For the first time in our history, we are asking our community for help.
The Redlands Theatre Festival has always been a place where artists, volunteers, families, and audiences come together to create something special. We have weathered difficult seasons before, but we've never faced anything quite like this.
Over the past several weeks, our outdoor theater has become the target of repeated overnight break-ins and vandalism. In just the last several days alone, we've experienced major break-ins night after night.
The damage has been heartbreaking.
What began as vandalism and destruction of scenery has escalated into organized theft. During the most recent break-in, thieves cut through our electrical and audio infrastructure, stealing expensive sound cables for the small amount of copper inside them. In the process, they caused more than $3,000 in damage and nearly forced us to cancel that evening's performance.
Only through the extraordinary creativity and dedication of our volunteer sound technician—who rebuilt portions of the system just hours before curtain—were we able to keep the show alive.
Unfortunately, repairing the damage is only part of the problem.
As long as our theater remains unprotected overnight, every repair we make is vulnerable to being destroyed again the following night.
After working closely with local law enforcement and exhausting other options, we have concluded that professional overnight security is now necessary to protect the theater, our equipment, and the countless volunteer hours invested in every production.
Our immediate goal is to raise $6,000, enough to hire licensed, bonded overnight security through the remainder of this season.
This is an expense we never anticipated.
Every dollar raised will go directly toward protecting the theater so our volunteers can focus on creating productions—not rebuilding after another overnight break-in. Any amount exceeding the necessary amount to fund private security will go toward repairing the damage done by vandals this season.
If you've ever attended one of our performances...
If you've ever laughed, cried, applauded, or introduced your children to live theater under the stars...
If you believe community theater is worth preserving...
We are asking for your help today.
No donation is too small.
If you are unable to contribute financially, you can still make an enormous difference by sharing this campaign with your friends, family, neighbors, and local businesses.
The Redlands Theatre Festival has served this community for decades because people believed it was worth protecting.
Today, we're asking you to help us do exactly that.
Thank you for helping us keep the curtain up.
