Ah, yes the cognoscenti know them. Those “theatre people”, both professional or community players who enhance both their lives and ours creating entertainment in live theatre. There are some special shows that bond the ensemble into one joyous and selfless entity.
“Funny Thing... Forum”, “The Fantasticks”, “Joseph...Dreamcoat” are three. Add one more... now that “Rent”has become available for licensing. Most definitely this last title has an edgier message than, say Forum, where Pseudolus (the Zero Mostel character) runs around ogling skimpily dressed courtesans. “Rent” deals with AIDS and is set in the '90's when all of us felt the Black Death had converged on the world.
There is no doubt this cast loves one another and will remember this experience the rest of their lives. We saw it in their faces.
Director Chris Turner has done a magnificent job in casting and staging this Delaware premiere. This is rock opera (think JC SUPERSTAR). It is more difficult a task to keep a large cast moving and relating to the lyrics of the music when there is no dialog. Turner kept his cast engaged and credible and made us feel the power of the lyrics and the emotion.
Another interesting element of the direction was Turner's naturalistic approach. Normally actors 'cheat' toward the audience to declaim their lines and sing their tunes. Turner had his ensemble speak directly to one another, no matter even if a back was turned away.
Turner was able to break down inhibitions of his cast; another achievement. To understate, the dancing at times becomes very suggestive and kisses are exchanged between members of the same sex. Yet, it all flowed and was organic.
This is a rock opera. It is loud. This is an enclosed space. The five person on stage band headed by Matt Caserino did a fantastic job with the work. Yes, once in a while the sound overpowered the lyrics.
The back story of “Rent” makes it all the more powerful. Composer Jonathan Larson worked for years on this update of Puccini's La Boheme. The night before opening he died of an aneurysm. That's as substantial a piece of Broadway legend as it gets.
Roger (Brendan Sheehan) had just come off an evocative performance of Anthony in City Theatre's “Sweeney Todd”. He sang beautiful ballads there. The young man not only is a thoughtful actor but exhibited huge rock pipes in an outstanding performance.
Tom (Timothy Lamont Cannon) and Angel (Matt Bennis) even more than the characters Roger and Mimi are the heart of the show. The feeling the two shared for one another was palpable. When Angel succumbs to AIDS, Tom's reaction glazed the eyes of more than one audience member.
Maureen (former Miss Delaware Laura Moss) gives a stirring over the top rock edged rendition of “Over The Moon.”
WDL is to be congratulated for this production. It is a daring and provocative affair. The cast, under Music Director Casarino, handles the shows most popular tunes “Without You”, “One Song Glory”, “Light My Candle” and the most mesmerizing “Seasons of Love” with love and tenderness.
One of the highest compliments that Aisle Say can deliver is that he would see this again.
Til February 13 WilmingtonDramaLeague.org 764.1172
Showing posts with label Wilmington Delaware. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wilmington Delaware. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The State of Wilmington Delaware May 09
Last week's State of Wilmington 2009 seemed more like a motivational seminar to convince ourselves that we are a World Class city than a budget address.
The event opened with a video retrospective of the last 15 years, then Mayor James Baker and Gov. Jack Markell addressed the 200 mostly business and arts people in attendance.
“States must balance our budgets. We can't print money like Washington,” said Markell. In the midst of the state's economic crisis, he asked for all to work together. And, he had some interesting stats regarding the arts:
* Each $1 state donation to the arts creates $7 in economic activity
* The arts bring $142 million annually to our economy, creating $10 million revenue to the state
Hal Real, founder and president of Philly's World Cafe Live also spoke enthusiastically about Wilmington's Queen Theatre renovation as a World Cafe satellite.
As a native Wilmingtonian, Aisle Say remembers the popcorn machines and the creaky floors of the Dry Goods, motion pictures at The Queen and The Warner, crullers at Federal Bakery and the A & P Market where my mother shopped. My father took me to the ribbon cutting of I-95 and I saw JFK two weeks before the assassination.
Yet for decades, downtown after 5 p.m. has been the urban equivalent of Antarctica.
I asked myself where will the people come from to frequent the revitalized Queen? Real may have suggested the beginning of an answer when he quoted these figures to buttress his case for choosing Wilmington:
* Wilmington is within a 90-minute radius of the nation's greatest population concentration
* World Cafe's radio station, XPN, is the nation's most popular syndicated pop-rock-contemporary show. One would imagine the station will be touting Wilmington heavily.
* World Cafe Live lives off emerging acts -- read: “cheap to book.”
The Philly venue is incredibly profitable and has many community outreach services. Work on the Wilmington extension will begin in 90 days and is estimated to take 20 months to complete.
Other economic tidbits
Christiana Care Vice President of Communications Michelle Schiavone presented an impressive video on the $205 million dollar expansion of Wilmington Hospital. Upon completion, it will be three times the space of the existing hospital, add a new nine-story tower, 13 operating rooms and add 600 new jobs. Completion date is 2012.
Still no concrete word on a hotel to accommodate Chase Center conferees.
A representative from the Riverfront Development Corporation responded to an inquiry regarding an exit from I-95 northbound. It's not going to happen. More likely is an eventual bridge over the Christina River connecting to I-495.
