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Jewish Star Theater was conceived and structured to be a self-perpetuating not-for-profit organization dedicated to identifying theatrical plays that deal with the Jewish American story and encouraging the writing of such plays through the use of various contests and festivals, developing those properties through informal readings and, when appropriate, staged readings and producing them as fully configured live professional theater performances present in Jewish Community Centers, Y's, colleges and other local organizations across the nation that would receive these performances in return for having provided "seed money" to allow the production of these plays to be mounted in the first place.

Example: The Jewish Star Theater would approach 40 organizations to contribute $3,000 each for which they would get one fully mounted performance of a Jewish content play that would help them accomplish their organizational mission in terms of bringing high quality cultural programs to their members and to their communities-at-large. The gross funds collected by the Jewish Star Theater for this endeavor would be, in this hypothetical example, $120,000, which would be used to mount the show with Equity actors, professional stage manager, technical support persons who would travel via bus and truck with all the elements of the play including set pieces, lighting equipment, props, costumes, and make-up; i.e. a totally self-contained production.

Other funding could be available from Federal, State, local government, private foundations and individual corporate and personal cultural funding sources such as National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Art Serve Michigan and so many others.

Ticket sales could help the local host organizations cover their initial outlay. Similarly, local advertising could allow them to put the names of local businesses and organizations before their neighbors as supporters of the arts for the general good.

The Jewish Star Theater would have the opportunity to sell ads as well but on a much wider if not on a national level since its touring productions could introduce advertisers to audiences in many cities and hamlets across the country.

Looking to the future while capitalizing on to the importance of what is being done, the arrangements between the authors of the new plays produced by Jewish Star Theater would include "points", i.e. a "financial interest" in the play's future. When and if a play realizes success in the widest possible audiences; i.e. Off-Broadway, Broadway, Radio, TV and Film or any of the Internet related modes of dissemination, income resulting from such "points" would go towards funding the Jewish Star Theater's work in perpetuity.

That's it in a nutshell.

It is the big dream of the founder of the Jewish Star Theater, Mr. Drew Kopf, who invites interested parties both in and around the world of theater or any of the cultural arts since the organization's activities and interests are, like theater itself, made up of all the arts, to consider what part they might be able and willing to play.

Mr. Kopf continues to recruit members for the board of directors, people who may wish to serve on task force groups, advisory councils or permanent committees dealing with ongoing concerns such as screening plays for playwriting contests, or raising start up, program and endowment oriented funding and hiring staff to execute the programs needed to help realize the goals and objectives of the Jewish Star Theater.

if you wish to contact Mr. Kopf regarding any of the items discussed in this overview. Thank you.