Director’s View: Making connections

The mission of the Center for the Performing Arts includes engaging and enriching communities through exemplary programs in presentation, education, research, and service. Central Pennsylvania communities benefit from a variety of Center for the Performing Arts programs, including the presentation of a range of performances of the highest caliber; residencies that engage young and old with visiting artists; school-time performances that bring young people from across the region to Penn State; and special educational initiatives that broaden the impact of the performing arts in people’s lives.

Through the years the Center for the Performing Arts has developed a number of strong community and University partnerships. All of our outreach programs involve working with partners. We value these relationships and simply could not provide the scope of programs we do without their involvement. We continually seek new partners, knowing that in many ways partnerships are essential to providing the services to those who benefit the most.

Our affiliation with the Centre County Office of Aging is an example of a new partnership. The partnership links our ticket program for senior citizens, funded by the new Hall-LeKander Endowment, with senior centers across the county. The office provides guidance and support—and along with the senior centers helps to ensure that deserving members of our community are able to use the program.

Service to the community takes another form with numerous community organizations using Center for the Performing Arts facilities. Our professional staff supports these organizations in a variety of ways. Our production employees advise organizations that want to use our facilities and works with them to seek successful presentations. Arts Ticket Center personnel provide ticketing and sales support, and our events staff supplies customer service. Our marketing staff advises, and even occasionally supports, the marketing efforts of organizations from outside the immediate area. Center for the Performing Arts staff members also mentor community organizations on a variety of topics. We are happy to serve as a resource.

Meanwhile, the Community Advisory Council is dedicated to strengthening the relationship between the Center for the Performing Arts and the community. The council strives to have a diverse membership that reflects the communities we serve. The council’s volunteer members meet monthly, serve on committees, and participate in annual retreats. Each council member is also a member of the Center for the Performing Arts. They serve as advocates, solicit and communicate feedback from the community, and participate in social and hospitality activities. Council members take a leadership role in attending Center for the Performing Arts presentations and programs, while also recruiting potential patrons and partners. Center for the Performing Arts professionals, particularly leadership team members, interact closely with the council.

Our service to central Pennsylvania takes many forms, and we are always interested in new opportunities and partnerships. We are grateful for the organizations and individuals partnering with us and for the support provided by our Community Advisory Council.

And now, here are my thoughts about our three April presentations at Eisenhower Auditorium.

We conclude this season’s outstanding jazz presentations with the Blue Note Records 70th Anniversary Tour concert on April 8. When I saw the all-star lineup for this tour, I immediately engaged The Blue Note 7 for a performance at Penn State. The tour celebrates America’s premier jazz recording label, which spearheaded the jazz movement, recorded most of the major jazz musicians of its time, sparked trends, and fostered the careers of jazz legends. Directed by Blue Note artist and pianist Bill Charlap, the group features tenor saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, guitarist Peter Bernstein, drummer Lewis Nash, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, bassist Peter Washington, and alto saxophonist and flutist Steve Wilson. With a rare line-up like that, and songs from the Blue Note archive, this concert promises to be a jazz lover’s feast.

I had the opportunity to hear the incredible voice of American Idol winner Ruben Studdard at a live event in January 2008. At the time industry colleagues and I were being asked to consider presenting a national tour of AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ built around this phenomenal talent. To hear Studdard in person was a wonderful experience, and I’m thrilled that this month we’ll hear and see him star in the Fats Waller Broadway musical at Eisenhower. The touring show also features two other 2003 American Idol contestants—Frenchie Davis, who starred in Rent on Broadway, and Trenyce.

Two of America’s great theatrical organizations, the Guthrie Theater and The Acting Company, have joined forces to produce and tour Shakespeare’s Henry V. The Acting Company, honored in 2003 with a Tony Award for excellence in theatre, brings extensive touring experience to this collaboration. The company has performed 131 plays and has toured to forty-eight states and ten foreign countries. The Guthrie is recognized as a center for theatre performance, production, and professional training. In 1982, the Guthrie received a Tony for its outstanding contribution to the American theatre. The collaboration should be an extraordinary conclusion to our 2008–2009 season.