ANNUAL REPORT 2018-19 Leadership Letter Season Highlights
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ANNUAL REPORT 2018-19 Leadership Letter Season Highlights THE END OF THE YEAR always brings MUSIC CITY about a period of reflection, and looking Two young songwriters meet at an open mic night at a back, we are overwhelmed with gratitude. gritty club in Nashville, and their chemistry is undeniable. We increased the total number of people As their stories progress, the duo find themselves inspired we serve from 42,000 to 49,000 - almost to make choices for love and country. CFRT’s production 17% in just one year! During Annie alone, we of Music City was choreographed by Emmy Award winner had more than 10,500 people join us at the Jonathan Judge-Russo, Kaylyn Tyce Diorio (Taylor Swift’s “Reputation Tour”) and attracted Scardefield, and Dez Duron in theatre. We weathered hurricane Florence, the attention of Broadway Producers Music City. and even though we lost almost a week of from NYC. Following the CFRT production, the show was rehearsals for our season opener, Music optioned by eight-time Tony Award winning producer, City, on opening night we all raised our Dede Harris. glasses to an incredible world premier. In July, a second world premier, LumBEES: Women of the Dark Water brought their ANNIE powerful stories to our stage and were such a hit that two additional performances When Little Orphan Annie sets off to find her parents, she were added. One of the performers tearfully told Mary Kate that this was the first stumbles right into an adventure and shines her light on time she had been invited into the theatre — a space that had previously felt too elite everyone she meets! 28-year TV veteran Robert Newman for her to attend. Throughout the season, we were reminded that this is theatre at its (Guiding Light) led the cast as Daddy Warbucks. Annie was the most highly attended show in CFRT’s history with over best. It is a coming together, a congregation. It gives voice to a new story, and invites Zoi Pegues and Robert in new friends. It gives us permission to play, to engage, and to grow. Newman in Annie. 10,500 people joining us in the theatre. Over the summer, the halls were jam packed with kids attending summer camps. THE CAKE Among these camps, The Lion King, Jr. came to vibrant life on the CFRT stage. As we When her best friend’s daughter returns to town with a watched “The Circle of Life” from the audience, we thought about how we started special order for her wedding, Della takes on her biggest in theatre and why we’re still doing it today. Ella remembers finding confidence and challenge yet. Faith and family collide in this modern comedy leadership onstage, and Mary Kate remembers discovering directing like a puzzle that tackles a tasty subject while staying deliciously southern. piece clicking into place. CFRT hosted playwright Bekah Brunstetter (NBC’s This Is Our community is our lifeblood - and you’ll see how vibrantly it flows in the coming Us, Starz’s American Gods) for a series of special events pages. We are on the cusp of enormous growth: our education programs are busting including a post show talkback where she spoke in depth at the seams; our mainstage shows were the most awarded in the Raleigh metroplex; about how exciting it was to see the play performed in the and we were able to serve the same number of people as larger institutions who have kind of community for which it was written. Libby Seymour in The Cake. two and three times our operating budget. An investment in CFRT is an investment in Production photos above by Raul Rubiera Photography. the larger community - we want you to grow with us, and we’re excited about where we can go together. “ I'm so lucky to have seen over a dozen productions of my play The Cake, and CFRT's was absolutely one of my most favorites. We know you can spend your time anywhere, and we are honored that you choose I'm from North Carolina, set the play in North Carolina — so to to spend it with us. Production photos abovesee the by playPhoto IN by myRaul home Rubiera state, Photography. surrounded by both smart and engaged audience members, actors and theater staff — was so With Gratitude, incredibly moving. The quality of CFRT's production — the acting, the design, the thoughtfulness with which they produced it — was really a dream come true for me.” Mary Kate Burke Ella Wrenn BEKAH BRUNSTETTER — Bekah Brunstetter, Playwright Artistic Director Managing Director ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 . 