Two-Day Festival of Events Kicks Off Final Phase Two-Day Festival of Events Kicks Off Final Phase
MEMPHIS, Tennessee, September 4, 2007– A two-day festival that includes a block party with live music, an artists market with more than 20 local artists and a kids fair on Friday and Saturday, September 7 and 8, will mark the official opening of a vital facet of Playhouse on the Square’s capital campaign. The free events will be held on Playhouse’s new building site at Union and Cooper.
September’s weekend festival of fun kicks off the community phase of the effort to raise $12 million for a, 350-seat state-of-the art live professional theatre. It is the final phase of the two-year long capital campaign.
“We have raised more than $9 million and now we’re turning to the community to put us over the top,” said Jackie Nichols, Founder and Executive Producer for Playhouse. The block party will be held from 4:00 pm to midnight on Friday, September 7, in the space that will house the new facility and that will create a new theatre district for Overton Square and Midtown.
Visitors can enjoy live music, view large renderings of the new theatre and have an opportunity to purchase Stars and Seat Dedications.
Beverages for the event are being donated by Busters Liquors and food by area restaurants.
The stars, which range in size from four inches to eight inches and in price from $150 to $1,000 will bear the name of the donor or anyone they wish to honor and be prominently displayed in the main rehearsal hall and other areas. There will also be nameplates available that will bear the name of the donor – or someone honored or memorialized by the donor – and placed on the armrests of the seats.
Cost of the nameplates range from $1,500 to $5,000, depending on the location of the seat.
“This is a perfect way to honor someone – or even someone’s pet – in a permanent way and at the same time make an important contribution to the city’s future,” said Nichols. “And, of course, all donations are tax deductible.”
On Saturday morning from 9 to 11 there will be a kids festival with games, face painting and a live performances of a children’s version of Robin Hood by the Hampstead Stage Company of New England. The Senior Conservatory players will perform musical numbers. Food and beverages will be available, including 300 doughnuts donated by Krispy Kreme.
Saturday afternoon from 1 pm to 7 pm the artists market will offer visitors a variety of art created by artists from the Memphis area.
“The space for the artists is free, as is admission,” said Nichols. “We want to say thank you to all the people who have been so supportive to us over the years.”
Parking for all the activities is available at no charge on Monroe and Cooper adjacent to Playhouse on the Square.
For 39 years, Playhouse on the Square has carried out its programs in spaces not originally designed for a professional theatre company, with limited space for staging (19 years in the current location). The new theatre will be designed and built to be actor, musician, dancer, stage manager and audience friendly by award-winning Chicago theatre designer John Morris.
Morris designed the Steppenwolf Theatre, The Lookingglass Theatre and the Northlight Theatre, all in Chicago. The new Playhouse on the Square will have a large fly system, expansive wing space, a full orchestra pit and traps for raising and lowering actors and scenery.
“This new theatre will allow us to perform and entertain at a technical level that at last matches the talent level of our actors and directors,” said Nichols. “The new building will have a ripple effect on our other theatre operations as The Circuit Playhouse is able to move to the current Playhouse on the Square location. This combination of the new Playhouse on the Square and the relocation of The Circuit Playhouse with our TheatreWorks facility just behind it create a vibrant theatre district for Midtown, and an exciting and active gateway to the downtown area.”
About Playhouse
Playhouse on the Square is the only professional, resident, regional theatre company in Memphis. The organization produces 18 plays each season in three venues – Playhouse on the Square, The Circuit Playhouse and TheatreWorks – for a total of 417 annual performances. Playhouse productions reach a combined audience of more than 56,000 people each year. It reaches more than 32,000 children annually through school matinees, education and outreach programs. And, Playhouse founded and operates the national Unified Professional Theatre Auditions which bring representatives of 100 professional theatre companies and almost 1,000 actors from around the country to Memphis each February.
Posted by Rachel at September 4, 2007 4:12 PM | TrackBack
