Rust Belt Theater 2021

COVID-19 has caused us to cancel our biggest fundraiser of the year.  For the first time in fourteen years, HOW THE DRAG QUEEN STOLE CHRISTMAS will not entertain live audiences in December.  

This is devastating for the theater not only because it breaks a treasured local tradition, but also because proceeds from HTDQSC cover over half of our budget each season.  Due to this pandemic we’ve already been paying rent for nine months for a space we cannot legally use.  While we are currently only one month behind on that rent, we are sad to say that the future of the Rust Belt Theater Company is very uncertain going forward. 

We are the only community theater in Youngstown, Ohio that focuses primarily on locally written material.  In a normal year we produce an average of ten original productions in house at the Calvin Center for the Arts.  We also traditionally design and perform immersive, theatrical events at various venues in our community.

In the last nine months we have continued to produce content for a digital audience at little to no cost for our community, and we HOPE to continue doing so, but the reality is...doing theater costs money.  If you are a fan, and there is anything you can spare (even the cost of a ticket) we would greatly appreciate it.

As for our annual Christmas show, HOW THE DRAG QUEEN STOLE CHRISTMAS, we are currently working on filming a digital production that you can view online.  We know it’s not the same.  Digital theater is just not the same.  But we are doing our best to continue to entertain and uplift our audiences, artists, and performers in these strange times.

The online performance of HOW THE DRAG QUEEN STOLE CHRISTMAS  will be ready for viewing the week of December 14th, on the Rust Belt Theater facebook page, and will remain there for the holiday season.

Let’s hope for better times.

-Robert Dennick Joki