Close to $5,000 has been raised for the Theater Artist Relief Fund, sponsored by the Star and the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona.
The fund, launched June 18, hopes to raise $20,000 for distribution to COVID-19-impacted theater artists on and off the stage, including such places as in the box office and costume shops.
Many theater artists have two to three jobs to make ends meet, and those jobs are often in the service industry, which also had to lay off or furlough employees. Most of those jobs have not come back.
More than 1,000 people in Tucson and Southern Arizona have full- and part-time jobs in the theater industry. Most of those came to a stand still in mid-March, when the virus forced shows to shut down and restaurants to close.
The Star and AFTSA hope to award grants of $500 to those who have been financially impacted by the shut downs.
The fundraising campaign continues into mid-July. Make your tax deductible donation at tucson.com/theaterhelp.
Artists will be randomly selected by the Arts Foundation from the fund applicants.
If more is raised, more theater workers can benefit from the small but needed financial boost.
The donation page is open now; theater workers can begin applying on June 22.
“The theater community has been good to us, all of us in Southern Arizona, bringing life to stories, putting issues in perspective, making us laugh and cry and forcing us to confront uncomfortable truths,” says senior editor Debbie Kornmiller.
“I don’t want them to be forgotten.”
