Plucky Eugene arts groups forge ahead in tough times.Byline: Fred Crafts The Register-Guard What is it with this economy, anyway? As vulnerable local arts organizations dodge one peril after another, their stressed-out managers wonder aloud when the tough times will end. Business has been anything but usual lately in Eugene's arts community. Ticket sales are down; fund-raising is rough. Bare-bones budgets are being re-examined for even more trims. Very little is left to cut. In some cases, staffs are down to to just one person in the office. Ever since the economy peaked and slipped into recession in March 2001, the local arts community has been operating in a dreary financial climate. Never ask an arts executive how it's going unless you want to hear a full report on how tight things are. Money is the root of all headaches. Nobody has enough of it. Everyone wants to know how to get more. The demise of arts-friendly, big-donor local companies such as the Sony Corporation has made money even harder to come by. Still, by tightening their belts and prudently planning their futures, the area's major arts organizations remain solidly in business. Happily, persistent rumors that the Eugene Opera, Dance Theatre of Oregon and Oregon Mozart Players Oregon Mozart Players is a professional chamber orchestra based in Eugene, Oregon. The orchestra presents six concert sets in a typical season, in addition to numerous small ensemble performances and recitals by guest artists. were going under proved false when their dogged staffs and boards worked miracles. Without many financial angels to hit on, the performing arts organizations live and die by ticket sales. But they are also painfully aware that their coveted cov·et v. cov·et·ed, cov·et·ing, cov·ets v.tr. 1. To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). See Synonyms at envy. 2. To wish for longingly. See Synonyms at desire. supporters are tightening their personal budgets, too. No matter how appealing the concert or play being produced, the worry is always over whether enough people will actually show up to cover expenses. Yet, these artists remain eternally positive souls who eagerly anticipate their next adventure. They have instituted new ways of doing things - in order to keep doing things. And somehow Eugene arts organizations do find a way to keep going. The fact that the Very Little Theatre is celebrating its 75th season and the Eugene Ballet The Eugene Ballet Company (EBC) is a ballet company based in Eugene, Oregon. It is a resident company of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. Under the Artistic Direction of Toni Pimble and Technical Director Jim Bradford, this 20-member ensemble performs a blend and the Actors Cabaret of Eugene their 25th seasons is a tribute to their pluck and courage. Changes are plentiful as the new season rolls in. Attend a play at the Lord Leebrick Theatre, and a new artistic director will be in the lobby. Go to a concert by the Oregon Mozart Players, and a new conductor will be on the podium. Stop by the offices of the Eugene Symphony The Eugene Symphony is an American orchestra based in Eugene, Oregon. Its home venue is the Silva Concert Hall at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. Approximately 22,000 people attend Eugene Symphony's classical and pops concert performances each year. , and the executive director's chair will be vacant. In fact, the 2003-04 season opens with many new faces on hand, and familiar faces gone. Here's an accounting of what's new: Actors Cabaret of Eugene This may be the theater company's 25th season, but it is just as frisky frisk·y adj. frisk·i·er, frisk·i·est Energetic, lively, and playful: a frisky kitten. frisk as ever. A summertime visit to New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. brought artistic directors Jim Roberts Jim Roberts can refer to
Six of the season's shows will be Eugene premiere productions: "Smokey Joe's Cafe" (Sept. 12-Oct. 18), "Pretty Faces" (Jan. 16-Feb. 21), "Sealed for Freshness" (Oct. 24-Nov. 15), "Sordid Lives" (Jan. 30-Feb. 21), "The Laramie Project" (March 12-April 3) and "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (June 4-July 3). A second New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Connection: A One-Act Festival is already in the works for next August, and discussions are under way about bringing new Off-Broadway plays here, some perhaps guided by New York directors. Cottage Theatre It's the Year of the Musical for the Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, village (1990 pop. 22,935), Washington co., SE Minn., near the St. Croix River; inc. 1965. There is farming (cattle, sheep, corn, and soybeans) and manufacturing (chemicals and machinery). theater company. Four of its next seven plays are musicals: "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," "Little Shop of Horrors," "Jane Eyre This article