Introduce Yourself : Camilla Ross -- Theater Producer, Actress, Director, and President of Emerson Theater Collaborative by Camilla Ross

Greetings! The Emerson Theater Collaborative (ETC) was established on April 7, 2008, as a professional theater company to serve Southeastern Connecticut with innovative and thought-provoking theatrical productions, and received its 501C3 status on July 24, 2009. Our goals include reaching inner city youth through educational theatrical programming, to support our local communities by providing free admission to our performances to low-income families and donating profits to humanitarian causes. That is the short of it! We have produced over 18 productions in four years, and I have decided that this is the year (2012) that I will take a mini-break from producing to perform in the Mystic Seaport Lantern Light Tours for the Christmas Season. I am excited at this new venture, but I know that come spring I will be back into the swing of things ringing in our 5th year as a theater company. I have worked hard to keep the company moving forward during what many would call the "recession" years, but I saw them as learning and growing years. I couldn't have done any of it without the collaboration of my board and community members. Our Journey will continue with a project called I AM WORTHY - Which begins in April 2013. An educational outreach theatrical program geared to preventing suicide in communities. We posed the question: How many people feel that they are not worthy? The answer: A lot. So many live day in and day out pretending that things are okay, but in truth they are not. So many have walked that line of ending it all because they see no other way out. We want to let people know that our problems are temporary, but suicide is permanent. our up coming season will be geared toward ending the epidemic of suicide by producing a body of works from playwrights whose journey has touch the realm of life. As our youth continue to fight against being bullied, our veterans come back with mental health illnesses. We must help those who are in need without the Stigma. Please check out our Journey as a company online at: http://www.emersontheatercollaborative.org and join us in helping to bring awareness to a growing epidemic. Peace, Camilla Ross President Emerson Theater Collaborative