Taproot Theatre Company Celebrated 33 Years With its Annual Gala, Raised $84,000

Taproot Theatre Company celebrated 33 years of bringing theatre to the Seattle region and beyond with its annual gala at The Triple Door on April 18. Taproot Theatre brought in a net of approximately $84,000 in gifts and pledges at Light Up the Night. Although the gala’s income was slightly below 2008’s, the total number of donors and the number of gifts from new donors set a record. The event was completely underwritten, with no out-of-pocket expenses to Taproot Theatre, all the seats were full and Taproot now has over 30 new donors.

TV personality Grant Goodeve served as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies, taking guests through a tour of Taproot Theatre’s Mainstage, Acting Studio and Touring programs in a Rick Steves parody: Taproot Through the Back Door. While Steves was unable to be present, he supported the idea and his organization donated a gift set of luggage, books and DVDs, which was auctioned off that evening.  Entertainment for the evening included performances from Taproot’s Acting Studio students, Road Company actors with a sample of their bullying-prevention repertoire, and cast members from the upcoming musical, Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming (opening July 10) in a fun program that highlighted Taproot’s multi-faceted production programming.

Support for Taproot Theatre’s 2009 season is generously provided by 4Culture, ArtsFund, The Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences, Washington State Arts Commission, Nesholm Family Foundation and Poncho.

Taproot Theatre Company is a professional, non-profit theatre company with a multi-faceted production program. Founded in 1976, Taproot Theatre serves the Pacific Northwest with Mainstage Productions, Touring Productions and Acting Studio. Taproot exists to create theatre that explores the beauty and questions of life while bringing hope to our search for meaning. Taproot Theatre Company is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), Theatre Puget Sound (TPS), and the Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce.

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