'Dear George: Letters to the President' accepting letters for nation-wide stage performances in October

For Immediate Release:

West 50th Street Productions, a New York based production company, proudly announces their upcoming project Dear George: Letters to the President, a performance piece being compiled from letters written to the President. Americans of all ages, backgrounds and political viewpoints are encouraged to participate. Letters are being collected through the website http://www.deargeorgeletters.com/ and will continue to be collected through Labor Day, 2004. The website offers an option to automatically forward each submission to the White House and regularly posts a sampling of letters received in the "daily letters' section.

Selected letters will be fashioned into a into a "readers theatre" piece to be performed throughout the month of October, 2004. Marcus Woollen, creator of the project maintains: "At a time when public opinion of the President is so sharply divided, interpreting the division through binary polls does not do justice to the passion and intelligence of the American people. The letters, when read as a larger group, provide a fascinating and complex portrait of our nation today. By presenting individual voices and personal perspectives, Dear George: Letters to the President intends to be an accessible, non-partisan alternative to the prescribed talking points that too often serve as political debate.'

Regarding the work in progress co-producer Robert Driemeyer notes, "The play may end up being funny, angering, inspirational, or hopefully, a combination of all these things. The ultimate shape and scope will be determined by what people out there really have to say.' Final details of the venue and casting for the New York production will be announced shortly.

Hoping to reach the broadest audience possible, Dear George: Letters to the President is being made available to all theater companies across America interested in presenting it concurrently with the New York production, either for several weeks, or a special one-night-only performance. A portion of the stage production will be left open for each theatre company to localize the project. Currently, West 50th Street Productions is in final negotiations with theater companies in California, Wyoming, Illinois, Texas and Florida. Inquiries regarding participation can be directed to West 50th Street Productions at contact@DearGeorgeLetters.com.

Since it's June 1 launch, response to the website has flourished, thanks in no small part to the blog community. Over 1000 letters have been received from all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Americans overseas. The submissions are evenly divided between those who approve and disapprove of the President seemingly reflecting his current approval ratings.

West 50th Street Productions was started in 2002 by Robert Driemeyer and Marcus Woollen to create and produce new theatrical works. Other projects include Greetings from Route 66: The Road Trip Revue which will premiere in Germany in 2005, and Slap&Tickle, which premiered simultaneously in New York City and Chicago in June of 2003, and will next be performed in Provincetown this August.

CONTACT
Marcus Woollen
West 50th Street Productions
(212) 604 – 4620
contact@DearGeorgeLetters.com

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