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Curtain

Thanks for sticking around, folks. For those interested in the post-show discussion:

I started on this venture for the benefit of the community, trying to create a comprehensive, egalitarian presentation of Birmingham-area theatre at all levels. Though it’s made a comeback effort, it was on hiatus for a while; it limped a bit before its first curtain call, and it’s been sporadic again for some time since its encore. Time and financial constraints dictate that there are only so many volunteer hours in a day, and I simply can’t maintain it to the standard it deserves.

Honestly, I think it’s a heck of a standard. For it’s first six months, I don’t think there was a better place to find out what was going on. It was hugely rewarding, feeling a part of practically every theatre in town, investing in the sense of community as its at-large promoter and advocate.

For some time I’ve been spread too thin to keep up with that commitment, and others I’ve made, and that’s been disappointing to me. But the effort and the good intentions have led to opportunities along the way. The big picture is shifting and refocusing, but the through-line remains the same.

I’ve been a part of some ongoing discussions about the need for cooperative partnerships and resource-sharing, as well as the need for better coverage. I have reason to believe some of those needs will be met in the not-too-distant future. For others…there’s a lot of work to be done. The next few years promise to be interesting, as we have a few outside consultants coming in to town with a three-year commitment to capitalizing on the area’s cultural assets and creative industries; as someone with no shortage of interest and opinions, you may rest assured I will continue with my policy of placing late-night crank calls and scrawling collectivist manifestos in the margins of a Yellow Pages near you. I’ll even be getting back to seeing your shows again.

Your support has been deeply gratifying. Being a part of our scene is its own reward. Thanks. Go, see, enjoy.

- Patrick

(I can still be found online at CityEquityTheatre.org and @CityEquity on Twitter, where I’ll return to pursuing some of SWIYS’s cross-promotional mission as soon as we get our next show opened—-Ruined, by Lynn Nottage, a co-production of City Equity Theatre and Aldridge Repertory Theatre, at the Virginia Samford Theatre 2/28-3/17.)

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