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November 3, 2004 Dear Friend and Arts Patron: We, at the Cincinnati Black Theatre Company (CBTC), are letting you know about the STATE OF EMERGENCY CBTC finds itself. And we need your help in sharing this information with everyone in your organization! The new owners of the building at 1515 Linn Street, in which the Arts Consortium of Cincinnati (AC) has been successfully operating for over 30 years, have made a sudden and unexpected change in plans. This change in plans includes evicting the AC by the end of 2004, much sooner than the AC’s scheduled departure next summer, in order to build a Bingo Hall! As you know, CBTC has enjoyed a wonderful and productive partnership with the AC since our first Midwest Regional Black Theatre Festival back in 1998, and especially since CBTC became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2001. Thousands of audience members have been enriched by the over 200 performances CBTC has produced of a wide range of African American musicals and plays, new and established. Most performances were held at the AC’s Paul Robeson Theatre. Because of this sudden, unexpected move, CBTC will NO LONGER have this theatre for rehearsals and performances! CBTC also utilized the AC for our Imagine That! Children’s Theatre Arts Education Program. Thousands of children have enjoyed and learned from Imagine That! classes and workshops in Theatre Basics, Acting, Ballet and Tap Dance, Instrumentation and Music Theory, Voice and Choir, and Creative Writing. This winter, CBTC’s children will be put out in the cold! This sudden and unexpected change in plans will impact our 2004-05 budget! There will be numerous and unanticipated costs hitting our current budget because of this move:
These are major and REAL expenses that CBTC will be burdened with, plus there will be a number of extraneous costs that will accrue as well. CBTC NEEDS YOUR HELP! We are asking for you and others in your organization to please make a tax-free contribution to the Cincinnati Black Theatre Company (remember: the end of the tax year is fast approaching). CBTC does NOT plan to cancel any productions! Ain’t Misbehavin’ (scheduled for late Feb/Mar) and Having Our Say: the Delaney Sisters (scheduled for late Mar/Apr) will obviously be performed at a new location (to be determined later), and the dates may change. This is truly a TIME SENSITIVE issue!! The Holidays will soon be upon us, which we all have much to do, and CBTC is deep into rehearsal for our annual Holiday presentation of Langston Hughes’ classic, Black Nativity. Black Nativity will be performed on Saturday, Dec. 11, at 3 and 8PM, at the College of Mount St. Joseph. We are, therefore, asking for your IMMEDIATE assistance! Make your check payable to Cincinnati Black Theatre Company at 1717 Section Rd Ste 309, Cincinnati, OH,45237 or submit a contribution on our website. You may also contact via telephone 513-241-6060 to submit a contribution through MasterCard or Visa charge. CBTC will reward your organization with ticket discounts! Cincinnati Black Theatre Company has accomplished a great deal in a short period of time – especially in regards to the development of our children. Your help will ensure that we continue to build this momentum and succeed in our endeavors! Thank you in advance for your thoughtfulness and generosity! Donald Sherman |
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