SWEET TEA SHAKESPEARE is not going anywhere.

But we're also not going outside just yet.

We hope — very earnestly — that you are well and in good health. We certainly are. Even now, we’re preparing for our (delayed) upcoming productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Knight’s Tale. Details on new performance dates and plans are coming soon.. We are as committed as ever to gathering a diverse community around the common table of story, song, and stagecraft at the heart of Shakespeare’s plays.

At the same time, we take seriously the health of our community, both audiences and artists, and will monitor closely the emerging developments surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and will take responsible action when needed.

You’re a close friend of Sweet Tea Shakespeare, and so I hope you’ll appreciate that the uncertainty created by the current moment is potentially destabilizing for small nonprofits like ours, especially in the arts. Shows like Midsummer and Knight’s Tale bring in thousands of dollars that keep our organization alive and sustained for months. If we have to contemplate cancellation, this becomes an existential issue for the company.

A few times during Shakespeare’s career, his theatre companies had to close their doors because disease — in this case, the plague — when it was dangerous to gather in large groups. Each of these times, Shakespeare and his fellows had to employ their ingenuity to keep their operations afloat, their bills paid, and food on their tables. Playing companies packed up and headed for the countryside where there were fewer people and the environment less virulent. Shakespeare resorted to writing his now famous sonnets and long poems for his patron — adapting to meet challenges with creativity and wonder.

Sweet Tea Shakespeare is committed to that kind of ingenuity. As some of you know, we recently launched a public podcast, The Sweet Tea Shakespeare Hours. We’re also starting a new and exclusive behind-the scenes podcast that’s a bit more unvarnished. We’re adapting like Shakespeare and his fellows did, and we’re committed to riding out this particular plague with ingenuity, a sense of adventure, and good care.

Just as Shakespeare needed help when confronted with challenges similar to this one, so we need your help. The most important things you can do to show us support at this time — and throughout the year — by making or adding to a sustaining monthly pledge with $20 or more. You can make this pledge by clicking the Patreon link here or the bright orange Patreon box lower on this page. $20 may not seem like much, but multiplied by the size of our community — wow. We know it can sustain us.

If you’d like something more tangible, immediate, and impactful (for you and for us), purchase a 2020-2021 Season Ticket now at our ridiculously low price of $100 for fifteen productions, plus get admission to Midsummer and Knight’s Tale thrown in for free. When you visit our TICKETS page to do this, click any of the GREEN dates on the calendar and you’ll see ticketing options pop up.

Other opportunities include our online Shakespeare classes on our tickets page, snagging a Sweet Tea shirt, or donating directly here.

As our thanks, for every $100 in new or additional sustaining pledges AND for every five new sustainers on Patreon, or every $1000 from all sources, we’ll generate some truly magical gifts back to you — our sonnets, if you will — from song recordings to special videos to merchandise and more.

We’re a small company, and coronavirus can have a big impact. But so can you. Join our table at Patreon.com/sweetteashakes and help us to roar even louder.

Kindly,

Your Friends at Sweet Tea