At the Keynote Address in Houston, USITT members met a new fundraiser, The Bottle, that sends this report of its activities at the 48th Annual Conference & Stage Expo.

"Listen to the music! (jingle, jangle) Do you hear the music?!?" That was my introduction to the members of USITT.

Voices kept repeating and repeating that message for days while I was shaking. It was interesting to meet so many people who "listened to the music" and made a deposit -- usually bottles are wary of deposits -- to USITT.

We kept telling people the Institute would use this money for ways to reward excellence. Having a blue ribbon, I knew about awards and really felt proud.

What was interesting to The Handler was the constant change in the "aggregate polyphony" of coins and bills I was collecting -- something about the changing timbre with each deposit. Many first time conference goers became really excited as they dropped loose change into my mouth. The bills tickle as they scrape along my sides. The Handler thinks it has control, but the giving came from the good nature of the donors.

When I attended a Board of Directors meeting, 100 percent contributed. As they folded their bills and shoved, really hard, the music began to fade. Late Friday afternoon, there was no more jingle, jangle. No room to move. The music ceases, for now.

The bean counters counted and reported $638.08 can be put to work rewarding excellence --- but it was so quiet.

I'll be back because The Handler didn't give it all to the bean counters. The jingle jangle of five coins is just as it was when I first heard "Listen to the Music!"

See you in Cincinnati! Look for me, the red USITT Bottle, and my cohort, The Handler, to make that jingle.

Oh, the Board of Directors thanks you for the support!!!

transcribed by Larry Hill for The Bottle

To Top