The event opened with a video retrospective of the last 15 years, then Mayor James Baker and Gov. Jack Markell addressed the 200 mostly business and arts people in attendance.
“States must balance our budgets. We can't print money like Washington,” said Markell. In the midst of the state's economic crisis, he asked for all to work together. And, he had some interesting stats regarding the arts:
* Each $1 state donation to the arts creates $7 in economic activity
* The arts bring $142 million annually to our economy, creating $10 million revenue to the state
Hal Real, founder and president of Philly's World Cafe Live also spoke enthusiastically about Wilmington's Queen Theatre renovation as a World Cafe satellite.
As a native Wilmingtonian, Aisle Say remembers the popcorn machines and the creaky floors of the Dry Goods, motion pictures at The Queen and The Warner, crullers at Federal Bakery and the A & P Market where my mother shopped. My father took me to the ribbon cutting of I-95 and I saw JFK two weeks before the assassination.
Yet for decades, downtown after 5 p.m. has been the urban equivalent of Antarctica.
I asked myself where will the people come from to frequent the revitalized Queen? Real may have suggested the beginning of an answer when he quoted these figures to buttress his case for choosing Wilmington:
* Wilmington is within a 90-minute radius of the nation's greatest population concentration
* World Cafe's radio station, XPN, is the nation's most popular syndicated pop-rock-contemporary show. One would imagine the station will be touting Wilmington heavily.
* World Cafe Live lives off emerging acts -- read: “cheap to book.”
The Philly venue is incredibly profitable and has many community outreach services. Work on the Wilmington extension will begin in 90 days and is estimated to take 20 months to complete.
Other economic tidbits
Christiana Care Vice President of Communications Michelle Schiavone presented an impressive video on the $205 million dollar expansion of Wilmington Hospital. Upon completion, it will be three times the space of the existing hospital, add a new nine-story tower, 13 operating rooms and add 600 new jobs. Completion date is 2012.
Still no concrete word on a hotel to accommodate Chase Center conferees.
A representative from the Riverfront Development Corporation responded to an inquiry regarding an exit from I-95 northbound. It's not going to happen. More likely is an eventual bridge over the Christina River connecting to I-495.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
State of the city of Wilmington
Last week's State of Wilmington 2009 seemed more like a motivational seminar to convince ourselves that we are a World Class city than a budget address.
The event opened with a video retrospective of the last 15 years, then Mayor James Baker and Gov. Jack Markell addressed the 200 mostly business and arts people in attendance.
“States must balance our budgets. We can't print money like Washington,” said Markell. In the midst of the state's economic crisis, he asked for all to work together. And, he had some interesting stats regarding the arts:
* Each $1 state donation to the arts creates $7 in economic activity
* The arts bring $142 million annually to our economy, creating $10 million revenue to the state
Hal Real, founder and president of Philly's World Cafe Live also spoke enthusiastically about Wilmington's Queen Theatre renovation as a World Cafe satellite.
As a native Wilmingtonian, Aisle Say remembers the popcorn machines and the creaky floors of the Dry Goods, motion pictures at The Queen and The Warner, crullers at Federal Bakery and the A & P Market where my mother shopped. My father took me to the ribbon cutting of I-95 and I saw JFK two weeks before the assassination.
Yet for decades, downtown after 5 p.m. has been the urban equivalent of Antarctica.
I asked myself where will the people come from to frequent the revitalized Queen? Real may have suggested the beginning of an answer when he quoted these figures to buttress his case for choosing Wilmington:
* Wilmington is within a 90-minute radius of the nation's greatest population concentration
* World Cafe's radio station, XPN, is the nation's most popular syndicated pop-rock-contemporary show. One would imagine the station will be touting Wilmington heavily.
* World Cafe Live lives off emerging acts -- read: “cheap to book.”
The Philly venue is incredibly profitable and has many community outreach services. Work on the Wilmington extension will begin in 90 days and is estimated to take 20 months to complete.
Other economic tidbits
Christiana Care Vice President of Communications Michelle Schiavone presented an impressive video on the $205 million dollar expansion of Wilmington Hospital. Upon completion, it will be three times the space of the existing hospital, add a new nine-story tower, 13 operating rooms and add 600 new jobs. Completion date is 2012.
Still no concrete word on a hotel to accommodate Chase Center conferees.
A representative from the Riverfront Development Corporation responded to an inquiry regarding an exit from I-95 northbound. It's not going to happen. More likely is an eventual bridge over the Christina River connecting to I-495.
The event opened with a video retrospective of the last 15 years, then Mayor James Baker and Gov. Jack Markell addressed the 200 mostly business and arts people in attendance.
“States must balance our budgets. We can't print money like Washington,” said Markell. In the midst of the state's economic crisis, he asked for all to work together. And, he had some interesting stats regarding the arts:
* Each $1 state donation to the arts creates $7 in economic activity
* The arts bring $142 million annually to our economy, creating $10 million revenue to the state
Hal Real, founder and president of Philly's World Cafe Live also spoke enthusiastically about Wilmington's Queen Theatre renovation as a World Cafe satellite.
