Bryan Brown and Olya Petrakova - ARTEL Theatre, LA

Dear Judie Christie and Richard Gough,

We are deeply disheartened to hear of CPR's threatened existence.
While we have never met, CPR's existence, model and support of what we consider to be the groundbreaking front-line of theatrical experience has been a continued source of inspiration to us and our young theater collective in Los Angeles, ARTEL. In fact, we have modeled our own research and development center, [via]Corpora, on similar principles established and sustained over the years by CPR.

When fighting for funding in the United States, when battling the inevitable depression of facing the lack of understanding for the necessity of art in America, when questioning why we are devoting our lives to the discovery of the human soul in the moment through voice and body, we always look to CPR for inspiration. The relationship you had established with the University and the Arts Council, the decision to continually stay in Wales instead of taking more "lucrative" offers elsewhere, are a source of deep strength for us as we continue to develop in a seemingly culturally antagonistic city such as Los Angeles. We believe in the necessity of what we do and the necessity of supporting community and the human experience through the survival of folk and theatrical tradition. We believe that Los Angeles and the United States can be reinvigorated by such wisdom and such gatherings.

We know that as Stanislavsky said:

"The theatre is not a luxury in the life of the people, but part of its bread and butter. It is not something one can quite well do without, but something incontestably necessary for a great people....You can't postpone the art of the theatre for a while, padlock its workshop, and suspend its animation for a time. Art cannot go to sleep and then, when it suits us, wake up again. It can only go to sleep for ever, by dying. Suspend it, and it will perish...returning to life only centuries later, if then. The death of art would be a national catastrophe."

We sincerely hope that the ACW realizes this as well before they enact what seems to us to be a death stroke to the continuation an advancement of Welsh national heritage and culture.

CPR is an ongoing source of inspiration for young theater practitioners and it is a mark of excellency, taste and sophistication of the Welsh government and Art Councils that they align themselves and fund such distinguished work. It has made Wales seem like a beacon of hope to an increasingly Dark Age.

For the sake of us all, we wish you only the greatest of prosperity and the ability to continue to develop your undeniably important work.

Sincerely,
Bryan Brown and Olya Petrakova
ARTEL
Los Angeles, CA, USA
www.arteltheatre.org