Rural and Community Art Project Grant

We've set our sights on several goals-to produce five first-class performances suitable for all ages, in an affordable price range, marketing extensively(for cast, production crews, audiences) in the 5-county area, and unveil the new fly system as a salute to the many Reif Performing Arts Center project contributors. With this bigger-than-life undertaking we expect to build our presence in the community and increase interest in supporting our organization - backstage, on stage, in the house and/or out of the pocket. We are excited to collaborate with the Reif Dance program, the Itasca Orchestra, and local high school bands. Through extensive marketing and surveys we'll gather information allowing us to better serve our patrons in future projects. We will rely heavily on audience reactions funneled through the media, i.e. letters to the editor, Facebook comments, and arts reviews on local radio. Surveys will be included in the programs as well as provided to each production/cast member. Based on their responses, we will know which marketing choices were most successful and which ones to disregard in the future. We will also learn, from our audiences, what kinds of programming would be worth developing as well as performance interests for the future. Music Man is a 2 1/2 hour production requiring many scene changes including many drops. We plan to unveil the new fly system with these rented drops. We think the pride of the Reif Project supporters will make this rental expense worth the money. Ticket sales will be a strong indicator of the success of our show as well as the affordability.