As a native Wilmingtonian, Aisle Say remembers the popcorn machines and the creaky floors of the Dry Goods, motion pictures at The Queen and The Warner, crullers at Federal Bakery and the A & P Market where my mother shopped. My father took me to the ribbon cutting of I-95 and I saw JFK two weeks before the assassination.
Yet for decades, downtown after 5 p.m. has been the urban equivalent of Antarctica.
I asked myself where will the people come from to frequent the revitalized Queen? Real may have suggested the beginning of an answer when he quoted these figures to buttress his case for choosing Wilmington:
* Wilmington is within a 90-minute radius of the nation's greatest population concentration
* World Cafe's radio station, XPN, is the nation's most popular syndicated pop-rock-contemporary show. One would imagine the station will be touting Wilmington heavily.
* World Cafe Live lives off emerging acts -- read: “cheap to book.”
The Philly venue is incredibly profitable and has many community outreach services. Work on the Wilmington extension will begin in 90 days and is estimated to take 20 months to complete.
Other economic tidbits
Christiana Care Vice President of Communications Michelle Schiavone presented an impressive video on the $205 million dollar expansion of Wilmington Hospital. Upon completion, it will be three times the space of the existing hospital, add a new nine-story tower, 13 operating rooms and add 600 new jobs. Completion date is 2012.
Still no concrete word on a hotel to accommodate Chase Center conferees.
A representative from the Riverfront Development Corporation responded to an inquiry regarding an exit from I-95 northbound. It's not going to happen. More likely is an eventual bridge over the Christina River connecting to I-495.
Monday, February 16, 2009
"Save The Queen" in Wilmington Delaware
To say the long-vacant Queen Theatre on Market Street is dilapidated is to hint that mother of octuplets Nadya Suleman may have too many kids. To say it is cavernous is akin to suggesting the Grand Canyon is a mere slice in the earth.
But years ago I wrote an opinion piece entitled “Save The Queen” (the theatre, not Liz ), calling for its revival. Now the Buccini-Pollin Group is doing just that.
No one can accuse Mayor Baker's two best friends – Rob and Chris Buccini – of small-minded Lilliputian thinking. To the contrary, they are the broad-thinking Brobdingnagians of Delaware.
They own most of Market Street. But they realized the cornerstone of their $250 million redevelopment project was a 50,000-square-foot edifice smack in the middle of their properties spanning 10th Street to the Riverfront. The behemoth has sat deteriorating for 49 years.
The model for the renovated Queen is Philadelphia's World Cafe Live, a very, very happenin' live music venue that draws an eclectic array of acts from celebrated artists to emerging ones. It is an investor and will be the operator of the Queen; delivering musical fuel from Philly to energize downtown Wilmington faster than the Alaska pipeline.
Entertainment draws traffic, and eventually the three Big R's: renters, retailers and restaurants.
With its promise of solid economic and cultural development, its no surprise that the City of Wilmington has backed it with $1 million and already grants have been committed from The Longwood Foundation and The Welfare Foundation. (Thank you P.S duPont of Longwood Gardens fame).
World Cafe will follow its successful paradigm of a non-profit/for profit partnership. Marshalling the non-profit arm is Wilmington-born Bill Taylor.
Taylor and Chris Buccini are childhood friends that attended Wilmington Friends together, boarding school for high school and went on to Princeton together. But more importantly, Taylor ran the legendary Tipitina's Restaurant in “N'awlins.” More than having some of the best music in a city known for its music, Tipitini's had a foundation that helped to rescue the city's tradition after after Hurricane Katrina. Among other things, he created Instruments a Comin', which bought new instruments for every New Orleans school. He plans to replicate that kind of effort here.
The Light Up The Queen Foundation will create educational programming to engage and serve the community, exploring a range of cultures and perspectives. Workshops, master sessions, musical instrument distribution, and an artist co-op space are already planned.
And finally, dear readers, an Aisle Say quick quiz: In the movie “Robin Hood,” who served the King's English with more beauty, elegance and grace? Was it Errol Flynn in the '50s or Kevin Costner in the '90s? No question on that one. (Oh, that Midwestern monotone so did not work!) However in “Field of Dreams,” Costner did utter the mantra that will become the Queen's -- “build it and they will come.”
But years ago I wrote an opinion piece entitled “Save The Queen” (the theatre, not Liz ), calling for its revival. Now the Buccini-Pollin Group is doing just that.
No one can accuse Mayor Baker's two best friends – Rob and Chris Buccini – of small-minded Lilliputian thinking. To the contrary, they are the broad-thinking Brobdingnagians of Delaware.
They own most of Market Street. But they realized the cornerstone of their $250 million redevelopment project was a 50,000-square-foot edifice smack in the middle of their properties spanning 10th Street to the Riverfront. The behemoth has sat deteriorating for 49 years.
The model for the renovated Queen is Philadelphia's World Cafe Live, a very, very happenin' live music venue that draws an eclectic array of acts from celebrated artists to emerging ones. It is an investor and will be the operator of the Queen; delivering musical fuel from Philly to energize downtown Wilmington faster than the Alaska pipeline.
