Category Archives: Press Releases

February 1, 2012 · 5:09 pm

The Overture Awards Finals Competition and Awards Ceremony

The Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is proud to present the 2012 Overture Awards Scholarship Competition – the largest locally run arts scholarship competition in the country. The Overture Awards annually provides a $2,500 scholarship to six area high school students for education and training expenses, with 18 finalists each winning a $500 scholarship.

The Overture Awards Finals Competition and Awards Ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 3, 2012 at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater at 1:00 PM. Winners will be announced immediately following the competition.

This year, 522 students were nominated by their schools to compete in one of six artistic disciplines: Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art or Vocal Music. The Overture Awards was developed to recognize, encourage and reward excellence in the arts among Tri-state students in grades 9-12. It also provides students an opportunity to share their talents and interests among their peers in a supportive environment outside of their individual schools. There are three levels of competition: Regional, Semi-Final and Final.

The Overture Awards Regional Competitions were held in early January at Northern Kentucky University, The University of Cincinnati – Blue Ash College, Saint Ursula Academy, The Aronoff Center for the Arts and Xavier University. The top 20 percent of competitors in each discipline advanced to the Semi-Finals, held at the Aronoff Center on January 21. Twenty-four finalists (four in each discipline) then compete in the Finals Competition at the Aronoff Center.

Now in its 16th year, The Overture Awards was launched in 1996 by the Cinergy Foundation (now Duke Energy) and Leadership Cincinnati (a Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce program). The program is funded and administered by the Cincinnati Arts Association, which operates and manages the Aronoff Center and Music Hall. The Overture Awards also relies on hundreds of volunteers from the community who help raise funds, adjudicate and manage the competitions, and nurture the program.

Overture Awards Program Sponsors: Carey Digital; Citi; The Eleanora C.U. Alms Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee Scholarship Sponsors: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation; Stock Yards Bank & Trust; The William O. Purdy, Jr. Foundation; Summerfair Cincinnati; Western & Southern Financial. Competition Sponsors: Buddy Roger’s Music; Northern Kentucky University; St. Ursula Academy; The University of Cincinnati – Blue Ash College; Xavier University.

The 2012 Overture Awards Finalists

CREATIVE WRITING

  • Hannalee Goldman – Sycamore High School, grade 11
  • Olivia Morris – Beechwood High School, grade 12
  • Emma Wahl – Mount Notre Dame High School, grade 12
  • Gina Wei – William Mason High School, grade 12

DANCE

  • Danielle Betscher – Just Off Broadway / homeschool, grade 11
  • Drew Lovejoy – McGing Irish Dancers / Ohio Connections Academy, grade 9
  • Ryan McCreary – Northern Cincinnati Youth Ballet / homeschool, grade 10
  • Jacob Thoman – Planet Dance / School for Creative and Performing Arts, grade 9

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

  • Kevin Bao – Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, grade 10
  • Thomas Heidenreich – CCM Prep / Walnut Hills High School, grade 11
  • Mariko Shimasaki – CCM Prep / Kenton Ridge High School, grade 11
  • Tracy Wong – Sycamore High School, grade 11

THEATER

  • Shannon Beam – Strakowski Song Studio / St. Ursula Academy, grade 12
  • Emily Kissela – Sycamore High School, grade 11
  • Max Meyers – Gina Cerimele-Mechley Acting Studio / Wyoming High School, grade 12
  • JoEllen Pellman – Marilyn Zelcer Studio / Walnut Hills High School, grade 10

VISUAL ART

  • Paloma Ianes – School for Creative and Performing Arts, grade 12
  • Betsy Toadvine – Kings High School, grade 12
  • Nicole Volpenhein – Ursuline Academy, grade 12
  • Elaine Yung – Turpin High School, grade 12

VOCAL MUSIC

  • Christian Betts – Walnut Hills High School, grade 12
  • Tyler Blincoe – Villa Madonna Academy, grade 12
  • Holly Reckers – Mother of Mercy High School, grade 12
  • Megan Terlau – Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, grade 12

Founded in 1992, the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the programming and management of two of the Tri-state’s finest performing arts venues – the Aronoff Center for the Arts and Music Hall – and is dedicated to supporting performing and visual arts. Each year, CAA presents a diverse schedule of events; serves upwards of 700,000 people in its venues; features the work of talented local, regional, and national artists in the Weston Art Gallery (located in the Aronoff Center); and supports the work of more than one dozen resident companies. Since the inception of its acclaimed arts education programs in 1995, CAA has reached more than 1.2 million students.

