Sunday, February 8, 2009
Auction in photos
Whew! I just spent two hours on the phones and it was exhilerating! Thank you to all of our friends and members calling in, and keep it up. I'm still out of breath, so here are is a short collection of moments, quiet and not so quiet, over the last couple of hours (taken by our fabulous graphics intern Raphael)
awed and inspired
Maybe it's like being on the stock market floor (perhaps at least in years past) as people wave thier arms and shout bids as the hour closes and final bidding wars erupt. A set of four Ravens tickets are still going from the last quater hour, now approaching $1,300-- a touching tribute to both the love of the sport and the dedication to support CENTERSTAGE. And as the bid closes out the room of staff and volunteers erupt into cheers of gratitude.
None of the shy, quiet card waving of the typical auction, this is fast paced excitement as people vie for incredible offerings for a great cause. I'm consistently blown away today by the involvement of our volunteers and the excitement this event garners-- no wonder people talk about it all year! As we enter the busiest hours, things get more frantic. Listen in at 1090 am or WBAL radio online and you'll hear the chorus of cheers as a top bid breaks out from the pack echo behind the local celebrity auctioneers (right now listen for WJZ's Sally Thorner!)
The spirit of excitement-- for both the hard earned prizes won as well as the wonderful show of support-- is amazing.
None of the shy, quiet card waving of the typical auction, this is fast paced excitement as people vie for incredible offerings for a great cause. I'm consistently blown away today by the involvement of our volunteers and the excitement this event garners-- no wonder people talk about it all year! As we enter the busiest hours, things get more frantic. Listen in at 1090 am or WBAL radio online and you'll hear the chorus of cheers as a top bid breaks out from the pack echo behind the local celebrity auctioneers (right now listen for WJZ's Sally Thorner!)
The spirit of excitement-- for both the hard earned prizes won as well as the wonderful show of support-- is amazing.
Don't forget eBay!
Wow! what an exciting hour... an all access pass to the Maryland Film Festival topped at $400 (but don't worry, there is another one up for grabs at 7 pm). Right now we're seeing a great deals at the top of the hour for a stay in the Dominican Republic (I'm keeping my eye on that one) and a week in Duck, North Carolina!
*****
On our eBay auction page, there are still some real steals, and a few hot collectors items-- including several items from the Tea at Five production with Kate Mulgrew, including her costume, which is going for a steal-- this item is up until 10pm tonight, so don't miss out!
*****
Whether running up and down the stairs or answering the phones, what keeps our volunteers running? A steady stream of food and refreshments has been graciously donated-- from home-baked cakes from our very own docents to ham and sandwiches, plus a box full of the unique Balitmore delicacy, Berger cookies! These sugar packed snacks, a local favorite, show up in bulk every year to keep the blood sugar pumped up for all the action.
*****
The water main break hasn't shut down the auction! In record time we had facilities set up (just in case) outside the theater, to be sure our volunteers were taken care of. So far we still have water, but just in case, be prepared, be prepared, be prepared!
And the excitement continues!
I've been hearing about the annual Auction for CENTERSTAGE since coming to the theater in September (and, as a local, have often followed the exciting list of items being auctioned each year for much longer). But that really doesn't prepare you for the great excitement--and incredible deals-- of the actual event. I won my first bid, getting a fabulous package of tickets to the opening night of the Maryland Film Festival and a poster signed by John Waters, but alas I was out bid on a stunning etching by artist Ruth Channing.
The bidding wars have already started, including a great deal on a catering package for an engagement party.
Here's a first-hand look inside the action, including Managing Director Debbie Chinn with Sydney Wilner our auction coordinator, and guest auctioneer Chris Noya from Stevenson University (the auction sponsor); floor leader Adam Rubin supervises a bidding war at the end of hour.
The bidding wars have already started, including a great deal on a catering package for an engagement party.
Here's a first-hand look inside the action, including Managing Director Debbie Chinn with Sydney Wilner our auction coordinator, and guest auctioneer Chris Noya from Stevenson University (the auction sponsor); floor leader Adam Rubin supervises a bidding war at the end of hour.
Exciting morning!
A loud buzzer just sounded in the room full of shouting volunteers and phones ringing like mad... a large sign is waved "2-Minute Warning" and the clatter of phones increases...
It's 11:20 am and the Auction for CENTERSTAGE is well underway-- phones have been going since 8 am. Adding to flurry is the breaking action on Calvert and Madison as the streets gush from the water main break early this morning is still flooding the area.
But while performances of Fabulation are unfortunately canceled (don't worry! the box office is frantically calling patrons, if you have tickets, email boxoffice@centerstage.org to reschedule), in here the show goes on!
This annual fundraiser has been the talk of the theater all month, and now we sit in the midst. Local celebrity auctioneer Dan Rodericks was among the volunteers making frantic calls this morning to help get portable toilets to the theater for when the limited water we still have is shut off.
Meanwhile, the last 15 minute segment is closing out and there are great deals being made-- a package to the Allenberry Resort Inn & Playhouse is going for a steal of $180m and the hour-long items (including a Christmas holiday in Orlando) are still going strong.
