April 4, 2008
Dear Friend of The Thumb,
This past season has been one of landmark achievements for Clubbed Thumb. Just this winter:
- Over 251 playwrights from all over the country applied for our $15,000 Biennial Commission -- 3 times more than in the inaugural year! We're thrilled to announce the winner: Andy Bragen and his project Ranch Home.
- Clubbed Thumb now has 4 commissions in the mix. Andy's joins 3 projects funded by The New York State Council on the Arts: Gentleman Caller by Ann Marie Healy, Roadkill Confidential by Sheila Callaghan, and All You Can Eat by Jason Grote. We're delighted to be nurturing these plays from the ground-up. Keep a look out for them in the coming years!
- In January we made our Off-Broadway debut with Amazons and Their Men by Jordan Harrison. The show was a resounding success, chosen as a NY Times Critics' Pick and hailed as "a dramatic masterstroke" by the NY Press.
And with June right around the corner, we're just getting started. Clubbed Thumb will return to The Ohio Theatre for Summerworks '08, where we'll feature three fantastic new plays:
- Gentleman Caller by Ann Marie Healy
- Vendetta Chrome by Sally Oswald
- Slavey by Sigrid Gilmer
We'll be kicking it all off with another raucous opening night celebration, Clubbed Thumb's very own Constitutional Convention. Teams of artists will propose new legislation that you will have the chance to vote in...or veto.
If this sounds like quite an undertaking, that's because it is. This is where you come in. You know that nobody's better than Clubbed Thumb at stretching a penny; frugal is our middle name. But we are uncompromising in our commitment to quality: our productions have never looked better and we have the most creatively charged artists working with us. We depend on donations from individuals for our production costs. You buy the costumes, build the the sets, and rent the lights. Without you, we're producing readings. Your contribution goes straight to the Summerworks stage. Come down to the theater and see for yourself!
