Thursday, December 22, 2011

Merry Christmas --and don't forget LAMB this Holiday Season!

Happy Holidays to All Our LAMB Friends!
                You know...the greatest thing about holidays is that it really forces one to stop all regular activity and go into holiday mode-and in doing so, allows us to reflect and re-imagine what should and could be.  That is especially true this December.  

              We at LAMB are SO very thankful to our loyal friends--actors, directors, set designers, lighting designers, costumers, technicians, teachers, parents, students, patrons, volunteers, donors, cheerleaders, advertisers, collaborators, suppliers ...past and present.   In 32 years, that covers a HUGE territory!  It is so much fun to "run across" an old program or photo and reflect upon the shared experience of that production.   So many individuals have shaped LAMB into what it is today.....and we are so thankful for those influences.
         Many of you know that LAMB Arts Regional Theatre/School is facing extremely challenging times this December.   Not unlike what is causing other theatres across the country to close their doors, LAMB is in a serious crisis which can only be averted with the help of those who value what we have been able to bring to our community for the past 32 years. While many theatre organizations across the country are going out of business, the amount of financial help needed to get LAMB Theatre/School on a healthy footing is within reach.  We need your help to keep our creative environment alive in Siouxland. 

  • LAMB Arts Regional Theatre is currently threatened with financial challenges that could cause our doors to close.

  • We are struggling with paying for the very basics of services.
  • This past fall’s achievements have been critically acclaimed, but haven’t financially been able to sustain day-to-day operations.
  • While scary for us who are on the “front lines” at LAMB, the financial assistance needed to avert this crisis is not astronomical…it IS doable.

Last spring we held our very first annual campaign.   We are new to this nonprofit world and we thank you for your gifts. With the initial goal of $50,000, we were able to raise a little over a third of that amount or $17,143 in that effort.   That was extremely helpful in keeping us going for several months, but not enough to sustain us into the month of December and beyond until our next annual campaign.     The Board of Directors for LAMB has determined, as have all theatrical organizations throughout the nation, that theatre admissions and tuition are not enough to keep this type of operation in the black. No matter how skinny and tight we play it--- and we are playing it VERY tight--we are not able to pay our bills on ticket sales alone.   It takes support from loyal patrons, LIKE YOU, to keep the creative arts alive.   Our challenge is to keep this operation going by raising $30,000 by the end of January….with $15,000 of that needed immediately to keep our doors open to see the new year!  Raising that amount would keep us financially secure until we embark on our next annual campaign.  LAMB Arts Regional Theatre is totally a not for profit entity, donations may be made that can be reflected on your taxes.   Your tax professional is the best one to advise you on those details.

LAMB Theatre is a uniquely Siouxland institution and one that is respected and loved by people all over our country.   We have had students (numbering close to 4,000) who now live all over the United States and beyond, speak so highly of what they learned here and how the LAMB experience has enhanced their life.   We have had patrons who have moved away tell us that their new community doesn’t claim the talents and creativity that they found when they were able to attend LAMB on a regular basis.   We have been able to attract the attention of theatre/entertainment professionals from Chicago to New York to Los Angeles who are very much aware of us and appreciate our work and our work ethic. 

The amount of capital to start a new theatre is 20 times (at least) what is needed to get this institution on a healthy footing. But we don't need new.....We have a Great Theatre.   We have a Great School.   Let's Keep LAMB Alive in Siouxland!  

We need your help.   We need your help now.  Please consider making a donation TODAY, which will allow us to continue to operate into the future.   Contributions of $100, $500, $1000, $5000 or more are needed!   Your gift will be  greatly appreciated.   We will send you the form necessary to give your tax preparer for the 2011 tax year.  
LAMB Arts LTD Tax ID #20-3694629

Please feel free to call me with any questions or comments.  I will be checking my messages whenever I am away from the office, so please leave a message. 
I look forward to hearing from you.  Happy Holidays!

 
Diana Guhin Wooley CEO 
LAMB Arts Ltd 417 Market Street
Sioux City, IA 51103
712-293-0930
Keep current with LAMB--:www.lambtheatre.com

Monday, December 12, 2011

One for the Memory Book!