1 Alumni Spotlight Awards CFRT alums are lighting up CFRT took home 10 Broadway World stages nationwide! Take a Awards for the Raleigh Metroplex for the look below to see some of 2018-2019 Season. our alums working in National BEST HOLIDAY Tours and on Broadway! BEST MUSICAL PRODUCTION BEST PLAY OLIVIA LONDON The Color Purple National Tour Gerard Williams (Dreamgirls/Memphis) Jarrett Bennett (Dreamgirls/Memphis) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Tuck Sweeney (Music City) The Best Christmas Hamilton Music City Pageant Ever Disgraced Deon’te Goodman (Caroline, or Change) BEST ACTRESS BEST FEATURED BEST FEATURED GERARD WILLIAMS Waitress the Musical IN A PLAY ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL ACTOR IN A PLAY Olivia London (The Cake) “ Working with CFRT afforded me an Meagan Chieppor (Memphis) opportunity to be a part of great Stephanie Feeback (Music City) and important storytelling for the community. CFRT lets art reflect and Bandstand National Tour challenge the time we live in. I take Matthew Mucha (Memphis) the family I gained, the professional Hello Dolly! experience and love with me Molly Griggs (Spelling Bee & others) everywhere I go.” — Gerard Williams Lauren Shafer, Disgraced Catherine Porter, Music City Seth Shelden, Disgraced “ The time I spent at CFRT was formative BEST MUSIC DIRECTION BEST DIRECTOR BEST CHOREOGRAPHER to say the least. CFRT was my school, my playground, and in many ways a second home. Over the ten years I spent there, I was a student, an actor, a stagehand, an assistant, and a million things in between. Every project was thrilling and challenging in a new way and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’m forever grateful for the people there who nurtured me and my love of art.” Andrew Wheeler, Mary Kate Burke, Tyce Diorio, — Molly Griggs Music City Music City and Sense & Sensibility Music City MOLLY GRIGGS 2 . CAPE FEAR REGIONAL THEATRE ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 . 3 Accessibility Military Outreach CFRT is committed to accessibility. Audio Description is offered at select CFRT is proud of its long partnership with performances throughout the season, and assisted listening devices and large Ft. Bragg and its status as a Blue Star Theatre. print programs are available at every performance. This year, we continued to offer our Passport Theatre Classes on post. Over 8 weeks, In the 2018/2019 season, we continued our Sensory Friendly Performance participants work together to write and create Initiative which is offered in collaboration with the North Carolina Autism Society their own play which is then performed for friends and Bravery Kids Gym. A Sensory Friendly Performance was offered at Annie and and families on the final day of class. These Peter and the Starcatcher. Overall, 415 audience members took advantage of classes are offered free of charge to military these special performances. families thanks in part to funding from the North Carolina Arts Council and the REA Charitable Trust. In the first semester offered, classes filled in 72 hours. In the most recent semester, some classes filled in less than three minutes. Parents love this program... “ The Passport Program has been an amazing outlet for my children to meet other military children, and to feel comfortable and encouraged to step outside their comfort bubble.” — Passport Parent ...and so do kids! Students perform their scene during our Passport parent share performance. Photos by Ashley Owen. Malena Pennycook and James Martin in Peter & The Starcatcher. Photo by Raul Rubiera Photography. “ I am honored to have been able to share my knowledge of Autism with the Cape Fear production team as they have carefully crafted every aspect of these very special events. The lights are dim, not dark. The sound isn’t too loud, they have hearing protection available for those who need it. The performance streams live to a screen in a room off the lobby in case children are more comfortable watching the show that way. This is Autism Awareness at its finest.” — Amy Perry, NC Autism Society 4 . CAPE FEAR REGIONAL THEATRE ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 . 5 Education And Outreach CFRT’s broad array of Educational programs offer a safe and engaging place for kids to grow, explore, and create. We believe great theatre should garner curiosity, create empathy for the lives of others, and inspire creative thinking for all involved. WE’RE BUSTING AT THE SEAMS! . During Summer 2019 our Summer Camps grew by a whopping 45%! . Between the Fall and Spring semester of Studio Classes, we doubled our enrollment. 8,222 students and teachers joined us at Student Matinees. Our summer camp production of Kids Save the World was so popular we Kids Rule the World, Summer Camp 2019. Photo by Ashley Owen. added two sessions! SCHOLARSHIP . Over 90 families applied for a total of 32 need based scholarships, generously funded by the Cumberland Community Foundation. In light of this incredible demand, several additional scholarships were provided by The Deltas, The Dreamville Foundation, and other private donors. CFRTeen TOURS The Lion King, Jr., Summer Camp 2019. The CFRTeen Touring Program takes shows performed by high school aged Photo by Raul Rubiera Photography.