CAA is proud to be a member of Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, Greater Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau, Greater Cincinnati Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, and Performing Arts Center Consortium.

 

CALENDAR INFORMATION

WHAT: 2012 Overture Awards – Finals Competition / Awards Ceremony

WHERE: Aronoff Center – Jarson-Kaplan Theater

WHEN: Saturday, March 3, 2012 – 1:00 PM

TICKETS: $15

INFO: The 2012 Overture Awards Scholarship Competition – the largest locally run arts scholarship competition in the country – provides a $2,500 scholarship to six area high school students for education and training expenses with 18 finalists each winning a $500 scholarship. Students compete in one of six artistic disciplines: Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Art or Vocal Music. The Overture Awards was developed to recognize, encourage and reward excellence in the arts among Tri-state students in grades 9-12.

TICKET INFORMATION – on sale now!

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February 1, 2012 · 11:52 am

From Scripts to Sets: CCM Drama Students Present Original Works During Annual TRANSMIGRATION Festival

The 2012 TRANSMIGRATION: A Festival of Student-Created New Works Runs Feb. 16-18

CINCINNATI, OH — The College-Conservatory of Music (CCM)’s Drama students continue to learn what it takes to produce their own theatre pieces as they prepare for the 2012 TRANSMIGRATION: A Festival of Student-Created New Works taking place February 16-18 throughout CCM Village. The fourth-annual festival allows the audience to sample half-hour works produced by small groups of Drama majors, who create all aspects of their productions from start to finish. Admission to the festival is free, but reservations are required.

The festival is an exciting event for both guests and the presenters, as audiences get the opportunity to see up to four pieces of new theatre in a single night and the students premiere works that are entirely their own. “TRANSMIGRATION is student-driven and artist-driven,” says Richard Hess, chair of CCM’s Drama Department and director of TRANSMIGRATION. “Students get free reign to, as a group of people, create, cast themselves and produce a piece of work that is original and means something to them.”

TRANSMIGRATION came into being in response to the dynamic careers of today’s professional actors. Though auditioning and getting cast for roles is the conventional way for an actor to make a name for his or herself, “the second way to make work is to gather a group of like-minded people, get together and create something… students need to know how to go into a storefront theatre and say ‘we’re going to make something in this raw space,’” Hess asserts. TRANSMIGRATION gives students real-world creative experiences that will last and develop through the rest of their careers.

Some of the companies formed by current and former CCM Drama students include The Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Satori Theatre Group (Seattle), The Lost Theatre Company (New York), Cincinnati Outdoor Classics and Stokastik Theatre Ensemble (Los Angeles). Although several of these companies were formed prior to the inception of TRANSMIGRATION, the festival is added encouragement for students to venture out on their own.

“It teaches us that you are in control of your own art, no one gives you permission to make art and if you just find your people anything is possible,” says senior Cameron Davis, who is working on Knock Knock. “Ultimately there is a product that is TRANSMIGRATION, but it’s the journey that means so much to us.”

The lessons students learn from TRANSMIGRATION come from the process of collaborating in groups of 8-10 people to develop a concept, story, characters and script for their 30-minute shows. Beyond the plays, students must also construct a set, costumes, lighting design and marketing campaign for their productions, all on a budget of $60. Students do not choose their groups, but instead are assigned randomly, providing them with the opportunity to collaborate with new people with different ideas.

“The audience gets the product, but we get the process… sometimes butting heads, but in a way that sharpens the iron,” states sophomore Mia Vera, who will be presenting the historically-inspired Booth at this year’s festival. “We find our voices and we learn to harmonize; I’m learning what I love, but I’m also learning what people in my group love and how those things go together.”

This year’s TRANSMIGRATION festival will feature the works Booth, Eddie Shanahan, forget me not, Knock Knock, and Y2012K.

Audience members will have the opportunity to customize their theater-going experience by choosing to watch up to four different productions, which are performed simultaneously in non-traditional spaces throughout CCM’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts.

CCM EVENT DETAILS

TRANSMIGRATION
Dates and Times:

  • Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.
  • Friday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2 & 7 p.m.

See descriptions below for specific times for each production.

Location: Various locations throughout the CCM Village, including:

  • Cohen Family Studio Theater
  • Room 3640 Corbett Center for the Performing Arts
  • Room 3650 Corbett Center for the Performing Arts

See individual production descriptions for details.

Tickets & Information: Admission is free, but reservations are required and can be reserved by contacting the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183. Tickets become available Monday, February 13 at noon. Limit two tickets per order. Parking is available in the CCM Garage (at the base of Corry Boulevard off of Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. For complete reservation and parking information, visit ccm.uc.edu.

