Raise the Curtain Campaign
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of performing our 44th year of live theater in Southeast Nebraska, we have had to cancel productions. With our usual live performances on hold, the organization is financially struggling, and our ability to have performances in the future, and what those look like, remains uncertain.
While we still plan to provide what entertainment we can, our shortened season and limited seating capacity in 2020 means that the loss of revenue is significant! Even as we minimize our operating expenses, maintaining the facility and continuing core operations requires over $125,000 in annual costs.
We are tapping into our limited reserves and will deplete those reserves before the end of 2020.
To make sure the curtain can be raised in the future, the Lofte is launching a fundraiser campaign called “Raise the Curtain” to cover basic operating costs for the next year.
What YOU can do to help:
-
Donate any unusable tickets from the 2020 season that you purchased. Any request for a refund for any cancelled show or show that you cannot attend will deplete our precious cash funds. At this point we are deferring a decision on how, or whether, we will be able to make any refunds.
-
Donate cash to fund our operations during this challenging time!
-
Commit to buying 2021 season tickets when they go on sale later this year.
-
Share our campaign on social media. Help us raise the curtain with your contacts!
If you have a contact that isn’t on social media, let us know how best to reach them!
-
Attend Lofte Barnyard outdoor events this summer.
What the Lofte Board & Staff will be doing:
-
Communicating the campaign and the need on social media and other channels.
-
Requesting grants and donations from individuals, foundations, and other organizations.
-
Contacting our vendors and requesting financial support (contributions & discounts).
-
Donating, individually, to the campaign (demonstrating that we are “all-in”).
Please help “Raise the Curtain” and make a donation, today!
Click the Donate button below
or contact our office at 402-234-2553 or lofteoffice@gmail.com.
Important Public Announcement
From The Board of Directors of The Lofte Community Theatre:
Dear Lofte Family and Friends,
In keeping in accordance to the directives for safe response to the COVID-19 pandemic change, we at The Lofte Community Theatre have, regretfully had to cancel some special events and our first three productions of our regular season. All of us here desperately miss the joy of bringing you the live performance experience here in the barn.
As current social distancing protocols hinder even our ability to have auditions and hold rehearsals, we are tentatively planning to begin our season on September 4 with the production of Becky’s New Car. This will be followed by Office Hours opening October 10 and will close our abbreviated season with A Dicken’s Christmas Carol: A Traveling Travesty in Two Tumultuous Acts. If you are a ticket holder of cancelled shows, please contact The Lofte Community Theatre as indicated below.
To help keep us strong until we can again raise the curtain on our stage, here’s what you can do to help:
Donate Tickets—We are asking current ticket holders to donate unused tickets back to The
Lofte. Ticket donations are tax deductible and directly support our ongoing expenses while our stage is dark. Contact the box office at 402-234-2553 or for a receipt.*
Let us Entertain You—We have constructed an outdoor stage where we are having “Barnyard
Cinema” and some concerts and other entertainment events. Purchase tickets and come join us in the barnyard for some socially distanced entertainment. See our website and FaceBook page for details on these events.
Give Now—Please make a one-time or recurring gift online at or contact the box office at 402-234-2553 for other avenues to donate. Your gift will help keep us alive until we can safely return to our stage to bring you the outstanding live theatre you have come to know here at The Lofte.*
*As an incentive for personal donations, the CARES Act has made it possible for anyone who
donates to a 501(c)(3) organization a deduction of up to $300. In effect, the government will
subsidize a portion of any given to a charitable organization through a tax deduction.
Many nonprofits are currently struggling due to COVID-19, but please consider a donation to The Lofte to enable us to once again Bring the Arts to Rural Nebraska after the pandemic subsides. As we all navigate this challenging time, we are all reminded of how important “Community” is to our happiness, health, and well-being. At The Lofte, that has never been more apparent than it is now. We know that even as we are physically apart, that our Community will come together in support to ensure we can once again gather in safety and joy celebrating live theatre.
With Unending Gratitude for our Community,
The Board of Directors and Staff of The Lofte Community Theatre
Now Showing:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
August 7th & 8th
Gates open @ 7:30 PM
$20 per vehicle
Back by popular demand is the BarnYard Cinema! Our next movie will be Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and is currently scheduled for both Friday August 7th and Saturday August 8th!
As we previously advertised, gates open at 7:30 PM and the movie will be shown on a screen in the Lofte parking lot beginning at dusk. Social distancing will be observed and masks must be worn inside the Lofte.
Our concession stand will be open for all movie showings, and you'll be able to hear the movie via the radio in your car!
Also! There will be a raffle and silent auction to raise money for the Lofte's Raise the Curtain Campaign!
Upcoming BarnYard Cinema Events:
The NeverEnding Story
Friday August 14th and Saturday August 15th
_edited.jpg)
Becky's New Car
By Steven Dietz
Performances: September 4-6, 10-13
We find Becky Foster stuck in middle age, middle management at a car dealership, and a middling marriage—with no prospects for change on the horizon. That is until one night when inept millionaire stumbles into the dealership where she works. Becky is offered nothing short of a new life...and the audience is offered a chance to ride shotgun! The Lofte’s Director’s Choice of 2020 is a devious and delightful romp down the road not taken.
(The play contains strong language. We suggest PG 13.)