Entertainment draws traffic, and eventually the three Big R's: renters, retailers and restaurants.
With its promise of solid economic and cultural development, its no surprise that the City of Wilmington has backed it with $1 million and already grants have been committed from The Longwood Foundation and The Welfare Foundation. (Thank you P.S duPont of Longwood Gardens fame).
World Cafe will follow its successful paradigm of a non-profit/for profit partnership. Marshalling the non-profit arm is Wilmington-born Bill Taylor.
Taylor and Chris Buccini are childhood friends that attended Wilmington Friends together, boarding school for high school and went on to Princeton together. But more importantly, Taylor ran the legendary Tipitina's Restaurant in “N'awlins.” More than having some of the best music in a city known for its music, Tipitini's had a foundation that helped to rescue the city's tradition after after Hurricane Katrina. Among other things, he created Instruments a Comin', which bought new instruments for every New Orleans school. He plans to replicate that kind of effort here.
The Light Up The Queen Foundation will create educational programming to engage and serve the community, exploring a range of cultures and perspectives. Workshops, master sessions, musical instrument distribution, and an artist co-op space are already planned.
And finally, dear readers, an Aisle Say quick quiz: In the movie “Robin Hood,” who served the King's English with more beauty, elegance and grace? Was it Errol Flynn in the '50s or Kevin Costner in the '90s? No question on that one. (Oh, that Midwestern monotone so did not work!) However in “Field of Dreams,” Costner did utter the mantra that will become the Queen's -- “build it and they will come.”
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Big River review at Wilmington Drama League
“Dang me”. “Dang Me”. Roger Miller would have been proud of the Wilmington Drama League's production of “Big River'. Miller, composer of “Dang Me” and “King of the Road”, ventured onto Broadway by setting his music to Twain's “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”.
Community theatre is a training ground for young talent; nurturing aspiring actors and building people skills these kids learn to sculpt their character. In reading the individual credits in the program, I was struck by how many of the performers commented “...this cast is a blast. Thank you all.”
There were a few teenagers from this show who have the talent and drive to
Kevin Shotwell (Huck) has a sincere face and impressive acting ability and stage presence for a 17 year old in a major role. And, he can harmonize. That's difficult. “River In the Wind”, a haunting tune and certainly the most memorable, was evocative with Timothy Cannon, playing Jim, the runaway slave. Cannon was himself quite expressive in his rendition of “Free At Last.”
Matsy Stinson (Mary Jane Wilkes) is a high schooler going from one show to the next, building repetoire and experience. Her voice was quite strong but she shifted a bit too quickly emotionally in a scene at her father's funeral and the meeting with Huck.
Sam White (Young Fool) showed a dancing expertise not witnessed before and I see development in him as well. He mentioned in his credits that it was not a real stretch for him to play the part.
Paul Weagraff, as the very comical “Duke”, had an opportunity to exhibit his Shakespearean chops. Weagraff has been in every show ever staged...or so it seems.
Weagraff, whose daytime job is Director of the DE Division of the Arts, mentors novice actors.
If one recalls passages from this Great American book, the “N” word is used throughout. Director Deb Johnson stood tall and kept the text in tact. She assembled an interracial cast. In a scene between Huck and Jim, Huck is surprised that Jim is emotional about being separated from his family. Says Huck, “It didn't seem natural, niggers feeling the same as whites.”
Twain remarks on his take on racism: “ I have no color prejudices nor creed prejudices. All I care to know is that a man is a human being, and that is enough for me; it can't be any worse.”
Community theatre is a training ground for young talent; nurturing aspiring actors and building people skills these kids learn to sculpt their character. In reading the individual credits in the program, I was struck by how many of the performers commented “...this cast is a blast. Thank you all.”
There were a few teenagers from this show who have the talent and drive to
Kevin Shotwell (Huck) has a sincere face and impressive acting ability and stage presence for a 17 year old in a major role. And, he can harmonize. That's difficult. “River In the Wind”, a haunting tune and certainly the most memorable, was evocative with Timothy Cannon, playing Jim, the runaway slave. Cannon was himself quite expressive in his rendition of “Free At Last.”
Matsy Stinson (Mary Jane Wilkes) is a high schooler going from one show to the next, building repetoire and experience. Her voice was quite strong but she shifted a bit too quickly emotionally in a scene at her father's funeral and the meeting with Huck.
Sam White (Young Fool) showed a dancing expertise not witnessed before and I see development in him as well. He mentioned in his credits that it was not a real stretch for him to play the part.
Paul Weagraff, as the very comical “Duke”, had an opportunity to exhibit his Shakespearean chops. Weagraff has been in every show ever staged...or so it seems.
Weagraff, whose daytime job is Director of the DE Division of the Arts, mentors novice actors.
If one recalls passages from this Great American book, the “N” word is used throughout. Director Deb Johnson stood tall and kept the text in tact. She assembled an interracial cast. In a scene between Huck and Jim, Huck is surprised that Jim is emotional about being separated from his family. Says Huck, “It didn't seem natural, niggers feeling the same as whites.”
