This month, the QC Theatre Workshop will run an online campaign to help fund its upcoming 2015 productions. The QC Theatre Workshop's first large-scale fundraising effort will begin December 1, 2014. The final day of the campaign will be January 1, 2015. Donations can be made safely and securely through the company's website: QCTheatreWorkshop.org.
In August 2012, the Workshop started from scratch in a former elementary-school gymnasium with its dynamic production of John Logan's RED. In the following two and a half years, the dedicated and dynamic company has presented 10 productions, including such memorable hits as Last Call, Bat Boy: The Musical, and the world premiere of Aaron Randolph III's A Green River, which was later produced at Augustana College, and was highlighted in a documentary feature on WQPT.
Dedicated to providing powerful theatre that is accessible to everyone in the Quad Cities community, every Workshop production is offered under its "Pay What It's Worth" pricing policy, allowing patrons to determine their own ticket price based on the quality of the production, their financial ability, and their interest in supporting live theatre."An incredible number of new businesses fail within their first two years," says Tyson Danner, the Workshop's Artistic Director. "Not only have we survived, but we have thrived. That's incredible for any small business, let alone a brand-new nonprofit arts organization. Our success is entirely due to the support we've received from our audiences."
Danner and the theatre's Board of Directors have decided that the growing company is ready to take the next step. This season, the Workshop will begin to pay selected positions in each production, with the goal of paying all directors, designers, staff, and actors by next season.
"Paying artists is the single biggest key to our future success," says Danner. "Not only do they deserve to be compensated for the tremendous amount of time and energy they offer, but it will also allow us to secure the right people for the right positions. Not everyone has the luxury of spending weeks working on a play for free. We want to make sure that - just like everyone can afford to see a play at the Workshop - everyone can afford to participate in our productions."
The funds raised will also go toward supporting the practical costs of producing theatre, such as lighting equipment, sets, props, performance rights, and costumes for the Workshop's upcoming productions of A Steady Rain and Tribes. A Steady Rain will be a reunion of the original trio behind RED: director Tyson Danner and actors Mike Schulz and Thomas Alan Taylor. A Steady Rain performances will take place March 13 - March 29. Following A Steady Rain, the company will partner with Dress for Success Quad Cities for a benefit performance of Nora Ephron's and Delia Ephron's Love, Loss, and What I Wore in mid-May. Rounding out its third season, the Workshop will present Nina Raine's Tribes June 12 - June 28.
For further information, please call (563)650-2396 or e-mail info@QCTheatreWorkshop.org, and visit QCTheatreWorkshop.org and Facebook.com/QCTheatreWorkshop.
