November 9, 2009
Washington, DC
Rocco Landesman spent Friday, November 6, with Kathy Chitwood of Eastlight Theatre and Suzette Boulais of ArtsPartners of Central Illinois as well as Peoria artists, arts administrators, civic leaders, and other citizens. It was a full day with a comprehensive schedule of events: a walking tour of the Warehouse District; roundtable discussions with artists, civic leaders, and developers; visits to artists’ studios; Q&As with the Peoria arts community; a taping of “At Issue” on Peoria’s WTVP; and an evening performance of Eastlight Theatre’s production of Rent.
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Kathy Chitwood of Eastlight Theatre, NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman, and Suzette Boulais of ArtsPartners of Central Illinois. Photo by Adam Gerik |
Over the next few posts we’ll share with you what Rocco Landesman did in Peoria and highlight some of the extraordinary arts that are taking place there.
First off: Rocco spoke with NEA’s Josephine Reed and shared his reflections on Peoria. [11:10] [transcript]
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Rocco Landesman backstage at the Eastlight Theatre with the cast of Rent after the performance. Photo by Adam Gerik |
And please listen to our podcast about how “art works” in Peoria, with Pat Sullivan, Developer, Suzette Boulais, Executive Director of ArtsPartners, Kathy Chitwood, Executive Director of Eastlight Theater; and City Councilman Ryan Spain, also hosted by Josephine Reed. [31:13] [transcript]
Stay tuned.
Tags: artists, arts, economy, neighborhood, Peoria, studio space, theater, urban revitalization
It was good to hear Chairman Landesman comment on smaller Theatres and their ability to produce well crafted theatre. In Louisville, Kentucky we have a vibrant community of theatres and most of them are not at the level of Actors Theatre of Louisville, nor will they ever be, ATL has dominated the landscape since the mid 60’s and was one of 5 theatres that birthed the regional theatre movement in this country.
Thats not to say that the work these small theatres are producing is second rate, far from it. I see constant reminders when I look at ticket sales. Recently a small theatre group, Pandora Productions in Louisville did a run of the Rocky Horror Show to a sold out run, Evil Dead the Musical played to a sold out run at a small theatre here as well. The Theatre Company I work for is about to produce a run of the Best Christmas Pageant Ever and we have already surpassed our budget goals and we have two weeks until the run starts! The Louisville Ballet is completely re-inventing their annual production of The Nutcracker and tickets have moved very quickly.
Small theatres are alive and well and I am so glad to hear that the Chairman recognizes that! I highly recommend Louisville as a stop on the tour, we have a lot to show off!