Dear Friends,

Every year, we receive notes from students, volunteers, and audience members sharing what The Sarasota Players means to them. Recently, a patron shared a letter that perfectly captures why our mission matters and why support for The Sarasota Players remains so important. With permission, we are honored to share their words below.

As I sat in the audience on opening night of Hadestown: Teen Edition, I found myself experiencing something—feeling something—that took me back to the first time I sat in a theatre audience. It was 1993. I spent two hours completely transfixed. I laughed, I cried, and I cheered for the protagonists from the edge of my seat. I was, in short, a part of something. Connected to a feeling of aliveness and possibility.

The theatre I sat in 33 years ago was The Sarasota Players. My mother, a waitress raising me on her own, was gifted those tickets by a Players donor. That donor changed my life. Over the years that followed, The Sarasota Players became my second home. If I wasn’t taking classes or auditioning for a show, I was in the audience.

All these years later, I am overjoyed to sit in that audience once again. This time, it’s my middle school daughter beside me as we hold our breath, hoping that this time Orpheus might not turn back to look for Eurydice. Generation after generation, The Sarasota Players continues to provide exceptional theatre experiences, unparalleled arts education for students of all ages, and safe spaces for artists and audiences alike to create, explore, and gather. This legacy is woven into the fabric of our community, and I am so grateful to be part of it.

I know firsthand the impact The Sarasota Players has on our community. I also know the challenges facing small arts organizations. I choose to give because there is nothing quite like our theatre. And I can’t imagine our community without it. Our Players community works to uplift and welcome everyone, because we believe great theatre—and the community it creates—should belong to everyone.

It’s hard to measure what the arts bring to our lives, individually and as a community. Stories like this remind us that the impact of a gift often extends far beyond a single performance, class, or season. We know theatre builds empathy, confidence, and connection in ways little else can. But we also know that access to those experiences often comes down to whether someone can afford a ticket, a class, a costume. Every day, The Sarasota Players works to ensure that affordable, high-quality theatre and arts education remain accessible to everyone in our community.

As you consider your year-end giving, we invite you to help make the next story possible. Your support sustains our productions and ensures that future generations can experience the same sense of belonging and possibility that has defined The Sarasota Players for nearly 100 years. It is easiest to give online at theplayers.ludus.com/donate/, please select August End of Fiscal Year Appeal.