A Letter from the Ensemble

Dear Friend,

As members of an ensemble, we have spent the past year in acting conservatory at The Studio/New York, a prestigious, professional actor training center with an acclaimed faculty. It has been an incredibly inspiring and challenging year for us. This year marks the inauguration of an ambitious second year of training. The core of this second year will focus more intensively on producing, rehearsing, and performing an expanded season of four full-length plays.

The Studio/New York is a private, artistic conservatory and therefore ineligible for public funds. As a result we must seek support in alternative ways. With the beginning of this second year rapidly approaching, we are writing to request your support in order to be able to provide higher production values for our next season of plays and funds for financial aid. Acknowledging difficult times, it may be valuable to note that all donations are tax-deductible. No donation is too small. If you are, however, in a position to donate a larger sum, and are interested in seeing what we do and the productions we will be working on, we want to offer you the following benefits as a Featured Donor:

 

BRONZE DONOR: $100 +

    * 2 preferential seating tickets for one of our shows

    * Recognition in show programs BRONZE DONOR

 

SILVER DONOR: $200 +

    * 2 preferential seating tickets for two of our shows

    * Recognition in show programs as a SILVER DONOR

 

GOLD DONOR: $500 +

    * 4 preferential seating tickets for all our performances

    * Recognition in show programs as a GOLD DONOR

    * Gift Certificate for Dinner For Two for a pre-theatre experience

 

PLATINUM DONOR: $1000 +

    * Up to 6 preferential seating tickets for all our shows

    * Recognition in show programs as a PLATINUM DONOR

    * Gift Certificate for Dinner for Two for a pre-theatre experience

    * Complimentary after-theatre dessert and Meet and Greet with the cast

 

 Your support allows The Studio/New York to continue to grow creatively as well as to offer productions of the highest quality. Many of you have already provided invaluable support to us as individuals in our growth as artists in a myriad of ways.  We look forward to keeping you apprised of the upcoming season and we hope you will join us for our productions next year. We thank you for your time, consideration and support of The Studio/New York and its class of 2010.

With Our Sincerest Gratitude,

             The Ensemble

A Letter from the Director, Jayd McCarty

Dear Friend,

I am writing to you on behalf of a group of twelve extremely talented young actors.  Last September, this group entered The Studio/New York’s Nine Month Conservatory Program and spent a year training rigorously with the top teachers in the country. The growth that happened in that relatively short amount of time was mind blowing, and an ensemble of twelve, talented, committed, ambitious actors was formed.  It was decided by the faculty that THIS group was ready for a much more advanced level of training. It is with great pride, excitement, and maybe a little nervousness that I have decided to add a second year to their time at The Studio.

A very ambitious program has been developed for the ensemble.  In addition to the continuation of their studio training, four full productions, lead by professional directors, will be added to the group’s curriculum.  An unprecedented move, not only for us, but for any studio conservatory training program.  This undertaking is, in a word, huge. 

As excitement grows within the theater community around our new program, it has come to my attention that we are now facing a major financial hurdle.  While tuition at The Studio is at the absolute minimum (we charge just enough to cover faculty salaries and basic operating expenses) some of our students simply can’t afford next year’s tuition. The cost of living in New York is high, the part-time job market is practically non-existent, and sadly, I fear that some of our talented and promising actors will get left behind because of their inability to pay.  While I wish I could make up the difference myself, it is becoming painfully obvious that we’re going to need some help.

I am asking with humility and gratitude for you to donate to The Studio/New York Scholarship Fund. Any sum you can spare will make a huge difference to these actors’ lives, as every penny raised will be directly applied to the students’ tuition. While it is my lofty goal to make our Conservatory programs tuition free in the future, my immediate mission is to lighten the economic burden of these twelve students any way I can so that their artistic development can continue.

I know it is difficult to give in these uncertain times of economic hardship, but it is the true lover of the arts who, despite the financial situation of the present, looks to nurture the talent of the future. It is people like you that can make a difference.

Thank you,

Jayd McCarty, Director – The Studio/New York