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Drama Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman & Margaret Straub

Show Descriptions

Booth
To Win, To Kill, To Live

Description: This historically based piece of theatre is themed on the Lincoln assassination. It takes the audience through the leading up to (to win), day of (to kill), and fallout (to live) from the perspective of the infamous John Wilkes Booth. The dramatic retelling of what happened in the presidential booth of Ford’s Theatre is interactive and immersive: the audience will experience the three parts separately, and not necessarily linearly, as they follow a prescribed object through scenes.

Featuring: Clare Ward, Kirstopher Dean, Ellie Jameson, Ty Olwin, Madeline Smith, John Patrick Maddock, Mia Vera*, Caitlin Penson, Fabiola Rodriguez

Performance information: Cohen Family Studio Theatre

  • Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:45 & 8:30 p.m.
  • Friday, Feb. 17 at 7:45 & 8:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2:45 & 3:30 p.m., 7:45 & 8:30 p.m.

forget me not
Can my cape fit into my brief case?

Description: forget me not examines how to reconcile the seriousness of adulthood with the desire for childlike curiosity and imagination. A 20-year-old is dissatisfied with the state of her imagination and in order to figure out what went wrong, she must start at its formation. Her imaginary friends guide her from childhood to adulthood in order to figure out her present state.

Featuring: Zachary Crowley, Arielle Geller, Spencer House, William Kiley, Connor Lawrence, Clifford Nunley, Caroline Shannon, Sarah Vargo, Ian Webber, Jaclyn Williams*

Performance information: 3640 Corbett Center

  • Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 & 7:45 p.m.
  • Friday, Feb. 17 at 7 & 7:45 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2 & 2:45 p.m., 7 & 7:45 p.m.

The Eddie Shanahan Show
“Who’s in charge around here?”

Description: Replicating a TV show, Eddie Shanahan is experienced as if being taped in front of a live studio audience. On the eve of the most important late-night awards show, the Emmy’s, the bitter and miserly Eddie Shanahan is met by three spirits who take him in search of the joy that used to radiate into the homes of his once-fans. Based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Featuring: Bailie Breault, William Brown, Kate Daugherty, Mack Harden, Claron Hayden*, Colleen Ladrick, Brynn Langford, Carli Rhoades, Shaun Sutton

Performance information: Cohen Family Studio Theatre

  • Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 & 9:15 p.m.
  • Friday, Feb. 17 at 7 & 9:15 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2 & 4:15 p.m., 7 & 9:15 p.m.

Anaconda Montana
Knock Knock
Every story has two rooms

Description: There are two sides to every story, and audiences can experience each one individually in Knock Knock, occurring in two places at once: Corbett Center 3640 and 3650. Two groups of strangers come together in this Clue-esque family mystery, realizing in the process that they have much more in common than they previously realized.

Featuring: Alyssa Caputo, Jack Conroy, Cameron Davis*, Alex Escher, Hannah Halvorson, Anna Horton, Mary Malloy, Megan Marshall, Callie Schuttera, Parker Searfoss, Hope Shangle, Alec Silberblatt, Nathan Wallace, Garrett Walters, Trey Wright, Gregory Wyatt

Performance information: 3640 and 3650 Corbett Center

  • Thursday, Feb. 16 at 8:30 & 9:15 p.m.
  • Friday, Feb. 17 at 8:30 & 9:15 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 18 at 3:30 & 4:15 p.m., 8:30 & 9:15 p.m.

Y2012K
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Just Let It All End

Description: Good morning, America. It’s 2012 and this is the 9:00 news. The financial meltdown has come to a head, there’s riots, Boston is a quarantine zone, animals have escaped the zoo, devastating natural disasters are occurring, zombies, dinosaurs… Don’t worry: stay indoors, don’t drink the water and we’ll be here bringing you live coverage.

Featuring: Bennett Bradley, Christian Carey, Sarah Davenport, Joe Markesbery, Molly Massa, Anna Stapleton, Mariel Tompkins, Jared Wilson*

Performance information: 3650 Corbett Center

  • Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 & 7:45 p.m.
  • Friday, Feb. 17 at 7 & 7:45 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2 & 2:45 p.m., 7 & 7:45 p.m.

*Director

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February 1, 2012 · 10:17 am

Sunset Players Splashes Onto Stage with THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB

Sunset Players, the resident drama group at Dunham Arts Center for more than 30 years, ends its 2011/2012 season with “The Dixie Swim Club,” a hilarious and touching journey of lifelong friendship by Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten and Jessie Jones.