Twain remarks on his take on racism: “ I have no color prejudices nor creed prejudices. All I care to know is that a man is a human being, and that is enough for me; it can't be any worse.”
Wilmington Music School has new name
I recently spoke to a Brandywine Hundred mother who spoke glowingly of her children's experience in the Kindermusik program at the (newly renamed) Music School of Delaware
“Like any language, the earlier the better,” she said. "Kindermusik was rhythm, keeping time, beauty, discipline, respect, appreciation and care for the instruments. The music, the teachers, other students, performing, actually learning to read and write music and then the big added bonus of developing math skills.
“It was one of the very best things I ever did for the kids,” she said of the school, formerly named the Wilmington Music School/Delaware Music School, with branches in Wilmington and Milford. "Really, on so many levels a great thing.”
My son Grant, now 20, took lessons from flautist instructor Lynne Cooksey at the Wilmington Music School for seven years when he was in elementary and middle school. Cooksey continues at the school and is a long term member of the Delaware Symphony. The discipline and problem solving skills learned serves him well today. Our family was on financial aid with the school, a factor that the school understands is necessary to encourage children to reach their full potential.
Kate Ransom, president and CEO for ten of the school's 84 years, has led its expansion on many fronts. Of the more than 800 community music schools in the nation, it is one of only 30 that is fully accredited.
A recent merger with Delaware Music School of Milford has created a statewide presence.
“Two years ago the Milford group reached out to us,” said Ransom. “We incorporated them into our administrative and educational structure. Our name change simply reduces ambiguity. Nothing structural has changed, in fact we are all enhanced.”
Many of the faculty members I remember from almost two decades ago remain, a sure sign of stability. More than half have earned either master's or doctoral degrees. This is the asset that Ransom calls “our true substance.” The school offers the only Suzuki Academy in both violin and flute in the region.
“One of the virtues of Suzuki is that young children hear their peers' mistakes and achievements. They don't play in a vacuum, speeding the learning process,” she explained.
Wilmington's location recently added a new wing offering more ensemble and instruction rooms.
The Music School exemplifies the word "community" in their outreach. From early childhood development programs, to individual and group lessons offering both choral and orchestral ensembles, they serve 2,300 children and adults weekly. There are satellite locations throughout the state, and a new innovation offers music school teachers as music components to day care center programming.
More than 75 public performances are staged annually in their 300-seat theater. One is struck by their diversity: Christiana Cultural Arts Center students celebrating West African dance, Indian sitars, Greek songs, Chinese American Community with Dragon and Lion dance, Israeli dance from the Adas Kodesch synagogue.
Truly a polyglot of global music, reflecting the music of the community it serves.
Ransom is not only a teacher at the school but also plays violin in The Serafin Quartet. The quartet will play a concert at First & Central Presbyterian Church on Feb. 22. For more information about the concert, visit www.SerafinQuartet.org. For more information about the Music School of Delaware, visit www.WilmingtonMusic.org or call 762-1131.
“Like any language, the earlier the better,” she said. "Kindermusik was rhythm, keeping time, beauty, discipline, respect, appreciation and care for the instruments. The music, the teachers, other students, performing, actually learning to read and write music and then the big added bonus of developing math skills.
“It was one of the very best things I ever did for the kids,” she said of the school, formerly named the Wilmington Music School/Delaware Music School, with branches in Wilmington and Milford. "Really, on so many levels a great thing.”
My son Grant, now 20, took lessons from flautist instructor Lynne Cooksey at the Wilmington Music School for seven years when he was in elementary and middle school. Cooksey continues at the school and is a long term member of the Delaware Symphony. The discipline and problem solving skills learned serves him well today. Our family was on financial aid with the school, a factor that the school understands is necessary to encourage children to reach their full potential.
Kate Ransom, president and CEO for ten of the school's 84 years, has led its expansion on many fronts. Of the more than 800 community music schools in the nation, it is one of only 30 that is fully accredited.
A recent merger with Delaware Music School of Milford has created a statewide presence.
“Two years ago the Milford group reached out to us,” said Ransom. “We incorporated them into our administrative and educational structure. Our name change simply reduces ambiguity. Nothing structural has changed, in fact we are all enhanced.”
Many of the faculty members I remember from almost two decades ago remain, a sure sign of stability. More than half have earned either master's or doctoral degrees. This is the asset that Ransom calls “our true substance.” The school offers the only Suzuki Academy in both violin and flute in the region.
“One of the virtues of Suzuki is that young children hear their peers' mistakes and achievements. They don't play in a vacuum, speeding the learning process,” she explained.
Wilmington's location recently added a new wing offering more ensemble and instruction rooms.
The Music School exemplifies the word "community" in their outreach. From early childhood development programs, to individual and group lessons offering both choral and orchestral ensembles, they serve 2,300 children and adults weekly. There are satellite locations throughout the state, and a new innovation offers music school teachers as music components to day care center programming.
More than 75 public performances are staged annually in their 300-seat theater. One is struck by their diversity: Christiana Cultural Arts Center students celebrating West African dance, Indian sitars, Greek songs, Chinese American Community with Dragon and Lion dance, Israeli dance from the Adas Kodesch synagogue.
