Our Dream, Our Goal, Our Mission
Our goal as an organization is to bring relevant and popular shows to diverse audiences and college communities. This creates opportunities for actors, directors, designers, and musicians to use their individual talents to come together and produce art. We plan to mount the largest scale student production University of Southern California has ever seen. It will create opportunities for USC students to work in a new and professional venue, the chance for 400 Title I middle school students to see live theatre for the first time in their lives, and for over 2,000 others to witness the phenomenon that is RENT.
Community is of prime importance to Cardinal Theatre Productions, which is why we plan to continue our education program. Like last year, we will offer a number of free seats to local schools, bringing the experience of live theatre to young audiences, some of whom have never seen a live theatrical performance before. In addition to their free seats, an education guide encompassing sections on creativity, comprehension, and critical thinking will be provided for our 8th grade audiences to foster a connection between their own lives and the art of theatre. By providing educational literature and Q&A sessions with the cast and crew, we aim to make Rent at USC a truly immersive, educational, and worthwhile experience for our young audiences.
Last year, we sold out 700 seats in 11 minutes, and we had to turn away so many people at the door, and we could only accommodate 100 seats for our education program. This year, we're expanding to over 2,000 seats and 400 educational reserves. It's ambitious, it's aggressive, and we think it's going to be phenomenal.
But in order to execute this vision, we need your help. Putting on this kind of large-scale show in such a big venue takes funding, so we are asking for anything you can give--every penny helps, and goes to an incredibly good cause. We’re an independent group of students who have gotten together to do this show because we are intensely passionate about it, and with your support, Rent at USC could provide a truly extraordinary experience for students, faculty, and the greater community.
If we do our jobs, the value of this show will go well beyond an entertaining night at the theatre. Rent will remind us all to slow down, to remember ourselves, to love while we can, because life is short—and if there’s any time in our lives that we need reminding, this is it. This show embodies the concept "No day but today," and we can't wait to bring that idea to so many people in a new way. Sure, we hope to put on a great show technically, and with high performance value. Beyond providing a cultural experience, beyond promoting artistry at USC, and beyond putting on a musical, RENT is about us, and it reflects how we treat one another, and that’s why it’s so important.