A big thank you to all of you who donated to us last month. We were truly humbled by the support you showed us. Your generosity is assisting us with our start-up costs at this early stage.
As the new school year approaches, The Bridge continues to evolve and we are now entering a new phase. Below are just some highlights of what is happening this month. Of course, we want to tell you about all the exciting things we have planned but we also do not want to overwhelm you in one monthly update. So from September, you will hear from us twice a month! Hooray! Good idea? Bad idea? Let us know!
1. Come and show off at our open auditions!
We would like to invite you and your friends to audition to take part in our workshop for all ages this autumn. For nine weekends, we will work together to produce a show of songs from the musicals, which we will put on at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in the centre of Brussels. The show is called All Together Now! and is a celebration of musical theatre.
Whether you have been tap dancing since the age of three or have just started singing to yourself in the shower, aged 97, we would love you to come to our auditions on Sunday 12 September at Studio Empain. All that we require is your enthusiasm for making a magical production with fellow Brussels residents.
Our rehearsals will be led by the incredibly talented Alexandre Diaconu and Heidi Chadjideris, who together bring a wealth of experience in musical theatre. We are also working to organise exclusive masterclasses for participants by West End professionals. More details soon!
2. Get acquainted with the Business of Show Business
For a more in-depth exploration of our journey towards creating an English-language theatre for Brussels, have a listen to our monthly podcast! How To Build A Theatre takes a look at different aspects of the theatre industry and highlights the relevance of the performing arts in our everyday lives.
For August’s episode, my co-host, Phil, and I sit down with Vicki Grace, who is the Development Director for the Royal Court Theatre in London. We discuss the long tradition of patronage in the arts and the benefits for businesses today of forming long-term relationships with theatres and other cultural actors.
New episodes are out monthly. Subscribe now. It is available on all platforms!
3. Show your support by becoming a Founding Patron
As mentioned in the introduction, we are now entering a new phase in the development of The Bridge. We have our week-long workshop for 10-18-year-olds starting in just over a week; we have auditions for all ages for our autumn musical theatre workshop on Sunday 12 September, and we are planning our first play to open in mid-October (as you may have seen in the recent Bulletin article). On top of this, we have found a space that offers the very real potential to become our home!
In order to realise all of our exciting objectives, we need your help! And that’s why we are offering you, dear subscribers, the opportunity before anyone else to become a Founding Patron of The Bridge. Founding Patrons are an essential component of our financing strategy and without you, we will not be able to move forward with creating a home for professional theatre in English. Altogether, we are looking to raise €80,000 from individual donations before the end of the year.
We have an exciting range of rewards to entice you to part with your cash, including free tickets, access to rehearsals, and lifetime rewards. There are limited numbers available in each price category and once they’re gone, they’re gone. Please consider donating to us early and certainly by 31 December 2021, when the offers will close.
You can find all the details on our website.
P.S. And if you’re not sure about giving us money, how about lending us capital, instead?
Thank you.
That’s it for this month. Thank you for helping to move this project forward,
Edward McMillan
Co-founder