To My XRT Friends & Family,

What an amazing privilege…

Over the past three and a half years the XRT has developed and matured, growing first from an idea in my apartment in North Hollywood to a vibrant performing and training entity in Downtown Los Angeles. Over those years we have lived, and learned, from the joys, successes, trials and tribulations that we have encountered together. Each day, we continually moved forward engaging with the challenges of producing theatre here in Los Angeles, and within the United States as a whole.

Many of us have had the opportunity to experience these hurdles first-hand. We have seen the struggles in arts funding throughout the country and with our own experiences during the 1581 Campaign. As with any non-profit organization, funding will always be a vital piece to the artistic puzzle. With an organization such as ourselves - that refuses to turn away hard working, in-need students - it has been even more crucial. The 1581 Campaign presented us with the stark reality of the difficulties of fundraising for the arts in America, and ultimately led to our decision to find an artistic home that was more financially-feasible. It also presented us with a challenge: to search for new, forward-thinking solutions and ideas - new concepts that will help in shaping our future as a proud citizen of the American theatre landscape.

We have dealt with the restraints caused by working within the Los Angeles “industry.” The time and demands necessary to maintain a full time career in the Los Angeles film and television scene, unfortunately showed themselves to be an impediment to the XRT’s ideals of commitment, immersion and volunteerism. Very often when the need for volunteerism within the XRT was at its greatest, we found ourselves in competition to an individual’s attention to the industry.

Inspired by our new home in La Crescenta, the XRT and its administration re-examined our long-term goals, and the progress we were making towards them, within the realities of the Los Angeles theatre landscape. Over the course of formal and informal discussions with members of the company, faculty and alumni, it became apparent to the leaders of the organization that the struggle to keep the XRT afloat was not serving the artists, administrators or students that make up our family. We found ourselves working hard just to hang on, while our energies & passions yearned for forward movement. Therefore, we are taking the dramatic step of concluding this part of our journey - the X Repertory Theatre Company - as we begin restructuring our organization into one that will succeed in creating and nurturing a community of self-sustaining, empowered, and FEARLESSLY creative artists. An organization whose environment inspires commitment, community, balance and openness. A home for artists who are ready to challenge themselves in the most artistically meaningful ways. A place where the discovery of self - the discovery of what it means to LIVE TRUTHFULLY - is celebrated.

We, the founders and stewards of XRT’s vision, now look to form a new performance entity - THEATRUM ELYSIUM - continuing the inspired work of the XRT and elevating us beyond our previous successes.

There is no question that the power, vivacity and compassion of the XRT will live on in each and everyone of you, and will propel us forward into this bold, new undiscovered country of theatrical performance and training.

Let me conclude my goodbyes to the XRT by thanking each and every one of you for your contributions over the past several years. You have forever changed my life for the better. As we journey on, let me personally invite you to come and learn about our present plans and future goals by visiting our Foothill location or by following our journey:

Online: www.livetruthfully.org

Warmly,

Aaron Ganz
Founder, X Repertory Theatre Company