tells Hamlet of the duel that is to occur between her and Laertes.

As the new chair of the PlayMakers Advisory Council, I am honored to welcome you to the Paul Green Theater to enjoy the delightful remainder of our season, beginning with "Hamlet." I would like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing chair, Amy Guskiewicz, for all of her time, energy and wisdom in serving the Council for not just one, but many years.

The power of live theater first made an impression on me as a child in England, where I grew up enjoying frequent exposure to the West End in London. Theater brought a ‘mutliverse,’ as they say these days, of alternative imagination and emotion through which to encounter the world. So, I missed the theater when I landed in Chapel Hill almost 30 years ago, and it was a delight to discover PlayMakers within such easy reach and to have the opportunity it afforded to introduce my own children to this theater world.

I believe that an artist is an adventurer who seeks through creative bravery to more deeply understand human beings and their surroundings. In turn, the theater is a place where we audience members can share a cultural experience, entering into this depth together with the other intimate guests as though we are all in someone’s living room. We are on an adventure together through reimagined classics, world premieres, and often our own Southern stories, both old and new, learning to acknowledge the validity of the lived experience of others while at the same time realizing how many emotions are shared.

At times the theater prompts us to reassess profound aspects of our lives, and at other times simply to laugh, be entertained, and lighten our spiritual load. Either way, it is a treasure and a testament to the communities of both the town of Chapel Hill and University of North Carolina that Playmakers exists here among us.

For decades PlayMakers theater has been adding vitality not only to our community, but to the Triangle and the State, coming to us ‘heart forward’ as our ‘fearless leader’ and beloved Artistic Director might say. For our community to remain heart healthy, for PlaMmakers to remain with us and to serve our community and beyond, we must remember that what sustains us must also be sustained. Art and life are reciprocal in that way. PlayMakers cannot exist without our support.

There are a number of ways to sustain and support PlayMakers. Financial gifts of any amount are gratefully received but simply being an ambassador of the PlayMakers experience by inviting your friends and neighbors, sharing and liking us on social media and simply talking about your experiences here, these are also invaluable to us.

With much gratitude to you all for taking your time to be with us, we wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year.