Truly a polyglot of global music, reflecting the music of the community it serves.
Ransom is not only a teacher at the school but also plays violin in The Serafin Quartet. The quartet will play a concert at First & Central Presbyterian Church on Feb. 22. For more information about the concert, visit www.SerafinQuartet.org. For more information about the Music School of Delaware, visit www.WilmingtonMusic.org or call 762-1131.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Tourism Tsar for Delaware
I have been an active member of the Delaware arts community for 40 years and have had the opportunity to report on the subject for 18. With the assets we enjoy in Delaware, our strategic location, and two degrees of separation thanks to our size, I've never understood why our Department of Tourism has been locked away like Rapunzel in a tower.
In the past decade there has been a revolving chain of "Tourism" directors getting on and off the merry-go-round. Some of the recent directors have come from out of state with neither institutional memory nor comprehension of where we've been and who we are. "Tourism," by appearances and action, has been branded a nettlesome step-child of the Department of Economic Development.
Rapunzel, let down your hair! We could be a world-class destination.
The subject is so important that it should become a position directly reportable to Jack Markell, circumventing the stumbling bureaucracy of past administrations. The new division should be called Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, headed by a tourism czar, if you will.
Governor Elect Markell, in his mission statement “Ensuring a Vibrant Cultural Legacy,” states that there are more than 3,600 full-time jobs associated with the arts, bringing in $142 million annually. As a former Treasurer, he gets it. The arts and tourism are green industries. Our beaches and cultural venues are here, no capital investment required. This potential needs to be maximized.
The failure is in marketing and lack of a concentrated effort. Each county has its own fiefdom of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVB) -- the First State version of the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. The manner in which these organizations receive state funds – through a hotel/motel room tax (the hidden tax in tax-free Delaware) is archaic and insufficient.
Delaware holds the dubious honor of consistently ranking last or second to last in tourism funding for the last two decades. Do Rhode Island, Nebraska and North Dakota really have more noteworthy destination points than Delaware? I doubt it.
Decades ago, when Robin Williams filmed "Dead Poets Society" at St. Andrews, the Delaware Film Commission came into being and I was asked to be on it. But after just two meetings, that idea was as dead as Williams' poets.
A film commission under a tourism czar is a no-brainer. We've got beaches, we've got rolling Piedmont mountains, we've got historical venues for period films and we have castles in Chateau Country. Castles you ask? Visit Nemours. That's a venue begging for a period flick.
With the reduced cost of living and a czar to make instant decisions to cut red tape for filmmakers, Delaware is a perfect place. Many Hollywood films are shot in Canada for that very reason.
Stability and maintenance of existing venues is essential. Independent of any discussion with government, philanthropists Tatiana and Gerret Copeland have created Arts For Delawares Future, a campaign with a $12 million goal to stabilize what they saw as the precarious nature of the five largest non-profits in New Castle County. A czar would work to take their plan statewide.
The czar's mission would be simple. Create the perception and reality of Delaware as a world-class destination to non-Delawareans by engaging our corporations and citizens in the task.
That person would: support growth and development of tourism by promoting public and private investment in the creative economy sector; coordinate statewide destinations, CVB's and state and city agencies; serve as the liaison between the state and the cultural institutions and tourism venues; be an indefatigable and impassioned pitchman for Delaware.
It's obvious that Alan Levin, recently appointed as head of the Department of Economic Development, did not take this position for a paycheck. He wants to give back to the state that gave him so much. The czar would accompany him on meetings with prospective companies considering Delaware in their future and present a plan to be part of the cultural scene as well.
This subject will be explored in future columns.
Brandywine Hundred Greer Firestone writes about business and arts. He has been involved in Delaware arts for a half-century and has been the playwright for multiple productions in musical and historical genres.
In the past decade there has been a revolving chain of "Tourism" directors getting on and off the merry-go-round. Some of the recent directors have come from out of state with neither institutional memory nor comprehension of where we've been and who we are. "Tourism," by appearances and action, has been branded a nettlesome step-child of the Department of Economic Development.
Rapunzel, let down your hair! We could be a world-class destination.
The subject is so important that it should become a position directly reportable to Jack Markell, circumventing the stumbling bureaucracy of past administrations. The new division should be called Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, headed by a tourism czar, if you will.
Governor Elect Markell, in his mission statement “Ensuring a Vibrant Cultural Legacy,” states that there are more than 3,600 full-time jobs associated with the arts, bringing in $142 million annually. As a former Treasurer, he gets it. The arts and tourism are green industries. Our beaches and cultural venues are here, no capital investment required. This potential needs to be maximized.
The failure is in marketing and lack of a concentrated effort. Each county has its own fiefdom of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVB) -- the First State version of the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. The manner in which these organizations receive state funds – through a hotel/motel room tax (the hidden tax in tax-free Delaware) is archaic and insufficient.
Delaware holds the dubious honor of consistently ranking last or second to last in tourism funding for the last two decades. Do Rhode Island, Nebraska and North Dakota really have more noteworthy destination points than Delaware? I doubt it.
