How many great new plays have you seen in the last year?
For that matter, how many new plays have even come to your area? 

 With the revival of the revival and the rising cost of creating theater, Off-Broadway is in dire straights.  In the last year established Off-Off houses like Bouwerie Lane, The Actors' Playhouse, Collective Unconscious and theaters like the Michael Weller, that housed multiple companies, have been forced to close their doors due to rising costs.  Many "premier" Off-Broadway companies have fallen back on reviving old work, importing proven plays from overseas or simply hiring a big name Hollywood actor to attract a crowd.  Nationwide, the number of performances of Staged Readings and Workshops has dropped 50.8% in the last 4 years.  (Theater Communications Group, Theater Facts 2007)

New theater in America is becoming a fast diminishing national treasure. 

BUT LIVING IMAGE ARTS IS 5 YEARS AND GOING STRONG

 WITH YOUR HELP THIS SEASON

Living Image Arts will be able to replenish the American Theater by:

 - Initiating, incubating and developing 20 new American plays.  This one month to year long commitment is a process that moves from early drafts to completed scripts.  At each stage of development, plays are evaluated and, if warranted, move on to staged readings, workshops or production.
- Mounting five world premier productions at Theatre Row.
- Expanding the One-Act Festival to include a full-length play.
- Extending the run of each of our MainStage productions.
- Creating new audiences for emerging work through innovative, effective marketing and community outreach.
- Ensuring new plays have a continued life by actively pursuing opportunities with publishers, other producers, theater companies, agents and press.

 Living Image Arts will be able to foster the next generation of American Theater Artists by:

 - Raising showcase wages so artists will not continue to lose money by working in their field.
- Contributing to the care and nurture of twenty new LIA Associated artists by offering grant sponsorship, developmental programs, and production opportunities.
- Working with Actors' Equity to produce Emilie's Voltaire on a higher contract in order to pay actors a living wage and enable them to become equity members through our future productions
- Addressing the lack of job opportunity by employing at least 100 actors, playwrights, designers and directors, thus helping artists become productive participants in the community.

 HELP US SUPPORT THE 101ST

AS A DIRECT RESULT OF YOUR SUPPORT

 Living Image Arts will be able to contribute to the health of American Theater as a living and relevant art form by employing and nurturing artists, developing provocative original plays, and adding new work to the National Canon. 

Living Image Arts, Inc. is a New York not-for-profit corporation that is described under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All donations made to Living Image Arts, Inc. are tax deductible to the extent permitted under law.