DANCE Click here to read this story online at the Post-Standard
Click here to watch the audio slide show
Akeem Cotton rehearses with friend Devin Robinson at the Community Folk Art Center
Photos by PennyMaria Jackson
Click here to visit the Community Folk Art Center
THEATER Click here to watch an audio slide show from the opening night of "Tales from the Salt City" Click here to read the published article about "Tales" Click here to read the published article about Ping Chong
Opening night pre-show dinner in lobby
(L-R, Sara Zatz, Rebecca Isabel Fuentes, Ping Chong, Gordana Dudevski, Jeanne Shenandoah & José Miguel Hernández) Photos by PennyMaria Jackson
Click here to visit Syracuse Stage and click here to learn more about Ping Chong
THEATER Click here to read the published article
Sudanese clay cows on display in the Stage's lobby
Photos by PennyMaria Jackson
Click here to visit Syracuse Stage
OPERA
Click here to visit Syracuse Opera and here to visit the Redhouse Arts Center online.
THEATER
Click here to visit Syracuse Stage
THEATER
Click here to visit Syracuse Stage
|
PERFORMING ARTS The Kuumba Effect By: PennyMaria Jackson To the soundtrack of the film "Hotel Rwanda," 15-year-old dancer Akeem Cotton lifted his arms high above his head, dominating The Archibold Theatre at the Syracuse Stage on an August afternoon. He was performing a duet with his 18-year-old friend, Devin Robinson that the two had choreographed. The audience cheered wildly during the recital, which was a part of Syracuse University's Summer Dance Intensive. "I never would've done the SU Summer Dance [Intensive] if it wasn't for Kuumba," Cotton said. "Kuumba really opens your eyes to a lot of different things. It's like my second home." Kuumba, which means “creativity” in Swahili, is an after-school pre-professional arts program currently housed at the Community Folk Arts Center on East Genesee Street. The program is in session every weekday after school from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Kuumba's mission is to help middle school students choose a career path in the arts. But since it was founded last year, the organizers and teachers of the program discovered that students needed more than training in the arts. "Last year was our pilot year and right now we're retooling it, figuring out what works, what doesn't work," said Kuumba theater instructor Cjala Surratt. The staff had to confront issues that it never intended to during Kuumba's first year. But the teachers met every challenge that came their way. When students were hungry after a long day at school, staffers served meals ranging from peanut butter sandwiches to chicken and macaroni and cheese. When the students needed rides, a van was purchased to pick them up from school and drop them off at home. When students needed supplies, such as tights or art smocks, staffers also found a way to help students get the items they needed for class. "We work together as a community to provide what the children need," said Surratt. "We pick them up from school, help them with their home work, take them home, and even find resources to purchase the supplies they need." Kuumba received a two-year grant from Syracuse University's South Side Initative through Chancellor Nacy Cantor. The grant was enough to cover start up costs to begin the four-year pilot program, said Margie Gantt, Director of the South Side Initiative. The program includes performing, visual, and literary art disciplines. Students in the performance section study dance, theater, or music. Visual arts students practice drawing, painting, ceramics, mixed media and film. The literary arts students study creative writing. Students were required to audition or submit a portfolio in order to be accepted into the program. Between 30 and 40 students participated in Kuumba last year. Kuumba isn’t a typical arts program. The teachers prepare the students for a future in academia as well as the arts. This art program places a heavy emphasis on education. Kuumba’s teachers said they desire to produce college bound art majors and help students build their resume with extensive training and important experiences like SU’s Summer Dance Intensive. “We’re giving them solid professional training to get them to that pre-professional level so they can go to colleges that have conservatories for dance,” said Kuumba dance imstructor Cheryl Wilkens- Mitchell. Staffers said they realize students must be well rounded to make it far in life. “It doesn’t matter how talented you are if you can’t pass the SAT,” said Surratt. “How are you going to get into college?” Last fall during the homework session, Kuumba teachers realized that some of the students required extra help. The staffers stepped in and tutored those students. College may seem like a far reach to children in the program who can’t complete their homework without assistance and who grades suffered form incomplete assignments. “I had bad grades before, I had really bad grades,” said Cotton. “Dance class alone took time out of homework, so for them to go out of their way and do a homework (session) was weird. (Now) I can dance and do homework, nothing falls out of place.” During the second half of the four-year pilot program, Kuumba directors plan to expand the program to include high school students and bring in tutors who are experienced in teaching several subjects during homework sessions. “It’s those life skills,” said Wilkens-Mitchell. “Hard work ethic, dedication, commitment, good time management, learning quickly and accurately, to be prepared and focused. You can’t be successful in any career if you don’t have focus so (Kuumba) is already nurturing that aspect.”
