"In the name of our shared humanity..."

Friend of the blog, and Artistic Director of Norristown, Pennsylvania’s Theatre Horizon, Nell Bang-Jensen, in a video release this week:

As you can imagine, the idea of social distancing is very challenging for an arts organization whose whole mission is about bringing people together, in the same space, in the name of our shared humanity.

I don’t particularly care if COVID-19 means the end of professional sports, the stock market, the airlines, or capitalism; I do, however, want organizations like Nell’s to survive.

As Jamie Zawinski wrote about DNA Lounge in San Francisco:

Even though we’re closed, meaning that we have lost 100% of our income, we still have a lot of expenses that are not going away: rent, insurance, taxes, permit fees… We’re also still paying our employees while we’re closed. Depending on how long this crisis lasts, this could end up leaving us on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The same thing could be written by anyone who manages a theatre or gallery or workshop.

You don’t need to leave your house to help in the life support effort for the arts: find a way to make a donation online (donate to Theatre Horizon here; DNA Lounge has a Patreon).

Think of all the money you’re saving not eating out, not going to the movies, not buying theatre tickets: take that, and lend a hand.