Live, Local Theatre Doesn't Want Your Data and Wouldn't Know What To Do With It If You Begged Them To Take It.

When people ask me what I most love about live, local theatre, it's hard to know where to begin. There's the fellowship, there's exploring the depths of ourselves and creating great art with it, there's realizing that when you come together with your community and agree to collaborate, you can build entire worlds--

But I think my hands down, favorite thing about the theatre is that it doesn't want your data, or care about what can be done with it. Theatre practitioners and audience goers have loftier concerns than world domination. Playing manipulative mindgames on people to bend them to your will hardly compares with the thrill of broadening people's perspectives or making a buried truth come to life in fantastical fashion.

It's part of why theatre folk can sell you on the idea that we are in 18th century France, and the person lurking on the other side of the door can't hear the people shouting inside--but somehow they are incapable of making any money off a sale.

Besides, manipulation of emotions is cheating--great theatre is born from discovery. The theatre doesn't want your data--they want you to see the correlation between you and any human being, in any time in history. We don't want to cater to your demographic. We want to reveal the eternally human animal you are. We don't want to mock you to your face and call you stupid and use it to remove your wallet and demand your obedience. We want you to remember that you're smart. That you relate to others because the answers are inside of you. Just like the writer can create a multitude of characters from his singular brain, you, too, contain multitudes, and can see beyond your scope, with some imagination.

You are connected to everyone. You can see it in the gesture of a dancer. And when you are hurt, you are not alone. You can hear it in a music note. Your struggle has played out with kings and paupers around the world, throughout the centuries: The cannon proves it. Live theatre reminds you of this with every revival of a classic and with the writing of every new piece.

The theatre requires no data centers, because we are the data center: A bunch of people in a room with some ideas and a wide array of problem solving abilities, making absolutely anything come to life, whether we've got endless funding for spectacular theatrics or a bare stage and some quick wit. Nothing on the internet can compete with people in a room together, intent on building a world that makes sense, and that comes together on time.

There are a lot of very profitable businesses who like seeing your data used as compromat to turn you against yourself, take all of your money, extract your skill set, motivate you to work for free, repurpose and organize your content as one step on a long spiral towards radicalization, divide you, conquer you, exploit you--but your local theatre has got quite enough on their plate as it is. There's simply no time for stalking and coercion--we have a show to do.

But those of us in the theatre community don't want nothing, either. However, our wants are entirely reasonable and the power is entirely in your hands:

We would like two things: An address where we can tell you about our events and how to get involved (email is great, but if you are totally offline, we aren't here to cramp your style! Send us a mailing address at samantha@boneyardtheatre.com), and for you to become a member at $10 per month to help keep us going.

We exist entirely by, and for, the community. A membership at $10 a month is less than a Netflix membership. And unlike mainstream streaming service subscriptions, this one keeps your dollars local and the community strong.

According to studies by American for the arts, the performing arts reduce crime and recidivism, increase tourism, create a flow of traffic to local businesses, and creates citizens who participate in volunteer and education opportunities– the list of benefits to the community go on and on. Live performing arts are a baseline, stabilizing force for communities, with benefits that only grow stronger with increased participation.

That's why we started Boneyard Theatre at the Redwood Playhouse. Our goal is to increase participation in the performing arts, develop new artists, and give the community free access to the performing arts week after week, to build a stronger community in Southern Humboldt County for all.

It's a rare thing to hear someone say, "I have too many subscriptions to local performing arts organizations!" No one ever regrets investing in their community. In fact, the only investment you can make with a guaranteed return is the one you make in your community.

Take a few seconds now to become a member today. Because remember--if the tech lords are moving fast to break things, we have to move even faster to build.

Click the picture or this link to be taken to the donation page. Set your donation to monthly, and choose "Boneyard Theatre" from the drop-down menu to start supporting us today. You are free to donate as much or as little as you are able, but anyone who donates $10 or more a month is considered a member of the Boneyard Community! YOU make this possible--and we are so grateful for what you make possible!