Read the full article from Houstonia HERE
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Catastrophic Theatre also avoids galas, instead crafting smaller, creative experiences that keep overhead costs low. Like Guy, Tamarie Cooper, the theater’s producing artistic director, still attends and enjoys the sit-down, catered dinners and high-rolling environments thrown by other nonprofits she supports; they just aren’t feasible with Catastrophic’s budget. “Necessity is sort of the instigator of creativity,” Cooper says. “…Having a smaller budget to put toward fundraising events sort of makes you have to start thinking out of the box.”

It’s a challenge Cooper and her team relish. The theater has always offered pay-what-you-can tickets to performances, incorporating an “art for everyone” approach into its overarching ethos. Entry fees to the big parties are higher by design—the lowest ticket price for the theater’s 2025 camping-themed fundraiser was $75, but as Cooper points out, that’s still not exactly steep. “It’s including an evening of food, drinks, and entertainment,” she says. “You’re not going to find that for less money if you go out in town for that.”

Even for individuals where $75 is a make-or-break sum, the staffers at Catastrophic don’t want them to feel like they have to miss out on a good time because of money. Cooper ensures that all volunteers are given ample time to eat, drink, and be merry once their shifts end. She herself remembers being young and helping out at fundraisers, being ordered not to enjoy any of the entertainment and nibbling on bologna sandwiches in a tent away from the attendees. Breaking that cycle is important to Cooper, primarily since many of the volunteers also work for the theater.

There’s no FOMO like what Bowman also describes as an issue with events she was a part of in the past. Volunteer campers at Catastrophic’s big party this year still got to participate in earning merit badges, making art at the craft table, singing around the campfire, wearing costumes, and eating delicious Mexican food alongside paying attendees. The thickness of their pocketbooks didn’t impede their ability to uplift a nonprofit they love.