ACT 1 founder Petra Karr was passionate about providing theater education to youth. Petra's death may have put an end to ACT 1's ability to provide theatrical productions and classes, but it did not stop us from financially supporting them.

In 2024 we funded our fourth Petra Karr Leadership Scholarship through Washington State Thespians.

Once again we decided to grant two ACT 1 Alumni Awards, given to former participants who went above and beyond in supporting ACT 1 Theatre. The 2024 awards went to Emily Mayberry, who was often assigned the challenging job of stage manager, and Gene Achziger, who is responsible for the vast majority of original artwork. Gene was often called upon to be a photographer. He also edited the Ad Lib newsletter.

We awarded three education grants. For the second year we supported SOGO - Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia. This organization is renowned for providing high quality musical education to students at low to no cost. We also supported Tacoma Arts Live youth education program. This program offers theater camps and classes on a needs-based sliding scale. Our final grant was to Puyallup based Northwest Theatre Lab in support of their youth scholarship programs.

If ACT 1 Theatre touched your life, we are asking you to help support these educational endeavors and keep Petra's dream alive. Our goal is to provide $5,000 in financial support to the program in 2025. Each birthday gift will be matched by an anonymous donor up to $2,500. 

Whether your gift is $10 or $1,000, 100% of funds received by ACT 1 will go to support scholarships and awards.