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an open letter regarding summer stage
- Team Tape Ball
- Feb 13
- 2 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Dear friends,
After 25 years, Bishop Hendricken High School has made the difficult decision to externalize the summer arts program previously known as "Summer Stage at Bishop Hendricken" beginning in summer 2025. Given this news, it became clear that the Summer Stage program would pause or cease to exist altogether without an entity to take it over. So, we've worked over the past week to develop a plan to move forward.
Today, we're announcing a new non-profit corporation — Tape Ball Theatricals — to assume responsibility for the Summer Stage programs and continue to offer critical summer theatre programming to young artists across Rhode Island.
Over the next month, our team will be aggressively researching and pursuing all possible avenues to secure the future of the program and offer the same transformational experiences that have become a hallmark of Summer Stage at Bishop Hendricken.
Our plan is to have more information on camp/workshop offerings by March 1, 2025 and details regarding a mainstage musical shortly thereafter. As of now, our theatre camp/workshop would take place on July 7-18, the filmmaking camp would take place August 4-8, and the mainstage musical would take place July 31-August 3. We have worked with Bishop Hendricken to maintain residence on campus this summer and are greatly encouraged by the school’s genuine interest to support this effort.
To be completely transparent, we don't have all the answers. However, our pledge is to undertake every course of action possible to ensure programming is available to inspire students of the next 25 years and beyond. While we are committed to making this work, we'd be remiss if we didn't caution students and families that there is no guarantee it will this summer. None of this can happen without you.
If you're an alumnus, previous Summer Stage participant, or supporter of the arts, we need your help. Please consider chipping in whatever you can, here. All donations will go directly toward the capital needed to get programming off the ground this summer.
If you're a parent/guardian, family, or student interested in the programming Summer Stage was intending to provide this summer, please join our interest list to keep you apprised of our developments, here.
In many ways, this venture is beautifully reminiscent of the program's inception back in 2000 when young, scrappy, theatre-loving alumni launched a program that has become a gift to so many. Our hope is that our efforts can fuel this iteration of that program into the next 25 years.
We'll be in touch soon. As always, don't miss the moment.
