BC/EFA on National Tours?

[iwearshoes]

Posted: 11/12/06 at 9:14pm

I know that fundraising has started in NYC, but I was curious if any national tours are doing anything special? I went to Light In the Piazza at the Ahmanson and they were giving away signed posters and had the cast at the door with buckets. I have never seen this before on a tour! Are any other tours doing anything?

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 11/12/06 at 10:03pm

I remember quite a lot of national tours that have fundraised for Broadway Cares. Chicago's Wicked sold autographed pictures and the cast was in the lobby with buckets, Chicago had people in the lobby, and there have been many more...but those are the only ones that stick out in my mind.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 11/12/06 at 10:06pm

I heard that the Spelling Bee tour was doing something to raise money...not sure what.

[Emilie!]

Posted: 11/12/06 at 10:13pm

^
It's an AIDS charity, I believe! :]

[ashley0139]

Posted: 11/12/06 at 10:23pm

I went to Light In the Piazza at the Ahmanson and they were giving away signed posters and had the cast at the door with buckets.

They were giving them away?

[singtopher]

Posted: 11/12/06 at 10:32pm

As a kid, I saw the tours of The King and I and A Chorus Line . Both tours had actors in the Lobby collecting money for BC/EFA

[JustChillin8908]

Posted: 11/12/06 at 11:35pm

When I saw the current Pippin tour they had cast members near the doorways with buckets.

I still can't believe how fast they got out there since we were pretty close to the exit (and the person near the door was on stage during curtain call).

[georgiede]

Posted: 11/12/06 at 11:55pm

We RUN is how we get out there.. lol. Actually, we fundraised in Dr. Dolittle and we would do the normal curtain call but then miss the final company bow to take off our mics (so the sound people didn't have to wait around for us) and then head out!
I have to say that getting to interact with the audience while in costume and raise the money was one of the highlights of my career (such as it is! )

[SakeDad]

Posted: 11/13/06 at 1:28am

Currently on the ALL SHOOK UP! tour we are doing BC/EFA fundraising. The cast that signs up to collect runs offstage during the bows to change into hats and BC/EFA T-shirts so wardrobe and sound doesn't have to wait for them, then one of the principals does the curtain speech. In addition to regular donations we are also offering copies of Shakespear's 18th Sonnet (if you know the show you know why) that is signed by the entire cast for a $20 donation and signed posters for $40...so far we have done extremely well and are very happy with the generosity of our audiences. We do these collections every show EXCEPT opening and closing nights as long as the local venues allow us.
Thanks for bringing the topic up so more people will know about it! It's very important.
A story used in the curtain speech by one of our actresses from Hattiesburg MS is their AIDS clinic was distroyed by Hurricane Katrina and BC/EFA was there within a month and the center was rebuilt and operating again in 6 months!! Just one example of the fabulous work they do.

[iwearshoes]

Posted: 11/13/06 at 2:26am

I am sorry, they were selling the posters for $30. Which, by looking at the other thread, seems like a great price! It was nice to see so many people giving to the charity. Once you put money in the bucket, they would give you a red ribbon and all of the actors were so gracious about speaking with people! It was a great experience

[broadwaybaby221]

Posted: 11/13/06 at 5:38am

The touring cast of Spamalot has been doing concerts for the BC/EFA and doing raffles at the concerts.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 11/13/06 at 7:18am

How long will the collections last through?