Jonathan's Theatre Rhino Pride Month Fundraiser

Earlier this year I  joined the Board of Directors at Theatre Rhinoceros — the oldest continuously operating LGBTQ theatre in America — right here in the Castro, my home for the last 10 years.

Supporting The Rhino is a way for me to personally give back to both the theatre community and the LGBTQ community. As a boy I was drawn to storytelling, and wrote my first play at age 9 about a benevolent genie. I even procured a smoke effect from a magic shop for the genie's first appearance on stage. 

For me theatre does two powerful things, sometimes separately, and sometimes together: a place to escape, to expand one's mind, empathy and sense of possibility; and a place to see oneself reflected, heard and validated.

Supporting The Rhino for me is about keeping those magic possibilities alive.

I hope you will join me during Pride Month to make whatever donation you feel able to, to enable more stories to be told, and allow more people to be challenged and inspired. 

Also, as part of Pride Month, The Rhino will feature an elevated staged reading of Moises Kaufman's The Laramie Project - this year is the 25th anniversary of its premiere. If you haven't seen it, it's an amazing piece of theatre, and if you have, take advantage of the opportunity to again be moved by the possibility of compassion in the aftermath of tragedy.

With thanks for your support,

Jonathan