A LETTER FROM THE BATON ROUGE LITTLE THEATRE
From The American Association of Community Theatre (AACT) and Texas
Nonprofit Theatres (TNT):
There are a number of arts focused efforts underway to aid the areas
struck by Katrina. SETC is setting up on their website (www.setc.org) a
way for theatres to donate items and for effected theatres to say what
they need. AACT (www.aact.org) and TNT (www.texastheatres.org) have
offered links from their sites to increase the participation beyond
SETC. Americans for the Arts is working on a bulletin board for sharing
information.
Communication with the effected areas is very difficult. Funds for
contributions to be distributed to arts organizations and artists are
also being set up. Following this is a message from the Baton Rouge
Little Theater about what it is doing.
We expect there will be theatres totally gone or starting over from
scratch. There may be communities that need theatre brought to them,
until they can get their lives and then their theatres back together.
Actually, that need may be there right now as thousands of displaced
people sit in shelters with nothing to do but worry.
Please forward to AACT and TNT any other efforts you hear about or
ideas you have. Thanks.
*******************************************************
From Baton Rouge Little Theatre
To Our Colleagues in the Theatre Community:
I am writing from the Baton Rouge Little Theater, the oldest
volunteer-based theatre in south Louisiana. I am hoping you can pass on
information regarding an arts-related unified disaster relief effort.
As the reports from New Orleans continue, it is clear that South
Louisiana faces a dire situation. Here in Baton Rouge, we are expecting
our population to double in the next few days as more evacuees and
displaced citizens are relocated here.
Currently, BRLT is working on a number of options to service the
refugees in Baton Rouge and further participate in the disaster relief
efforts. Therefore, we would like to appeal to our fellow arts
organizations across the country to participate at any level possible.
We are asking that organizations consider ways to solicit hurricane
relief donations.
Some of the ways that they might participate is by placing a donation
jar in their lobby, including an insert or ad in the program, including
a link on their website or possibly donating the proceeds of a special
performance. There are a variety of funds to which the proceeds can be
donated including:
The American Red Cross (www.redcross.org)
The Hurricane Katrina Displaced Residents Fund or the Hurricane Katrina
New Orleans Recovery Fund (both of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation -
www.braf.org)
The Salvation Army (www.redshield.org)
We are certainly not asking that any organization jeopardize their own
funding efforts, but any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Over
the weekend we will be setting-up a link on our website (www.brlt.org)
which will provide additional information, links and downloads.
Swine Palace Productions (www.swinepalace.org), the professional
theatre affiliated with the LSU Department of Theatre, is also leading
this effort; and we are working with them during this time of need.
For the specific arts related issues, the Louisiana Division of the
Arts (www.crt.la.state.us), in conjunction with the New Orleans Arts
Council and the Louisiana Partnership for the Arts, are working
together to provide assistance specifically to artists and arts
organizations. These groups are working with the Southern Arts
Federation in Atlanta to provide assistance to the displaced artists
from the region.
Â
On a more personal note: daily I am reminded of 9/11 and one of the
most poignant and uplifting moments for me, personally, in the wake of
that tragedy. It happened while I was standing in Times Square at the
end of Sept. 2001. The line at the TKTS discount ticket booth was as
long as ever, and there were lines at every Broadway Box Office.
People needed a diversion, they longed for an escape, and many found
that escape for a few hours in a dark theatre.Â
My wife, Kelly, and I have both been questioning the need for the arts
in the wake of this unprecedented tragedy, and we've come to realize
that yes, we have a mission and a responsibility in this most desperate
of times. We must continue our workâ"for ourselves and our community.Â
We (Baton Rouge Little Theater) are continuing with our rehearsals for
A Chorus Line, which opens in three weeks. We've created a safe and
welcoming atmosphere for our cast, many of whom still don't have
electricity. They come to rehearsals ready and willing to learn. We
have had our best rehearsals thus far over the last few nights.
Many thanks to Michael Gormanâ"our guest choreographer â" whose home is
Denver. He has handled all of this insanity with grace and poise. These
few hours of rehearsal a night have done more for our spirits than
anything else over the last week. In three weeks we will do for Baton
Rouge what Broadway was able to do for NYC: we will provide a few hours
of escape and sanctuary from the chaos that is our current existence.
That is our mission, our responsibility. I'm reminded of the famous
lyric from Gypsy, "Let me entertain youâ¦"Â
That we shall do!
Many thanks for all your efforts. I've been in touch with quite a few
of you already, and I know you are planning things in on your own,
which is absolutely wonderful. The people of Louisiana and the Gulf
Coast region cannot thank you enough.
