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RCA   Susan Pinkman became a Reston Resident in 1978, and acted in her first Reston Community Players (RCP) production in Lake Anne Hall. She quickly became involved in all aspects of the RCP productions. At one point she became a single mother of three with a full time job, and today she is a grandmother to 3, still working, while running a full-time all-volunteer organization. She has been the President of RCP since 1998. It was immediately obvious to Sue that Reston was going to be her permanent home. While raising her 3 children (who are all still Reston residents with their own homes and families), and running a small business, Sue dedicated her “free” time to expanding public awareness of her passion for theatre – through artistic expression and the myriad opportunities available while creating theatrical productions, not only through acting and directing, but also stagecraft in the form of painting, designing, sewing, carpentry, etc. She strongly believes in the importance and vitality of the arts in one’s life, and sharing that with the community. She has spent over 30-years volunteering with the Reston Community Players to create and sustain an environment which promotes creativity, stimulates the imagination, and allows the arts and artists to flourish. Through her consistent and tireless hands-on involvement, countless hours of boundless enthusiasm and the ability to encourage others to volunteer, Sue feels that keeping theatre alive and affordable to everyone is one of the most important aspects of “her job”. In 2002, after the loss of mentor Lindsay Petersen, the owner of the RCP Rehearsal Hall/Scene shop, Sue, as president of RCP, was significantly involved with the transition from ‘renter’ to ‘owner’ of a now-$1 million commercial warehouse property. She oversees a $250,000-annual budget, obtained the property deed, researched and purchased new insurance policies, acts as property manager dealing with maintenance issues like the new roof, HVAC, and plumbing; and acts as liaison to the condominium management company. Other achievements (outside of play-production) include: 1) single handedly writing grants for the past 10 years, resulting in over $25,000+; 2) starting the YMCA Children’s After-School theatre program, and 3) establishing a Teen Workshop. Sue has ensured that RCP maintains a scholarship for a graduating high school senior (giving over $19,000 in the past 18 years); and she instigated the sign-interpreted shows for the hearing impaired. After 9/11/2001, she created “American Hero night” following a performance of 1776 which she directed, that included free tickets for over 80 of Reston’s military veterans (donated by RCP patrons), and a special presentation by the Fairfax County Fire Fighters Color Guard. Representing RCP, Sue was on the founding committee of the Washington Area Theatre Community Honors in 1998, and worked to establish an organization that would reinforce the broad awareness of the volunteerism in the vast amateur theatre community in the Washington metropolitan area. “WATCH” was fully established in 1999, for the adjudication and presentation of annual awards, recognizing artistic and technical excellence in community theatre, whose mission statement includes: Fostering and encouraging the growth of community theater volunteerism; as well as the education of the general public about the theatrical opportunities provided by the member theaters. WATCH has grown from 10 member groups to 29 member groups in 2008, creating a network of thousands of volunteer actors and theatre technicians in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. After working at her day job, Sue directs shows, builds sets, paints, and gathers props and costumes. She has designed hair, wigs, and makeup, and she is editor of the RCP newsletter as well as being liaison with the Reston Community Center. Sue responded to a Herndon police call one morning at 2a.m., because someone had thrown several liquor bottles through the windows of the RCP rehearsal hall; she also stayed, by herself, to board up the windows. One Sunday afternoon, the paint store next to the Rehearsal hall experienced a fire in their back storage area, and Sue was there to direct the firemen, and pull racks of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ costumes out of the facility, into the parking lot, to prevent smoke damage to the costumes. Sue was there, as usual, because she “lives” there. She is not above cleaning the facility, filling the toilet paper rolls, vacuuming or emptying trash so the next group can rehearse in a clean room. Nothing is too great or too small for her to roll up her sleeves and do. After her children, her biggest passion is for the theatre and what it can bring to the community. She strives to create quality theatre for those of us who cannot afford to go to DC, or NYC. Her children have grown up appreciating live theatre, as have hundreds of children who have experienced live theatre for the first time, because of the Reston Community Players’ productions such as Annie, Oliver, Seussical, and Honk to name only a few. Sue continues looking forward in the hopes of creating new artistic challenges and outlets to the patrons as well as the volunteers, celebrating self-expression and enhancing the quality of life in Reston through professional-level live theatrical experiences and performances. Congratulations to Sue Pinkman RCA 2009 Citizen of the Year!!!!!
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