A Huge Thank You & Campaign Update
YOU are awesome and we're thrilled to share some exciting news and express heartfelt gratitude.
We Raised $1,295 on Giving Tuesday! 🎊👏🏾🎉
Thanks to the generosity of our incredible community, we've reached 51% of our goal for the Turn On The Lights campaign in one day! With $1,295 raised, we are more than halfway to ensuring that Onward Theatre shines brighter than ever!
Every Donor Makes a Difference
A special shoutout to our wonderful TOP TIER donors who chose to make their support public:
Allison
Meredith Coyle
Chandler
Nicole Radford
Teresa Lasky
Ashley Martin
Steph Mikulski
Nicole Kemper
Obiajulu Ede
Mary Matthews
Steve Radford
Michael J. Astrauskas
Cayla
James King
And to our anonymous donors – you know who you are – we send unlimited and infinite gratitude and love. Your support fuels our mission and brings light to our stage and community.
There's Still Time to Reach Our Goal!
While we've come a long way, our journey isn't over yet. The campaign ends on December 11 so that we can be ready for our January 2024 show season, and we're optimistic about reaching our full funding goal. If you haven't had a chance to contribute and want to be part of this exciting project, there's still time. Every donation, no matter the size, gets us closer to our dream. Every. Dollar. Counts!
Let's Finish Strong
As we count down the final days of the campaign, let's keep the momentum going. Share our cause with friends, family, enemies, and fellow theatre lovers. Together, we can turn the lights on at Onward Theatre and illuminate the talent and stories waiting to be seen.
Thank you for being part of our community. Here's to making magic happen on stage!
Love,
Onward Theatre
One Week Until Class Starts
We're on the final countdown! Just one week left until Comedy 101 with Baron Vaughn and Improv Basics with Markis Gallashaw classes kick off, and we can't contain our excitement!
First off, let's talk a bit about Comedy 101. No lie, this is the kind of stand up class that usually goes for $500-800 bucks minimum in Atlanta, and given Baron's star-studded resume it could be much higher. But at Onward, we're hyper focused on accessibility, and luckily for us Baron believed in our mission to uplift underrepresented voices as well and was super eager to help us with it. We've priced this class so no comedy enthusiast feels left out. A TV star teaching you the ropes without breaking the bank? That's the Onward difference.
Then, there's our Improv Basics class. At Onward, improv isn't just about being funny. It's about building an inclusive community that thrives on the silliness and unpredictability of everyday life. We're passionate about staying in the moment, trusting your gut, and spinning stories from the wildest ideas. You're not just learning improv; you're embracing the spirit of making Every. Moment. Count!
You may be wondering what our past students thought, and we do have some quotes!
"So glad I took the Onward improv class! After not performing for a few years, it was a blast to play with new performers and create all these hilarious scenes. I especially liked the low pressure class environment because it helped me get out of my own head and truly play."
"I had a great experience at Onward, and I would definitely take more classes there. I really liked the mix of warm-up games and improv games we played. We rarely played the same game twice. Our instructor was very experienced, supportive, and also gave us notes to help us improve."
Don't just take their word for it, come experience it yourself! There's an electric buzz in the air as we gear up, and we'd love for you to be a part of it.
If you've been on the fence, now's the time to hop off and dive in. One week to go. Let's make it memorable, together.
Register for Comedy 101 today!
Or, click here to jump in to Improv Basics!
See you in class!
Love,
Onward Theatre
Update from the Onward Team
Hey y’all! Got another update for you. Thanks so much for being patient with us but real talk, between multiple covid variants, big life changes, and general global chaos, timing hasn’t been our friend. Following covid guidelines it seems like we’re approaching something that feels more like normalcy and we hope that trend continues. We’re having a board meeting this month to assess organizational needs, our mission, and talk through how best we can all move forward.
Establishing an organization with a solid foundation will take time, but we’re committed to our mission and we’ll continue to uplift underrepresented voices in comedy!
We can’t thank you enough for your support! We will have more news for you soon.
What’s going on with Onward?
Hey y’all!
It’s been a minute, so we want to give you a quick update on our status.
We previously announced that we would have a temporary space in Underground Atlanta during the Banksy exhibit as part of their Underground Roots program. We were really excited for it, but unfortunately due to unforeseen issues, we won’t be able to participate.
Our soft open is still planned for March 2022, but we won’t be opening in a permanent space at that time. After consulting with other theatres and being mindful of public health guidance, we don’t see a need to rush to open doors to hesitant audiences while they could safely watch Squid Game at home. The last thing we want is to launch and then quickly close because we couldn’t sustain the space.
We still plan to have a slow burn of pop up shows, workshops, and jams. We’ll announce when they are available so please keep an eye out for that. We’re exploring options for space through strategic partnerships with organizations in Atlanta, and keeping our eye out for a permanent location when it makes sense.
You’ve given us your time, donations, and trust, and we want to be successful for the community. We can’t thank you enough for believing in us and our mission, and we’re excited to move onward, together.
To recap:
- We won’t be opening in Underground Atlanta.
- Soft open planned for March 2022 in new space.
- Popup shows, workshops, and jams are upcoming.
Thank you so much!