First, I hope you are well and safe as we enter month number eight in the pandemic. Fall is a time for new beginnings, whether it's the new school year or the start of the theater season. At this time of year we're usually gearing up for our first production -- having meetings, finalizing designs, and starting rehearsals. I'm really missing all of that right now, as I'm sure you're missing the events that mark this time of year for you and your families. I don't know about you, but I never thought this would last this long, or be this overwhelming. Hopefully, it won't be long before we can all gather together again.

I'd like to start with some exciting news! We're thrilled to welcome Quinn Eli to the Azuka family as the Resident Dramaturg for our New Pages writer's group. As many of you may already know, our beloved Maura Krause has moved to California for at least the next year, so her role as Dramaturg for New Pages needed to be filled.

Quinn comes to us with an enormous amount of experience and expertise in the development of new plays. He was the founder of The Foundry, one of the first and best writer's groups in the city, as well as being an accomplished playwright in his own right. We're so happy he's agreed to help shepherd the remarkable work coming out of New Pages, plays we hope to be sharing with you in the not too distant future!

We announced in August that we wouldn't be producing this season in order to focus on our staff structure as well as having the existing staff and board go through intensive Equity, Diversity and Inclusion training. We are in the final stages of hiring a consultant to guide us through this process and will let you know when we bring someone on board. We have decided to hold off on hiring any new staff members until we have begun our training to ensure whomever we welcome into our family will feel welcomed, heard, valued and respected.

Even without producing, we're determined to keep the lights on and still be a viable arts organization whenever we can all gather again, so please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Azuka Theatre at this time.

And in closing...PLEASE VOTE!

Stay well,
Kevin Glaccum