is about the Victorian novel. For other uses, see Jane Eyre (disambiguation). Jane Eyre is a classic romance novel by Charlotte Brontë that was published in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Company, London. " and "Marley & Scrooge," the latter two written by local artists. Behind the scenes, the Cottage Theatre is gearing up for a $250,000-to-$500,000 fund drive to purchase the land on which the facility stands and to build a rehearsal space. Among the projects planned are a gala musical revue next August and musical theater classes for young people next summer. Dance Theatre of Oregon Being on the road for tours in British Columbia British Columbia, province (2001 pop. 3,907,738), 366,255 sq mi (948,600 sq km), including 6,976 sq mi (18,068 sq km) of water surface, W Canada. Geography and Nevada in the fall is one reason the Dance Theatre of Oregon has winnowed its usual three-production Eugene season down to two events. Another reason is lagging financial resources. Still, the company is upbeat about the future, and promises to return to three concerts in 2004-05. Meantime, it has whacked its debt by about one-third and will throw its resources into "Gems of the Valley" (March 5-6) and "Bach and the Storybook sto·ry·book n. A book containing a collection of stories, usually for children. adj. Occurring in or resembling the style or content of a storybook: storybook characters; a storybook romance. ," (May 15-16). The company also will appear as part of the Eugene Concert Choir's Dec. 7 Christmas program. Eugene Ballet The company saw the recession coming and began downsizing (1) Converting mainframe and mini-based systems to client/server LANs. (2) To reduce equipment and associated costs by switching to a less-expensive system. (jargon) downsizing two seasons ago. As a result, it is optimistic about the future. Donors have stepped forward to give the company a solid base. Ticket sales hold the key to the upcoming season. Consolidating with Eugene Opera has enabled key staffers to be fully employed. Three productions are scheduled. However, the staff's workload is heavier because the ballet company Noun 1. ballet company - a company that produces ballets troupe, company - organization of performers and associated personnel (especially theatrical); "the traveling company all stayed at the same hotel" is co-producing (with the Hult Center for the Performing Arts The Hult Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts facility in Eugene, Oregon, opened in 1982. 27 architectural firms competed for the opportunity to design the Center, but in the end the Eugene City Council awarded the contract to the New York firm of Hardy ) a guest concert by the acclaimed Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem, the first black classical ballet company. The group was founded in Harlem, New York City, by Arthur Mitchell, then of the New York City Ballet, the first black principal dancer of a classical company of international standing. on Feb. 4. Meanwhile, the company has added three new dancers: Gillmer Duran and Dubraska Arrivillaga from the National Ballet of Caracas, Venezuela, and Hyuk Ku Kwon from the Universal Ballet of Korea. Causing a buzz is a new piece by David Parsons Company dancer Robert Battle, "Circle, Line, Square," which will have its premiere in a "Jitterbug jitterbug Dance variation of the two-step in which couples swing, balance, and twirl in standardized patterns to syncopated music in ⁴⁄₄ time. It originated in the U.S. in the mid 1930s and became internationally popular in the 1940s. , Jive & Jazz" concert with the Emerald City Jazz Kings (April 17-18). Eugene Concert Choir Eugene Concert Choir is a non-profit choral organization based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It consists of two mixed-voice choruses: the 100-member Eugene Concert Choir (ECC), and the semi-professional chamber group Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble (EVAE). For the first time, Diane Retallack's choir will have its entire season at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. New this season is a community Christmas concert, featuring the South Eugene High School South Eugene High School is a public high school located in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It was founded as Eugene High School around 1900, and was located at Willamette Street and West 11th Avenue in a brick building that later served as Eugene's city hall. Concert Choir, Dance Theatre of Oregon, Oregon Mozart Players, Don Latarski Band and the Oregon Festival Choir's Fiero and Lyrica choirs. Also new is ``A World of Songs'' (April 17-18), a world music festival featuring the Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble. The choir's spirits are high after a successful summer tour of Australia. Eugene Gleemen Membership is going up at the veteran all-male choir - now at 45 from a low of 34 last season. Conductor John Jantzi, who is entering his second season, has given the chorus new programming and, as a result, new life. After bouncing from venue to venue, the chorus is moving its home base to the First Christian Church First Christian Church can refer to:
