"The race is neither to the swift or to the strong but to he that endures to the end."

In November of 2010 Junebug Productions, will celebrate its 30th Anniversary. The parent organization of Junebug Productions, the Free Southern Theater, started in October 1963. I worked straight through and was a founder of both of them. I’m in it for the "long haul” but the race is nowhere near the end. Still, the need for change in Junebug Productions corresponds in a curious way with my own personal need for change.

I got involved in building a theater in 1963 and have stayed the course since then because I wanted to write for theater. Most of the playwrights whose work I

respected and enjoyed most, also worked in theater. My problem is that the work I do now leaves precious little time for the kind of writing that I feel obliged to do. Moreover, though JPI’s mission remains valid and relevant, the conditions under which it does it's work have changed significantly. New leadership is therefore needed and I need more time to meet the demands of my personal mission, to write plays.

In view of these concerns we have launched a course to build a new program, and a new artistic leadership and management team which will be supported by a new board structure. My personal goal is to celebrate the transition by the 30th anniversary.

The main thing about this new approach is that we have re-committed ourselves to one of the central points of focus of the Free Southern Theater, to place community engagement and education at the center of our program efforts. Our mission demands it. The job of "supporting and encouraging black people in the Black Belt South who are working to improve the quality of life available to themselves and others who are similarly oppressed and exploited," is simply too great for one little organization to accomplish. We need allies, friends and colleagues who recognize the import of the role of culture in these efforts. Our education and community engagement programs can help to generate the people who are needed to accomplish our mission.

JPI must continue to embrace the task of modeling the kind of art work to which it has been devoted, but in order to make a meaningful contribution to the effort and accomplish the ambitious goals, we must place greater emphasis on the educational aspects of our work.

We hope that you will follow our efforts to accomplish this work through this exciting new website. Follow our programs. Keep up with our plans and progress with the Free Southern Theater Institute; keep up with our touring and presenting activities; make tax-exempt contributions to support our efforts. You won’t be sorry.

Yours in the struggle to make a better world,

John