Salt City Serves the Syracuse Community By: PennyMaria Jackson A melody of seven languages chorused throughout the main stage theatre at Syracuse Stage during the opening of "Tales from the Salt City," on October 17. The cast introduced themselves in their native languages noting their native countries. There is a Lost Boy Lino T. Ariloka from Sudan, Gordana Dudevski from Macedonian, Rebecca Isabel Fuentes raised in Mexico, Cuban Immigrant José Miguel Hernández, Syracuse Native Albert Marshall, Cambodian Refugee Emad Rahim and Jeanne Shenandoah from the Onondaga Nation. "You are going to America!" exclaimed the entire cast during one of the scenes. It was the world premier of Ping Chong's, award winning director & playwright, latest installment in his Undesirable Elements series. Chong said the series of shows is intended to promote acceptance of others. He travels to various cities creating shows based on residents' lives and came to Syracuse after he was invited by Syracuse Stage's Producing Artistic Director Tim Bond. Seven Syracuse residents shared their experiences (chronologically) of immigrating to and living in Central New York with a virtually full house. The stage is dressed in a semi-circle rock salt pit which sparkles iridescently underneath the stage lights. Seven black chairs sit behind seven reading stands along the inner edge of the semi-circle. Preformed in a chamber reading style the performers remain stationary throughout most of the show moving only during transitions. During transitions, the performers traveled simulating their journey to and in America. Like sand drizzling through an hourglass, salt rained down in streamline concentrated amounts as they shift from one part of the stage to the other. Having a background in visual art, Chong included a projection screen behind the actors.The pictures on the screen progressed during transitions from maps of the world to family snapshots to Syracuse landmarks. A sense of pride and disappointment in Syracuse is presented through the performers descriptions of Syracuse's history that ranges from the schooling and assimilation of Native Americans, to the Salt City industry at its height, to its role in the Underground Railroad, to the pollution of Onondaga Lake, to the Civil Rights Movement to September 11th to the development of Carousel Mall. "We are going to a country unknown to us," "My family is here, but my heart is in Macedonia," "Don't assume we are all the same," individuals chimed out during their accounts. The dialogue is musical accompanied by claps that signify transitions and introductions of new and important topics. The claps intensify for dramatic moments like the fall of Cambodia's capital. Several native songs are performed throughout the show, giving the audience a break from the constant dialogue. Some lines were delivered in a choral manner as the performers said "We are Undesirable Elements," "Knowledge is power" and "Welcome to America" in unison. It was evident that the performers were chosen for the depth of their stories and not according to their training as they occasionally and noticeably stumbled over lines and spoke on top of one another. However, there were some who outshined others conveying their tales with accurate intonation and expressive faces and gestures. Chong usually casts real people to tell their own stories, perhaps because the shows are in the genre of documentary theatre. Using examples from the performers lives, the show tackled issues of war, drugs, racism, identity and stereotypes. Chong, along with co-writer Sara Zatz, recreated a rainbow of motions throughout the show. They included cringing moments such as the explosion of a woman who stepped on a land mine in a Cambodian Concentration Camp. There was also romanticism as Gordana Dudevski recounts her husband's proposal to her in Macedonia. Albert Marshall's taste of a cold pig ear sandwhich and Lino T. Ariloka's and José Miguel Hernández's first experiences with Syracuse winters served as comedic moments. The show concluded with each performer explaining whether or not they will return to their homeland and their reasons for remaining in Syracuse if they do. Surprisingly throughout the show, the audience, which served as the other half of the semi-circle, seemed very receptive and open to the themes presented. Universal experiences of the pursuit of education, the lost of loved ones and hope for a better future suggested that we may be more like others than we think.