I'll be back to update you on the excitement, but don't forget to check out www.centerstage.org for all the items up in the next hour!
~Heather
It's 11:20 am and the Auction for CENTERSTAGE is well underway-- phones have been going since 8 am. Adding to flurry is the breaking action on Calvert and Madison as the streets gush from the water main break early this morning is still flooding the area.
But while performances of Fabulation are unfortunately canceled (don't worry! the box office is frantically calling patrons, if you have tickets, email boxoffice@centerstage.org to reschedule), in here the show goes on!
This annual fundraiser has been the talk of the theater all month, and now we sit in the midst. Local celebrity auctioneer Dan Rodericks was among the volunteers making frantic calls this morning to help get portable toilets to the theater for when the limited water we still have is shut off.
Meanwhile, the last 15 minute segment is closing out and there are great deals being made-- a package to the Allenberry Resort Inn & Playhouse is going for a steal of $180m and the hour-long items (including a Christmas holiday in Orlando) are still going strong.
I'll be back to update you on the excitement, but don't forget to check out www.centerstage.org for all the items up in the next hour!
~Heather
Friday, February 6, 2009
Auction for CENTERSTAGE!
Sunday marks the 32nd Baltimore Sun Auction for CENTERSTAGE. This annual event features 16 fast-paced hours of auctioning off a bevvy of great prizes, from trips and dining around town to exotic location (and prime seats for next season's Orioles' and Ravens' games!) The auction will be broadcast live on WBAL 1090 AM all day.
Take a sneak peek at all the items being auctioned hourly in this weekends Baltimore Sun MAIN section, or visit auction.centerstage.org for a full list. Also, a great selection of items (including trips to see Jon Stewart's Daily Show and prime signed items from Star Trek Voyager's Kate Mulgrew's performance in Tea at Five) are up for bid now at ebay.centerstage.org.
In total, over 700 items are being auctioned off, with benefits going to support the artistic and educational endeavors at CENTERSTAGE.
Check it out, and look for the deals!!
~Heather
PS~
We'll be blogging regularly throughout the day to highlight all the excitement!
Take a sneak peek at all the items being auctioned hourly in this weekends Baltimore Sun MAIN section, or visit auction.centerstage.org for a full list. Also, a great selection of items (including trips to see Jon Stewart's Daily Show and prime signed items from Star Trek Voyager's Kate Mulgrew's performance in Tea at Five) are up for bid now at ebay.centerstage.org.
In total, over 700 items are being auctioned off, with benefits going to support the artistic and educational endeavors at CENTERSTAGE.
Check it out, and look for the deals!!
~Heather
PS~
We'll be blogging regularly throughout the day to highlight all the excitement!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Caroline & The Ravens
In the two weeks before the closing curtain of Caroline, or Change, I found myself chatting with Eddie, our tailor, in the third floor break room as I dried my feet of the rain and satisfied my craving for Indian food with vegetables and Naan. As our conversation progressed, it somehow evolved from the Akbar’s wonderful buffet menu, to ticket sales for Fabulation and Caroline, and then to the Ravens upcoming game against the Titans. I’m not even a real fan of football; however, it is a topic one can not readily avoid, especially in this town.
Football season is like a pandemic of purple for Baltimore and every year, without fail, the city finds itself draped in the color. Those last two weeks before Caroline, or Change closed its curtains at CENTERSTAGE, there were only two topics of conversation: Caroline and The Ravens.
As a fan of the arts and friend to many a Ravens fan, I wanted to be able to relate to both sides of the spectrum. But where should I even begin? Yes, I can discuss Caroline, or Change with a passion all my own, but the Ravens? I feel almost entirely dislocated from the matter. So, with a desperate urge to understand this obsession that had practically consumed nearly all of my closest associates, family and friends, I read. I read, not just about the Ravens, but of the Colts, their history with Baltimore, Johnny Unitas, Robert Irsay, and those infamous Mayflower buses.
As I researched, I became engrossed in the history of football in this town. Although I cannot say that I fully understand, at the very least I have begun to empathize with the Ravens cult. I mean, the Colts just left us, and in the middle of the night, nonetheless. I get now, just a little bit, this sense of Ravens pride and the excitement that filled the hearts of all fans at the thought that we were so close to reaching our second Super Bowl!
In the end, I somehow became invested in our final game against the Steelers and was bitterly disappointed at our loss. Despite the upset, it was still exhilarating to witness that same enthusiasm and fervor burst through the doorways of CENTERSTAGE and fill our hallways with the same Ravens fanfare that was thrown all over the city. We had Ravens promotions on ticket sales and drink specials offered to all who walk into our theater wearing any type of Ravens attire—plus a specialty drink so lovingly named “The Interceptor” after Ravens jersey number 20, Mr. Ed Reed, and yes, it was purple!
What was most fascinating to me, however, was not all of the purple, nor was it all of the media, nor our attempts to keep our patrons coming back to see Caroline one last time. But what surprised me the most was the fact that our city’s love for football never wiped out its love for the theater.
