I hope this finds you and your loved ones well and safe. I'm hoping you are remembering to breathe and to take care of yourself during these stressful times. We can't hope to make a difference in the world if we aren't taking care of ourselves first.

I'm happy to announce that we've contracted Farah Bala and The FARSIGHT Agency to facilitate our staff and board in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion training. We looked at proposals from several organizations and felt that The FARSIGHT Agency was the right fit for Azuka. As they say on their website, they "co-create with our clients a present and future that cultivates connection, inclusion, motivation, and our collective humanity in the workplace and in life", which sounds exactly like what we want to do. We hope to try and be the change we want to see, and given the death of Walter Wallace, Jr. in West Philadelphia last week, the need for change couldn't be greater -- the stakes couldn't be higher. Azuka hopes to do it's small part in making the world a better place in any way we can.

We're also excited to announce that we have two new members of our Board of Directors, Larry Fowler and Steven Wright. Larry is a first-class sound designer who has previously worked with Azuka on our productions of Shitheads and Sunset Baby. In addition to working at most of the theaters in town, Larry teaches Sound Design at The University of the Arts. Steven Wright's relationship with Azuka goes back to 2004 and our production of Laura's Bush, which included his spot-on impersonation of Bill Clinton! Since that time he's appeared in five other productions with Azuka as well as a host of other companies around town. We're so happy to have these two remarkable artists on Azuka's team!

This would be a good time to mention that we're always looking for people who appreciate what we do to serve on our board and committees. Azuka's board consists of individuals who believe the work we do has value and makes a difference in our community. And just like our Pay What You Decide ticketing model, board members are only asked to make a gift of personal significance. If you are interested, please contact me at kevin@azukatheatre.org.

Please take care and remember to wash your hands!

Stay well,
Kevin Glaccum