NEW MEANING FOR THE WORD ‘FRIENDS’

At one time it was a monumentally successful television show, but long before that, it was (and continues to be) the name of our valuable donor group, The Friends of Musical Theatre.  What an impact this group has on the education of the students!  I should mention that our Department has no budget of its own.  We are given supplies for teaching, and a set amount for productions (controlled by University Productions), and that’s it.  All of the guests who have visited, every performance of the Senior Showcase in New York, and scholarship support which is vital for us to attract the top applicants --- all of these are made possible by donors.  Interestingly, over 5000 people annually see our Power Center musicals, raving about these for months and sometimes years, but our Friends group has barely 200 members.  I’m not certain that people realize the importance of this group.  Musical Theatre programs are springing up around the country, often with a funding base that considerably surpasses our own.  This is not an especially lucrative time for arts support in Michigan.   If you’ve ever considered giving support to our Department, now is a great time.  I’ve always tried to stay out of the development component of our School because I don’t want to risk having this aspect seem to color my relationship with the graduates.  However, as I think about it, my goal here is simple:  Just to share information about the value of support. 

If this is something which you’d like to pursue, here’s a link for more information.  Be sure to specify Friends of Musical Theatre in any correspondence or donations. 

One recent recipient from the Friends of Musical Theatre:

The Tim Millet Memorial Scholarship