Herd at Syracuse Stage By: PennyMaria Jackson Sudanese clay cow figurines will greet people in Syracuse Stage’s lobby during its run of “Tales from the Salt City.” Made locally by the “lost boys of Sudan,” the Sudanese Clay Cow Project is organized by St. Vincent De Paul Church, which has a congregation of about 150 Sudanese refugees, said Carl Orpallo, director of the church’s refugee ministry. “I think it’s a perfect match with a young man who is a Sudanese ‘lost boy’ being a part of the play, and having one of their cultural crafts to be displayed at the same time,” said Orpallo. “People can see some of the Sudanese culture.” “Tales from the Salt City” is based on seven Syracuse residents’ immigration and adjustment to life in Central New York. Besides Sudanese “lost boy” Lino T. Ariloka, the cast includes Gordana Dudevski from Macedonia, Rebecca Isabel Fuentes, who grew up in Tijuana, Cuban immigrant José Miguel Hernández, Cambodian refugee Emad Rahim, Syracuse native Albert Marshall, and Jeanne Shenandoah from the Onondaga Nation. A Syracuse resident since 2001, Ariloka said this show is important for the community. “It reminds people of how diverse Syracuse is,” Ariloka said. “People do not know there are as many communities as they’ll see in the show.” Ariloka said that children in Sudan make clay cows for toys. The Syracuse “lost boys,” now men, began to create the clay cows after a refugee ministry committee member saw a similar project with Sudanese refugees in Arizona and suggested it might work here. “The idea was to use whatever donations we receive for the Sudanese young men to pursue their educational plans,” said Orpallo. The church has been able to continue the clay cow project with assistance such as the Syracuse Ceramic Guild’s donation of clay and a kiln for firing the figurines. The cows have been sold at other venues throughout Central New York such as Auburn’s Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center. Ping Chong, who directed and co-wrote “Tales from the Salt City,” said fundraising often occurs during the run of his plays, which are created to encourage communities to embrace members who may be different from them. “It’s a good opportunity for them to raise money,” Chong said. Syracuse University student Lora Scarson attended Friday’s opening night performance. She said she enjoyed the show and was moved to purchase one of the Sudanese Clay Cows. “It’s for a good cause and I wanted to give back a little something,” Scarson said. Ariloka, who is grateful he can continue his education in America, said he hopes people continue to support the “lost boys.” “The mission for the clay cows is to help us get to school,” he said. “The money we get from the clay cows can help us buy books, to say the least. So it turns out not to be just toys but something of value.” “Tales from the Salt City” runs through November 2 and the clay cows are on sale throughout that time.
Syracuse Opera & the Redhouse Reaches New Audiences with "Carmen" By: PennyMaria Jackson “La Tragedie de Carmen,” the well-known and frequently performed opera, has been adapted once again. Syracuse Opera Company made its fringe debut with “Carmen” that was produced at and in conjunction with the Redhouse Arts Center downtown. “The whole idea is to try to get into new spaces that might attract new people who perhaps have not enjoyed Syracuse Opera in the past,” said Douglas Kinney Frost, Syracuse Opera’s musical director. Rather than being performed in a theater that seats 2,000, this production plays to an audience of less than 100. Although the production has been performed with up to 300 chorus members alone, according to the Stage Director Jeffrey Tangeman, this fringe version featured only six actors with a few playing double roles. Instead of having huge set changes or elaborate backdrops, there was one humble set with crates and crumpled paper painted black to illustrate mountainous walls. Perhaps this version of “Carmen” sounds nothing like a typical opera but it’s not. It is non-traditionally fringe and goes against the mainstream, said Tangeman. “For us [Syracuse Opera], it’s exciting artistically and for Syracuse it brings a whole other level of what they know to be our tradition to new heights,” Frost said. Frost, who is also in charge of community outreach, is taking several unknown avenues to attract new audiences he said. “We’ve even talked about performing in an empty warehouse and turning it into some sort of urban stage,” Frost said. “We’ve talked with the people at Ohm night club downtown and we’re going to a barn in Skaneateles to do an opera there.” Expanding the Opera’s audience base was one of Frost’s main focuses when he began planning the production over a year ago when he was first hired. If productions are more accessible, then funding and ticket sales may increase he said. “This is a bold step for us especially in this economy when people are pulling back,” Frost said, “we’re moving forward.” Although Opera is one of the larger non-profit arts organizations in Syracuse, its profits can fluctuate from year to year just as smaller arts organizations like the Redhouse according to both organizations’ 990 tax returns. Laura Austin, Redhouse’s artistic director, worked closely with Frost from Opera to make this collaboration for “Carmen” possible. She believes working together will make both organizations more appealing to funders she said. “I think right now with the economy, and also just