Two Half-formed Ideas

I’ve heard / read statements from three different local theater companies about the serious impact the snow is having on their finances. Here’s a wacky idea that I’m going to follow through on come Monday morning: I’m going to send a check that would cover one admission to companies whose shows I might have gone to these two past weekends but didn’t because of the snow. And I would encourage anyone who reads this to do the same. Pick your favorite company, or even a few, and send them a check for one admission (or, if you can, two or 10 admissions). It won’t completely make up for lost attendance from these past weekends but every little bit will help.

Also, it occurred to me recently that many of the talented theater folks in town have prodigious and varied talents off the stage and many offer services that other theater people might want to make use of. Jimmy Hicks is an accomplished massage therapist. Jen Meharg and Vicki McLeod are personal trainers. Michael Hawke is a real estate agent. My wife tells me Lauren Leinhaas-Cook does catering. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Wouldn’t you prefer to support one of your fellow thespians as you go about your business?

But where can you go if, for instance, you are looking for a personal trainer and you’d like to see if a fellow theater person offers those services? Is there some secret underground listing? Nowhere I know of. That’s kind of a shame. I might suggest that people could talk to Lisa Kotula about listing themselves in the Richmond Marquee. Or, if people are interested, I was thinking of adding a new section on the left side there to post links to folks’ professional listings if they have them. I have to think up a snazzy / silly name for it but, once I do, I’ll be moving the link to Robyn O’Neill’s Photography web page into it forthwith, at least, and any other links I can come up with. Any other ideas for increasing commerce between those of the theatrically-inclined?