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By LISA CURRIE
Rappahannock New* Staff Writer
The Rappahannock Association for the Arts and the Community (RAAC) has been an integral part of the artistic and cultural development in this county. It has brought famous musicans, ethnic dances and dancers, comics and storytellers, movies, plays and musical productions to entertain and educate young and old Rappahannock residents.
It has grown in its eight years of activity and as with any organization, it has changed.
After their recent review by the RAAC Futures Committee, RAAC has undergrone several changes.
“We’re still percolating” on issues pinpointed by the Futures Committee — a group of eight persons that gathered to organize and compile a community review of RAAC — RAAC president Charlie Tompkins said, adding soon after the report was filed, “the theatre crisis occured.”
Over the past eight years, RAAC performances, productions and weekly weekend movies have often been presented in the newly renovated Theatre at Little Washington, once known as the Gay Street Theatre, located on Gay and Jett streets in Washington.
With cost of productions, performers, movie rental, and theatre rental increasing, RAAC was forced to set aside many of the issues brought forth by the Futures Committee to deal with the theatre situation.
“The sudden increase in rent at the theatre” brought about many changes for RAAC and will continue to do so in the near future, president Tomkins said.
“RAAC members were ambivalent about getting into a situation where we would be forced to produce events twice a month,” in order to meet rent costs, Mr. Tompkins said, sitting in his Washington office. “We do not want to become a tourist attraction,” he said of RAAC’s goals, explaining that in order to meet the cost of rent at the theater the arts organization would be forced to increase the number of events presented.
He said this not only would cost residents more, it could drain energies from people who attend events as well as volunteers who support them.
‘We are here to support local entertainment,” Mr. Tompkins said with determination ringing in his voice, as he said increasing the number of events sponsored by RAAC could force the group to advertise in the Northern Virginia region for support as well as find artists from other places to perfiaom or exhibit.
A move of this sort would be opposite of what the
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