Thank you for being a friend and member of the Matawan Theatre Alumni Association. Since our creation in 2009, we have made so much progress. In the past two years, we have awarded $500 scholarships to four graduating seniors, helped the high school musical make ends meet when budgets got slashed, and brought the alumni community together for two fantastic Variety Show performances.

Yet, there is still quite a bit to do, and like many not-for-profit organizations, we have been hit by hard times. We need your help to continue to serve the school district’s theatre programs. As a Matawan Theater Alumnus, we are asking for your financial support. And this kind of help comes in the form of a monetary donation.

We understand that you may have been hit by hard times as well, but any amount can help us, and it all adds up. We would prefer checks (mailed to: MTAA, 70 Broad Street, Matawan, NJ 07747), but PayPal is available for your convenience on our website, MatawanTheaterAlumni.org (please be aware, however, that PayPal takes 6% of the total amount donated). In order to offer scholarships and hopefully produce Matawan Legends this June, we need to raise funds by April 10.

• $500 allows us to offer one scholarship to a graduating senior
• $1000 allows us to offer two scholarships to graduating seniors
• $2000 allows us to offer both scholarships and covers the costs of producing Matawan Legends.

Legends was created to be our big annual fundraiser for the scholarship program. However, in 2010, proceeds just barely covered production costs, and Legends 2011 had to be canceled for fiscal hardships. It is a great experience for all involved, and serves all aspects of our mission by bringing together alumni and current students to create, perform, and grow together. Many members expressed disappointment at the cancellation, but it was unfortunately a necessity. If we are able to meet our $2000 goal, we should be able to produce Legends 2012, tentatively scheduled for June 23.

Thank you again for being a member of MTAA, and we hope that we can count on your financial support as we work towards our goal of raising $2000 by April 10th. The Matawan Theater Alumni Association is an IRS recognized not-for-profit 501c3 organization and all donations are tax deductible. Receipts are available upon request.

Sincerely,

Kate Eovino, President
Sue Kisenwether, Vice President
Parag Badami, Treasurer
Amy Chrzanowski, Board of Directors
Stephanie Platko, Board of Directors

Dear MTAA Members, Supporters, and Friends -

Thank you for your interest in Matawan Legends 2011. We’re very sorry to have to announce that this year’s performance has been canceled.

A number of factors contributed to this decision by the MTAA board, but the biggest factor has been that of finances.  In previous years, we were fortunate enough to have the use of the MRHS Auditorium and services of the janitorial staff donated to the program.  Unfortunately, that was not possible this year.  The cost of putting on the show is outside of our current budget, especially with waning participation.  We feel that our first duty is to the current theater students in the district and that the funds we do currently have should be reserved to bolster the district’s theater program over the coming year and hopefully continue our scholarship program next spring.

Legends has been our biggest fundraiser since it’s inception, and unfortunately we cannot count on that income for 2012 fiscal year.  Sadly, it’s quite possible that to produce Legends 2011, we would be taking a loss to start the new fiscal year.  We have also been considering making Legends a biennial (every other year) event, hopefully cutting down on production costs, but increasing participation and ticket sales.

Obviously, we know that the national economic situation is not a good one.  But we do need funds in order to host events and programs.  We are going to continue to fund-raise throughout the coming year.  In fact, we have an upcoming fundraising event at a Blue Claws game (please see the Facebook event for more information).  And please consider making a one-time or recurring donation to MTAA.  Every little bit helps.

We plan to bring Matawan Legends back in 2012, bigger and better, with planning beginning now!  If you would like to take part in the planning process, join the Matawan Legends committee, or share comments or suggestions, please contact us at legends@matawantheateralumni.org.

We thank you, wholeheartedly, for your understanding and continued support.

Matawan Legends 2011 Commitee & Board of Directors
Matawan Theater Alumni Association

Our hope is that this update will mean a site that is easier to maintain for us, and more accurate and up-to-date information for you.  And look!  Our blog is even integrated into the site now!  Sweet!

There’s a lot of work yet to be done before we’re 100% done, so keep on coming back and checking out the updates.

Games & activities, with prizes including tickets to Legends!
Arts & crafts for kids – bring the family!

Suggested Donation $5, Or contact us about bringing something.

Alums, Teachers, Families, & Other Adults - If you’re willing to talk to students about jobs, internships, colleges, etc., please let us know!

Students, Recent Alums, & Other Curious People - We want to make this as useful as it is fun. If there’s a college, theater, profession, major, anything at all, that you want to find out more about, let us know and we’ll try to find an alum for you to talk to!

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.
— Joseph Campbell