Every now and then I get an e-mail from a reader asking, “Jay, do you have a life?”
I wish.
But in reality, I do a lot of things off of the internet and away from my day job. One of the activities I am most passionate about is local and community theatre. In addition to seeing as many shows as I can, I act in one or two community theatre shows a year, and I serve on the board of directors at North Raleigh Arts & Creative Theatre. Not only do I get to see great acting, but I get to be a part of it and a person who enables it. It’s a unique perspective to have, and I’m glad to have it.
Unfortunately, The past few years have been devastating to community-based arts organizations everywhere. At North Raleigh Arts & Creative Theatre, or NRACT as we lovingly call it, we’ve cut everything we can to keep the show going on. When I say everything, I mean everything. We even took the drastic step of cutting our one full-time paid position this year, and our volunteers have done a great job of keeping the dream alive.
But, cutting isn’t enough. Ask any business owner and they’ll tell you that you can’t run a business just by cutting expenses. The same goes for arts oragnizations. That’s why I’m asking you all for help.
Please Donate $5 to North Raleigh Arts & Creative Theatre. If you think $5 doesn’t do much, think about this: $5 can buy a script for an actor. $5 buy four props from a dollar store. If every person who reads this blog daily donated $5, we’d raise almost $8,000. That would pay for almost 3 full theatrical productions.
If you can’t give $5, think about how you can spend an hour volunteering a community theatre in your area. Maybe you can participate in an event to support the arts. Maybe you can do some social media marketing for a local non-profit. The ways you can give back are only limited by your imagination and your willingness to get off your lazy ass.
Don’t let the arts go to waste in your community. There is value in entertainment. There is a level of learning and self-realization we can get from the arts and live theatre that we don’t get anywhere else.
Donate today. The arts need you, and you need them.
