Dearest Friends and Supporters of Jobsite:
It’s official, Jobsite Theater is turning 10! We’re extremely proud of what we’ve managed to do so far, particularly with how limited our resources have been. Our 2007–08 season was our best to date, seeing record attendance and box office figures. 2008–09 season ticket sales have now already topped last year by a staggering 42%. Jobsite also just took home the Creative Loafing Best of the Bay Awards for Best Artistic Director, Best Costume Design and Best Play (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead).
“In a little less than 10 years, Jobsite has become the closest thing to a top Off-Broadway theater that the Bay area has to offer …. If you believed in theater as an art form, if you looked to stage plays to provide you not just with entertainment but with illumination, Jobsite had to be your destination. Bay area culture wouldn’t be the same without it.” – Creative Loafing
We’re still moving towards the permanency we so desperately require. We’re making a major push in this landmark year to do the things necessary to get our core staff on salary and our artists a living wage. We need the support of our community – individuals and businesses – in order to reach these goals.
Every penny made from ticket sales goes to pay for often expensive royalties on the plays we work hard to bring you, rising costs for production materials, advertising to increase our audience attendance and stipends to pay our artists a fraction of what they are actually worth. We do this while offering tickets below the regional average, because we’re dedicated to keeping theater affordable for everyone.
We know the economy is tough right now (believe me, we know.) We also know how easy it is to get discouraged when civic leaders predictably include the arts in their first rounds of budget cuts, despite the evidence that the arts help cities improve and grow. While our civic leaders may not always support the arts, one thing is clear: you do. The numbers prove it. Show after show, year after year, Bay area residents increasingly choose to support an emerging arts community. Jobsite relies exclusively on the support of you: our friends, our patrons and our sponsors.
That’s why we’re starting our Give 10 Campaign. If we can get the average number of attendees who visit Jobsite during the run of a show to donate at least $10 each, we could raise $10,000 or more. That $10,000 can be immediately applied to helping cover our rising costs, act as a security in case of hard times and be applied to supplement what we pay our artists from ticket sales.
Anyone who donates to the Give 10 campaign will be listed in a special area of our website and in our program (separately from our annual campaign donors) and at the end of the season, everyone who donates will be memorialized on a special 10-year Jobsite plaque that we will keep on display.
If you’d like to make a donation of any amount ($10, $100, $1000 or more), we’re eager to hear from you. There is truly no such thing as a small gift. The easiest way to donate is online. You may also mail a check to PO Box 7975, Tampa, FL, 33673. If you need more information or just wish to speak to a live human, feel free to call me at 813.222.1092 or email me. The Jobsite Theater is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit arts organization and all donations made to Jobsite are fully tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.
Yours very truly,
David M. Jenkins
Producing Artistic Director
The Jobsite Theater
