Jodi Deming in rehearsal for Bekah Brunstetter's The Cake.
It has been one year since we went dark. Wow.
Greetings!
One year ago, the Pentacle Theatre governing board made the heartbreaking decision to close the theater for the second weekend of The Cake.

A few days later, after Governor Brown banned gatherings larger than 25 people, the board made the first in a series of extraordinarily difficult decisions: closing The Cake, canceling Rabbit Hole and suspending rehearsals of Company.

Over the following weeks, as the nation learned more about how to control the spread of the virus, the board made the prudent-yet-painful decision to cancel the remainder of the 2020 season.

You can let us know about your willingness to return to volunteering or sitting in the audience with the survey discussed below.

We are so grateful for your continued support of Pentacle Theatre. Rest assured, we are mapping a course to a safe reopening.
There's still time to share your opinions
As the vaccine begins to roll out, we would like to hear from you, our patrons and volunteers, about your readiness to return to the theater, once we are able to safely and legally reopen. 

This survey will take less than five minutes to complete and will help the board make decisions in preparation for reopening.
Preparing to talk about diversity, equity and inclusion in the community theater network
At our last town hall, we shared our goals for our diversity, equity and inclusion initiative. As we prepare to launch that work, I have been focusing on finding resources for my own learning and growth.

I have found hundreds of glossaries defining the terminology that we will encounter while we work to move toward becoming a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization.

You can also play the Google game, but I want to share one glossary that defines a few theater-specific terms related to this work.

The PlayMakers Repertory Company is the premiere professional theater company of North Carolina. Their vision:
  • Provoke
  • Represent
  • Create
They are also committed to being an accountable antiracist organization.

PlayMakers developed a list of helpful terms to talk about diversity, equity and inclusion in the context of theater. You'll need to scroll a bit to read the key vocabulary, such as "colorblind," "color conscious casting" and "whitewashing." Links to educational videos bring a couple of terms to life.
Board to hold virtual town hall #3
Join us for our third virtual town hall next month. Here are the details:

When: April 14, 2021, 6 p.m.
Where: Zoom or on our Facebook page.
Topics: Bylaws changes under consideration, your questions about what is going on at Pentacle, opportunities to assist in the storm clean up on the theater grounds.

No registration isrequired.
It's happening. The beautiful evergreen clematis that festoons our deck is bursting into bloom. Its fragrance is strongest in the evening, so I am sticking around a little late these days to enjoy it.
A hard anniversary ...
I know we're all doing it. We're thinking about where we were one year ago.

I had enjoyed opening night of The Cake and then left my home for opening week of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The festival and the audience were all so hopeful ... OSF provided monologues to help us be sure we washed our hands for the recommended 20 seconds. We laughed in the ladies room. OSF's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was magical and inclusive and made me cry happy tears. My son and I were able to see four of the five shows opening that week, then OSF closed.

Simultaneously, the Pentacle Theatre board met via Zoom for the first time, making the same difficult decisions. It feels like yesterday and a lifetime ago.

In short: no fun. The story repeated across the nation's theaters. I am so grateful that my last theater experiences (The Cake and OSF's opening week) were absolutely wonderful.
Use our new mailing address
In a final step in closing our downtown space, I rented a PO Box for Pentacle's mail. We're still receiving mail at the Liberty St. address through the end of the month. Do not try to mail to the theater itself. Your mail will be returned as undeliverable.

Our new mailing address:
PO Box 8271
Salem, OR 97303
Stay safe and well.
Executive Director
WEBSITE   ABOUT   CONTACT
PO Box 8271, Salem OR 97303
Office Phone: 503-485-4300