The Will-Ness Program: A Brave New World for A-E & Jane the Phoole!

“O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world / That has such people in't!” – Wm. Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST 5:1

Won’t you please consider sponsoring me for a new adventure?  A performing company I support is launching a special fundraising drive in the form of a new kind of marathon.

Milwaukee’s non-profit Optimist Theatre produces Free Shakespeare in the Park, bringing the greatest plays in the English language to an under-served public via Equity-level artists. I believe in them, I admire them, and I support their mission. Their inaugural production last year was THE TEMPEST, and it ruled.  It shook the entire community with its vibrant life, and it got capacity crowds and rave reviews.  They’re producing TWELFTH NIGHT this coming Spring, and to help them raise funds to make this and all of their endeavors the best they can be, I’m joining their Will-Ness Program.

From January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011, I am committing to losing at least 40 pounds and improving my physical fitness through regular exercise and improved nutrition.  My metabolism has always been my enemy, but my participation in the Will-Ness Program (hooray for groaner puns!) marks my first formal attack on purposefully improving my health.   I'm investing in a recumbent exercise bike -- for ease on my hurty knees -- and alternating weights workouts with cardio and yoga for daily invigoration, and, on the advice of my excellent physician, I'm using My Food Diary to monitor and improve what I eat.

Sponsors can watch my progress online, either through my own webpage or through Optimist Theatre's page (details to be determined), and Optimist Theatre will request sponsor donations every other month based on the amount of pounds lost per 2-month period.  For example, if you were to commit $3 per pound, and I lose my expected target of pounds (7 lbs), you’d get a request from Optimist Theatre for $21.  If I didn’t lose weight, or if I gained it back, you’d pay nothing.  

Optimist Theatre’s Free Shakespeare in the Park builds a bridge across the ages and brings universal human truths to audiences at no charge.  To help them, I would be thrilled and honored if you could sponsor me in this adventure.  Any level of sponsorship is welcome!  If you can sponsor $5 per pound, that’s fantastic; if you can only afford $.50 or $1 per pound, every little bit helps.  Just email me at jane@phoole.com and let me know what you’d plan on pledging, and I will then send you a simple pledge form to complete and return.  It's that easy!

Click here for much more information on the program.  I hope you'll consider sponsoring improved health for your friend and Phoole AND for the community at large!http://www.optimisttheatre.org/