Dear Friends of Firebird,

It would be an understatement to call 2023 a strange year. Between rapid technological developments, worsening climate conditions, social upheaval, the persistence of Covid, and ever-growing horrific violence both abroad and on our shores, we have all been called upon to weather great changes and try to make sense of our place amidst them. This year has asked us to confront uncertain futures and seek for the enduring light within ourselves and our communities. I hope with all my heart that this message finds you well, and your families and loved ones safe and healthy.

Our community went through so many changes in '23, from the birth of our new production ensemble Firebird Players, to the reopening of our in-person teen summer camp for the first time since the start of the pandemic. We were joined by so many new friends and collaborators, who generously brought their artistry to our fireside. I am so grateful for all of them. We also lost dear friends and collaborators: Alioune Fall and Daniel Zuzworsky, two incredible young men who had been with our community since 2015, both passed in the early months of this year. I am holding them in my heart and hoping that we can do their memory proud with the art we create in this community. I am reminded of the precious and fleeting time we have to share in each other's company and tell stories together. Whether you attended a show this year or many years ago, took an art class with us or signed up your child to one, performed in a play with us or applauded your friend in one, I am sending you love and gratitude for sharing time with us. Thank you.

As we look ahead to 2024, I am full of hopes and wishes for what this year can be for our community. We are mounting a season of plays that deconstruct and reexamine the Shakespearean canon, beginning with Boy My Greatness, a world-premiere play by Zoe Senese-Grossberg, which peeks backstage at the boy players who portrayed women at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Opening in early March with a cast of Firebird all-stars and newcomers, this play is equal parts hilarious, heartbreaking, thoughtful, and nailbiting. Zoe is a Firebird resident since 2017 and it's my honor to produce the premiere of her brilliant work. Following in early June is Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, directed by me and starring Edinburgh Fringe legends Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland. The play, which spotlights two side characters from Hamlet as they ponder their own insignificance, will be mounted in an original staging that frames them as NPCs in a liminal video game world, waiting around to play their part of the simulation. These two shows will be paired with a surrounding season of staged readings of new works, arts workshops for all ages, and more projects yet to be announced. I'm so excited about this coming season and I really hope you will all join us.

If I could tell my thirteen year old self where we are now, I don't know if that funny little kid would even believe me. The feedback to our shows and programs this past year was more than I could have dreamed for: sold-out houses of passionate audiences, huddled together to witness our stories; teen artists who spent their whole year in our workshops and camps, building their artistic skills and forging new friendships; parents thanking us for giving their kids unique chances to discover what they are capable of; brilliant and trailblazing artists embracing Firebird as their creative home. I hope that we can continue to make you proud in 2024, that we keep you coming back for more, and that we can welcome you to see Firebird as your theater too. We could not tell stories that burn without all the people that stoke the fire. If you haven't already seen it, here's a look at our 2023 in review -- thank you for making it possible.

Naturally, there is a part of this letter where I ask for your support. It never gets easier being a non-profit artist and asking for donations online – believe me, I know that there are a thousand places your money needs to be right now. It is an expensive time to be alive, and many very worthy causes are in dire need. Which is why I always say, please give if you can, as you can. Firebird is a big ambitious community with a very small and scrappy day-to-day team, with exactly zero full-time employees. Our funds come only from ticket sales and class fees (which we work to keep affordable), and yet we are committed to paying every working artist for their time and efforts, as well as we are able. We use a profit-share model, meaning that the more we make on a project, the more every artist earns. We rent professional off-Off-Broadway theaters for our shows, and industry-grade studios for our teen classes, in order to give our community the best, safest, friendliest artistic experience we can. Which is why I ask you, if you can, to support us in one or more of the following ways.

1. Make a contribution to our 2024 donation drive. No donation is too small -- if every person on our mailing list gave just 5 dollars, we would meet our goal overnight. This money goes directly toward paying our hardworking artists and covering our production expenses.

2. Make a post about us on social media. Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok -- whatever you use, make a short and personal post in which you share one fond memory of Firebird, and let your friends and followers know how they can follow us (@firebirdstage on socials, thefirebirdproject.org/connect for our mailing list). Tag us, and use the hashtag #makearthappen.

3. Email us to find out about volunteer opportunities and ways you can help out throughout the year. It takes a village to keep this fire burning, and even an hour of your time can go a long way. We promise to give you a warm welcome, and hope that it will feel less like work, and more like spending time in good company.

And of course, whatever ways you are able to support us, the best will always be to attend our events and be in community with us. You are cordially invited to everything we do this year. I hope to see you there.

As always, it's an honor to foster this community. I believe, and have always believed, that we vitally need spaces to share stories in, to remember legends and pass on hidden knowledge, to surprise ourselves and discover what we can be, to look outside of ourselves with love. I hope that in some small way, the stories we've told at Firebird have cast a light on your year. In 2024, I wish all of us everywhere love, safety, peace, freedom, curiosity, and room to grow. May your fire burn ever brighter, and your hearth be always warm.

Thank you for everything this year. I wish you a happy 2024.

Leo Lion
Artistic Director - The Firebird Project
leo@thefirebirdproject.org