THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 19, 1994 TAG: 9408190588
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
A photograph of The Lost Colony players will be featured on the cover of about 2 million telephone books next year.
In what was described as the largest in-kind contribution ever to The Lost Colony, it was announced Thursday that Sprint/Carolina Telephone and Sprint/Centel Company will display the outdoor drama on the cover of their 1995 telephone directory.
The commitment is part of a marketing package that amounts to $370,000 of direct exposure for The Lost Colony, said Charles Evans, chairman of the statewide steering committee for The Lost Colony Endowment Campaign.
He announced the pledge during the Virginia Dare Birthday Reception for Lost Colony's special guests at the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo.
``We are very excited about the package offered by Sprint. It takes us to a new stage in our statewide marketing efforts and will help bring The Lost Colony home to the people of North Carolina,'' he said.
More than 2 million telephone directories are printed every year and circulated to customers in 71 North Carolina counties. Sprint will feature a photograph by Ray Matthews of Nags Head of The Lost Colony's 1994 production on the cover of the directories with an accompanying story inside. Sprint has also committed to the printing of 80,000 Lost Colony tickets at a cost of $3,000 and 750,000 playbills at a cost of $12,000 for the 1995 season.
The Lost Colony is America's first outdoor drama and has been produced on Roanoke Island since 1937. Through the use of dance, music, and theatrics, Paul Green's script tells the story of the first English settlement in the New World and its subsequent disappearance. Produced by the Roanoke Island Historical Association, the show is currently in its 54th production season.
The Lost Colony Endowment Campaign was initiated by the Roanoke Island Historical Association in August 1993 to provide financial security for the production. With a goal of $3 million, the campaign was designed to ensure the artistic integrity of the production and relieve a growing dependence on commercial lending. Current contributions and pledges have exceeded $1.5 million. by CNB