The weekend the Ravens played the Titans, our house was consistently full despite the game. In fact, not only did we offer drink specials that day, CENTERSTAGE went the extra mile for our patrons and played the actual game in both of our cafes prior to the show. As the game ended just twenty minutes before curtain, a new energy filled the lobbies. It was the kind of energy that could only come with a three point and one field kick victory over the opponent and to watch it enter the Pearlstone that night really was a unique experience.
The next day, our house was booked solid for our Sunday post-Ravens-game matinee, and patrons waited outside our box office for any canceled tickets to the show that had earned rave reviews from The Sun, BroadwayWorld.com, and our audiences.
It humbles me to know that, not only do our patrons love us as passionately as their favorite team, but that there were those who saw our show three, four, even five times and always with a new person. One of our patrons came to see Caroline a record of six times during its run. And our seats never stopped selling, which is a testament that the most powerful advertisement was not any sort of public media; it was word of mouth. It gives everyone involved here at CENTERSTAGE the genuine feeling that we are doing something extremely right.
I am so overjoyed to see such a response. It encourages and fills me with hope that in spite of our troubled economic times, there are still some things in our immediate universe that manage to bring us happiness and cause for celebration—and even those that help us laugh through our troubles, such as our new show, Fabulation.
Sure, we have may not have made it to the Super Bowl this season, but we will still cheer for the Ravens, for Caroline and, most importantly, for Change.
Football season is like a pandemic of purple for Baltimore and every year, without fail, the city finds itself draped in the color. Those last two weeks before Caroline, or Change closed its curtains at CENTERSTAGE, there were only two topics of conversation: Caroline and The Ravens.
As a fan of the arts and friend to many a Ravens fan, I wanted to be able to relate to both sides of the spectrum. But where should I even begin? Yes, I can discuss Caroline, or Change with a passion all my own, but the Ravens? I feel almost entirely dislocated from the matter. So, with a desperate urge to understand this obsession that had practically consumed nearly all of my closest associates, family and friends, I read. I read, not just about the Ravens, but of the Colts, their history with Baltimore, Johnny Unitas, Robert Irsay, and those infamous Mayflower buses.
As I researched, I became engrossed in the history of football in this town. Although I cannot say that I fully understand, at the very least I have begun to empathize with the Ravens cult. I mean, the Colts just left us, and in the middle of the night, nonetheless. I get now, just a little bit, this sense of Ravens pride and the excitement that filled the hearts of all fans at the thought that we were so close to reaching our second Super Bowl!
In the end, I somehow became invested in our final game against the Steelers and was bitterly disappointed at our loss. Despite the upset, it was still exhilarating to witness that same enthusiasm and fervor burst through the doorways of CENTERSTAGE and fill our hallways with the same Ravens fanfare that was thrown all over the city. We had Ravens promotions on ticket sales and drink specials offered to all who walk into our theater wearing any type of Ravens attire—plus a specialty drink so lovingly named “The Interceptor” after Ravens jersey number 20, Mr. Ed Reed, and yes, it was purple!
What was most fascinating to me, however, was not all of the purple, nor was it all of the media, nor our attempts to keep our patrons coming back to see Caroline one last time. But what surprised me the most was the fact that our city’s love for football never wiped out its love for the theater.
The weekend the Ravens played the Titans, our house was consistently full despite the game. In fact, not only did we offer drink specials that day, CENTERSTAGE went the extra mile for our patrons and played the actual game in both of our cafes prior to the show. As the game ended just twenty minutes before curtain, a new energy filled the lobbies. It was the kind of energy that could only come with a three point and one field kick victory over the opponent and to watch it enter the Pearlstone that night really was a unique experience.
The next day, our house was booked solid for our Sunday post-Ravens-game matinee, and patrons waited outside our box office for any canceled tickets to the show that had earned rave reviews from The Sun, BroadwayWorld.com, and our audiences.
It humbles me to know that, not only do our patrons love us as passionately as their favorite team, but that there were those who saw our show three, four, even five times and always with a new person. One of our patrons came to see Caroline a record of six times during its run. And our seats never stopped selling, which is a testament that the most powerful advertisement was not any sort of public media; it was word of mouth. It gives everyone involved here at CENTERSTAGE the genuine feeling that we are doing something extremely right.
I am so overjoyed to see such a response. It encourages and fills me with hope that in spite of our troubled economic times, there are still some things in our immediate universe that manage to bring us happiness and cause for celebration—and even those that help us laugh through our troubles, such as our new show, Fabulation.
Sure, we have may not have made it to the Super Bowl this season, but we will still cheer for the Ravens, for Caroline and, most importantly, for Change.
~Cori
***
Photos- Aaron Bell, Bradley Bowers, Kelly McCreary, Roland Haywood, and Renn Woods in Caroline, or Change (top); The Interceptor (middle); Robert Montano and Natalie Venetia Belcon in Fabulation (bottom). Show photos by Richard Anderson.
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