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HELLO REEL KIDS FAMILIES!!!
Link to our weekly blog! Learn about our incredible journey and the students who made it possible!! https://reelkids.wordpress.com
Sometimes opportunity comes knocking when you least expect it! Only eight years ago (when I was just 26), that was exactly what happened to me. I was very happy with my teaching job at CU and my Little Lights Children's Choir.. and Whabaam! Reel Kids happened, primarily thanks to the parents of my private students, and SO many others that have encouraged and advised me along the way. Almost nine years ago our space looked like the pictures below depict--- sparse, de-cluttered, zero costumes, and completely fine for our mere 12 Troupe members, one musical a year and the two classes we offered...
Flash forward.. last year alone (2019-20), even during a pandemic, we managed to have our largest Troupe year (over 50 troupers) and put on 15 separate musicals/plays (Music Man, A View from Saturday, Aladdin Kids, Macbeth, Rocky Horror Show, Frozen Jr., Chicago, Little Women, Cinderella Kids, Alice in Slasherland, Moana Jr, Muse of Fire, Charlie Brown and Descendants Jr.) with over 50 individual performances. It would be an understatement to say we've grown out of our mere 2500 sq. ft. space :)
Now, undergarments are draped on $3000.00 computers, light stands hold up carefully balanced mirrors, fake eyelashes are stuck to computer keyboards... and only one shoe (where the heck is the other?) of each cast member peppers the floor of our "costume room", which is also our Troupe tech room, and creative space. It is an all-too-familiar view.. Sometimes, our Troupe kids literally have to DIG to get to their work space during show weeks!
THE GOOD NEWS: We have an opportunity to grow! A new location, in Boulder, very close to our sister company, "Boulder Music", has become available, and we are excited to explore! It would give us MUCH more space for Troupe, our acting and film classes, full editing and improv classes and our full musical productions. The space offers plenty of parking, is near shopping and restaurants, and is extremely convenient to find - just minutes off of 36!If we were able to acquire this new space, Reel Kids would start offering all of its programs there in September.. note - all Reel Kids shows and classes we will be in our Superior location throughout the summer.
WE NEED YOUR HELP: To help make our dream of a bigger and better space even possible true, we are asking YOU to be part of helping. The financial reality: we need $30,000 in order to cover build-out costs and a larger lease. Without this help, we simply cannot take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.
Thus is borne our GoFundMe campaign. We would deeply appreciate any kind of donation of time, material, or money you can afford.. no amount is too small. As with any new venture, it will be financially challenging in the beginning, until our new location is up and running. Because we are in the tail end of a pandemic, we can't even entertain this idea without upfront capital... PLEASE help us so we can continue offering the same outstanding education, entertainment and wonderfully nurturing environment we have for almost nine years!
Below are some photos of Reel Kids when we first opened.. and our tireless effort to keep the space clean, doubling as a theater space and tech area:
Nathanial and Owen painting the original space a week prior to opening.
Albert and Cassidy "helping" clean costumes"
Kari and Sam ( a Reel Kids Icon), taking a break from editing/re-designing our website by not one.. but two bags of gummies!
Brianna trying to get ready fo Music Man.. while Link and Cassidy, in the background, dig underneath all the costumes to get cameras ready for Troupe! NO ROOM! Oh yeah, and they are using the iMac computers as mirrors because prior to this, somebody stepped on the only hanging mirror in the tech room... it was covered by costumes...
Kelly with our original troupe members, Mia and Lainey Anderson, Mei Mei, Madi Remer and Nina Menell
The space was plenty big when we opened with only 12-13 Troupe members and one musical....
So, Reel Kids families.. thank you for believing in me and supporting me for the last (almost) nine years. I humbly request your support in helping us grow to the next level, so that we can continue to serve you and your wonderful, amazing kids, in a much more comfortable, user-friendly and professional space!!!