Important letter to our patrons - March 12, 2010
Dear friends and patrons of Harlingen Performing Arts Theatre, This letter is being written in order to update you concerning the state of the theatre. As you know, in 2008 we received extensive damages from Hurricane Dolly. As a result, we were shut down for over a year while we went through the process of working with insurance, and then having our theatre rebuilt. Although we lost an entire season, please know that we hadn't given up. In fact, we were able to produce two shows "on the road" at Fun and Sun, Tropic Winds, and Cottonwood Estates, and we even held a children's workshop off-site in July of '09. These experiences simply reminded us how much we love performing, and made us all the more anxious to come home to HPAT.
Also during this time, we were working as a board to restructure. Unfortunately, there were several missteps, mistakes, misunderstandings, and poor decisions that led to the loss of several board members and volunteers. For this we are deeply sorry. Happily, we have been working to build bridges and have been able to re-establish some of these relationships.
In October 2009, we were excited to re-open with a concert with Xavier Jaramillo, a dear friend of our theatre who graciously donated his talents. We have had two other concerts since re-opening, Glazebrook and Carlos Cañas, a trilogy of one-act plays billed as "Black Box Theatre" and the comedy, Right Bed, Wrong Husband. Unfortunately, we also had to cancel several plays that were scheduled for this season. There were several factors that led to this, some of it our fault, some of it just circumstance. Nonetheless, we would like to sincerely apologize that we were unable to present all of the promised productions, and we would especially like to apologize for any lack of or poor communication with you, our cherished patrons. Please be assured that if you purchased tickets for any canceled performances, your tickets will be honored at future HPAT productions. If you would like a refund, we will work with you. Please email us at hpatheatre@yahoo.com, or call (956) 412 - PLAY and leave a message so we can contact you concerning your tickets. While we would love for you to drop in, please understand that our office is not currently staffed. We are all volunteers at this time.
Looking forward, we are still committed to bringing live community theatre to Harlingen. We are working to have at least one more production this season, and have begun putting together our season for 2010 - 2011. We thank you once again for your continued interest in the arts, your patience and understanding, and most of all your support.
Sincerely,
Harlingen Performing Arts Theatre