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[0:00] Eli Tokash: Hello everyone and welcome to this week's, I guess, little mini episode.

[0:06] Eli Tokash: Don't worry, we will be having a full episode that comes out tomorrow.

[0:11] Eli Tokash: Just wanted to come on here and say that we will be having a Take A Bow Friday.

[0:16] Eli Tokash: Um and I also wanted to let y'all know a little bit more about what's going on.

[0:20] Eli Tokash: So obviously missed last week's episode.

[0:22] Eli Tokash: Uh there were a multitude of reasons for that.

[0:27] Eli Tokash: Um and thank you for those of you who follow our social media who kept up on that.

[0:32] Eli Tokash: Um, but yeah, I mean it's kind of that midterm season for me right before spring break.

[0:39] Eli Tokash: Um, so that's going on.

[0:41] Eli Tokash: And then uh, you know, we uh got the unfortunate news.

[0:46] Eli Tokash: I don't know for those of you who are following me or following, you know, Broadway World or whatever it may be.

[0:54] Eli Tokash: Um my high school, the Professional Performing Arts School, announced significant budget cuts that would come uh not are threatening, but um that could lead, I guess, to dismantling a whole set of arts programs.

[1:15] Eli Tokash: And for me, um I don't even know if I would be in college if it wasn't for that school.

[1:25] Eli Tokash: Like I feel like I still may have had to be in seventh, eighth grade if it wasn't for that school.

[1:31] Eli Tokash: Um that school is so pivotal and it's so important for everyone in the working community here in the theater community um in New York City.

[1:42] Eli Tokash: Um the amount of kids and alumni and everything that uh uh is involved in the PPAS community is so significant.

[1:51] Eli Tokash: And so I'm currently working on a very uh large fundraiser um kind of spearheading it and making sure that you know we raise enough money for the school uh to be able to afford these programs and um you know continue to bring everyone it is a public school this free education of the arts and providing the next wave of theater performers and uh you know I don't take this lightly because I'm indebted to this school for so many reasons um but one being that like I literally wouldn't be in college without this school um I wouldn't have been able to finish any of my grades uh if it wasn't for this school and uh also of course everything that I learned about uh being a performer uh and the professionality of it all um how to approach a scene an audition whatever it may be.

[1:51] Eli Tokash: Um and in talking to alumni in the past couple days uh you know about what I'm working on it i everyone is in the same boat um especially the ones that were working at the time I mean that's literally why this school is there uh obviously like a school like LaGuardia there's a lot of performing arts schools in New York uh but schools like LaGuardia don't allow you to work and that's why you hear a bunch of kids on Broadway go to PPAS and not LaGuardia because it's much harder to they don't have that sort of flexibility that PPAS offers and allows um so i it's um it it's so important to me and this is literally one i if not the only resource for kids uh that are working on Broadway to be set up to succeed and not be set up to fail or fall behind.

[3:47] Eli Tokash: Um so this school is super important to me and and we're currently working on something very massive um in creating um sort of a fundraiser and a a week of um kind of tribute to all the alumni but also um great performers and a lot of former Take A Bow guests um god bless them all uh to um you know raise money and and perform um and it would all be in the form of art and and so that's that's really what's going on so uh my hours have been limited lately I've been contacting people for something completely different than the podcast and it's just been it's been craziness.

[4:34] Eli Tokash: Um but I hope you all know that with this fundraiser we are going to be creating so much content with it um and I will be doing some really really cool things with Take A Bow.

[4:48] Eli Tokash: I mean I'll be putting uh the time and effort and leading the way with this uh event but uh I'll also it it'll also be like a Take A Bow sort of thing um especially in terms of promotion so you will be hearing me talk about it a lot um but literally I mean no amount is too small and and every little bit goes a long way so I know that um you know we could do something really special in order to save this program because unfortunately the seventh graders are no longer gonna be getting uh arts uh education this for the remainder of the year.

[5:26] Eli Tokash: So, uh, just extremely disheartening. And, uh, you know, I hope that there's something that we can do, and there is, and, uh, hopefully we get the support that, uh, you know, we hope and desire and wish for.

[5:41] Eli Tokash: So, uh, stay tuned. It's gonna be super exciting, and there, and with that comes super exciting content, uh, with Take A Bow.

[5:49] Eli Tokash: So, um, follow along. Uh, we will be having a full episode tomorrow, Friday, March 15th, with I believe a PPAS alumni.

[5:59] Eli Tokash: Um I I wanna say she is, but uh one of the kids on Broadway right now, she's been in multiple, multiple Broadway shows, three or four.

[6:08] Eli Tokash: Um, and uh yeah, we're gonna we're gonna have a great chat and we're doing it in person, which just makes it so much better.

[6:16] Eli Tokash: Um, and it's happening today, and it'll be released tomorrow.

[6:20] Eli Tokash: So uh just extremely disheartening.

[6:20] Eli Tokash: So um stay tuned and uh thank you all for understanding as always.

[6:24] Eli Tokash: And uh, you know, I hope that there's something that we can do, and there is, and uh hopefully we we get the support that uh you know we we hope and desire and wish for.

[6:24] Eli Tokash: All right.

[6:25] Eli Tokash: Bye everyone.

[6:26] Eli Tokash: I'll see you tomorrow.