Top Ten Reason to Donate

Here are some rays of midsummer sunshine as we keep our focus on creating the late 19th Century Russian countryside. 

We are also keeping our focus on putting our tickets on sale for the first time, starting August 1st with a pre-sale window exclusively open to our donors!

1
You’ll help build the foundation of The Classics Company as a Founding Donor.

☀️As Artistic Director/CEO I take no compensation, so join me in making this happen for Rochester. Soon you will learn about the acting company for the inaugural 2026 Season. Our actors will begin their early immersion into the world of Anton Chekhov later this month.☀️

2
You’ll witness an incredible company of actors to perform all three plays.

☀️Each actor has been carefully chosen for their specific role. You’ll be enthralled.☀️

3
You’ll experience the talents of professional designers in scenery, costumes, lights, and sound who will transform the Multi-use Community Cultural Center venue into a visual and aural immersion.

☀️While our theatre venue at 142 Atlantic Avenue may be small in size, it will not be limited in imagination and creativity. In fact, it will be packed with our fully-realized productions.☀️

4
As a special artistic collaborator, you’ll hear original compositions from Gregg Coffin for all three Chekhov productions!

☀️The plays of Anton Chekhov are rich with character, passion and human foibles. Much like a film, his stories unlock history and landscape - swept along by rivers of emotion: the perfect template for musical underscoring.☀️

5
You’ll be easily welcomed into the Chekhovian world through fresh translations by Kristin Johnsen-Neshati, who will be an active participant in our artistic process.

☀️Did you know that Chekhov wrote his plays in Russian…? Seriously, when performed in English we are hearing a translator’s and/or an adaptor’s view of the original text. Read “Dramaturgical Dip” below for my search for the right version for us.☀️

6
Your donation will help keep our ticket prices extremely low, providing access to the classics for all: $30 top price and $15 for students – plus season subscribers will see all three plays for just $75.

☀️Shouldn’t going to the theatre be less expensive? Even plays (let alone musicals) in NYC are ridiculously priced. The recent production of OTHELLO on Broadway had tickets in Row M for $921!!☀️

7
With only 75 seats on sale for each performance, as a donor you’ll be able to buy season subscriptions and single show tickets in an exclusive pre-sale window before the general public.

☀️Not only are our tickets inexpensive, as a donor of at least $100 you won’t get a sold-out sign because other fans have filled the limited seats.☀️

8
Where else will you be named a “God or Goddess of the Greek & Roman Pantheon” when you donate?

☀️Hey, we aren’t doing Sophocles, Aristophanes or Euripides (yet), but we have classics in our name so we will honor you classically.☀️

9
You’ll get to enhance your enjoyment of the classics through special activities such as video lectures and Mark Cuddy’s celebrated “Prologue” talks before each performance.

☀️We know you are smart and inquisitive – and probably goodlooking – so you’ll want to embrace all that The Classics Company offers.☀️

10
You’ll bring World Classics to the Rochester Stage.

☀️And you will make a difference.☀️

Classically Yours,

Dramaturgical Dip: Lost in Translations

by Mark Cuddy