nights with us building and painting sets. Our own parents and families who went and got the raffle tickets and concessions, and who made generous donations to the show and season.
Dozens of people who shared our posts about the camp.
Theatre Macon, who said “this doesn’t do a THING to help us, but here’s a significant amount of money to get started because we also care about communities that aren’t our own”.
A founding board of locals and arts lovers who believed in us and the mission enough to give us their time and brain power graciously.
The kids who worked their bottoms off learning lines, music, blocking, choreography, and set changes - many of whom had never set foot on stage before.
And then…you literally and physically showed up tonight. I told the kids that even if only 5 people showed up tonight, we’re going to give them a great show. I set up 100 chairs thinking we’d be lucky to have 50 people there. But then you kept coming. We ran out of programs. We had to add more seats. 135 people showed up.
Our “pay what you can” ticket model was risky. We knew that ticket sales drive our budget for the next production. My corporate friends asked how I knew how to project revenue. I said “I don’t. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I believe it’s going to work.” It worked. The house was full with an enthusiastic audience for these young performers, AND we now have a seed fund for our next production.
I’m really proud. I’m proud of the kids. I’m proud of us. I’m proud of you. When I moved here from New York City people didn’t understand why Montezuma. How could someone like me choose to invest so heavily in a place like this. I will forever and always use what happened over these past two weeks as my example. This is what I’ll point to. Before I had proof of it, I thought this was going to be the case. But now I know. Thank you neighbors, friends, family, kids, community members, and everyone else who supported this and has supported us. We’re just getting started.
And when I say “we”, I mean all of us.
