The point of regional arts funding is to give people in this part of the state the resources with which to express themselves, to build the local culture, not to give North Jersey arts companies funding for a road trip. Not by any stretch of the imagination. There are arts groups all over South Jersey. The Haddonfield Players, a local community theater group, has a solid reputation among Philadelphia's theater community. And Philadelphia itself has a deep pool of full-time professional actors who would live and work here if they had the backing.
South Jersey has enormous potential.
They have a fairly consistent record of never seeing South Jersey shows for themselves. Perhaps the drive down here is too far - and on that, at least, we can sympathize. Folks down here don't much like driving up to Newark to see a show, either. That's why South Jersey wants its money - all of it. Currently, corporate arts grants have leaned toward North Jersey as well, worsening the state's imbalance.