North Texas Giving Day 2018

By Merri Brewer, Managing Director

Person at a party: What do you do?
Theatre director/actor/designer: I make theatre
Person at a party: Oh! What do you REALLY do?
(Theatre director/actor/designer dies a little inside. Again.)

At the risk of sounding whiney, it is hard to be a theatre-maker. There is, historically, little respect for it; they used to bury actors outside the cemetery fence. There’s never enough money. We see our audiences dwindling and we fret that Millennials will never become consistent patrons. We are warned of our eminent and inevitable demise all the time. We compete with fancy phones, Netflix, and sports. Yet, we soldier on, because we KNOW that theatre heals. We KNOW that lives change and minds grow at a live theatre event. We KNOW the shared experience of attending an in-person theatrical event knits diverse people together and makes a community stronger. And we know we must fundraise to support our work, as ticket sales don’t equal expenses. And we are so, so, so grateful for the opportunity Communities Foundation of Texas offers us with North Texas Giving Day.

This year marks the tenth year that Theatre Three has participated in North Texas Giving Day. As an organization, we embrace the celebratory aspects of the day. We treat it as a holiday and see it as a fun way to interact with our community. We relish celebrating the larger, glorious nonprofit community we are privileged to have here in North Texas. There are great people here doing great work!

We try very hard not to take ourselves terribly seriously around T3. Last year, we had a ridiculous amount of fun presenting a silly, comedic campaign featuring our brand-new Artistic Director, Jeffrey Schmidt. This year, we’ve planned a light-hearted nostalgic campaign: looking back with joy, as we move forward with our mission of creating high-quality professional theatre in Uptown Dallas for the next 57 years!

We absolutely believe that live theatre is a balm for disquieting times: It’s a place where one can thoughtfully commune with others. It’s a safe place to explore complicated ideas and relationships. And of course, it’s the perfect place to laugh and have fun. We invite you to consider a gift to Theatre Three on September 20th, and we hope you are generous to other nonprofits that move your spirit. It’s a pretty big deal, this North Texas Giving Day…it’s a bit of a miracle for nonprofits.