Funds needed to keep the show going on for Ennis Musical Society

THE future of the Ennis Musical Society is in doubt having suffered “substantial” losses after this year’s highly-anticipated production was shut-down due to Covid-19.
However, the society is doing all it can to ensure that the show must go on and have launched an on-line fundraising campaign with a colourful, sing-along video.
Ennis Musical Society were due to perform a run of Seussial the Musical last March, however Covid-19 forced the show to be cancelled after just one night.
Chairperson Rachel Culligan tells us, “It was really heartbreaking to a lot of us to have put so much into the show and for the wider audience never really have gotten to see it and while we can all take comfort in the knowledge that we did the right thing it has unfortunately left Ennis Musical Society in a very critical position.”
She explains that musicals cost tens of thousands of euros to put on, with sets, costumes, light, sound and obtaining the rights to the show just some of the expenses.
“Because the show made the stage but did not have it’s full run, the society incurred the majority of the costs of this production but did not make the money at the box office to cover those costs.
“This year despite the generosity of many people who donated their fees and expenses and the cost of the tickets that they had already paid for to the society, it still wasn’t enough to cover our costs and we are now in an extremely precarious position where the future of the society is in serious doubt.” She confirmed that the Ennis society has “several thousand euros of bills we cannot pay” and they are appealing to the public to help save the society.
“I personally believe that the loss of EMS to Ennis would be a massive blow to the town. To my knowledge, there is no other community group in our town that is so diverse and inclusive. We welcomed children as young as three on to the stage this year and we also have members who are in their seventies and eighties. We welcome people from all different races and cultures. We have members in our group with disabilities and we have many members from the LGBTI+ community also. Whether you want to sing and dance or just help out backstage, there is a place in Ennis Musical Society for every single member of our community.”
In a bid to raise funds for the society the members have joined together to create a ‘socially distant’ video featuring a song from Seussical. The video has been uploaded to YouTube as well as their gofundme fundraising page and is already proving massively popular. The video shows members of the society singing and dancing with Rachel saying it highlights, “what an amazing bunch of people we have in our stage in Ennis”.
She has been delighted with the response so far, with a number of people already showing their support for the society. Ennis Musical Society are also hoping the video might inspire a business to become sponsors to help it continue into the future.
The video can be watched on https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-ennis-musical-society where donations can also be made. The society can also be contacted on ennismusical@gmail.com.