Decades ago, when Robin Williams filmed "Dead Poets Society" at St. Andrews, the Delaware Film Commission came into being and I was asked to be on it. But after just two meetings, that idea was as dead as Williams' poets.
A film commission under a tourism czar is a no-brainer. We've got beaches, we've got rolling Piedmont mountains, we've got historical venues for period films and we have castles in Chateau Country. Castles you ask? Visit Nemours. That's a venue begging for a period flick.
With the reduced cost of living and a czar to make instant decisions to cut red tape for filmmakers, Delaware is a perfect place. Many Hollywood films are shot in Canada for that very reason.
Stability and maintenance of existing venues is essential. Independent of any discussion with government, philanthropists Tatiana and Gerret Copeland have created Arts For Delawares Future, a campaign with a $12 million goal to stabilize what they saw as the precarious nature of the five largest non-profits in New Castle County. A czar would work to take their plan statewide.
The czar's mission would be simple. Create the perception and reality of Delaware as a world-class destination to non-Delawareans by engaging our corporations and citizens in the task.
That person would: support growth and development of tourism by promoting public and private investment in the creative economy sector; coordinate statewide destinations, CVB's and state and city agencies; serve as the liaison between the state and the cultural institutions and tourism venues; be an indefatigable and impassioned pitchman for Delaware.
It's obvious that Alan Levin, recently appointed as head of the Department of Economic Development, did not take this position for a paycheck. He wants to give back to the state that gave him so much. The czar would accompany him on meetings with prospective companies considering Delaware in their future and present a plan to be part of the cultural scene as well.
This subject will be explored in future columns.
Brandywine Hundred Greer Firestone writes about business and arts. He has been involved in Delaware arts for a half-century and has been the playwright for multiple productions in musical and historical genres.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Community News - Arts and Business thrive together
The arts of the community – our community – is at the very core of our social structure. Vibrancy and diversity in the arts cannot be disassociated from economic stability and growth.
A lot is at stake, and we've lost our edge.
Decades ago, DuPont would simply put up a “help wanted” sign and people would flock to our community. Fifteen years ago, credit card banks hoisted that same banner to a similar effect. DuPont and later MBNA particularly poured both lucre and intellectual talent in the form of board members into community and statewide arts organizations, effectively becoming patriarchs of the local arts.
The DuPont Company has subsidized The DuPont Theatre since its premiere in 1913. Sans Charlie Cawley, there would be a vacant space next to The Grand where now the baby grand resides. MBNA poured nearly a million dollars into the (now defunct) Russian Ballet Theatre in the late '90's. That beneficence had a ripple effect with other statewide corporations to get on the bandwagon. The ballet dancers who were stranded in the U.S. after the fall of the Berlin Wall had terrible dental hygiene. RBT Producer Marsha Borin called on her local dentist friends, and they donated a total of 39 root canals! Those were the salad days.
It's no longer a banquet. Today, we are facing challenges attracting new business to Delaware and getting them to invest in the arts.
Part of the due diligence of any corporation in the process of relocating is an evaluation of a location’s cultural fitness. A dynamic cultural atmosphere begets creativity in all professions and transcends income levels. Big companies often establish facilities in “world class environments” where the creative talent exists.
I am a native Delawarean who has been active in the arts for five decades. I have witnessed the dissolution. We are in danger of losing our most crucial economic advantage – being a talent magnet and attracting economic drivers here. Our community must grow its creative class.
Due to our corporate wealth and the “two degrees of separation” we enjoy, New Castle County could become “world class” like Austin, Texas, for example. Every night, the streets are alive in that city. Leaders and citizens alike embrace creativity there, which then becomes self-fulfilling. We need this concerted effort in our community.
One may not live in the city, but it remains the hub to our becoming “world class.” Wilmington Mayor James Baker talks the talk, but Wilmington after 5 p.m. remains the urban equivalent of Death Valley. There are no buildings for sale on Market Street from 10th to the Riverfront, bought up by the visionary Buccini Pollin Group and Preservation Initiatives. On the surface, that sounds good. The bad news is there are few retailers renting these storefronts and few people living upstairs. Our promised “Renaissance” has taken longer than The Middle Ages.
On the arts funding side, only through the recent infusion of a commitment of more than $3 million spearheaded by philanthropist Tatiana Copeland were the five foremost county arts institutions able to breathe some sigh of short term financial relief. Those happily bequeathed were Opera Delaware, The Grand, Delaware Theatre Company, Delaware Symphony and the Delaware Art Museum.
Convention and visitor bureaus around the state have embarrassingly meager funding engines. And for a state that attempts to sell its peerless arts institutions as tourist destinations, Delaware has ranked a paltry 49th of 50 states in tourism funding for the past 10 years.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to nurture the arts; one individual, one family at a time.
I am not suggesting we all stop what we're doing and write the great American novel or design a building. What I am advancing is the notion to be a pro-active partner in the community by giving support. It is a legacy for our children.
Taking children to arts events is a glorious way to grow the creative class from within.
