Advocate for the arts on Tuesday morning. Sign up today.

News
Today, Friday, is the last day to sign up to be an advocate for the arts on the Capital on Tuesday, Feb. 24. You'll need to be free from around 8:00 am to 1 pm but other than that, you're really just adding to the numbers of people who go down to the capital and show the legislature that a lot of different kinds of people care about the arts. Don't worry. It's not a march or a protest (in case those kinds of mob things make you uncomfortable). You're assigned to a group of other artists and arts advocates and shuffled between the offices of individual legislators - which should be fascinating in and of itself. You don't need to speak if you're shy -- MN Citizens for the Arts is very good at this stuff -- but this may be your chance, if you're got a real good argument you want some of these politicians to hear. Believe it or not, your presence does make a difference. I know from personal experience that many of these people simply don't believe that there are as many people participating in the arts as there are (because they just went to see one show somewhere and there were only 50 people in the audience or something). They don't understand how spread out and important it is to individual people around the state. . . and, believe it or not, they are influenced by sheer numbers. Whether they're self-interested politicians or idealists, they don't want to be on the wrong side of the numbers. Show up. Stand around. Be counted. Talk if you want. But do this simple and easy and important thing for the arts. I'll see you there.
Alan M. Berks

Alan M. Berks is a Minneapolis-based writer whose plays have been seen in New York, Chicago, Phoenix, Indianapolis, San Francisco, and around the Twin Cities. He helped create Thirst Theater a while back. Now, he’s the co-founder of this here magazine. He’s also written Almost Exactly Like Us, How to Cheat, 3 Parts Dead, Goats, and more.