Your support is most appreciated. Click on the following link to donate online. If you wish to mail in a check, please download the Pledge Form below, and send it to:
Goshen Players, Inc. P.O. Box 63, Goshen, CT 06756-0063
Pledge Form in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format *
As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, your donation to the Goshen Players is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
* To download the above form you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader: www.adobe.com
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In the frigid winter of 1949, Dr. and Mrs. Doloff of Goshen convinced a small cadre of friends and neighbors to join them on the tiny stage of the Town Hall for a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury. The stage was minute; there was no lighting; there was no backstage; there was no heat or insulation; and there was no running water. This was the first time anyone had undertaken this kind of adventure in the Northwest Corner. It was also winter in Goshen with knee deep crunching snow, crackling ice, and howling winds.
What were they thinking?
With the support of their families and friends, this talented and enthusiastic group braved pioneer conditions to create magic on that small stage. Their love of the lyrics and music along with their contagious enthusiasm brought a winter-worn community together, and inspired the birth of the Goshen Players in 1949, making us the second-longest consecutively running theatre group in Connecticut. The magic of that simple production marked the beginning of a tradition of excellence and camaraderie in theatre in Goshen. For 63 years, generations of friends and families have gathered together as a community to share in this same spirit.
The support and appreciation of the community have fueled the growth of the Goshen Players over the years. Many changes have taken place since that simple production in 1949. Here are just a few!
- The Goshen Players are now Goshen Players, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation, organized in 1986.
- The Town Hall is now the Old Town Hall and is owned outright by Goshen Players, Inc.
- The building has heat and air conditioning.
- There is running and potable water.
- The public restrooms are newly renovated.
- The stage has grown.
- The lighting is now professional theatre grade.
- We now offer a full season of theatrical performances.
In addition to these improved facility changes, and expanded programming, many other things have changed in relation to our productions over the last six decades: royalties for a musical now average $4000, directors and musicians must be paid, set building costs and light rentals have escalated, the cost of heating the building has skyrocketed, mailing costs have gone through the roof, printing and paper costs have tripled, box office and telephone costs are on the rise, insurance for our building and our audience is out of sight. These changes are realities of which our friends are not always aware.
The Goshen Players of today has an obligation to our community to continue the traditions and values started by those first Players. Community plays an integral part in our success. Through our dedicated volunteer corps and annual financial support from you, our community, the Players are able to move forward. Our friends are an essential part of the glue that holds this wonderful, familiar, thespian troupe together.
As we begin a new season, we need your help and ask for your support by donating to our annual appeal to help off set the rising costs of mounting a production and the maintenance of the building. Your help will assist in underwriting the royalties, renting a theatrical light or cable, building the set, buying the paint, or contributing to the utilities of the building. Many friends have helped bring us this far. I hope that you will help us go another 63 years.
We look forward to seeing you in the audience and hope that you will consider us in your annual giving plan. You will be rewarded with an outstanding season of theatre and the arts right here at home in Goshen.
Kudos,
GOSHEN PLAYERS, INC.
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