The show follows five Southern women, who became fast friends on their college swim team, as they meet at the same beach college to laugh, relax, catch up, and interfere in each other’s lives.

“When I first read ‘Dixie Swim Club,'” I was charmed by the warmth of the play,” remembers director Mike Burke. “It’s a play about long term friendships that are a true sisterhood.”

Elaine Michael plays Sheree, the spunky team captain. Nancy Genheimer is Dinah, the wise-cracking over-achiever. Contrast these two women who seem to have their lives in order, with self-deprecating and acerbic Vernadette, played by Jeri Nakamura, and the youth obsessed, always-married (just not to the same man) Lexie, played by Mary Ann Smith. Throw in Jeri Neal, sweet but always surprising, and you get a hilarious peek into a lifetime of relationships.

Helen Luther, playing Jeri Neal, says it best: “Anyone who has friends they have known for a lifetime – or even just have deep trust and experiences with – will get this show. It exemplifies the meaning of true friendship, thick and thin, and unconditional love. The characters are real. They’re flawed and funny and a little bit crazy. Just like all of us!”

Show dates are February 10, 11, 17, 18, 24 & 25. All show times are at 8 pm. Performances will be held at Midway Elementary School, 3156 Glenmore Avenue 45211, while renovations of the Dunham Arts Building occur.

Ticket prices are $12 for general admission and $11 for students, seniors, and groups of ten or more. For ticket information call 513-588-4988 or visit www.sunsetplayers.org.

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January 31, 2012 · 6:24 pm

Jane Austen Returns to the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Stage in SENSE & SENSIBILITY adapted by Jon Jory

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is proud to present the regional premiere of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” adapted by Jon Jory, on February 17- March 18th

Sara Clark as Marianne Dashwood, Giles Davies as Colonel Brandon, Kelly Mengelkoch as Elinor Dashwood & Brent Vimtrup as Edward Ferrars. Photo by Jeanna Vella.

CINCINNATI, January 27, 2012— Opening February 17, 2012, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is proud to present the regional premiere of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” adapted by Jon Jory. Cincinnati audiences delighted in last season’s production of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” leading to a sold out run. CSC is pleased to be able to offer Jane Austen again this season in this new adaption of another one of her beloved stories, “Sense & Sensibility”. This production is directed by Drew Fracher and will run until March 18th. “Sense and Sensibility” is generously sponsored by LPK, the ensemble is sponsored by Wells Fargo Investment Advisors and the production design is sponsored by Matson Money.

All of the romance and wit of Jane Austen returns to CSC’s stage in this charmingly fast-paced and pleasing new adaptation by Jon Jory of her classic 1811 novel, “Sense and Sensibility”. When a lack of luck makes for difficult marriage prospects for the Dashwood sisters. Elinor (Kelly Mengelkoch) and Marianne (Sara Clark) Dashwood set sail on the volatile seas of courtship. Both are seeking husbands, but have completely opposite approaches. The sisters soon discover that neither reserved Elinor’s common sense nor impulsive Marianne’s passion offer the key to happiness. A suave suitor, the dashing Willoughby (Ian Bond) tries to steal the heart of Marianne who has captured the heart of another, the sometimes not-so-suave Colonel Brandon (Giles Davies). And sensible Elinor must pine after the wistful Edward Ferrars (Brent Vimtrup) as she discovers scandalous secrets of his past. Their fortune already lost to fate, will the Dashwood sisters lose all hopes of romance to their own folly?

A favorite director at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company for many years, Drew Fracher returns to helm “Sense and Sensibility”. Mr. Fracher says he is “very interested in the character’s inner lives vs. the societal manners of the day.” Mr. Fracher last directed CSC’s 2010 production of William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”. Drew Fracher currently is a director, fight director and actor who has free-lanced professionally for over twenty-five years. He has directed plays from Shakespeare to world premieres at regional theatres throughout the U.S., and staged fights for over two hundred and fifty professional productions, including Broadway and grand opera. He is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, The Society of American Fight Directors and Actor’s Equity Association. As a director he has worked at a wide variety of theatres in addition to Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, including Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, the Human Race Theatre Co., Florida Stage, Playhouse on the Square, American Stage Theatre Co. and the Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia Shakespeare Festivals.