Following is a very personal example of the cultural axiom, “Ya just never know.” Ten years ago, a singing ensemble in which I played a part had a gig at Hagley Museum. Lacking a babysitter that eve, my 10-year-old son was dragged along. For two hours while the group was performing, he stood transfixed by an entertainer twisting balloons. On the way home, he said, “I can do that.”
We bought him a pump, a study book and a bag of those long skinny balloons. Within six months, Grant was working parties making $50.00 an hour. The hysterical sidebar was that the kids attending the parties were the same age as this entrepreneurial balloon twister.
Fast forward to summer 2008. Grant is in Avignon in study. He and his peers go out in the evenings soaking in the French culture and delighting in the street performers. He e-mails to say, “Send me my balloon stuff. I can make some money.” Four weeks later his Facebook page is ripe with photos. There's my 20-year-old college student holding court in a 500 year old city square. On his head sits a foot high balloon hat as he fashions balloon poodles for the tourists! A bowler hat on the ground brims with euros.
“Ya just don't know” where promoting the arts – and enriching your child - will take both him and you.
A lot is at stake, and we've lost our edge.
Decades ago, DuPont would simply put up a “help wanted” sign and people would flock to our community. Fifteen years ago, credit card banks hoisted that same banner to a similar effect. DuPont and later MBNA particularly poured both lucre and intellectual talent in the form of board members into community and statewide arts organizations, effectively becoming patriarchs of the local arts.
The DuPont Company has subsidized The DuPont Theatre since its premiere in 1913. Sans Charlie Cawley, there would be a vacant space next to The Grand where now the baby grand resides. MBNA poured nearly a million dollars into the (now defunct) Russian Ballet Theatre in the late '90's. That beneficence had a ripple effect with other statewide corporations to get on the bandwagon. The ballet dancers who were stranded in the U.S. after the fall of the Berlin Wall had terrible dental hygiene. RBT Producer Marsha Borin called on her local dentist friends, and they donated a total of 39 root canals! Those were the salad days.
It's no longer a banquet. Today, we are facing challenges attracting new business to Delaware and getting them to invest in the arts.
Part of the due diligence of any corporation in the process of relocating is an evaluation of a location’s cultural fitness. A dynamic cultural atmosphere begets creativity in all professions and transcends income levels. Big companies often establish facilities in “world class environments” where the creative talent exists.
I am a native Delawarean who has been active in the arts for five decades. I have witnessed the dissolution. We are in danger of losing our most crucial economic advantage – being a talent magnet and attracting economic drivers here. Our community must grow its creative class.
Due to our corporate wealth and the “two degrees of separation” we enjoy, New Castle County could become “world class” like Austin, Texas, for example. Every night, the streets are alive in that city. Leaders and citizens alike embrace creativity there, which then becomes self-fulfilling. We need this concerted effort in our community.
One may not live in the city, but it remains the hub to our becoming “world class.” Wilmington Mayor James Baker talks the talk, but Wilmington after 5 p.m. remains the urban equivalent of Death Valley. There are no buildings for sale on Market Street from 10th to the Riverfront, bought up by the visionary Buccini Pollin Group and Preservation Initiatives. On the surface, that sounds good. The bad news is there are few retailers renting these storefronts and few people living upstairs. Our promised “Renaissance” has taken longer than The Middle Ages.
On the arts funding side, only through the recent infusion of a commitment of more than $3 million spearheaded by philanthropist Tatiana Copeland were the five foremost county arts institutions able to breathe some sigh of short term financial relief. Those happily bequeathed were Opera Delaware, The Grand, Delaware Theatre Company, Delaware Symphony and the Delaware Art Museum.
Convention and visitor bureaus around the state have embarrassingly meager funding engines. And for a state that attempts to sell its peerless arts institutions as tourist destinations, Delaware has ranked a paltry 49th of 50 states in tourism funding for the past 10 years.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to nurture the arts; one individual, one family at a time.
I am not suggesting we all stop what we're doing and write the great American novel or design a building. What I am advancing is the notion to be a pro-active partner in the community by giving support. It is a legacy for our children.
Taking children to arts events is a glorious way to grow the creative class from within.
Following is a very personal example of the cultural axiom, “Ya just never know.” Ten years ago, a singing ensemble in which I played a part had a gig at Hagley Museum. Lacking a babysitter that eve, my 10-year-old son was dragged along. For two hours while the group was performing, he stood transfixed by an entertainer twisting balloons. On the way home, he said, “I can do that.”
We bought him a pump, a study book and a bag of those long skinny balloons. Within six months, Grant was working parties making $50.00 an hour. The hysterical sidebar was that the kids attending the parties were the same age as this entrepreneurial balloon twister.
Fast forward to summer 2008. Grant is in Avignon in study. He and his peers go out in the evenings soaking in the French culture and delighting in the street performers. He e-mails to say, “Send me my balloon stuff. I can make some money.” Four weeks later his Facebook page is ripe with photos. There's my 20-year-old college student holding court in a 500 year old city square. On his head sits a foot high balloon hat as he fashions balloon poodles for the tourists! A bowler hat on the ground brims with euros.
“Ya just don't know” where promoting the arts – and enriching your child - will take both him and you.
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