              OK....it happened!   Mrs. Wooley totally lost her singing voice and ...you know the old adage:  "The show must go on!"    And on Friday night it did.   
                 What does one do when there are only 4 people in a cast....and it is a musical....and one of your actors has 'pulled' up with laryngitis?  This was certainly one for the memory books.   Friday night at warmups (6:30 p.m) it was apparent that this voice I have lived with for .....well, MANY years....was not going to be functioning.  Donny Short, musical and stage director extraordinaire, offered to be Vinnilly to my Minilly.   (or however that was spelled!).   At 7:00 (with the show starting at 7:30) it was decided that an announcement would be made that one of the actresses in the show was suffering from laryngitis and that it might be necessary for Donny to sing the songs for her.   Donny and I worked out signals to be used during the show for whatever needs my voice would have.....brushing my hands through my hair (just in time for him to take a breath) would indicate that the entire song would be his.   If I tugged on my ear Carol Burnett style during a song, it would mean that he was needed to come in as soon as possible.   We decided that I would continue lip-syncing so the audience would ignore (if possible) the man bopping up in the first row on the side and could stay connected to the plot line and characters onstage.   Donny was plenty busy except for a couple of times in the show.  I decided that it would be best for me to sing the silly Viagra song to my husband...no matter how bad it would come out...rather than have embarrassed Donny.   After all, who was doing WHO the favor! The other three actors--Amanda and Reed Gibson and Russ Wooley said that it was a totally surreal experience as they had this disjointed voice coming at them from the audience and this woman "lipping" the lyrics at them.   I was amazed at their professionalism in this challenging situation.  From reports from the audience, many stated that it was a really unusual experience that they would remember for a long time and that it certainly didn't detract from the overall production.  In fact, there was one couple that said they were excited that they had decided to come to this performance as it was such a unique one.  Several others stated that they stopped noticing that a male voice was coming out of a female body. (I wasn't sure HOW to take that comment.....)
               After talking to Cassie, our daughter in New York, she stated that the same thing had happened on Broadway with the great Linda Eder losing her voice during Jekyll and Hyde.   Emily Skinner(Next to Normal fame) sang for her as Linda acted the role.   So Donny....maybe instead of being Vinilli (who I don't know how to spell anyway) we can say you were Emily to my Linda.  
                 A big Thanks to Dr. Mike Jones, who was so kind as to prescribe some magic pills which allowed me to get through the last two performances last weekend. Thank you, Dr. Jones.  I am well on the way to recovery and look forward to really singing the last four performances of MARRIED ALIVE.   (Whoever said that theatre was dull and boring and repetitious.....never have seen that in 32 years!)
Now....Take Your Bow, Mr. Donny!   Thank you so much for "sharing your voice" with us---and especially for me.....last Friday!  

(Photo from Wizard of Oz.....I thought that at the very least I could try to keep Donny's privacy by not showing his true colors!  Take a bow...you little scarecrow you!)

DON'T MISS THE FINAL FOUR PERFORMANCES OF MARRIED ALIVE!   IT IS A BLAST!
Playing Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:30 (Dec. 15, 16, 17) and closing Sunday, Dec. 18 with a 1:30 matinee!   BOX OFFICE:  712-255-9536 or http://lambtheatre.com/current-show.html  for purchasing tickets online 24/7.


Diana Guhin Wooley
CEO LAMB Arts Ltd
417 Market Street
Sioux City, IA 51103
712-293-0930
Keep current with LAMB--:www.lambtheatre.com

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

In the Throes of a Busy December

            Whoa!   This week really went by fast with the opening of MARRIED ALIVE and all that getting a new show ready for an audience brings.   We will be holding auditions for The Musical Adventures of FLAT STANLEY next week with the kids.  What a darling and creative show that will be.   And one in which we can really utilize those awesome moving lights!   That production will open the end of January for a two week run and we will have LAMB students from 8 - 14 involved in that musical.   You will be amazed at the talent of these young people.....I mean AMAZED!  We were fortunate to be asked by Jill Miller to perform in her annual Christmas concert on December 17 at the Orpheum.   The musical extravaganza will benefit The Sunrise Retirement Community and our elementary and middle school musical theatre students will be performing a solo number (with some incredible LAMB School soloists!--"LAST CHRISTMAS") and then will combine our talents with those of Jill and the Mount Zion Children's Choir for a couple of numbers.   So...we will be competing for audiences that Saturday evening as that will also be the final Saturday performance of MARRIED ALIVE.   A big thank you to the high school students and parents who are being "me" in my place so that I can be two places at once.  (YES, THAT is how it is done.....one must have great friends!)
          MARRIED ALIVE is going so very well and is such a fun show for both performers and audiences alike.   This playwright really writes well and the songs are very clever.   We were quite pleased with the enthusiasm of the audience after seeing the show.   What a great regional premiere opening weekend.
              We finished up our final day of our first 8 week session of Kindermusik with the young mothers and their children at Jackson Recovery's Women's and Children's Unit.   That experience is worthy of a blog itself, which I will write in the very near future.   Every new experience teaches me how very important and essential arts education is to the future of our local, national and world communities.   I just wish that I was more articulate so I could fully express how powerfully the arts help define us and make us all better in that definition.   Maybe I will find the words someday.   Right now I just feel it deeply in my heart.
                Need something fun to do this weekend?   Meet me at the theatre.   Shows this Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 1:30p.m
 
Diana Guhin Wooley
CEO LAMB Arts Ltd
417 Market Street
Sioux City, IA 51103
712-293-0930
Keep current with LAMB--:www.lambtheatre.com