with how major funders are looking at arts organization, there is a big push to collaborate,” Austin said. “It means you share the bill, you share the audience, it just makes a lot of sense from a financial standpoint.” Donations from funders are important as alone both organizations suffered a loss in direct public support between 2006 and 2005 as indicated on the tax returns. Syracuse Opera dropped form $518,384 in 2005 to $494,479 in 2006. Dramatically, Redhouse’s direct support was almost cut in half from $802,311 in 2005 to $448,568 the following year. Non-profit arts organizations in Syracuse are not alone. This is a national trend according to Richard Florida’s “The Rise if the Creative Class.” “In many cities, museums and the ‘SOB’ (a symphony orchestra an opera company and a ballet company) have fallen on hard times. Attendance figures have declined and audiences are aging: too many gray heads and not enough purple ones.” Florida analyzed the decrease in high arts productions and gathered information explaining that “one problem is a static repertoire… one solution is to augment the experience.” Together, Opera and the Redhouse have provided their own solution to this problem by going fringe. “We can take the man power of our organization and combine it with an organization like Syracuse Opera and it doubles the turnout,” Austin said. For arts organizations, audience turnout is an indicator of successful productions and programs. Grants are more likely to be reinstated when they are reaching more people in the community said Laura Reeder, director of Partners for Arts Education. Although the Opera experienced a slight increase in grants and allocations from $670,403 in 2005 to $708,563 in 2006, the Redhouse lost about $50,000 when their grants and allocations dropped from $455,816 in 2005 to $403,255 in 2006 according to the organizations’ tax returns. Because turnout can ultimately determine the livelihood of a non-profit organization, Both Frost and Austin hope that they can secure future funding by venturing into collaborations and new production styles which may attract more diverse audiences. “We wanted to hit both of our audiences, people that go to Redhouse and Syracuse Opera,” Austin said. “But we’re also trying to create a new audience who might have, in the past, been intimidated by the opera. So were trying to hit a new crowd and perhaps a younger crowd.” Students were invited to attend the dress rehearsal for “Carmen” at no charge. All they had to do was RSVP. The Redhouse’s intimate theater seats 89. 79 people responded to the invites and they all showed up Frost said. Stage Director Tangeman, who is a theater assistant professor, said fringe is the perfect way to expose people to the arts. “The collaboration with the Syracuse Opera and Redhouse is accessible,” Tangeman said. “One of the best things you can do, whether it’s theater, opera or dance, is having art available for audiences logistically and artistically.” Another reason fringe works at attracting new audiences is because the productions aren’t stereotypical, Tangeman said. “A lot of people, when they hear opera, think of stuffy faces and Vikings,” Tangeman said. “It’s often thought of as something being stiff and not performed. None of this is like that. When you’re doing fringe work it’s not about high production values and big spectacles and chandeliers flying in. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about focusing on the work you’re doing.” Laura Bohn, one of Opera’s resident artists, played Micaëla, a village maiden in this production of “Carmen,” enjoyed performing in the Redhouse’s intimate theater she said. “There’s a huge importance placed on human connection and real presence in the moment and not so much superficial, superior like highbrow music,” Bohn said. “On a huge operatic stage it’s another story but here, it’s all about the drama, all about the moment.” By making intimate productions all about moments of connection, organizing artistic collaborations and taking art to the next level, Frost hopes new audience members will come back for more he said. “The companies that produce great art have financial support,” Frost said. “Money follows great art.”
Syracuse Stage Leads Arts Education in Syracuse By: PennyMaria Jackson Nottingham High School sophomore Robert Howard said he would visit the theater when he gets older because of the experiences he has had at Syracuse Stage. “I’m enjoying it a lot,” Robert said during the intermission of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, by award winning playwright August Wilson about African-American blues musicians in the 1920s. “I never really go to these theaters and plays unless it’s with the school,” Robert said as waded toward the theater for the second act of the play around noon on a weekday. Robert floated into the theater and disappeared into the sea of three hundred fifty Nottingham High School students who filled the lower level of the theater. Upstairs in the mezzanine, Lauren Unbekant, Director of Educational Outreach at Syracuse Stage, stood up observing the students’ reactions to the special matinee performance of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” The Student Matinee series is one of the Stage’s five arts education programs that has blossomed during recent years that allows students to have unique learning experiences Unbekant said. Unbekant, who has been running the education department for four years, said