What's happening with TCT and the BeeKay?

Tehachapi Community Theatre (TCT) suspended productions in March of 2020 as the State ordered all live and movie theaters "closed" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

That order has not changed since then. And because of that, TCT has been unable to "do what we do" and produce high quality live theatre for the benefit of our community.

During a year of waiting for permission to reopen to live audiences, we've explored many ways to try and serve our patrons. We revamped our website and we held our annual elections. We offered Halloween makeup courses. And we produced a Variety Entertainment Telethon at Christmas that was free to view for all members of our community.

Our most recent productions are streaming free Music Video Specials of local legend Gary Mazzola's incredible catalog of music and video creations. And we have other events in the planning stages, too.

The trouble is: live theatre is not allowed. And that is our bread and butter. It's how we pay our bills. And we have rent, utilities and insurance bills to pay each month. So far, we are sliding backwards in the battle to win the war.

What it comes down to, is that we now rely on donations from our community. We can no longer charge for tickets - and the full "theatrical experience" of seeing a show in the beautiful BeeKay Theatre.

We also know that many in the community are hurting just as much. And where we used to donate free tickets to other nonprofits for their fundraising, we are no longer able to help others now. And that is our mission. To do for our community by supporting others, who also do good works, and to offer quality entertainment while doing that.

We need our community's support. We have managed to slow the slide recently, but as they say, "It takes a Village." So, when you see the announcements for our latest offering, generously published by both the Tehachapi News and The Loop, that's us offering entertainment to our community, and that's us asking for donations from our community to keep TCT alive. Please, continue to enjoy what TCT offers, and donate what you can at www. TCTonStage.com or at 431 West J Street, Tehachapi 93561.