$30,000 Goal Reached Monday, So jeff obafemi carr is Off the Roof

After a week spent camping out on the roof of Amun Ra Theatre, enduring thunderstorms and the whims of Mother Nature, jeff obafemi carr achieved his goal Monday afternoon with $30,000 raised to keep the theatre afloat for the remainder of 2009, entering the new year on a firm financial footing.

Last week, carr climbed a ladder to the roof of the ART Playhouse at 2508 Clifton Avenue in north Nashville with the intention of remaining there until he met his goal: "If you haven't heard already, I'm headed up to the roof of the theater I--along with many other volunteers and contributors--helped build last year. It is the first African-American theater facility in Nashville in over 100 years," carr told supporters last week.

"More significantly, we run a Youth Performing ARTs Academy for young people ranging from 9-13, and a Teen Ensemble that takes them to adulthood. In order to keep those valuable initiatives alive, I'm putting it on the line and climbing up a ladder."

carr vowed to stay on the roof "until we have collected the funds needed for us to close out 2009 and enter 2010 ahead of the game, with our Youth Performing ARTs Academy leading the way. Iwant to expand the Academy into a year-round program, and to do that, I need your help, from wherever you might be in this world."

"I'm doing this because I believe in the Mission of ART, and more importantly, I believe in the folk saying, 'When spiderwebs unite, they can tie up a lion.' Be the friend you have been, and I look forward to getting down from that roof and announcing an absolutely tantalizing 2010 Season of Plays and a new initiative for the kids," carr told reporters last week.

While on the roof, carr regularly blogged and kept friends and supporters advised of his progress through Facebook and Twitter, and through interviews with local media. According to carr, he and his wife are expecting their fourth child in November and he exhorted supporters to send him back home "before the midwife comes."

He stayed in a tent pitched on the roof, only coming down for bathroom breaks and to teach a one-hour class last Thursday afternoon. The funds raised during the weeklong event will help expand Amun Ra Theatre's youth academy and to bolster the theatre's finances during these troubling economic times. Staying on the roof, carr said, was a way to bring attention to the theatre's fundraising efforts.

During the rooftop effort, carr urged 300 individuals to donate $10 each, and in turn they were encouraged to find 10 more friends to donate another $10 each...leading to the $30,000 goal. In addition to online donations, people could drop off their contributions at the theatre itself.

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