she has helped to increase and strengthen both the programs and the funding that makes them possible. “Its certainly a lot better than when we first started out,” Unbekant said. “There are several reasons it’s a lot better. There is an interest by our funders, sponsors, corporations, and foundations to fund education. Also, since the programs have developed and they are successful, growing, building and reaching a lot of students, funders will continue to donate.” Even though Nottingham High School is the only creative arts high school in the Syracuse City School District, there was no allocation in their budget for an arts experience like this. Laura Reeder, founder of Partners for Arts Education, said arts funding in the public school system losses its importance as the children get older. “Syracuse city schools and New York state schools in general do not have this as a large problem in kindergarten through sixth grade school,” Reeder said. “But it’s a terrible problem in middle school and high school. Students have less and less access.” Unbekant said she invited all six of the SCSD high schools to attend one of the two matinees for this show, but only one school responded. “The issue is that by bringing in arts and culture from the community, that somehow we’re reducing the focus on the sequential arts instruction or trying to replace it in the school,” Reeder said. Since Nottingham has a history of attending Student Matinees at the Stage has, Patrick Gillette, Nottingham High School Special Education Administrator, said he understood that Syracuse Stage wants to encourage community participation, not limit arts education in schools. Therefore, unlike the other school administrators, Gillette accepted Syracuse Stages’ invite. “It’s very important to have enriching experiences like this in the community,” Gillette said. “You can’t put a dollar amount on the value.” But there is a cost. An experience like this would cost close to $2,000 for three hundred fifty student tickets alone, not to mention the seven school busses and bus drivers. Gillette is thankful for the grant that gave his students the something he couldn’t. “What a wonderful opportunity this is that Syracuse University has provided us today,” Gillette said. “This would have been impossible without the Partnership grant.” Partnership for Better Education grants, a result of a partnership between SCSD principals and higher education representatives, are meant to “to enhance and enrich the educational experience of the students” according to its website. Gillette said August Wilson’s plays are a part of the school’s curriculum and thought the show would be relevant to the students work. “In some sense, our role is to help teachers and students use the arts as another mirror to look at their lives and the work they’re doing,” Unbekant said. Timothy Bond, artistic director of Syracuse Stage, who said he wants to increase the number of education programs and the number of students learning from them. “What we do on our main-stage is the number one thing we do, what we do in theatre education is the second most important thing we do,” Bond said. Reeder, who believes some lessons require more than just a discussion in class, said arts education can be used to reinforce classroom lessons. She said one reason she founded Partners for Arts Education was to give organizations grants so they could then cover costs of enriching arts activities for students. “We have structured our current educational system to read and write, and read and write all the time,” Reeder said. “What we don’t push enough is the comprehension part of reading and writing. What do I do with what I’m reading and writing? The arts help you to understand that.” All students don’t learn in the single way they are being taught in school, Unbekant said. Some students learn through movement or visually rather than by listening or writing. Unbekant said she believes Syracuse Stage’s arts education programs can enhance what students learn in their core classes and has therefore created additional programs. Backstory is the program Unbekant developed during her first year at Syracuse stage in 2004. In this program, actors travel to schools portraying historical figures such as Harriet Tubman or Anne Frank. “If you don’t know how to infuse or implement the arts into your works, you push it aside,” Unbekant said. To avoid this problem, she created teacher study guides that relate to each character offered in the Backstory. There are also study guides that accompany each play in the season that are a part of the Student Matinee series which brought more than 1,400 students to the theater last year. “With a little bit of work, the funding has increased,” Unbekant said. “The way we can work with new schools has as well, and that will ultimately increase our audience and bring some new people into the arts.” Mary Whitney, a Nottingham High School junior, said seeing “Ma Rainey” on the school trip was her first theatre experience. “I knew how blacks were treated, but I learned a little bit more. I learned how hard it was,” Mary said. She also said she looks forward to seeing “The Diary of Ann Frank” at Syracuse Stage with the school next spring. “I read the play and I think it’d be a pretty cool experience,” Mary said. “It would help me understand the play more.” For reasons like this, Unbekant said, Syracuse Stage continues to create arts education experiences and find funding for students.
