So, as many of you know by now (and can see on our home page), the Gala has been scheduled!!!! June 16th we Tahitians (and hopefully all of you) will gather in Fort Greene, Brooklyn (and no mom, Ft. Greene is no longer a scary unsafe neighborhood – it’s too gentrified and filled with yuppies to be unsafe – it may still be scary – but that depends on how you feel about yuppies) to celebrate GTTP and Jane Austen and to get ready for our performance of Persuasion the adaptation of which Tahitian, Laura Bultman, is working on even as I type. The GTTP GALA committee is still nailing down the specifics, but we know date (June 16th), time (7-11pm) and location (MIMA Brooklyn – 174 Washington Avenue, Ft. Greene).

It’s funny, ever since I started GTTP, I’ve wanted to throw a gala. I remember when I first moved to NY I had the opportunity to go to a gala at The Guggenheim Museum and it was a magical night. There was food and music and wine and even though my date backed out at the last moment, I still had an excuse to get dressed up and wander through the museum after hours – granted it was with a few hundred strangers – but, it made me feel so sophisticated and grown up. In some small way, I was a part of the New York arts community. I was new to the city and a little bit adrift in terms of my theater work, but an arts gala was just the thing to inspire me again. Twelve years later, when I started GTTP, I wanted our first event to be a gala but at the time, we didn’t have the community big enough for a big event. Finally, almost 4 years and 5 and a half shows later, we’re ready to do it. We are starting small – limited to 70 people – and we’re still figuring it out as we go, but it should be a really fun night. (Like I said, not quite the Guggenheim – MIMA Brooklyn is only one floor and it doesn’t have curved walls – but a fun night all the same.)

Here are the definites we know so far: there will be food of some kind (we’re aiming for a mixture of some hors d’oeuvres and some desserts), some wine (not sure what yet), and some dancing (we’ll be doing at least some Regency Dance lessons for our guests so you too can feel like you’re a part of Jane Austen’s world) – hopefully to a life band, but that’s still being worked out. We’re also putting together a silent auction with a mixture of really great items. Our plan is to launch the silent auction a month before the GALA and then continue it through the event. (So stay tuned for details on the items.) The auction will close at the gala, an hour before the end of the evening and we’ll anounce the winners (who will be able to pick up their items) at that time. Also, since our adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion opens on June 26th (a mere 10 days after the gala), at the party we’ll have a short preview perfromance to give everyone a chance to see what to expect during the run of the show.

Oh…there’s another VERY IMPORTANT thing…and that is the evening’s attire. As attendees you’re welcome to stick with just modern semi-formal dress (you’ll still be welcome at the event) but, for the more adventurous of you (or at least those of you who have access to a costume shop), GTTP suggests you come to the gala in Regency period dress. So, corsets and Empire waist dresses for the ladies and coats and riding breeches for the men. Most of the Tahitians in the crowd (at least most of the female Tahitians (as the male costumes are harder to come by)) will all be in costume. And don’t worry if it’s not perfect, the costume thing is just meant for us all to have some fun. Even if you only have part of a costume, we hope you get into the spirit of night and wear it to accentuate the rest of your clothes.

In case you’re wondering, tickets for the gala will go on sale here on the website starting April 20th. Gala tickets will be $75/person, but there will be an early rate so all tickets purchased before May 16th will be $60/person.

…oh, and one last thing – there may be a special guest so like I said above, stay tuned for more details.