GREENE – Total attendance at Chenango River Theatre exceeded 5,000 for the first time in the company’s short four-year history. The company’s budget also topped the $200,000 mark for the first time. The growth rate makes the theatre one of the fastest growing theatre companies in the state, a strong achievement given the economy during the company’s initial years. 

CRT’s Artistic & Managing Director Bill Lelbach says, “We continue to see a theatre audience that believes that the greater Binghamton area deserves a full-time Equity theatre (Actors’ Equity is the association for professional actors in the U.S.). We’ve built the company around that belief. As word spreads that you can see actors and productions that are on a par with what you’d see anywhere in the country, we see a fairly dramatic increase each year in attendance. Most importantly, local corporate supporters are starting to understand something about our unique situation.” 

“Theatres like CRT are not unusual in large metro areas – but this isn’t one of those areas. While over 60% of our audience comes from Broome County, we’re not eligible for the very generous arts funding available for non-profit theatres located there. And because we’ve been recognized by the state arts council (NYSCA) as one of the top new theatres in the state, we’re not eligible for the funding that Chenango County has for arts organizations. We fall between the cracks and we need both corporate and individual supporters to appreciate that we have to rely on local, direct support – that’s why we have fundraisers like our Fall Appeal which is ongoing right now.”  (www.chenangorivertheatre.org).