A VISION FOR ADVENTUROUS THEATER
Notes from Artistic Directors Scot & Linda Whitney

Linda and I wish to extend our deepest gratitude to the amazing community we serve. Naturally, we are grateful for the outpouring of support we received during our recent financial crisis, but that’s only the icing on the cake. Fourteen years ago when we started Harlequin Productions, we had a vision for an adventurous theater that would challenge and surprise audiences by creating bold, high-quality productions of new and unusual work. We were told it couldn't be done in Olympia, but took a stab at it anyway.

Last year we performed for a total audience of over 24,000 people, including more than 1,500 season subscribers. We want to thank you, our audience, for your enthusiasm, spirit and sense of adventure. Thank you for taking a chance on projects you’ve never heard of. Thank you for coming to see over 25 world, U.S. and regional premieres in the last fifteen years. Thank you for helping us turn our own original productions, like A Rock’n’Roll Twelfth Night and Dracula, into smash hits. Thank you for making our original Stardust series the most popular holiday show in southwest Washington. Thank you for embracing plays that scare the hell out of most theaters and for putting plays like The Lonesome West, Sixteen Words for Water and The Weir in the Top 15 Favorites in our recent audience survey.

Thank you for rethinking Shakespeare with us. Thank you for spreading the word and for dragging your friends to the theater. Thank you for participating in our raffles, auctions and other fundraising efforts. Thank you for supporting us year after year in our Annual Campaign. Thank you for helping us Save the State Theater to create the beautiful place we now call “home”.

Thank you for turning off your cell phones. Thank you for unwrapping your cough drops before the performance begins. Thank you for sticking with us through cold spells, hard times and complications. Thank you for your wonderful letters of encouragement, love and support. Thank you for caring enough to write or call when you’re angry, disappointed or dismayed. Thank you to our corporate and foundation sponsors who dedicate their resources to promoting culture in our community.

Thank you to our advertisers who value the symbiotic relationship between the arts and business. Thank you to every person who has ever invested in a theater ticket. Thank you to our Pay-What-You-Can audience members who know how to rock the house like nobody else. Thank you to our subscribers for committing full-time to a full-time theater. Thank you to everyone who chooses to make a monetary contribution to help us cover the real cost of creating Real. Live. Theater.

Thank you to our volunteers who contribute the most valuable commodity of all: their time. Thank you to all of our gifted actors, designers, musicians and technicians who share their time, energy, passion and talent to help make magic happen on our stage.

Thank you to our spectacular board and staff for their hard work in the trenches. Thank you for turning off your television and choosing to engage with us at Harlequin Productions. Thank you for your laughter, tears and silence--and for jumping up and dancing when the spirit moves you.

Thank you for making all our dreams come true. We look forward to sharing many more dreams with you.

Most humbly, passionately and sincerely yours,
Scot & Linda Whitney
Artistic Directors,
Harlequin Productions

It’s time for “ freeing the phoenix”

Campaign Co-Chairs
Sandy Desner, Deskoba, Inc.
Denny Peterson, Vice President, Smith Barney
Don Rhodes, Chairman and CEO, Heritage Bank

Campaign Committee
Dan Weiss, Harlequin Board President; retired CFO of Illuminet
Scot Whitney, Managing Artistic Director
Karen Halpern, Development Committee Chair
Trudy Soucoup, Development Manager

Harlequin Board of Directors
President, Dan Weiss, retired CFO of Illuminet
Vice-President, Sandy Desner , Deskoba, Inc.
Treasurer, Neil Woody, McSwain & Company
Secretary, Kay McBreairty, McBreairty – Reaching Your Potential
Ralph Bietz, BioRev LLC
Larry Challain, Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters
Ben Cushman, Cushman Law Offices
Karen Halpern, South Sound Community College
Ben Howeiler, Heritage Bank
Theresa Jensen, Olympia Federal Savings
Bill Pope, William B. Pope Jr. & Associates
Tom Weiger, DVM retired
Linda Whitney, Artistic Director
Scot Whitney, Managing Artistic Director

Special Advisor
Rick Panowicz

Campaign Sponsors
Tags Trophies
Mercato

Real. Live. Theater.
Box Office 360-786-0151

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