[thatspoetic]

Hi fellow Rent fans,

I'm posting to ask for your help with a Rent-related project I started called Rent Fans Give Back. As the tour comes to a close in January, the idea is to show our appreciation for all that Rent has given us by donating to the great Rent-related non-profit Friends In Deed, which provides mental and physical assistance to people facing life-threatening illnesses. You may know Friends In Deed as the model for the support group scene in the musical and the movie.

I'm working with the people at Friends In Deed to track donations and we will be presenting the final total to the touring cast as a final cast gift at their last stop in Madison. Please visit the project website at http://rentfansgiveback.weebly.com/index.html to find out more information and learn how to contribute.

We've already had some publicity about the project. You can read an article on Broadwayworld.com about it by going to http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/RENT_Fans_Give_Back_Project_Honors_13_Years_of_RENT_20090928. Also, Anthony Rapp is very enthusiastic about it and has been posting about it on Twitter recently.

Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. If all Rent fans give just $5 or even $1, we could raise thousands of dollars for an organization that addresses some of the real-world issues in the show and give the cast something that they'll really appreciate. Please help me pass the website link on to other Rent fans if you can. The more fans we can reach, the more money we can raise for Friends In Deed.

Thanks in advance,

Alyssa

[emilyp]

Although I admire what you're trying to do, the reality is that when you suggest that "all Rent fans" donate, you are forgetting that most Rent fans who have been around since the beginning, have seen this all before. When each national tour ended, groups of fans would start a campaign like this; when favorite OBC or longtime Broadway cast members would leave, again donations were requested; at the five and ten year anniversaries, same thing. Most of us, additionally, if we truly believe in the magic of the show, have adapted our everyday lives to include charities and organizations that reflect the spirit of Rent. This is how the impact of the show should affect people, ideally, not by a request for a donation to one particular organization.

I know that there have been some cynics in addressing your requests for this campaign, saying that it's a typical group of young fangirls who just want to be able to get to meet Anthony et al when you present the final figure. I'm not in that camp but I understand how it can look like that. The most valuable charity is done for the true benefit of doing good in this world, not for the opportunity to show off your good works to others, particularly a group of actors.

Lastly, there is a very good chance that Madison will not be the last stop. The cast's itinerary includes other cities past Madison, with the details still being worked out. In any case, even if it was the last stop, this is not the end of Rent. There will be another tour, and there are regional productions, and student productions, all over the country, as well as internationally.

[thatspoetic]

Hi Emily,

I'm glad you replied so I can address some of the issues you brought up. I wasn't aware that people were having this type of reaction to the project and I appreciate you saying it to me directly. Sorry for the long reply, but I wanted to clearly state my opinions. Please bear with me.

I am aware that drives like this have been started before at previous times throughout the life of the show, but I don't think the fact that they have been done before negates the value of doing one again especially since the current economic climate makes it difficult for non-profit organizations to make ends meet. Many non-profits, including Friends In Deed need extra help now. Does donating to a non-profit organization (whichever organization is it) in the past make it less important for people to donate to non-profits now? They need the money just as much, if not more than ever.

You write, "Most of us, additionally, if we truly believe in the magic of the show, have adapted our everyday lives to include charities and organizations that reflect the spirit of Rent. This is how the impact of the show should affect people, ideally, not by a request for a donation to one particular organization." It's great that Rent fans donate time and money to many charities that reflect the spirit of Rent. I completely agree this is the ideal way to go and I also donate my time and money to several causes and organizations, not all of them Rent related.

I don't think specifically fund raising for one organization detracts from this though. People can donate to more than one organization at a time. Also, unfortunately not everyone does donate unless they receive a reminder or there is a fund raising drive. Fund raising drives for one particular organization happen on a regular basis including with all of the touring Broadway shows (they pick one organization to support as well). It's just the most practical way to raise money for one group that is important to you rather than diffusing the money among a large number of groups. If people would rather donate money to a different group than Friends In Deed, that's still great and they should do that. They're still helping other people. I chose Friends In Deed because it is meaningful to me. I'm not saying it is better than any other organizations, simply that I think it deserves support.

Honestly, the fangirls comments you mentioned other people making really deeply offend me and make me angry at the level of cynicism in the community. I do get the hesitation because I am with everyone else on really disliking the typical "fangirl" type fan (hence being deeply offended at being called one). I realize that people will believe what they want and probably nothing I say is going to convince them if they've decided that is what is going on, but for the record here it is.

I am 27 so hardly "young" and the implied annoying ditsy teen. Although I am a big fan of musicals and Rent happens to be my favorite musical, I don't even do stage doors when I see shows because I am often annoyed by the fans who do and I feel like I can appreciate actors without taking up their personal time. Nothing against those who do stage doors, I'm just stating it as my personal preference. I've done a lot of minor school and community theater related work and although I respect some actors, I don't see them as people to idolize or obsess over. They're just people. Talented people, but people.

Actually, I am not going to Madison so obviously I didn't start this to meet the cast in Madison. Although I do hope to meet the Friends In Deed staff members I have been working closely with, I have no plans to meet or directly contact any members of the Rent cast. I am coordinating only with Friends In Deed staff members and Allison of the official internet marketing team for the tour. My co-coordinator Aranka was already going to Madison before the project even started and agreed to do a simple presentation there after it was mentioned by the Rent marketing people. I am not doing this to "show off" to anyone in the cast. I'm doing this because I want to help Friends In Deed raise money and many Rent fans seemed interested in contributing. I work full-time and have devoted a significant amount of my work nights and weekends to coordinating and publicizing this project. Why? Because I believe it will "do good in this world."

Finally, we know Madison might not be the last stop, but we decided to get our donation total by then no matter what because Aranka was already going there and it will be near the end of the run. To my knowledge, this will be the final profession/equity production of Rent for awhile. I realize there will be regional and student productions and I'm looking forward to seeing any that show up around me, but that is different than a professional incarnation of a show.

Again, I know people will believe what they want, but please try to keep an open mind about things like this. Not everything is done for personal gain. If you want to think I'm a crazy fangirl, go ahead, but don't let it stop you from consider helping out Friends In Deed. Give something without including the cast gift note if you want. If you don't want to donate to Friends In Deed, than take some time to give to another worthy non-profit. I hope I made some people reconsider their opinions. Thanks again Emily for letting me know about this.