The Summer of Arts Administration

We’re going to try to keep a weekly bloggy update about what we’re doing—we’ll see how it goes. Sometimes the updates will be from Emily, sometimes Ashley, sometimes from our sweet volunteers, workstudy students, and interns. Give us some feedback and led us know what you think!

ARTS/West opened its doors in June of 2005! Five years has gone by pretty fast and we’ve made some stellar improvements to the facility in that time; most notably through our commitment to green operations, sustainability and energy efficiency. We have replaced the windows, boiler and air-conditioning units and installed cork flooring in the basement. We have a recycling program, print mostly on scrap paper, have real cups, plates, dishes and silverware and really frown upon bottled water.

This June we saw the high school graduation of our original Padawans, Theo Peck-Suzuki, Rheal Radwany, Robbie Lane and Rachel Weekely. They are all off to college- we wish them well and will miss them terribly. I am so sorry the smurf birthday cup got broken! And, let us never forget the time we ate pie to celebrate all of your report cards! What are Padawans you say? Well, if you are a nerd like me, they are young jedis but in the ARTS/West context they are middle to high school aged arts administration volunteers. Come fall we will be accepting applications into the Padawan program so: stay tuned.

We are currently hosting OVST’s summer theater youth camp until July 9 then A.P.E. Center moves in for their art camp on July 12. We recently did some calculations and found that ARTS/West is in use an average of 67 hours per week! For a community art center, I’d say you all are doing a really great job. How do you do it with only one full-time and one part-time employee? Volunteers, that’s how! Ashley has just completed the Volunteer Service Program Handbook which will be made available in the next couple of weeks so you can find out what you can do to get involved.

Taking it easy over the summer? Oh my no. There is a lot going on behind the scenes and I cannot wait to tell you about it over the next couple of weeks but it’s time to log-in the Humble Play submissions. Don’t forget the deadline for submitting your play is June 28! For more information please visit: http://cpaarts.wordpress.com/

Don’t forget we always want to hear from you and don’t get discouraged if the phone rings and rings. Please, leave us a message (740) 592-4315, send us an email (artswestathens at gmail), or stalk us on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ARTSWest)!

Survey Time!

We hope you'll take just a few minutes of your time to take our online survey. We'd like to know how we are doing and how best to serve our community. You can take the survey HERE

Thank you so much! We really value your feedback.

Performing Art Day at ARTS/West

Advanced Registration is REQUIRED. Contact the ARTS/West office at 740/592-4315
Last Day to Register is June 22 by 12:00pm

ARTS/West presents Performing Arts Day for Community and GOBA

Purpose Statement:

Kids’ Club: is a performing arts day offered to youth aged 12-18 in Athens, OH. The activities for the Kids’ Club are: prop/backdrop making; story telling and acting techniques; and aspects of technical theater. The end result of each day is a presentation for parents, guardians, and friends. The students are given the opportunity to be: story tellers, actors, technicians, or prop masters for the presentations.

Each Kids’ Club participant is given a course in prop and costume making, acting techniques, story telling, and aspects of light and sound, as related to the story and how these aspects affect a production. All aspects are directly related to the story being told that day. Most items (except for the technical theatrical equipment) used in the presentations are found items such as-plastic bottles, cement mixing buckets, rubber bands, card board tubes, etc. donated scrap paper, donated clothes and fabrics, paints, cardboard boxes, fabric, etc. We hope that this aspect of the day will allow the children to use their imaginations and give them the accessibility to create their own stories at home.

Kids’ Club activities gave participants a chance to be creative, practice their social skills, cooperate, and use team work outside the usual school/day camp atmosphere. This camp encourages participation in the performing arts by breaking down the perception that participation in the arts in not for everyone. When you can put on a play in one afternoon using only found/recycled items—they can go home and put on their own story.

The goal of our arts learning program is to offer an affordable, broad-based approach to performing arts, targeting a diverse group of our regional young people. A facility where students will have the opportunity to put together their own performance while learning how various portions of the arts can work together in support of a common goal, in this case a performance. Through these programs we hope to foster life long participation in the arts.

WHEN: Thursday, June 24, 2010. 1-5 p.m.,

WHERE: ARTS/West, 132 W. State St., Athens Ohio

WHO: Children ages 12-18.

Cost $5.00

Humble Play Deadline 6/28

Humble Play Mission Statement

It is the mission of Humble Play: New Play Festival of Appalachia Ohio to promote the art of playwriting while introducing the process of play development to an audience. This is achieved by inviting playwrights to submit their new plays to a committee of judges. These judges chose plays to be produced as staged readings by theater companies for the general public as a once a year, week long festival.

The Corporation for the Performing Arts and ARTS/West announce applications for HUMBLE PLAY: new play festival of Appalachian Ohio

ARTS/West, Athens community gateway to the arts, 132 W. State St., is partnering with the Corporation for the Performing Arts and the Athens Community to present the 5th Annual HUMBLE PLAY: NEW PLAY FESTIVAL OF APPALACHIAN OHIO, this coming October 5-9, 2010, and they are pleased to invite submissions from playwrights.

Acknowledging gifted writers with new plays that speak to a regional audience, ARTS/West will open its doors for these new works October 5-9, 2010.

The 2009 Festival featured: Romeo and Juliet; there Hasn’t Been a Rap Song Yet! by Rheal Radwany (Athens, Ohio) A Case Is Never Closed by J. Boyer (Tempe, AZ) Touch by Drew Larinore (Brooklyn, NY) An Elegant Solution by Celeste Parsons (Athens, Ohio), Apologia by Katharine Bolger (New York, NY), Japanese Schoolgirl Night and Knuckleheads by James McLindon (Northampton, MA).

PARTICIPATION: We are seeking plays that will highlight the work of playwrights from across the nation and will, in turn, highlight the actors and directors of Appalachia generally and Southeastern Ohio specifically through play development/production in our area, at the ARTS/West facility during the festival.

APPLICATIONS: Applications will be accepted from March 18 to June 28, 2010

Applications will be available by clicking HERE and at the ARTS/West office, and by requesting one via email at humbleplay@yahoo.com

The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

Cat's Pajamas

Cat's Pajamas's Clothing Exchange

June 4-6, 2010
The Cat's Pajamas's Clothing Exchange is a three-day fundraising event for ARTS/West. Kicking off on the evening of Friday, June 4th from 10pm-2am, the exchange will begin with a pajama party event featuring DJ Barticus and FREE AVALANCHE PIZZA.
Regular exchange hours will hours the following afternoons of Saturday and Sunday June 5th and 6th from 1-6 pm.

How it works: Bring clothes to the exchange. Pay $5 entry Preview Night, and $3 entry other days. (You only pay entry once for the whole weekend!) The amount of items you can take equals what you

brought. (Each additional item $1). Bring your clothes before the weekend of the exchange and get FREE ENTRY ALL WEEKEND!

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE

Witness a Peace Movement- repeat screening

Wednesday June, 2 @ 7pm

There will be a repeat screening of "Witness a Peace Movement" at ARTS/West on June 2 at 7pm. The screening will be followed by a constructive conversation about the Peace Movement and our next steps.

A movie for anyone who's ever attended a Peace Protest...to show to their friends who haven't. With Filmmaker Roger Hill

Witness a Peace Movement was shot over a three year period during the birth, and formative years of the revitalized Anti-War Movement. A personal document of the opinions, and actions, of a cross section of the millions of people who protested against, or in support of, the War on Iraq.

contact roger@mentalrev.com

you can see the trailer at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0WA4stpElM