The Sebastiani Theatre is vital to the community
Posted on September 10, 2021 by Sonoma Valley Sun
Today, I write to ask you to support an indispensable local institution which has once again proven itself a vital part of the interconnected web that keeps our Sonoma community alive and vibrant — The Sebastiani Theatre.
No one thought that the pandemic-induced Theatre shutdown would last over a year. We at the Sebastiani Theatre Foundation were determined to do whatever it took to stay live and continue meeting your needs. And today here we are. Open. As strong as ever.
The pandemic clearly showed that the Theatre is as vital to the community as all of y0u are to it. We are inextricably linked and there is no breaking that tie.
Our core team became even closer, finding ways to innovate and keep Sonoma Valley residents engaged as we all sheltered at home. We stayed connected with you through regular email communications and updates, always with Roger’s earnest motto: Be well, be safe, be kind.
And when you couldn’t visit us, we came to you. Altogether, we streamed 75 new Hollywood movies, many of which were not yet publicly available, with more than 10 local independent films not available anywhere else. We wrote and filmed three episodes of our original family series, Magical Mystical Theatre including one behind the scenes tour. We partnered with Sonoma Valley High School students to stream their original short films and we paired with Sonoma Teen Services to stream a film they produced.
That is a lot of innovation during a time most would have assumed a theatre to simply close its doors. More importantly, during an extraordinarily isolating time, it was a way to keep us all connected.
As soon as restrictions were lifted, we again opened to welcome you with limited capacity, offering every possible safety precaution as dictated by the CDC. The Sebastiani Theatre looms large, an historic and cherished gathering place. You eagerly left streaming behind and in small masked groups, many of you gathered at the Theatre to attend the Sonoma International Film Festival SummerFest.
Also, we are pleased to announce that you voted us the 2021 People’s Choice Award for Best Summer Camp! All total, we hosted 495 campers from ages five to seventeen! All CDC guidelines enforced, they enjoyed their days immersed in nature, dance, arts and crafts… and of course, magic!
I hope you value the engagement and magic created by the Sebastiani Theatre during an incredibly difficult time. We are currently 40% of the way toward meeting our goal of $125,000 this year. I hope you will choose to support future efforts like these with a gift today.
— Jocelyn Vick, president, Sebastiani Theatre Foundation
