Ed Hunt and Jeff Storer. 703 Foster Street, Durham NC. October 1997. Photo: Alan Dehmer
Dear Friends of Manbites Dog,
Thirty-one years ago, Manbites Dog Theater began with a question. How do we make Larry Kramer’s landmark play The Normal Heart an urgent part of our community’s conversation? Our answer to that question was Manbites Dog’s first season.
Every season since then, Manbites Dog has been a bold experiment. For three decades, together with you, we have produced and presented more than 200 shows. Together with you, we have beaten the odds, surviving and thriving year after year. Together with you, we have created and supported vital live theater in Durham and the Triangle.
We know that the richest, most interesting, most provocative stories are catalyzed by moments of change. Just as there was a pivotal moment to transition from life as a mostly itinerant theater company into a company with its own home, this moment feels like the right time for a new chapter in the Manbites Dog story.
It’s time for us to seed the next generation of theater-makers.
Some of these theater artists you already know, some are just emerging—and some are searching for encouragement to begin. We are thrilled that the sale of 703 Foster Street will enable Manbites Dog to nurture their tremendous creative energy. If we believe in theater, then we also believe that theater starts dialogue. Our world is deeply in need of dialogue, and we want to continue to support artists whose work contributes to that conversation.
For us—Ed and Jeff—Manbites Dog in all its iterations will be, in the end, what we have done in this life, as partners, as professionals, as part of a larger community. We dreamed of making theater in a place where our work was respected by our collaborators and our neighborhood, and where we could learn from the work of other theater artists and from the community in which we made our art.
We are blessed because that dream came true for us with Manbites Dog, and we want to help make that dream come true for others.
Thank you for being part of this 31 years. Let’s continue, together.
We can’t wait to see what happens next.
With love, gratitude, and joy,
Ed and Jeff