“Sense and Sensibility” features CSC Resident Company members Kelly Mengelkoch, Sara Clark, Brent Vimtrup and Giles Davies. Kelly Mengelkoch was last seen on CSC’s stage in her stand-out performance as Queen Katherine in Shakespeare’s “Henry VIII: All is True.” Sara Clark, who recently directed this season’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” was seen on stage in the power-house role of Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. A newcomer this season to CSC is Brent Vimtrup who was most recently featured this season in “Henry VIII: All is True” and “Love’s Labour’s Lost.” A Cincinnati audience favorite for many years, Giles Davies returns to our stage for “Sense and Sensibility” having last been seen in the title roles in “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” at CSC.

Scenic and Lighting Designer Andrew Hungerford creates the various locales in southwest England that are visited in “Sense and Sensibility” with innovative scenic elements to accommodate Mr. Jory’s fast-paced adaptation. Costume design by Resident Costume Designer Heidi Jo Schiemer showcases the country inspired fashion of this part of southwest England around 1792-1797, the time period of the story. Sound Designer Doug Borntrager and Master Carpenter Travis McElroy complete the design team.

As the Producing Artistic Director of Actors Theatre of Louisville Jon Jory directed over 125 plays and produced over 1,000 during his 32-year tenure. He conceived the internationally lauded Humana Festival of New American Plays, the SHORTS Festival and the Brown-Forman Classics-in-Context Festival. He was also the Artistic Founding Director of Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Connecticut and he has been inducted in New York’s Theatre Hall of Fame. Mr. Jory has directed professionally in nine nations, and in the United States has directed productions at many regional theatres including Washington’s Arena Stage, San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre, Hartford Stage, the McCarter in Princeton, Guthrie Theatre, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has received the National Theatre Conference Award and ATA Distinguished Career Award. For his commitment to new plays, he has received the Margo Jones Award twice, the Shubert Foundation’s James N. Vaughan Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement and Contribution to the Development of Professional Theatre, Carnegie Mellon’s Commitment to Playwriting Award, and the Special Tony Award for Achievement in Regional Theatre. He is currently the President’s Chair in the Performing Arts Department at Santa Fe University of Arts and Design.

Performances of “Sense and Sensibility” are scheduled for February 17- March 18 on Thursday, Friday & Saturday evenings at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm. Preview performances are on Feb. 15 & 16. The theater is located at 719 Race Street, downtown Cincinnati, two blocks west of the Aronoff Center. Ticket prices range from $22-$32. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are accepted. If available, student rush tickets can be purchased 30 minutes before showtime. Weekday matinee performances for school and other groups are also available, contact 513.381.2272 ext. 3202 for more information. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the CSC Box Office at 513.381.BARD (2273), or visit us online at http://www.cincyshakes.com and click any “Buy Tickets” link.

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January 27, 2012 · 11:25 am

Falcon Theater Presents Regional Premiere of THE 39 STEPS

What do you get when you combine four talented actors, every Alfred Hitchcock film, a touch of Monty Python and shadow puppets? Patrick Barlow’s The 39 Steps, performed for the first time by a local theater company at Falcon Theater. A hit on both Broadway and the West End, The 39 Steps takes the audience to 1935 London, on a train trip to Edinburgh, and all points in between. In a personal interview (conducted by director and Alecia Lewkowich on June 24, 2011) Barlow explained how the adaptation came about:

“Two writers had written a version of John Buchan’s book. I was approached by a producer to be in it. To play Hannay in it. I looked at that script and I thought it was okay but it wasn’t good enough, so I said I would rather adapt this. Then I went and look at the film and I thought how brilliant the film was and how brilliant to actually adapt the film to the stage rather than the book. And I got the go ahead and he got the rights.”

Adapted from the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film, which was based on on John Buchanan’s novel, The 39 Steps takes iconic scenes– the train chase, the Palladium– and recreates them with the power of four talented actors.

Director Alecia Lewkowich has assembled a talented cast, many of whom are familiar to Falcon patrons: Falcon veteran actor and director Dan Doerger (The Rocky Horror Show, Debbie Does Dallas, Hair, Down The Road) takes the role of Hannay, the unwitting victim of circumstance who find himself wrapped up in a world of intrigue and deception. Elizabeth Molloy, a familiar face at the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts and others, makes her Falcon debut taking on all 3 female roles for this show. Sharing all the other roles in the play are Mike Hall and Donnie McGovern who between them play 40 other roles.

The 39 Steps runs Fridays and Saturdays, February 10-25, 2012 at 8 p.m. at the Monmouth Theater in Newport, Kentucky. Tickets ($17, $15 for students) may be purchased by calling 513.479.6783 or by visiting http://www.falcontheater.net. Check in on the Yelp app on your smart phone for a special offer.

Falcon Theater is proud to have Yelp as their season sponsor, and featured sponsor for The 39 Steps.

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