Will Bond - SITI Company, USA

Dear Committee:

This is a letter in support of the work that Judie Christie and Richard Gough have created through CPR at the University of Aberystwyth for many years. Their work is invaluable not only to me and to the company with which I work, but to the living history of performance.
CPR was "Global" long before that was even a word in our everyday lives. CPR was way ahead of the curve in realizing that the world was changing and that we were speaking to one another across continents and cultures.

Over 10 years ago, Judie and Richard invited me and my colleague Barney O'Hanlon to come and teach a two week workshop as representatives of Anne Bogart's SITI Company, sponsored and supported by CPR through the University of Wales at Aberystwyth for actors, directors, and theater artists from across the globe, to take part in what we had to offer.

Barney and I are members of this internationally acclaimed theater company headed by the world renowned theater director Anne Bogart. Part of the reason we were invited to share our work was the training methods we use in creating, performing and understanding theater and consequently, the world. Since that time, these methods have swept the globe and are continuing to be a prominent training approach in many programs throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Richard and Judy had the foresight to recognize that our work was at the cutting edge and would change the landscape of actor training and the creation of contemporary theater in this world.

And it is proving to do just that.

We could not have continued to define, evolve and solidify what we are trying to do without our time at CPR. It was INVALUABLE!

The support, the location, the focus that we were able to achieve could never have happened anywhere else. You cannot imagine what an invitation to share our work with international artists can mean to an American company whose work crosses all artistic boundaries and is much more global than it is specifically "American."

Aberystwyth is a place that lives so dear in our hearts not just because of the artists and people we met, but because of the location, history and landscape, all of which play a huge role in creating work and living as an artist in a community.

This is one of the most significant aspects of CPR's role in the world theater community. They have brought, and continue to bring the world to Aberystwyth.

Clearly, funding issues have reached across the Atlantic and you are now very much faced with deciding who is deserving and who is not.

Believe me, as American artists we have been living with that reality far too long.
However, you have a choice, whereas with our Government we did not.

The work of CPR is invaluable on a GLOBAL SCALE! They are the initiators, communicators, and a repository for contemporary performance around THE WORLD. They archive, publish and present major artists. This cannot be ignored! Art isn't just a diversion, it is a reflection of the times in which we are living and functions as a mirror held up to our society reflecting the moment in which we are living.

CPR has always understood that and presents that world view and is the repository for that world view.

You cannot ignore the implications of this. Even if the "Theater" is a mere entertainment to you and an evening's diversion, CPR is in touch with the world THROUGH the theater, this is their strength, this is what they know, understand and do. CPR is living in the world and in touch with the world, it just happens to be through the medium of the Theater. And it just happens to be happening in Aberystwyth.

Please do not let them disappear simply because of arts funding. They are SO worthy National support and should not have to scrounge for it, and they contribute so much more to the academic, social and economic life of not just Aberystwyth, but the world.

I implore you to think of the power of "the little guy" in an ever expanding world. CPR, even though it is a small organization in a small, stunning city in Wales, has always reached out and it's history has shown that even a specific and local organization can have a universal effect. CPR has done just that...as the cliche goes they started locally and went globally from the get go, before anyone!

Will Bond
SITI Company