ANOTHER WAY TO CONTRIBUTE:  THE PATRON PROGRAM

Do you value the cultural and educational benefits of theatre arts?  Do you attend shows at the Loft Stage and delight in the students’ hard work, energy, and talent?  Then consider being a Loft Stage patron.

The mission of the Loft Stage Theater Patron Program is to grow and sustain a high quality theater program at East Ridge High School.  Financial support through patronage makes it possible to offer a top-notch theater experience for audiences in the Loft Stage’s state-of-the art setting, while championing theatre arts education and showcasing student talent.  Funds are needed for creating and expanding opportunities for theater students, such as scholarship, student travel, workshops, and student recognition. We support Loft Stage participation in highly regarded theatre programs, including the International Thespian Society; the Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Spotlight program; and Community Outreach initiatives.  We hope to continue these opportunities and extend them to more students at a lower cost.

Support levels:

Friends: $25-$99

Advocates: $100-$249

Donors: $250-$499

Benefactors: $500-$999

Angels: $1000+

All Patrons will be recognized in Theater Playbills going forward from their first time of support.  Support is cumulative from year to year, so Patrons who start at the Friend Level, for example, can change to Advocate level once their total support reaches the $100 mark.  In addition, all patrons at the Benefactor and Angel level will be invited to an end-of-year dinner, our treat, to thank them for their support.

To become a Loft Stage Theater Patron, please contact Todd Thorsen, Treasurer, Loft Stage Boosters at 651-756-8032 or tthorsen@theloftstage.com.

Here’s a HUGE community outreach opportunity everyone can get behind:  The Loft Stage is working with Beyond the Yellow Ribbon  (BTYR) of Woodbury and Cottage Grove to support deployed service members.  At each White Christmas performance, BTYR will be present collecting donations to package and ship to our men and women in the service.  As you prepare for the big show, remember to bring a donation and make the holidays a little brighter for our troops far from home.

Here’s a list of items BTYR is hoping to collect:

• Vacuum sealed home baked treats
• Jerky
• Gatorade/PowerAde drink mix packets
• Ground coffee/ Starbucks, Caribou
• Protein bars
• Instant soups
• Gum
• Nuts
• Puzzle books
• Oatmeal packets
• Trail mix
• Chex mix
• Car magazines
• Hunting/sports magazines
• Lotion
• New movies
• Homemade Christmas cards the soldiers can use to send to their families

We’ve already received some great donations from families for the opening night Silent Auction, but we really could use more.  Here are the answers to all your Silent Auction questions:

Q:  Do I have to attend the Gala to bid on Silent Auction items?

A:  No.  All are welcome to check out the goods and place their bids.  Just sign up for a bidder number before you get started.

Q:  When do I know if I win and do I have to be present?

A:  Bidding closes five minutes before the end of intermission.  People can check their bids either before the show’s second half resumes or after the show is over.  We do prefer you pay for and pick up your winnings that same night.

Q:  What sorts of donations are you still looking for?

A:  Everything and anything.  We still need people to ask retailers for donations.  Cash always works.  Or put together a theme basket.

Here are some ideas:

Gift Cards for stocking stuffers:

• Starbucks or Caribou
• Steepery/Tea Garden
• Sporting Goods Stores (Dick’s, Sports Authority, Golf Galaxy, etc.)
• Target (of course) and other local retailers
• Local restaurants (Woodbury, Hudson, Afton, Lake Elmo, etc.)
• Movie theatres

Local services:

• Heppners Auto Body
• Oil change
• Teeth whitening
• Manicures/pedicures
• Massage
• Hair salon services

Theme baskets such as:

• Italian dinner (noodles, sauce, cheese grinder, cookbook)
• Baking basket (baking pan, spatula, baking mix, cupcake liners, etc)
• Hostess basket: (lotions, holiday towels, fancy soaps, etc)
• Dog Lover’s basket (gift card to a pet supply store, toys, treats, copy of Old Yeller, etc)
• Family Movie Night—look for holiday, teenage, children’s, and/or comedy classics to create a theme, then add popcorn
• Slumber party basket (hair and nail supplies; makeup; curling wand; snacks; just about any John Hughes’ movie ever made)
• Family Game Night
• Wine lover’s basket
• Beer lover’s basket
• Chocolate lover’s basket
• Coffee lover’s basket
• Book lover’s Bestsellers basket
• College student homesickness survival kit

Q: Where should I drop off donations?

A: You have two options!
1.  Contact Kristy Martin (mnkristy@hotmail.com; 612-978-2264) or Pam Gotz (pjgotz@mmm.com; 651-324-8871) and they will pick up your donation from you
2.  Drop off at Kristy’s house: 8409 Marsh Creek Rd; Woodbury (bin outside of front door)

Q. When are donations due?

A. As soon as possible!  We will take donations up until Monday, November 19, but since we need to put together descriptions for the items, the sooner we receive them the better.

Of course, feel free to contact Kristy or Pam with any questions, and thanks again for your support of the Loft Stage’s largest fundraiser of the year!

From LoftPAC president Pari Cariaga:

As we enter November and the musical starts to come together, SpotLight will be mentioned a lot.  So what is Spotlight and how does it affect you?  From the program’s website:

The SpotLight Musical Theatre Program is the flagship educational initiative of Hennepin Theatre Trust and a key educational element in our work that supports, honors and advocates for high school musical theatre programs and students.

SpotLight will play an important part in White Christmas, sending out adjudicators during the show to evaluate our actors, technicians, and musicians.   After they have seen the performance, they will give us constructive criticism so we can continue to improve our musicals.  The adjudicators also have the opportunity to recognize the entire show or individuals for special awards that will be given out in the spring at the SpotLight Showcase.  On opening night, the program also will be sending two representatives to talk to the audience before the musical about how the Loft Stage is excelling in educational theater.

To learn more about SpotLight and how to get involved, go to:  http://www.hennepintheatretrust.org/spotlight1

Or their Facebook page at  https://www.facebook.com/SpotLightMusicalTheatreProgram

I’M ALSO PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE ONE-ACT WILL BE…

Actually I can’t tell you what the show is going to be because I don’t even know what it is, but auditions will be the week of December 3^rd through the 7^th —Yes, that is in between the weekends of White Christmas.