The Mission
Our Name
Originally, "Town Criers" spread their calls throughout their respective villages like bellowing news anchors, making known the news of the day. While we hope to bring theatre far and wide in our great state, we want to point out the distinction in our name! We are not Town Criers, but Town Cryers. We have every intention to bring laughter and (good) tears throughout Arkansas using the magic of live theatre! We get enough news these days as it is! Our mission is not without hurdles, but there is much you can do to help.
Our Hurdles
With the advent of television, and online video streaming, live performance gained a formidable opponent. People stopped hitting the towns and going out for their entertainment but instead sequestered themselves behind a screen in their living rooms. In smaller communities this meant that the performing arts faded into the peripherals, into small subsets of the population that worked to keep these arts alive. This life support can be a monumental task in smaller communities and all too often live local theatre dies a quiet death. Our mission is to change that.
Funding
This is no simple task however. We believe that quality performances are vital to the longevity of the art, so we hire local talented performance professionals such as dancers, actors, and singers to join our troupe. Additionally, we hire local artisans to design and create special sets, props, and costumes that travel easily and help us create the magic. As a non-profit organization, footing this bill on ticket sales alone is nearly impossible, so we can't do this without your help. Visit our Patreon page to find out how to become a patron and get access to exclusive content. If you can donate $1 each month it makes a huge difference! Also, go check out our merchandise and get some gear to help you rep our troupe!
Local Talent
Our "local talent only" policy is absolutely essential to our vision, because we want to both help the professional theatre sphere grow in Arkansas, as well as provide talented novices a chance to "strut their hour" upon the professional stage! When we come to towns and cities across the state we want to encourage opportunities for locals to work with us, on or offstage. This could mean acting in the shows, singing in a chorus, or even helping with props backstage.
Exposure
The final hurdle involves exposure. The days are long past when you could roll into town on a covered wagon and do a performance on the side of the street. Today we have to find venues and communities that want us and have a suitable acting area. We will take our productions to community centers, churches, or schools, basically anywhere with seats and some semblance of a stage. We are not picky! Finding these venues on our own can be a tedious process, so if you have or know of a venue in your area and would like to bring us your way contact us and let us know!
