Why Give?

We all come to the theater for different reasons. Some to escape. Some to learn. Some to feel.

For me, it’s about connection. From the moment I walk into a theater, there’s a powerful collective experience that I don’t get anywhere else. The storytelling is intimate. It’s also uniquely visceral. Every emotion around you becomes contagious – be it the person laughing beside you or that audible gasp two rows back. And that contagiousness… it’s not just in the audience. You really feel how your own joy fuels the actors onstage. Because you aren’t just watching a story unfold. You’re part of it.

I’m proud to have been part of Atlantic’s story. I started working in the Development department in 2010, and more than a decade later, I’m still here.

Over the years, this company has welcomed me as one of its own. Its community of artists, faculty, and staff has nurtured me – not just in my career but also as a person and a lifelong theatergoer. I know it sounds cheesy, but

Atlantic gave me a home.

Right now, I miss that home more than I can possibly express. And while video meetings and some fantastic virtual programming help, my mind keeps drifting back to the memories I’ve made here – those uniquely “Atlantic moments.”

• I think about how I cried every time I saw The Band’s Visit during the crescendo at the end of “Answer Me.” (Go online and listen right now – I challenge you not to cry!)
• I think about the first day of rehearsal and watching directors I love like Awoye Timpo and Taibi Magar talk with such passion about their work.
• I think about performances in our Staging Success arts education program and how those students have more courage at that age than I ever had.

Through the end of the year, some of our artists will be joining me online to share moments like these – the things that stick with us when connection is scarce. I hope they inspire you to think back on your own Atlantic memories. More than that, I hope they inspire you to think about all the moments yet to come. There will be so many more. Until then, please consider including Atlantic in your year-end giving. A gift today of any size goes further than you can imagine – whether it’s supporting digital performances and arts education work right now or simply sustaining us as we make ourselves a stronger, more vibrant, and more equitable home for you, me, and our entire community.

I know others have said it before me, but thank you for being a part of the life of Atlantic. This is my home, and I hope you consider it yours too.

Stay well,

Nick Luckenbaugh
Director of Development

SUPPORT ATLANTIC