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| REFLECTIONS ON SUBSCRIBING |
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May 2007 marks the beginning of my Tenth Season at Northlight. As quickly as the years have flown by, what I find most remarkable is the growth I’ve witnessed in Northlight as a theatre and as a community. Our staff is extraordinary, working tirelessly to bring you the most compelling and entertaining work in a creative and artistically challenging way.
When I first arrived at Northlight our budgets were small, we didn't have a scene shop and we had trouble attracting artists of note who would work under those conditions. Our subscribership was dwindling and even though we were in a wonderful performing arts facility thanks to our amazing board and its fundraising efforts, a building does not attract patrons, inspiring artistic work does.
Within two years we had nearly doubled our subscribers and our single ticket buyers soared.
What changed? Our vision changed, in an important way. In articles I wrote for Performink, Chicago's show-business newspaper, and in interviews, I have consistently talked about the inclusion of our audience in our artistic process.
As I look back over the last decade, I feel so proud of what we have accomplished, bringing to life so many wonderful plays and musicals—many of which have gone on to New York and other regional theatres across the country. Our programming is not "Mc-Theatre"; it is as eclectic as our audience and the breadth of its demographic.
I have been looking at our production history, refreshing my memory, and I am tremendously proud of the work we have brought you over the last decade. I am often asked which shows are among my favorites which, of course, is an unfair question. I was however, very proud of An Experiment with an Airpump, Side Show, and Dinah Was, among others. I loved performing in God's Man in Texas, and working with Harry Lennix in Permanent Collection. Pride and Prejudice was gorgeous, and Master Class, the first play during my tenure—with a transcendent performance by Carmen Roman—was electrifying. Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years with Norbert Leo Butz and Lauren Kennedy was thrilling, and I had a great time working with George Wendt in Rounding Third. Anything with Mike Nussbaum is always memorable and he and Tracy Letts were heartbreaking together in Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie. Megan Mullally and her band graced us with two shows as a benefit and that too was a tremendous experience.
Next year I have asked many of our old friends to return—we’ll be presenting some pieces from genres that you have loved in the past, as well as some new work to challenge and stimulate your imagination. John Mahoney and Mike Nussbaum will be here, Judith Ivey joins us, and some new friends Larry Gelbart and Craig Wright, David Rambo and Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder lend their considerable writing talents to our season.
The last ten years for me have been swift and gratifying. I don't know what I did before I had Northlight to fill my artistic life which now seems rich and purposeful. I go to bed dreaming about our work and wake up brewing new ideas with the coffee. I don't think my father ever loved his work as much as I do mine, and he died at age 47. The extra decade that I have been given is truly a gift. How blessed am I?
So I thank you all for your support and positive responses over the last decade. May our conversations continue and our discoveries be fresh and invigorating. We are breaking new ground here at Northlight. I hope you feel, as I do, that we are very lucky.
And I am incredibly grateful.
BJ Jones
Artistic Director
Northlight Theatre |
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2006/07 SEASON
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2005/06 SEASON
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