Kitchen Theatre Company Raises Over $190,000 to 'Burn the Mortgage'

Kitchen Theatre Company's Board of Directors honored retiring Artistic Director Rachel Lampert with an appropriately theatrical ceremony in which the building's mortgage was "burned." In attendance were community members and representatives of organizations who donated to the over $190,000 Burn the Mortgage campaign.

Three people who had given leadership gifts spoke at the event: Percy Browning, Elizabeth McClafferty (on behalf of her husband Fred and herself), and Stephen Pope (on behalf of wife Linda and himself). Greg Hartz, President of Tompkins Trust Company and the co-chair of the original capital campaign to purchase the theater in 2008, spoke on behalf of the Trust Company.

Bevin O'Gara, the incoming Producing Artistic Director, sent her congratulations via video.

All donors to the campaign were honored in a number performed by bass Zachary James, Artistic Director of Opera Ithaca: he sang a song to the tune of a Gilbert & Sullivan patter song that contained all of their names. Rachel Lampert expressed her deep appreciation for everyone who helped with the Burn the Mortgage campaign. Then it was time to burn the mortgage! Hilby the Skinny German Juggle Boy produced flames in surprising ways, and Ithaca's Fire Chief Tom Parsons was on hand to make sure that the burning was up to code and nothing went up in flames except the mortgage on the building.

James Morrisey, President of Kitchen Theatre Company's Board of Directors, explains why burning the mortgage is so important: "We wanted to honor Rachel Lampert's 20 years of visionary leadership of Kitchen Theatre Company in a tangible way, so when Rachel steps down, she will know that the building fully belongs to Kitchen Theatre Company, that the future is more secure, and "important conversations" will continue with our new artistic director."

Kitchen Theatre Company wishes to thank the following businesses and individuals for their commitment to this campaign:

Anonymous (3) * Barbara Anger * Barney & Linda Beins * Marie Benedetti * Michelle Benedict-Jones & Teg Jones * Bruce Berkman * Susannah Berryman * Shelley & Tonie Blackler * Pamela Bleiwas & Jeff Silber * Percy Browning Foundation * Joan & David Brumberg * Keith & Marty Bryant * Byrnes Family Fund * Michael and Michelle Cannon * Matthew Carcella & Zachary Sweet * Linda Case & Barry Jacobson * CFCU Community Credit Union * Barry Chester & Elissa Cogan * Alan Clugston * Beth Cohen & George Dillman * Caroline & Ed Cope * Cornell University * Jonathan & Janet Corson-Rikert * Annette Corth * Marilyn Crooker * Jean Currie * Marlaine & Rick Darfler * Frank & Catherine Darrow * Shirley Dauchan * William & Marion Deats * Jerry Dietz * Shirley & Horton Durfee * Brian Dykstra & Margarett Perry * Cliff & Lisa Earle * Audrey & Bill Edelman * Carol Eichler & Steve Dell`Orto * Nancy Emerson & Roy Luft * Estate of Linda S. Folley * Matthew Evangelista * Camila Faraday * Clare Fewtrell * Katie & Olan Forker * Martha Frommelt & David Feldshuh * Denise Gelberg & Charles Wilson * Al George & Judith Van Allen * Chris & Karen Given * Kent Goetz * Daniel & Ann Gold * Lysle Gordon & Eileen Berlow * Karl Gregory & Andrew Joseph * Eileen Hagerty & Andy Foster * Ann Halpern * Holly Harbinger * Greg & Bev Hartz * Dede Hatch & Jon Reis * Ray Helmke & Gisela Schatz-Helmke * Carol Hockett * Richie Holtz and Carol Ornstein * Michael Hoysic * LeeAnne Hutchison * Jean Jagendorf * Susan & John Jaquette * Susan & Jim Johnston * Peter & Mary Katzenstein * Susan L Koon * Henry and Judy Kramer * Bruce A Hoover and Sara Lampert Hoover * Lynn B. Leopold * Susan and William Lesser * Bruce and Judy Levitt * Janet & Jack Lowe * Deborah Lynn & Bob Meller * Joel & Nancy Malina * Cathy Martin * Jim Mazza & Nancy Osborn * Sally McConnell-Ginet & Carl Ginet * Sharon McGee * Fred & Tibby McLafferty * Sue Michlovitz & Paul Velleman * Bill & Kathy Miller * Donald Mintz & Ann Day * Jamie Morrisey * Helen Morse * Maryann Nagro & Marion Karim * Ella Ornstein * Bettsie Park * Barbara Parker * Sue Perlgut & Mike Schaff * Frank & Lorraine Phillips * Linda & Stephen Pope * James Dennis & Karen Powers * Beth Putnam * Andrew Rappaport & Lorna Bayer * Carrie and Joe Regenstein * Stephen & Cheryl Richter * Jean & Betty Rowley * Mary Salton * Jane Sautter * Carol S. Scheele * Todd Schmit and Elad Tako * The Schoeps Family * Nancy & George Schuler * Arno & Helene Selco * Carrie Shearer * Roger & Carole Sibley * Irene Silverman * Sandra & Michael Simkin * Carol Skinner * Alison and Elliott Smith * Nancy Spero & Rob Sullivan * Theresa & Michael Stanley * Tammo & Aafke Steenhuis * Karin Suskin * Betty & Bill Terwilliger * Roselyn & Saul Teukolsky * Tompkins Trust Company * Mack & Carol Travis * Peter Trowbridge & Nina Bassuk * Yohko Tsuji * Alison Van Dyke * Caroline Ware Rusten & Jeffrey Rusten * Jens Wennberg & Nancy Miller * Andrea & Pete Wetherbee * Lanie Wilmarth * Eileen Yagoda & Ross Brann * Eugene & Jeanne Yarussi * Margo & John Yntema * Lauren Zell * Laurie Zimniewicz * Adam Zonder * Joel & Cathy Zumoff

Bold, intimate, engaging... Kitchen Theatre Company (KTC), now concluding its 26th season, is downtown Ithaca's critically acclaimed and nationally recognized year-round professional theater company, specializing in regional and world premiere plays and musicals. KTC's intimate 99-seat theater is in a beautifully renovated, LEED-certified building in the West End neighborhood of downtown Ithaca, New York. KTC is the first not-for-profit recipient of the David R. Strong Memorial "Small Business of the Year" Award from the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce and receives public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the Tompkins County Tourism Program. The Kitchen Theatre Company also receives general operating support from the Shubert Foundation.