Like Candy From a Baby

My wife, Michele, is co-starring in an upcoming play; a performance which benefits Pittsburgh Action Against Rape. The show, "Voices Carry," will premiere at the Mt. Lebanon High School Fine Arts Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7pm.

The play and the music were written by two good friends of my wife, who also reside in Mt. Lebanon. The script contains themes of sexual abuse and is not appropriate for children. Tickets are $10 at the door, or $8 in advance by calling 412-805-1563. The entirety of the proceeds, after costs, will go to PAAR. But I'm not here to help boost the proceeds part (though that certainly would be nice!) - I'm here to complain about the costs part.

You see, this play, which is being put on entirely for charity, will cost $450, payable to our fair township & school district. I think. No one seems to be entirely sure which shadowy taxing authority is imposing this fee, but the point stands: to use the stage, $450.

I might add - this is just the cost for the 4 hour block they will need to perform the show. If they wanted access to the stage, say for minor details - building a set, running light and audio cues, maybe something crazy, a rehearsal - they'd need to fork over an additional $450 per 4 hours.

Did I mention this production benefits a charity? As such, the company is rehearsing in living rooms and other available space, and is going to wing something for the crew setup.

This fee was thrust upon the production company after initial agreements were made to reserve the stage. Originally, the ballpark figure bandied about was on the order of $100-150, with an understanding that that covered things like preparation and rehearsal time. However, perhaps due to, hmm, a need to recoup some substantial losses, the deal has been "altered."

So please, I hope you'll attend - to help raise awareness for abused women, to help raise awareness for these insidious fees, and to help ensure that PAAR actually ends up with some proceeds to receive.

Oh, and by the way - do you know of any space that would host Brownie Troop 1093's meetings? Lincoln School is still trying to charge them $10 a pop. (That's a considerable amount of cookies.)