08/24/2026
Dear friends,
For 20 years, RISE has been a beacon of creative storytelling for thousands of performers and patrons throughout Southern New England. We believe theater is more than entertainment—it is a communal storytelling tradition that sits at the heart of civic life.
Over the past five years, RISE has grown substantially, offering fresh theatrical experiences nearly every month of the year. Our programming includes educational opportunities, family musicals, thought-provoking adult dramas, world-premiere plays by local playwrights, explorations of local history, and so much more. Through it all, our mission has remained the same: to build community and share our love of theater.
But like any theater company, we cannot rely on ticket sales alone to sustain this work.
This is why we need you.
As we head into our 20th anniversary season with tremendous excitement, we must also confront a sobering financial reality: RISE has recently taken some significant financial hits.
Accessing affordable venues is becoming harder. We deeply appreciate the patience and loyalty of our patrons as you have followed us from venue to venue while we search for a permanent performance space. Unfortunately, rapidly increasing rental costs have placed an enormous strain on our finances.
And now, we have experienced another major setback to one of the programs closest to our hearts: RISE Jr.
For the past several years, RISE has been proud to receive significant support from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) for our RISE Jr. productions. That funding has allowed us to provide high-quality theatrical experiences to young people at no cost to participants. For hundreds of children and families, these programs have opened doors that registration fees might otherwise have kept closed.
This year, however, RISE was unfortunately not among RISCA's awarded grantees.
The consequences are real.
These losses directly affect our ability to make the arts accessible to the community we serve. Without additional support, we may be forced to significantly reduce our programming—including opportunities for young people to discover the transformative power of theater.
That is why we are asking our community to rise to this moment with us.
Your donation can help us keep the curtain up. In honor of our 20th anniversary, we are asking all friends of RISE to give $20. If you are able to give more, we are deeply grateful. But if every member of our community who can give just $20 does so, together we can make a meaningful difference.
You can donate using the QR code in this image or at www.ristage.org!
Every contribution helps us to keep creating theater, building community, and opening doors for the next generation of performers.
Thank you for 20 years of believing in RISE—and for helping us ensure that the next 20 years are possible.
We truly couldn't do it without you.
