East Lynne Theater Company Receives Cooperative Marketing Grant

The Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company is receiving $16,020.00 from the Cooperative Marketing Grant sponsored by the New Jersey Department of State: Division of Travel and Tourism. The award was given based on the scores of an independent evaluation and funding review committee that studied ELTC's application and marketing plan.

This is the eighth year in a row ELTC has received this prestigious grant, the funding for which must be solely used for marketing. It has been instrumental in helping ELTC to seek advertising opportunities outside of South Jersey, which has helped to make ELTC a tourist destination, providing yet another reason to come to Cape May.

The combination of ELTC's unique repertoire of well-produced classic American plays and new works based on American history and literature, and its marketing efforts to attract visitors to its productions, has been paying off more and more every year. This past March, ELTC was selected a 2014 Jersey Choice Winner for Live Theater in South Jersey by readers of "New Jersey Monthly." There were several categories in the poll, and the complete list is in the "Best of Jersey" section in the magazine's December issue.

In May, ELTC's production season in Cape May was highlighted along with 74 other theatrical seasons in North America in the annual edition of The Summer Stages Guide in "The New York Times." In June, ELTC's production of "The First Fifty Years" was spotlighted in "The Philadelphia Inquirer, and in August, "Zorro!" received good reviews on WHYY Public Radio and in "The New York Times."

ELTC pursues performance possibilities beyond Cape May County. Funding for these productions comes from the organizations sponsoring ELTC's touring shows and specific grants received by ELTC for touring only, yet the town of Cape May benefits because ELTC clearly states that its home is Cape May. Sometimes, complete ELTC playbills, including advertising pages, are distributed to these audiences. In 2014, almost 2,000 people attended 25 ELTC performances in six different states and 4 different counties in New Jersey. Touring shows included "Paul Robeson Through His Words and Music," "Holmes and Carter Mysteries," and the anti-suffrage satire, "Someone Must Wash the Dishes."

ELTC also attracts visitors to Cape May off-season with Murder Mystery Weekends in February and March held at The Henry Sawyer Inn. Also In March, ELTC has performances, lectures, and workshops in Cape May.

During the whole school year, ELTC's artists-in-residence continue to teach workshops as part of Wildwood School District's after-school program, and there will be an in-school residency in March, as usual, at West Cape May Elementary School.

Shows for East Lynne Theater Company's 2015 season, its 35th year, include "Mr. Lincoln," a world premiere of "Huckleberry Finn," and the Preston Sturges comedy "Strictly Dishonorable." For information about the season, touring shows, and educational outreach, call 609-884-5898 or go to www.eastlynnetheater.org.

Photo credit: Gayle Stahlhuth