Keep Your Chin Up and Head Held High – A Letter From Phamaly Theatre Company

To Our Phamaly Supporters, Artists, and Community,

Our company knows what it is to face difficulty. For 31 years, Phamaly has operated as a
grassroots nonprofit organization, founded by passionate theatre artists with disabilities from the Denver community. At a time when they had no other option and the odds were against them, they banded together and built a theatre company on their own, piece by piece. Amidst countless ebbs and flows that have impacted the organization – as recently as just a few years ago – Phamaly has persevered.

Challenge is no stranger to our theatre artists, who constantly face a wide array of barriers – medical, social, and vocational – that would understandably deter even the most formidable human. When the dark cloud threatens to cast its shadow, Phamaly artists illuminate with their brilliance, talent, and heart.

Phamaly does it through interdependence. Valuing each person’s significance. Through creativity, innovation, and adapting when things don’t go as “planned.” Through developing new methods of working. Through support of one another, with unfaltering resilience, passion, and commitment. And, most of all, through love.

We know our community – local, national, and international – will persevere through COVID-19 if we work together, and place the well-being of others at the same level of importance as our own.

To that end, Phamaly is making the following commitments:

•  To our work: We will continue with our 2020 season – including preparation for our summer production of Alice in Wonderland – doing everything within our power to bring this exciting production to life for the Denver community. If we must change and adapt to make it happen…we’re good at that!
•  To our Phamaly artists: We will prioritize, first and foremost, keeping our artists engaged, active, and supported; honoring contracts for work and maintaining social and artistic connectivity during a time of distancing.
•  To our Phamaly family: As always, we will communicate regularly with volunteers, audience members, and all supporters about the organization’s progress.
• To our disability community: We will advocate whenever possible to ensure people with disabilities are not forgotten or devalued as the nation works to address the challenges of COVID-19.
• To our Denver artist community: We will make a donation to the Denver Actors Fund Emergency Artist Relief Fund (DEAR) to help support any local artists in need of medical assistance.

In the meantime, here are some ways we hope to keep you uplifted and moving forward!

• Alice in Wonderland announcements, including casting, photos, Instagram takeovers,videos, and ticket deals (Fingers crossed we will open in July!).
• Virtual programs including personal coaching for actors and cool social media to keep you informed and engaged!
• Moments of Art, including personal calls from Phamaly artists to share a song or monologue during social distancing.
• Support during distancing, including a phone web for company actors to check in on each other, and an open invitation for any Phamaly community member to contact us with your needs. We will do our best to help!

Like other arts organizations, Phamaly will take a hit over the next days, weeks, and months. We have already had to cancel two fundraisers due to the current situation. While we hope we will be able to reschedule them later in the year, if you are willing and able, we ask you to make a commitment to Phamaly today.

Help us continue our work over the next several months as a national leader in groundbreaking, disability-affirmative theatre by making a monthly donation of any size. It is easy to sign up at phamalygiving.org, and any amount you are able to give will help.

As one of our most venerable disabled leaders demonstrated, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Keep your chin up and head held high. And KEEP CREATING!!!!

In gratitude and health,

Regan, Sasha, Darion, Annie, and Erin