My name is Patrick Murray, and I have the privilege of serving as a director, educator, and board member of Center Stage Productions (CSP). Throughout the years, you have come to know CSP as a place that fosters creativity, courage, and community. Whether you have sent your child through the annual Summer Workshops, performed in Children’s Participatory programming or Mainstage productions, or even attended performances as an audience member, you have had the opportunity to experience the joy that has served as a cornerstone of CSP’s mission since its inception.

I have had the pleasure of knowing and collaborating with many of you, as I have transitioned from being a young participant in the Summer Workshops to a volunteer working with a group of incredible leaders, creatives, and educators to grow an organization we believe in so passionately. What some of you may not know is the history of how Center Stage Productions came to be and by whom it was started - all based upon the belief that people should have an opportunity to express themselves while gaining an undeniable and invaluable education through theater and the arts.

Nicholas “Nick” DiMarino began as an educator, teaching social sciences and performing arts to students in seventh through twelfth grade for over thirty years, primarily in the Chichester School District. In 1984, he along with several other teachers in the Chichester area collaborated to produce a one-off production of Grease with their arts and music students who all had a limited outlet for their artistic interests. Performing as “Chichester Community Youth Theatre” on the stage of Chichester Middle School, this single production led to countless more until the group established itself as the not-for-profit you have all come to know as “Center Stage Productions.” Throughout its lifespan, CSP has grown its constituency through expanding its programming to welcome performers of all ages and has become part of The Arts Guild at Neumann University, of which Nick is a founding member, and has called the Meagher Theater at the University its home for over 20 years. Despite the growth of CSP, Nick’s initial mission to provide a sense of community and a unique, individualized artistic experience to creatives of all levels has remained a constant.

I am writing to you not solely to give you a history lesson but to tell you about an exciting potential opportunity to expand the programming we have all come to love and support while honoring the man who made our artistic pursuits a reality. Neumann University has launched the Forever Neumann capital campaign to expand and improve all aspects of campus life. Part of the plan is to construct a Student Center in which there will be built a black-box theater named after Nicholas J. DiMarino.  A dream of Nick’s for more than twenty years, this theater will honor his steadfast service to championing the arts here at Neumann University and in the local community. The construction of this space would allow for the expansion of CSP programming to include more performance opportunities and rehearsal spaces as well as more Summer Workshops.  I ask that you join me in making a gift to this important initiative.  Gifts of all sizes will make a difference

 Whether you know him as Nicholas, Mr. DiMarino, or Nick, this man has impacted the lives of everyone who has walked through the doors of Center Stage Productions.  Since 1984, he has and continues to provide an opportunity for his students to grow, evolve, and be artistically creative. If you ask him about the hundreds of shows he’s directing or produced, he will smile and share stories of having 150 students dancing on both the stage as well as in the aisles of the theater to make sure they all felt included and seen, about the countless volunteers who have sewn custom garments and built elaborate sets, and about the times he would stay through the night in the theater alone to paint the set despite still needing to teach in the morning so that his students could have a beautiful stage of which they could be proud. As someone who loves CSP and loves Nick DiMarino, a man I have the pleasure of calling a friend, mentor, and partner, I implore you to consider donating to the Nicholas J. DiMarino Black Box Theater as a celebration of the continued success of Center Stage Productions: past, present, and future.

Sincerely yours,

Patrick Murray