The theme for our 2024/25 season was Many Beautiful Things, and the year offered that up in spades. As I take a moment to reflect on the work The Bridge Initiative (TBI) produced these past months, I can’t stop smiling. TBI continues to thrive as we traverse this unstable political climate. I could talk for days about the current state of things and the financial and cultural impact it is having on the arts. And if you’d like to chat about it, please reach out to me. Today, though, I’d like to use this space to focus on the positives and the future.
This season we expanded our Bridge Cabaret Plus, presented with ASU Kerr. We produced four musical cabarets featuring local singers and musicians. In October we presented Rodgers & Hammerstein revue A Grand Night for Singing, our first musical concert. In the spring, we produced two play readings, each written by an Arizona-based playwright, with a cast of talented local actors. Our partnership with ASU Kerr continues to flourish and I am thankful to Tracey Mason and the entire team. We are working with them to bring seven unique events (13 performances) to the historic venue next season, including our first fully produced musical.
In March, TBI produced two shows at Tempe Center for the Arts. We worked with our season selection committee to select titles our community wanted to see on the stage and then brought them to life. Tiny Beautiful Things and Crooked Shadows shared the space wonderfully and brought new audiences to our shows. We look forward to another successful rep season next spring with TCA and the amazing team there.
Brenda continues work on documentary feature film See Jane Run: An Indo Story (release date TBA) which TBI fiscally sponsored in its production phase. Film subject, actor/activist Dr. Jane Vogel Mantiri has also turned her story into a work of theatre and I am excited to announce we are bringing it – and Jane – to Arizona in October. Stay tuned! For information about the film and this incredible woman, please visit https://bridgeinit.org/see-jane-run/.
As Shonda, Brenda, and I look to the future of TBI, I’m inspired to move forward with intention. We maintain the relationships we value. We budget within our means so we are able to pay the artists on each production and stay in the black each fiscal year. We communicate openly with each other and our patrons/supporters to ensure transparency and a respectful work environment.
Our 2025/26 season is set to be another wonderful year of theater. We’re celebrating 10 years of live theater and I cannot wait to share it with all of you in next month’s newsletter. Meanwhile, a couple of action items:
We’d love to hear from you. This link will take you to a GOOGLE FORM where you are welcome to share your thoughts about this past season and Bridge in general. We use the feedback from this survey to help build our season and how we get information to the public. It’s a valuable tool and I appreciate your time.
If you are interested in joining our board of directors, please email boardpresident@bridgeinit.org. We are looking for a treasurer and always welcome community members-at-large.
We cannot produce these shows and strong seasons without the support of our entire community. Thank you for everything you’ve given and continue to give. You are always welcome to email or call me with your thoughts and ideas. My goal is to keep creating and keep growing with the community we’re proud to be a part of. I’m excited to lead TBI into the next season and look forward to seeing you at the theater.
Always,
Amie Bjorklund
Producing Artistic Director
It’s hard to express my pride in where The Bridge Initiative is today, at the end of May 2025. Those who know me will attest that over the last ten years I have considered closing the organization more times than I can count. But the community continues to emphasize a need for TBI, a hunger for female leadership and diverse voices, and a pure love of the work. Your showing up truly inspires me and motivates each step as the organization finds its stride.
One of the creative forces on the film I am producing is a member of the Cherokee Nation. She shared with me that there are people in the world who are “light walkers,” whose purpose is to shine light on others. I am humbled to say she believes I am one of these souls. If she is right, and I confess her words resonate, serving you through The Bridge Initiative is an integral part of my “why.”
I have led TBI through several eras, and right now feels like the most stable the organization has been in a very long time, assuming funding comes through to support our plans. I am grateful for the cohesion that Amie, Shonda, and I have developed in our leadership roles. The board elected two powerful leaders this year in Lynn and Breona, and we codified the season selection committee, impeccably led for a second year by Daniela. Drew’s contributions to our front of house and auditions are hard to overstate. I cannot even begin to list the artistic contributions of the theatre makers who are my soul sisters/siblings – you are the lifeblood of TBI. The audiences who have found us more recently AND those who have been with us since the beginning, you are our reason for being. Thank you for choosing to sit in a darkened room together, synchronizing heartbeats, and believing.
With joy and gratitude,
Brenda Foley
Producing Executive Director