To Anyone We May Have Irritated

By: Jake Russell Thompson

We paid Facebook to run this ad:
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It hasn't gone viral or anything, but it has upset a couple of people enough for them to comment on it. As much as I'd love to offer those people free tickets, so they can see for themselves, the Box Office Manager probably wouldn't go for it. Instead I'll just say to anyone this ad may have upset "You are welcome here, and your opinions are safe here."

I think that's what a safe space is all about. Everyone can benefit from a place to honestly express their experiences.

Point being: If you found the President Trump ad offensive, I apologize and hope you consider coming to the show. You might be pleasantly surprised. Though I also must say that we probably don't agree on several issues, Voices Found Repertory isn't about being "right," and The Life and Death of King John isn't about President Trump. Our actors aren't wearing wigs; John isn't painted orange. The Life and Death of King John is about the people who work with a king who says what he feels and to hell with the consequences. One can certainly draw parallels to a certain perspective of President Trump, and indeed we have, but as the director my mission was to maintain VFR's mission of creating theatre that unifies its audience. Approaching the material with the intention of smearing someone's, anyone's, character is not in line with our mission of unification. Rehearsals were about keeping perspective, remembering at all times that disagreeing with a person is no reason to behave dishonorably.

So I say once again that, even if we disagree, you have my word: every effort was been made to not be a jerk about it.