Syracuse Stage Embraces Diversity, Enhances Community Envolvement By: PennyMaria Jackson Throughout the majority of Syracuse Stages’ production of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” four black male musicians sit in a reconstructed 1927 Chicago recording studio rehearsing blues music and discussing their struggles to survive in white America. This is the first time in Syracuse Stage’s history that a play by August Wilson, which deals with racially historic themes, opened the season. Under the direction of its new artistic director, Timothy Bond, the Stage will produce eight shows during its 36th season, four of which will feature minority performers and issues. “The mission of the theatre is to engage the community and connect,” Bond said. “To me that means to reach beyond just our subscriber base and into different communities throughout the central New York area.” Bond’s desire is to turn Syracuse Stage into a place for community gathering by providing diverse performances and life altering events for everyone in the community. “I hope people respond and come to see us as a cultural resource for dialogue,” Bond said. “We’re not providing any answers or particular points of view in these conversations. We’re trying to provide a forum and from that I think will extend some lasting relationships and transformational experiences.” Gerardine Marie O Clark, who is a Syracuse University Drama Professor, said Bond is not the Stage’s first artistic director who desires to increase the number of minorities involved with the theatre. Tazwell Thompson Jr. served as artistic director in the early 1990s, but his changes did not go over well with the community. “The truth is I think Tim Bond is exactly the right antidote,” Clark said. Instead of burying the minority shows in the middle of the season as the organization has done previously, Bond opened that season with “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” by August Wilson, the story of a famous African-American blues singer and her male musicians. “I’m not afraid to put plays in those slots when they have not traditionally been there,” Bond said. Clark who has taught at the Syracuse University for over 25 years said she values the production of “Ma Rainey” at the Stage. “I applaud its inclusion in the season and especially this season as we are at a moment of change where the world will begin at last to consider that the least important fact about a person is the color of their skin,” Clark said. Young audience member, Kristen Walker who is a recent graduate of LeMoyne College, said she rarely attends Syracuse Stage productions but was excited to see an August Wilson play launch the season. “I think it’s a bold move actually and hopefully it’s an indication for things to come at least for this season and maybe even in future years,” Walker said in the lobby after seeing “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”. Public Relations director, Patrick Finlon, is working closely with Bond to market this season that emphasizes the Stage’s new community outreach initiative. “I’m excited that we are doing more work this season that is more representative of the entire community in which we live, greater Syracuse, and our block,” Finlon said. “It’s important to reflect what’s outside our doors, not just inside our doors.” Along with the increase of diversity in the plays, the Stage is increasing its community outreach efforts, according to Bond and Finlon. Instead of its usual after show “talk back with the actors,” the Stage will now explore the play’s serious themes Finlon said. “We’ve already seen some positive changes in the few discussions we’ve had compared to what I witnessed last year,” Bond said. “We certainly had more involvement from people that are concerned about the relationships between the African-American communities and the European-American communities in Syracuse who have come to these talks.” The second show of the season, “Tales from the Salt City,” which opens in mid-October, is an innovative show about and orated by community citizens. Directed by Ping Chong, this play will recreate the past by sharing a diverse group of residents’ experiences growing up and living in the “Salt City”. Bond said he believes this show will draw a diverse audience. “You don’t know most people in the audience, when you go see a show,” Clark said. “They’re different colors, different ages, sexual preference etc., but they all laugh and cry at exactly the same thing which means we are all much more like each other, then we are different. That to me is the essence of community.” In order to increase community involvement, Finlon said the Stage’s outreach efforts include more than discussions alone and is exploring new advertising methods. “Marketing for this season has been different in the sense that we are doing more community outreach efforts,” Finlon said. “We’re working with the Multi-Cultural Affairs Office at SU and they’re giving a slam poetry night. We’ve been trying to create these partnerships to get people in the building, aware of and interested in our long term plan with the new artistic director.” Syracuse Stage is cross-promoting their productions with other community organizations, Finlon said. The Community Folk Art Center, near the Stage on East Genesee street, hosted a Question and Answer session with Ebony Jo-Ann who plays “Ma Rainey.” The Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company, also on East Genesee street, is presenting cabarets after two of the Stage’s shows. 40 Below, an organization aimed at connecting, engaging and empowering young adults among central New York residents, will host part of its annual summit at the Stage. In November, the Stage will also produce “Godspell” with a racially diverse cast. The season will end in with “Crowns,” a gospel musical opening in May. “I wanted a musical, something comedic and musical that was going to be the cheery on top at the end of a series of delicious meals that all represent these different communities and cultures,” Bond said. Andy Schuster, who regularly attends Syracuse Stage productions, supports the organization’s efforts of increasing its community involvement. “I think it’s excellent, it’s something that needs to happen,” Schuster said. “Theater is something that’s for all people in a locality and to have it cornered off is limiting. There’s a whole population that lives here that will benefit from it.”
Read Archived Articles "Pararde" Address the South, Crime, Racism Click here to read about "Parade"
Arts take the Spotlight Click here to read about Spotlight Arts at UCF
"Piano" Provides Lessons on Family, Racism in 1930s Click here to read about "The Piano Lesson"
UCF Lunar Festival marked by Vietnamese music, martial arts Click here to read about Lunar New Year Festival
Click here to contact PennyMariaJackson Copyright © 2008-2010 Community Arts Transformantion
|
|---|
