“It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?...”
You can ask anyone on the team and they will tell you that having our own space again has been a dream come true for a lot of reasons. Sure, it comes with it's own set of challenges, just like any space would. But thinking about having been in four different buildings in the last three years is the stuff of my nightmares, up there with falling dreams and couples who sit on the same side of the booth at restaurants.
Having moved into east downtown this last year though, we've quickly realized that leaky roofs and broken toilets would be welcome problems for some. If you have been down to see a ComedySportz match, the Astros or the Dynamo, you probably didn't miss the tent cities that have been set up under interstate 59. It's an unfortunate reality that there are plenty of Houstonians without a home or on the verge of losing their home. I'm not smart enough to delve into the hows and whys of homelessness, but I do know that as a member of this community we need to do our part. So with that being said, I would like to introduce CSz Houston's Neighborhood Initiative.
I'm ashamed that it's taken this long for me to get this off the ground. In the hustle and bustle of getting the theatre up and running on this side of town, I think I have been a little too narrowly focused to take an outward look lately. If I haven't mentioned this before, when Chad and I got into this, our first of a few mission statements was that we are here to raise the human spirit through comedy. It's funny how easy it can be to lose sight of that even when you run a comedy theatre. Sadly, it wasn't until someone recently mentioned something that made things click. I was talking with some people about our newest location when someone quipped, "it's unfortunate that the theatre had to be associated with THAT kind of situation (having a homeless population near us)," that I finally snapped.
Don't let me mince words here; having a homeless population near our theatre does not make anything about OUR situation unfortunate. What's unfortunate is that people in our community are suffering. I'm not trying to judge here, but I think we can agree that running a theatre that encourages make believe versus wondering where your next meal is going to come from really live in two separate worlds of "tough."
Anyhow, that's the end of my soap box speech.
What I'm here to tell you is this:
CSz Houston's Neighborhood Initiative is going to be an ongoing effort to make sure we are doing our part to contribute to and help our neighbors in need. We are going to be looking for different ways we can partner with organizations to make a difference around our theatre and really Houston in general. Additionally, we are going be starting a new program for ComedySportz matches. From this point on, we are going to offering a discount on regular admission tickets for anyone who brings non-perishable food items, socks or undergarments to a match. It will be an option on our website just like buying student, military or senior citizen tickets. You can buy the tickets ahead of time, and then bring the items with you when you come to the theatre. We're not changing the world yet, but it's a start.
That's it for this one, y'all. Happy birthday to my sister, Syd. She's starting a business selling succulents and other decorative plants and knick knacks. I'm probably really butchering this for her (sorry)... but she's already kicking butt so it's all good.
Be good to one another,
Benji