Dear audience members and friends,
It's not like us to be gushing or poetic,
nor is it our mode of usual operations
to ask anything of our audience
who has truly done so much for us.
But there are some things that I feel need to be said,
and a favor I ask of you.

First and foremost; I hope you love the space as we do.
We built it because of you.
And let us reiterate, we literally built it.
No corporate underwriting,
no truckloads of contractors,
no millions sitting in an account somewhere
waiting to be spent.
We budgeted and planned,
we drove the trucks to Home Depot,
we loaded up with what we could afford,
and we hauled it back. Because of you.

You deserve a place to enjoy theater.
You deserve higher ceilings and wider hallways
and safer surroundings and lighted parking
and larger, cleaner facilities.
Going to the theater can become “an evening” again
rather than “an experience” -
the kind that raises an eyebrow
before you even get into your seat.

Bear with us; things are not completely perfect.
If you are “the type” who needs to look for things unfinished,
you’ll find plenty - and imperfections!
It doesn’t take too long to discover them.
But, then again, this is just the initial days of many years of development
which we are completely committed to bring you.

Two such committed people in the staff need to be recognized:
Kirk Addison and Jode Lanclos.
The TABC has a term for intangible and unmeasurable assistance
that is provided to a company by an individual - “Sweat equity.”
These two heroes have committed themselves to your comfort and satisfaction
with just that: lots and lots of sweat,
not to mention the blood and tears. I love you guys.

So here’s my favor: please, find comfort here, and laughter and drama,
and know it is a theater built for you.
Try to overlook the imperfections,
or perhaps even offer a solution (or financial assistance!)
that will enhance the experience in the future.
We built this theater ourselves, but not alone.
You, our audience, continued to foster and support us
even when many other theater companies were drying up.
We’ve taken that next step - for our company and for all of Austin -
and we need to feel the positive vibes now more than ever.

- Blake

xxx