A message from our Producing Director, Jed Bernstein:
Dear Friends,
All of us at Theatre Aspen are keeping you in our thoughts as we all struggle with circumstances unmatched in our lifetimes. We hope that you and your families are safe and healthy.
One of the benefits of quarantining and social distancing is that we have a lot of time for self-reflection about what we do with our lives, the activities that we choose to pursue and the people that we treasure. It certainly has given me a lot of time to think about my life in the arts and why I feel it has been time well spent.
Aristotle, the father of theatre as an art form, said that great drama would incite three emotions in an audience: fear, pity, and catharsis.
As humanity faces uncharted territory across the globe, fear of uncertainty pervades. All of us feel for the families affected by this pandemic and for those whose livelihoods have been upended. As we all cope with the complexity of emotions during this time, we believe it’s important to keep hope and look forward to the time when we can experience catharsis.
The arts — and the visceral connectivity and empathy of theatre arts most of all – will fuel this sense of relief. There will be a return to family, to community, and our routine. When we get through this – and we will get through this – it will be more important than ever to come together and find joy in our shared experiences.
Shows and theatres all over the country are fighting to preserve their ability to contribute to their communities; these contributions will be more necessary than ever before. We are grateful to have everyone on our team tucked in, working healthily and productively at home, quickly converting educational experiences to the virtual world and looking ahead to prepare for our 2020 programming.
We wish you and yours continued strength through this difficult time.
