03/26/2024
Last week someone said to me, with a tone of disbelief in their voice, "wow, you seem really altruistic with all the free stuff you do, like donating your costumes and sets to other people, attending high school shows and running that free arts program."
I looked them dead in the eye and said, "I don't know how altruistic it is. Altruism is when you do something for selfless reasons. I do all I do for very selfish reasons. When I was a kid, my military family could not afford to send me to these kinds of programs. So, I started a theatre company in my back yard (true story) with my next door neighbors, The Roaches, and we did original shows for our neighbors making sets out of cardboard boxes we gathered - selling tickets for 25 cents a ticket. What I do now seems a bit impossible to kids in a social media world, so my lesson to kids I work with now is FACE TO FACE IS MAGIC for building community, and NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE if you do one impossible thing a day."
Back when I was a kid, people who had the luxury of having enough, volunteered their time to make life better for other people. I learned from Miss Susan, Miss Linda and Mr. David (the hippies up the street) that if we all work together, we can do impossible things. They also shared a lot of music with me when I was a kid.
I tell you this story, because right now I am trying to raise $5000 for my birthday which will support The Arts Bubble summer show. Help me do this impossible thing! This year, I would love it if you directly support The Arts Bubble project at Tri County Community Network for my birthday. If you use THIS link to do it, unlike funds raised with FB birthday giving, those funds IMMEDIATELY go to the organization we are supporting AND they go directly to the project. https://tcnetwork.org/donate-arts-bubble-pottstown/
The project has for the last four years done a FREE summer musical to support teens that cannot afford to pay hefty fees to do a summer show. The teens are given leadership roles (marketing, music directing, choreography, assistant directing, fundraising) and taught HOW to build their own theatre programs so that their legacy continues when they move to new areas. We pay three staff members travel stipends: the tech director, the music director and the artistic director. We also give leadership scholarships to students heading off to college.
In addition, this year, Steve Barrera and I are starting a scholarship fund at The Arts Bubble, which will support Arts Bubble scholarships so that our kids can do the 2024 summer teen and bridge shows at the Steel River Playhouse (where I worked for five years after merging Vagabond Acting Troupe with their education department). We have always worked our schedule to make it possible for our kids to do both our free show AND the SRP shows - but this year, we're working to make it financially possible for our kids to do both shows as well. PLEASE consider supporting this effort by making your donation here: https://tcnetwork.org/donate-arts-bubble-pottstown/
Your funds will support fees associated with performance space rental, royalties and rights, costumes and sets and pay travel stipends. In addition, you'll allow us to support scholarships for kids to do shows at other theatres. We also offer our tickets to our community shows FOR FREE and simply ask for donations from those who can afford it. Our goal is to provide access to live theatre for anyone who wants it.
Here's more honesty than you probably want to hear. This year I am only going to make about $15,000 total annual income unless I can find a "real job" (subbing is not a lucrative field), but when I work for the Arts Bubble, I use my part of the travel stipend (usually around $3000 because I drive a lot) to support my other efforts to support our region's theatre kids. I use that money to pay for tickets to see kid and teen shows, fund the gas to get me to those shows, and to make donations to programs that are in need. I also started The Prop and Costume Swap of Eastern PA as a way for theatre organizations to keep things out of landfills and prop share across the community.
Finally, Arts Bubble is always looking for performance space! Special thanks to Pottsgrove High School, The Hill School and Trinity Reformed Church for providing us with rehearsal and performance space in the past, but sometimes their space is rented by others. If you have a large space in the Pottstown region that could be a home to our performances, we'd love to hear from you at [email protected]
I would love it if my legacy in life was making sure there is live theatre in the future by training our youth to get off social media and make their own live arts programs. Please help me to achieve that goal with your financial support. https://tcnetwork.org/donate-arts-bubble-pottstown/
The Arts Bubble 19464 is an initiative formed by a group of Pottstown and Pottsgrove students who are excited to combine their talents following their performances at their respective schools…
