1 Kristina Santana
From: jeff alchemytheatre.com <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2022 3:18 PM
To: Kristina Santana
Subject: FOR PUBLIC COMMENT - Jeff Lowe / Alchemy Theatre Company Attachments: Alchemy - Midsummer Expense Report.pdf
CAUTION: This message originated outside of our City of Diamond Bar network.
Hi there,
I will attend the meeting in person but here is the topic of my comment as well as an attachment for viewing.
Good evening Mayor Low, Mayor Pro‐tem Chou, and esteemed council members, My name is Jeff Lowe and I am here representing Alchemy Theatre Company who for the first year is providing Shakespeare in the Park for the city of Diamond Bar. We have been working with the Parks and Rec department and the extremely helpful and capable Ryan Wright to bring you Shakespeare this year as a partnership with the City.
As you may know, we are looking to make Diamond Bar our home and hope to secure a physical space as soon as possible. I intend on joining the planning committee meeting on Thursday to help facilitate this. In addition, the Diamond Bar Community Foundation has been instrumental in supporting us and providing ways for us to raise funds to continue to put on these shows to the community at no charge to Diamond Bar Residents.
With all of that being said, we are hoping to become a service to the community, and as such, I am here to request that the city consider these Shakespeare in the Park performances when planning for the 2023 budget. Our goal is to be included in the summer planning along with concerts in the park. I ask this not because we are seeking to make a profit from these shows. We would like to keep them free and open to the public. However, the expenses for putting on a show like this have been quite substantial, and without generous donations from private donors, we would be hard pressed to financially provide this kind of production again, let alone improve upon it.
Alchemy is a 501(c)3 Non‐Profit, like many in Diamond Bar. However, unlike some other non‐profits like sports organizations, we are not charging anything for participation. The city is generous in providing the fields and access, just like they are doing for the Park Performances, however, there is also a registration fee for each athlete that joins. In theatre, there is no pay to play model, in fact, we strive to pay our actors, designers, and directors, for their time. You can see in the provided Expense Report, we spent over sixteen thousand dollars to bring some entertainment to Diamond Bar. We want to continue to do that, but without strong city and community support, we won’t be able to keep up this pace.
I am not here to ask for any kind of reimbursement. I am only here to ask that we be included in the 2023 budget. You can see that our expenses could go down thanks to the efforts of both the Diamond Bar Community Foundation and Ryan Wright at Parks and Rec, but it will still be a substantial investment. More efforts will be made in the coming months to serve our community directly and reach out to those who want to see theatre flourish in Diamond Bar and have the means to donate.
We believe in hard work, and we are not looking for a free meal, but many Diamond Bar Residents are clamoring for entertainment and culture in the community, and we are here, ready to provide that. I ask that you consider us as a part of the community, when planning Diamond Bar’s future. We want to grow and improve the city, and with the leadership of this council, I believe we can make a brighter future for Diamond Bar.
Thanks,
Jeff Lowe (he/him – Tongva Land)
Director/Actor
Founding Ensemble Member of Alchemy Theatre Company
2 www.alchemytheatre.com
(909) 896-0676
Budget Worksheet
Expenses $ 16,234.00 Expenses $ 9,677.32
Constants (2 Month Period) 2,200.00 $ Constants (2 Month Period) 2,200.00 $ Rehearsal Space 1,500.00 $ Rehearsal Space 1,500.00 $Insurance 700.00 $ Insurance 700.00 $ Personnel $ 2,380.00 Personnel $ 2,380.00
Director $ 400.00 Director $ 400.00
Stage Manager $ 200.00 Stage Manager $ 200.00
Costume Design $ 200.00 Costume Design $ 200.00
Audio $ 150.00 Audio $ 150.00
Actors (13) $ 1,430.00 Actors (13) $ 1,430.00
Deisgn/Tech $ 6,722.84 Deisgn/Tech $ 2,898.00
Microphones $ 4,519.02 Microphones $ 648.00
Sets $ 1,500.00 Sets $ 1,500.00
Costumes $ 583.96 Costumes $ 600.00
Paint $ 119.86 Paint $ 150.00
Production 569.13 $ Production 569.13 $
Programs 150.00 $ Programs 150.00 $Scripts 139.13 $ Scripts 139.13 $Marketing 280.00 $ Marketing 280.00 $ Park 4,362.03 $ Park 1,630.19 $
Portable Toilets 3,731.84 $ Portable Toilets 1,000.00 $ Storage Pod 430.19 $ Storage Pod 430.19 $
Misc (water, tape, etc) 200.00 $ Misc (water, tape, etc) 200.00 $ Alchemy Theatre Diamond Bar (A Midsummer Night's Dream) 2023 Projection