How can the XP community help Save Our Stages?

Hopping off of their bikes outside Times Square’s St. James Theatre last week, New York Senator Chuck Schumer and “American Utopia” creator David Byrne posed under the marquee to commemorate the return of live theater and the success of Save Our Stages. The Schumer-led campaign, also referred to as Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, provides money to event spaces struggling to survive the pandemic through spring 2023. However, many independent venue owners argue that the effort hasn’t actually saved their stages. View this post on Instagram A post shared by David Byrne's American Utopia (@americanutopia) It took eight months of heated lobbying to pass Save Our Stages. And it wasn’t until four months after its passage that the website was finally live for venues to apply for relief. Then, of course, it immediately crashed and was out of service for nearly three more weeks — big Affordable Care Act energy.  Even now, independently run theaters, bars, festivals and event spaces have been forced to close, either due to financial challenges or simply losing hope that relief will ever come. Without a venue full of consumers ordering drinks and food or buying tickets and merch, owners haven’t been able to rehire employees,...