- June 27, 2024
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As its final act before dissolving, the Palm Coast Arts Foundation gave a gift that will strengthen for years to come what PCAF founder Sam Perkovich called its “partner in crime”: City Repertory Theatre is now $69,000 richer.
CRT cofounder Diane Ellertson accepted the donation check, in front of a small crowd of supporters on June 20, and leaped in the air, waving the piece of paper that will give the theater troupe some long-wished-for financial breathing room.
PCAF, which had aimed for 20 years to unite the arts and transform the city into an arts destination in Town Center, announced last year that it was dissolving due to event cancellations during the COVID 19 pandemic. PCAF's remaining funds had to be given to another 501c3, and Perkovich chose CRT. The two organizations had collaborated on many projects in the past, including Shakespeare in the Park.
Ellertson and cofounder John Sbordone, who has directed many of CRT's shows, plan to use the funding to improve the seating at the theater, which is at City Marketplace: 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite B207, Palm Coast.
Sbordone said CRT will continue in its mission to produce plays that make the audience think and feel, pushing boundaries not touched by other local theaters. In previous years, it has done so on a budget of next to nothing.
“We were founded at City Rep on a principal of Peter Brook, who wrote a magnificent book in (1968) called ‘The Empty Space,’” Sbordone said. “And he starts the book by saying, ‘I can walk any actor across a room and create an active theater.’" He quipped: "And given our budgets in the past …”
He continued, affirming CRT’s quality despite the lack of budget: “We've had the empty space, and we've walked the actors across the stage, and they made magnificent theater.”
Visit https://crtpalmcoast.com/.
In PCAF’s wake, the Flagler County Cultural Council aims to promote local arts, history and culture, as does the organization United We Art.