Keith Dixon
Managing Artistic Director
Baton Rouge Little Theater
7155 Florida Blvd.
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
(225) 924-6496
(225)924-9972 Fax
New Emergency Fund
Americans for the Arts Offers Aid for Disasters
By Roger Armbrust
Hurricane Katrina's devastating impact on the Gulf Coast's arts community has led the nonprofit organization Americans for the Arts to establish a new emergency relief fund.
The national arts advocacy group, based in Washington, D.C., and New York City, describes its new creation as "a permanent fund developed to provide timely financial assistance to victims of a major disaster for the purpose of helping them rebuild the arts in their community."
Americans for the Arts kicked off the fund with $100,000 and is overseeing donations. Robert L. Lynch, the organization's president and CEO, said on Monday that outside donors had so far contributed close to $50,000 more.
"We're not really soliciting for donors," Lynch said. "We're responding to a number of members or individuals who wanted to direct their money and have somebody they trust who could handle it for them. So far there have been just under 50 donors who want to do something."
In a written statement last week, Lynch provided a rationale for the fund, saying, "In light of the unprecedented destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, an emergency relief fund makes sense. The arts are a fundamental component in building vibrant and economically viable communities and our hope is that this permanent funding will help in rebuilding them as well."
The press release also pointed to the significance of the arts to the ravaged states: "The Gulf Coast region is an area rich in culture, with arts businesses numbering more than 24,000 and employing more than 108,000 in the federally designated disaster areas in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida."
Lynch said Monday that his organization was working to track down its members in the affected areas.
"So far we've heard from most of them," he said, estimating the number at about 150, including local arts agencies, commissions, and funds. "These are the organizations that help organizations like theatres and dance companies. We've also been in touch with the state arts agencies, and we had our website set up so people could share information."
Qualifying and Applying
To qualify for funding, an applicant must be "a local arts agencya locally based arts funding and/or service organization, which could be either a government arts agency or a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization." The applicant must also "be located in an area declared a disaster by a governmental agency."
According to Americans for the Arts, awards will "typically range from $1,000 to $5,000, but may be more at the discretion of the Emergency Relief Fund Committee. Funds will be allocated as they become available."
Lynch acknowledged that some of his organization's members may apply for and receive funding, but he stressed that the fund is also available to qualifying groups that aren't members. He said the Emergency Relief Fund Committee would consist of members of Americans for the Arts' board of directors and that the panel would be formed in a matter of days.
"We're trying to get help out as fast as we can," Lynch said. He noted that staff was ready to take funding requests as they came in, although no requests had yet been received, since the fund was only recently announced.
"That's going to go very fast," Lynch said of the $150,000 currently on hand. "I'm not sure how much the fund is going to grow. We're sensitive to not taking donations away from the very, very real needs of the people in pain and [to] the great work other charities are doing." These include the Red Cross, a mainstay of the relief effort, and the Actors' Fund of America, whichalong with the entertainment unionshas been offering relief to members of the performing arts community.
Americans for the Arts was in the news three years ago when it received an $86 million donation from pharmaceutical heiress Ruth Lilly. Asked why, with a gift so large, the organization had not provided more than $100,000 to the new fund, Lynch said the Lilly money was staggered over 30 years. "We're only in the first couple of years of that," he added. "So our contribution to the fund is very generous."
Applications for money from the emergency fund may be submitted online at ww3.artsusa.org, by fax at (202) 371-0424, or by calling toll-free (866) 471-2787 and asking for the Americans for the Arts Emergency Relief Fund.
To donate to the fund, call the same toll-free number or give online at Americans for the Arts' website. Donations may be mailed to Americans for the Arts, 1000 Vermont Ave. NW, 6th floor, Washington, DC 20005.
TIE TOGETHER FOR ACTION
US Fed Cup Captain Zina Garrison, a Houston native, has launched a campaign to extend Gulf Coast hurricane relief efforts well beyond the immediate burst of support. With Venus Williams as spokesperson, Garrison is selling branded shoelaces to raise money for long-term aid to hurricane victims. The laces have "Tie Together For Action" written on them in red, "symbolic of the blood that binds us all together, " and are available in limited edition in yellow. Neon lime green laces also will be sold. To order laces, send a check for $5/pair, plus $2 shipping to "Tie Together for Action," PO BOx 20331, El Sobrante, CA 94820-0331 or call 713-446-6208
Posted Aug 23rd, 2006
GETTING RID OF BOOKS?
Seeking Book Donations
The New Orleans Public Library
(New Orleans LA)
The New Orleans Public Library is asking for any and all hardcover and paperback
books for people of all ages in an effort to restock the shelves after Katrina.
The staff will assess which titles will be designated for its collections. The
rest will be distributed to destitute famil! ies or sold for library
fundraising. Please send your books to:
Rica A. Trigs, Public Relations
New Orleans Public Library
219 Loyola Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70112
If you tell the post office that they are for the library in New Orleans, they
will give you the library rate which is slightly less than the book rate.
