Greenwood Lake Theater

The ultimate goal of Greenwood Lake Theatre is to provide Orange County with a resident professional theater company, as well as greater access to theater education to enhance an already wonderful community. Our first offering in Orange County began during the summer of 2016 where we
presented a professional production of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" in Greenwood
Lake, NY on September 9th & 10th 2016. It was our first time performing under our new mission and
the final result was a wonderful, well-received show.

We have filed the necessary paperwork to change Mercia Entertainment to Greenwood Lake Theater in 2017, and this year we are working to expand our board to include local voices from our community. Like last year, our short term goal is to produce a professional stage musical in summer 2018, as well as offer a theater workshop for young people aged 12-18. Over the course of the workshop, they would have the
opportunity to learn from working professionals in the industry and to learn about the different career
opportunities in theater. At the end of the workshop, they will have the opportunity to perform in a
show with professional union actors. In addition, this year, we plan to have a holiday offering as well around the beginning of December.

The long term goals of Greenwood Lake Theatre include presenting professional shows year around,
and offering after-school classes for any students who wish to learn about any element of
theater, both school-age children and adults. We would also like to move into our own physical space. We fully intend to grow into needing our own theater space, giving us more flexibility in the types of show we can present. We seek to become a place of diverse theater offerings and experiences.

While we do intend to charge for classes as a form of revenue, we will establish reduced tuition
and scholarships for those who need it. The benefits of arts education are countless. Whether or not a
student chooses to pursue a career in theater, the lessons they will learn will be carried with them.
Lessons in confidence, public speaking, working with others, thinking on their feet and working
tenaciously towards a goal are surely things that could benefit any person in any career. We would like
to be there for any student who wishes to receive these lessons and we will work to make that
financially possible as we grow our organization. We are also exploring setting up partnerships with
schools who may be experiencing cuts in arts funding and who may be seeking to supplement.
We have, and will continue to produce our professional shows in cooperation with Actor's
Equity, the union for stage actors. Equity ensures a safe and fair work environment and will make sure
that our professional actors are getting contributions towards a pension and will be eligible for health
insurance. Continuing to work with Equity will ensure that we are maintaining an ideal work
environment and that we can attract the highest caliber talent possible to our community.

The vision that we have for this company is one that will take many years to accomplish. There
will be incremental growth from year to year, constantly building on what we have already
accomplished. Our commitment to our goal is strong and we will establish something wonderful and
long-lasting for the Orange County region.

As with any small non-profit, it can be difficult to keep your head above water and truly grow. Since incorporating, we've added 2 board members, received our non-profit status, produced several shows and readings and shifted our base of operations to Greenwood Lake, NY and have honed in on our mission statement. Our belief is slow growth is still great growth and building a solid history is what we are trying to accomplish in the next several years.