Eugene Opera After 10 years in the basement of the Quackenbush Building on East Broadway downtown, the Eugene Opera's offices have merged with Eugene Ballet's, a block or so up the street. Financial concerns caused the move. After banner years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time opera company has seen its audience base decline because of the Sept. 11 disaster and the slumping economy. To cut costs, Eugene Opera has released its executive director, marketing director, production manager, costumer and just about everybody else except artistic director/conductor Robert Ashens. To get the work done, it formed a partnership with Eugene Ballet, whose staff will now also raise funds, do marketing and whatever else is needed to facilitate the 2003-04 season. Production costs have also been whittled by reducing the season to just two productions, crowd-pleasers almost guaranteed to fill the house: George Bizet's "Carmen Carmen throws over lover for another. [Fr. Lit.: Carmen; Fr. Opera: Bizet, Carmen, Westerman, 189–190] See : Faithlessness Carmen the cards repeatedly spell her death. [Fr. " (Dec. 31-Jan. 4) and Gilbert and Sullivan's "HMS HMS abbr. Her (or His) Majesty's Ship HMS (Brit) abbr (= His (or Her) Majesty's Ship) → Namensteil von Schiffen der Kriegsmarine Pinafore" (March 12 and 14). Eugene Symphony The front office will look significantly different this fall without executive director Rebekah Lambert. After seven years, she left the organization on Friday to begin a Peace Corps assignment in Albania. A national search is under way for a replacement. Otherwise, it's business as usual for the busy orchestra, and second-year conductor Giancarlo Guerrero is firmly settled in, both on the podium and in the house he bought here for his Eugene stays. However, the season is far from usual. The loudest buzz is about an appearance by celebrated cellist Yo-Yo Ma
Lord Leebrick Theatre The new managing artistic director, Craig Willis, arrived in mid-August to replace Corey Pearlstein, who left this summer to pursue a career as a performer. Willis, who is familiar to Eugene audiences through his directorial assignments at University Theatre while a doctoral student at the University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. , will jump into action by directing the season-opening play, David Auburn's 2001 Pulitzer prize winner "Proof," Oct. 1-25. Willis is also fine-tuning the 2003-04 season offerings initiated by Pearlstein. He has launched a reading series of new plays, some of which will be under consideration as full productions for future seasons. The only offering announced so far is "West Moon Street," a new play by Robert Urbinati based on a short story by Oscar Wilde. A New York playwright/director, Urbinati will be in Eugene in October to direct University Theatre's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." William Shakespeare has been given the season off. For a number of years, the theater company has done one Shakespeare play each season. But it has shelved the idea for this season, with the idea of bringing the Bard back in 2004-05. A major electrical renovation of the stagehouse should result in better lighting for the plays. The space also has upgraded equipment on which to hang the lights themselves. The same staff remains in the front office, with master electrician Corey Ennis now the technical director. Oregon Bach Festival The Oregon Bach Festival is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, held in Eugene, Oregon in late June and early July. It was co-founded by German conductor Helmuth Rilling and the former president of the American Choral Directors Association, Royce Saltzman, To celebrate its 35th season, the Oregon Bach festival is gearing up to bring Helmuth Rilling's German choir, the Gachinger Kantorei, to Eugene for the first time. Rilling started the choir when he was just 20, and he often takes it on tours and recording dates. Raising funds to cover expenses for the 35 to 40 members of the choir - plus the festival's other soloists and musicians - will keep festival officials busy throughout the year. Oregon Festival of American Music Following a highly successful 10-day summer festival, Jim and Ginevra Ralph and their staff changed their minds about next year's focus. Instead of the previously announced "Time After Time" theme (with Cole Porter's original 1934 version of the musical ``Anything Goes''), they opted for ``NY NY '50s.'' The festival will explore the New York City music scene of the 1950s, focusing on the bebop bebop or bop Jazz characterized by harmonic complexity, convoluted melodic lines, and frequent shifting of rhythmic accent. In the mid-1940s, a group of musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker, rejected the conventions of jazz scene and Broadway composers Lerner and Loewe Lerner and Loewe refers to the American musical comedy writing team of lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe. Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, more commonly known as Fritz, had their fateful meeting in 1942 at an exclusive club , Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein and Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical will be "My Fair Lady." Oregon Mozart Players Glen Cortese is raring rar·ing also rar·in' adj. Informal Full of eagerness; enthusiastic. [Present participle of dialectal rare, to rear, variant of rear2. to start his first season as the orchestra's conductor. He's a personable PERSONABLE. Having the capacities of a person; for example, the defendant was judged personable to maintain this action. Old Nat. Brev. 142. This word is obsolete. young man who has significantly improved orchestras wherever he has been. Cortese and the musicians fell so in love with each other during last season's guest appearance that they tied the knot. Both are eager to make beautiful music together. They feel fortunate that they can do that, after teetering on the brink of extinction last season. Thanks to downsizing and fund raising, the orchestra appears financially healthier. Its $135,000 debt has been reduced by 33 percent, the board is doggedly raising money, and the musicians are pitching in with free services and fund-raising ideas. All that sounds extremely positive to David Bretz, who was officially named executive director July 1 after holding the job for part of last season. To make its concerts more affordable, the orchestra has dropped its high-end $40 tickets in favor of a $12-$28 range. University Theatre Keen on attracting young people, the University of Oregon institution is launching a new discount ticket offer for anyone high school age or younger: $7 for any Robinson Theatre production. Behind the offer is an attempt to entice families into the facility by making the tickets for young people more affordable. At the same time, University Theatre continues its $7 million fund-raising campaign to renovate Robinson Theatre and build an addition. Very Little Theatre The community theater company is all jazzed up over its 75th anniversary season. The focus is squarely on revivals of top titles: "Our Town" (Oct. 10-25), "The Lion in Winter" (Jan. 9-24), "Cabaret" (March 12-April 3), "Barefoot in the Park Barefoot in the Park is a play by Neil Simon. Its focus is on newlywed couple Corie and Paul Bratter, who are setting up house in a minuscule fifth-floor walkup apartment in a downtown-Manhattan brownstone. " (May 28-June 12), "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (Aug. 6-21). But the season also will include special celebratory events, culminating with a banquet at the Valley River Inn in mid-May. After years of starting its plays at 8:15 p.m., the VLT VLT Valletta (postal locality, Malta) VLT Very Large Telescope VLT Video Lottery Terminal VLT Vermont Land Trust VLT Visible Light Transmittance VLT Variable List Table VLT Very Long-Term is moving to an 8 p.m. curtain. And opening-night patrons will be able to take in post-performance food and drink and schmooze with the cast. To better hear the plays, the VLT has expanded its supply of assisted-listening devices from four to eight. On the educational front, a new outreach program will begin with eight local high schools to bring eight to 10 students in for three-month apprenticeships. A new venture, with Michele Schimmer of Rose Children's Theatre, will launch two children's theater workshops for kids ages 10-15. Willamette Repertory Theatre Reducing the height of the seat backs in Soreng Theatre this summer has Willamette Rep anticipating that the acoustics will improve for upcoming productions. The renovation also should make patrons feel less isolated. The company has hired its first woman director, Shana Cooper, assistant artistic director of the California Shakespeare Theatre in Berkeley, to direct ``Driving Miss Daisy'' (Nov. 19-Dec. 7). Founding artistic director Kirk Boyd will direct the other two shows - the first time he has directed twice in the same season. The theater's popular talkback talk·back n. A system of communications links in a television or radio studio that enables directions to be given while a program is being produced. series will become an actual series this season, expanding from one session after a show's first Sunday matinee to include talkbacks after the second Sunday matinee and the third Thursday night performance. Fred Crafts can be reached at 338-2575 or fcrafts@guardnet.com. |
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