These are changing times for our beloved Youth Theatre Northwest. As you may have heard, we received notice that our landlord, the Mercer Island School District, has announced that it aims to reclaim our building and all buildings on the North Mercer campus for the possible construction of a new middle school. Youth Theatre Northwest may be moving as early as fall 2012.
If you’d like to know more about this transition, please attend our YTN community forum on Sunday, May 16, at 4 p.m.
As you can imagine, news of our impending displacement has created a stir among our broad community of supporters and audiences, but most of all within the hearts of our children who consider YTN to be their second home and favorite place. We are humbled by the pledges of support from so many who believe in our mission and work, and we are concerned about the anxiety that our children are feeling.
Of course, there are now many questions hanging in the air. “Where will YTN go? Will we stay on Mercer Island? Will our new space be better or worse? Can we afford to move and what will it cost? Will we have to temporarily shut down?” The list of questions goes on and on, and the answers are still elusive. Honestly, we don’t have answers for these questions yet. Over the next six months, however, YTN’s board and staff will be crafting direction and developing a strategic plan. We will implement that plan over the next several years until the day we must finally say goodbye to our home.
Yes, there are many things we don’t know now, but there are some important things that we have learned from other local community organizations put in this same position. With its limited resources, tiny budget and small staff and board, a nonprofit community organization alone cannot solve a monumental issue like the need for space. All of the significant community facilities that have been created or built from ground up in our region over the last 20 years (PEAK, Seattle Children’s Theatre, ChildHaven, Orion, Vera Project, McCaw Hall, ACT Theatre, Benaroya Hall, Carlson Theatre, Kirkland Performing Arts Center and others) were the result of a broader community and civic effort.
For us to survive this transition and continue to serve Mercer Island and the broader Puget Sound region, we need the support of the entire community. If forced to implement a solution on our own, Youth Theatre Northwest may very well fail. Please attend our meeting on May 16 and other meetings to follow. Show your support for YTN: help us craft a strategic plan and stand by us as we imagine and build our new home.
Over the course of 26 years, we have educated thousands of children and performed close to 500 productions for over 100,000 audience members. We have raised this community’s profile and made a profound impact in the lives of so many young people who have grown to become outstanding adults. Now we are at a crossroads. This could be the end or just the beginning.
Let’s hold firm to the notion that the best is yet to be.
Manuel R. Cawaling
Youth Theatre Northwest Executive Director
