Kathleen's Farewell Fundraiser for the Rep

Hoo boy. Here we go. I'm about to get all emotional and there's just no way
around that. Don't expect a clear story here from point A to point B, I'm about to
go all over the place.

My name is Kathleen and I am the Executive Director of the Seacoast Repertory
Theatre in Portsmouth NH. If you're reading this, you likely already know me and know that, but just in case some of you stumble into this fundraiser from
elsewhere, I'm going to word vomit all over this thing, because I have a lot to say
about this theater that I love so much. 

First of all, the news hit recently that I am stepping down from this position. You
can read about that here . So this fundraiser is not an official Rep fundraiser, this
is a  personal fundraiser that I am creating as I'm likely to see it all the way to the
end, even long after my last day on January 13th, because I have an ambitious
goal, and as a goal-oriented person, I need to make this goal as my last successful endeavor at the Rep.  Also, I'm allowed to say things like "word vomit" if I make it my own personal fundraiser and it's important I'm allowed to speak from the
heart and throw professionalism to the wind. No Brian, you cannot edit this for
me for brevity :). 

Speaking of Brian, the cover image to this fundraiser is of me getting married to
my husband, Brian Kelly, in the lobby of the Seacoast Rep. Yup, we got married at the place we work, it's that important to us. Let me tell you a little bit about that
day - time was leading up to my 40th birthday. I had not been in my dream job at
the Rep for that long at the time, but long enough to know that this place was
special, unlike any other theater I had ever been a part of. I didn't have money for a big fancy wedding, I didn't have time to plan one, I wanted a small intimate
ceremony, and I wanted it to be a surprise to our guests. So we invited people to
the lobby of the Rep for a 40th birthday party and then I walked down the aisle of that shitty wood linoleum floor (that has now been replaced) to my now husband, Brian, and my two children who stood by our side, Sophie & Michael. Here's a
picture of us shortly after our vows becoming our new family. 

This picture was taken on August 8th, 2015. A lot has happened since then. Not
all the moments were good ones, as is the nature of any job. But any bad moments pale in comparison to the millions of special, wonderful, magical happenings that have taken place inside those walls. I had always hated when people spoke of
co-workers as family, as that didn't seem right in a place of business. But when
you spend most of your waking moments with the same people every day, it can't help but happen. Whether I like the term or not, the people I worked with every
day did in fact, become my family. And I'd like to introduce you to my work
husbands, Ben & Brandon. Here's a rare picture of us, as both Brandon and I
detest having our photos taken. Sorry Brandon. (Also as an aside, I never told Ben
this but he has one of the warmest smiles you'll ever see and when he does it, all
of your worries and cares melt away and you want to live inside of that smile.)


I promoted Ben and Brandon a little over a year ago to the role of Artistic
Directors. They are an anomaly. You will never find another Ben & Brandon, don't even try looking. They've been at the Rep almost as long as I have. We've
experienced every possible experience together and during the ups and downs at the theater, they've been by my side, often times picking me off the ground,
dusting me off, and in the most kindest and gentlest of ways, telling me to go fight the good fight again. We all get down sometimes and we all need a Ben and
Brandon, however I don't think I've ever seen them get down and I don't know
who picks them up and dusts them off, or if they even need that. I'm assuming
they do as they are most likely humans (I have theories), but you'd never know
working with them. They always show up to work looking like they just stepped
out of a photo shoot, with smiles on their faces, with words of inspiration to keep the team going, and always ready to work harder and smarter than the previous
day. To witness their love and care for every person in that building has been the
privilege of my lifetime and I feel so lucky and blessed to have been surrounded
by their passion and joys. 

I was ready to move on to different ventures about a year ago if I'm going to be
honest with you, but these two gentlemen right here are what made me stay a
little longer. Leaving the Rep feels kind of like leaving them, and there is a lot of
heartbreak happening with this decision, even though personally it's the right one for me. Right now I'm ugly crying while typing this. But I need to leave these two
guys with the financial support they need to keep doing their magic. If you've seenany of their productions you know what I'm talking about. I have been forever
changed by these two and leave a better person because of them. 


There are so many beautiful souls at this organization and I can't fit them all into
this fundraiser description, so my plan is to highlight them every week until this
thing is funded. Your support of the Rep really means you're helping to keep
amazing people working in a profession that is dying around the world. Literally
dying. The arts are essential, we've all seen that during COVID.  The Rep is an
important part of the fabric of Portsmouth. It doesn't work without a team of
people who keep the hungry beast fed. She requires a lot of feeding. 

I'm asking you to make a donation to the Seacoast Rep today to help with a
funding gap. As you may have heard, the Save our Stages  bill is being pushed
forward which is wonderful news for our industry. Relief is likely still a few
months away and we'll need some help to stay afloat until then. We have not had much luck with relief efforts during COVID. We were initially rejected for EIDL
and NERF funds. We appealed these decisions and received a loan through EIDL
and a grant through NERF, but only a small portion of the help we needed. We
were rejected for a very specific relief from the State of NH for performance
spaces and lost our appeal as they could not "substantiate our losses" and
thought we had received enough relief already. Our pleas did not help, and here I am asking for our community to help us out. 

Whether you can donate $1 or $100,000 please consider making a donation as a
farewell gift on my behalf. That sounds strange to ask for a parting gift, but I'm
doing it anyway. This is not the time to be shy, nuanced, coy, or any variation of
those words. I'm going to be bold and direct - please make a donation to the
Seacoast Rep for me. 

If online fundraisers aren't your thing and you would rather send in a check,
please mail to:
Seacoast Rep
125 Bow St.
Portsmouth NH 03801 

and in the memo of the check, please write "Kathleen we will miss you, but here is a donation for all of the hard work you've put into this organization over the years as well as the contributions to your community. Thank you for all you do and I will never get past you leaving but understand your decision why, and wish you the
best of luck."

Thank you. :'(