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LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
FROM THE PUBLISHER Use #footlights on Instagram @mrkylemac share’n is care’n Instagram Social Icon Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.” - JFK So, “teach your children well…” Art education strengthens problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Arts encourage self-expression and creativity. Art builds confidence and selfidentity. Shall I go on? I need not as within these digital pages, there’s many voices about the value of arts for our children. So, I shall let them speak to you… The arts are good for the mind and the soul…young and old. We all benefit. We all enjoy. And we’re ready to go back…as students, as artists, as audiences. We’re ready to go back into the theater which may look a little strange, smell a little different, and may even make us a tad more uncomfortable at first. But, one thing noticeably new in theaters this fall is that there will not be any Footlights programs in audience’s hands. Will it be noticeable? Will anyone care? After all, it’s they’re just ink on paper, right? Right. But Footlights was more…It was a performing arts resource and voice for the arts since 1988. With event listings, a restaurant guide, and several editorial pieces, Footlights taught the theater patrons about the stories behind the scenes. Footlights taught the Broadway audiences that there were other theaters in town and there were other shows worth seeing featuring talented local artist that have local followers like groupies to a band. Footlights put the little companies on the same “page” as the 800-lb. gorilla (yes, one large local venue referred to themselves as such). This non-confrontational fellow once called in to the Charlie Sykes show on WTMJ when he was talking about the new Milwaukee Theater opening and was asking the question: “does Milwaukee need another theater?” Well, I got on the air and suggested that if the Milwaukee Theater can bring a new audience into Milwaukee to see a show, it will expose them to other events downtown and they will be more likely to come back and see something else in another venue. Surprisingly, he just said: “well, I hope you’re right.” If someone is at one theater and reads in the program about what’s going on at another, it exposes them to a whole new world that they may not have been aware of. The Managing Artistic Director of Next Act Theatre says: “if we can just get them into our seats once, they’ll be hooked.” Footlights has been a great conduit to theater cross-pollination over the years. A former Managing Director of the Milwaukee Rep once told me that: “theaters are like grapes; they grow best in clusters.” She took this so seriously that she sat on boards of other theaters to help foster their growth and ensure their future. I believe Footlights helped to foster and maintain that comradery. With the loss of revenue and staff over the past year, as well as uncertainties Use #footlights on Instagram @mrkylemac ’n is care’n nstagram Social Icon in the market, we at Footlights found it too difficult to move forward into a new season with confidence and determination. We have enjoyed serving the arts and making your experience, as patrons, a little more enjoyable AND, hopefully, educational. As to the future of ArtsScene—well, that currently hangs in the balance. Till then, the show must go on! Steve
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With a Song in its Heart: Opera for the Young at Age 51
By Mike Dries
A SCREENSHOT FROM HANSEL AND GRETEL THE INTERACTIVE FILM (FILM BY MILES HOFSCHULZ) 2021
When asked what it takes to be successful in his field, internationally renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli was succinct and unequivocal: “To sing opera, one needs two things: the voice and the passion – and above all, the passion.” Bocelli might have had Opera for the Young (OFTY) in mind when he underscored passion. To be sure, the Madison, Wis.-based organization defines what passion for opera entails – and what it takes to share that passion with others.
OFTY was founded in 1970 by six musicians with a love of opera and a vision to take professional performances into schools. Since then, it has reached more than 2.5 million kids. From the outset, OFTY’s target audience has been children from kindergarten through fifth grade. Today, OFTY reaches more than 75,000 elementary school children per year, igniting an enthusiasm for opera they might not have felt otherwise.
CHORUS OF NOBLES FROM CINDERELLA (MILTON, WI) 2014*
OFTY performs two operas per year, one in the fall and one in the spring. The cast comprises four professional opera singers, a pianist, and 16 students. The students appear onstage in chorus and cameo roles. Productions are fully staged, sung in English and adapted for kids. Performances last 45 minutes.
Every year, OFTY performs at 180 to 200 schools throughout the Midwest, almost all of them within a 300400 mile radius of Madison. The company puts on seven to 10 shows per week. “We pride ourselves on our relationships with schools and teachers,” says Managing Director Saira Frank. “There are very few programs like ours, particularly programs that involve students.”
Adds Ms. Edie: “I don’t believe there’s anyone doing what we do on the scale we’re doing it.” OFTY’s productions are aimed at and adapted for young people. Its repertoire includes favorites such as “The Magic Flute,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Cinderella,” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Importantly, the themes of these and the other operas the company stages raise issues such as prejudice and diversity that the company and teachers agree are important for children to understand.
CHORUS OF PIRA
“Opera is just musical storytelling and the stories we tell are very accessible to the kids,” Ms. Frank says. Working with OFTY attracts professional singers and musicians from around the country. Chicago, Ms. Edie says, is “our mecca.” Those hired perform on a rotating basis, giving singers time to rest their voices.
“We provide solid work opportunities for our singers,” Ms. Frank says, adding that the performing opportunities “are very important for students, as well.” To fund its work, OFTY undertakes an in-depth marketing campaign every year, reaching out to hundreds of schools. Importantly, sixty percent of the revenue the company raises comes from private sources, Ms. Frank said.
In the end, OFTY underscores Bocelli’s wisdom: opera is above all about the passion it both requires and attracts. “I care very deeply about opera,” Ms. Frank says. “I care deeply about its future.” More information about Opera for the Young is available online at: https://operafortheyoung.org.
ATES FROM THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE (OSHKO S H , W I ) 2 0 20
The Overture Presents 2021/22 season officially kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 2 with Mariachi Herencia de México, performing songs from their latest album titled “Esencia,” a tribute to the golden age of Mexican music.
Mariachi Herencia de México is a four-year-old ensemble that started in Chicago Public Schools and, to this day, is composed of mostly Mexican-American musicians between the ages of 14-18. The group’s debut album of traditional Mexican music, “Nuestra Herencia” (Our Heritage), released in May 2017, was nominated for a Grammy award, giving the group prominence across the nation. Mariachi Herencia de México now tours across the U.S. and Mexico and released its fourth album in June 2020.
The group performed for the first time at Overture Center in October 2019.
Mariachi Herencia musicians love performing for school groups and got to do so as part of the 2019/20 OnStage student field trip program. The group’s mission is to preserve traditional Mexican music for future generations, and school-age shows are a valuable opportunity to share the music with young audiences. Overture provides resource guides to schools in advance, and thanks to sponsors and donors, subsidies are available for qualifying school groups to partially cover expenses for tickets and transportation.
“Last time at Overture, we held a Meet & Greet with patrons, took pictures and signed autographs,” said Maldonado, describing Mariachi Herencia’s appearance at the Latino Art Fair. “We use events like this as a platform to educate audiences about the style, history and evolution of our genre and to share the traditions and culture of mariachi. It’s a chance to interact on a more intimate level so people walk away with a fuller appreciation for our music.”
Seeing Mariachi Herencia de Mexico at Overture Center is an opportunity to see what youth are doing not too far away in Chicago and what they offer as a talented group of young musicians. Maldonado describes a mariachi performance as a unique opportunity to learn about mariachi, and for those of Latino heritage, it’s a chance to reconnect with the music of their culture, to go back in time to Mexico.
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“We have been blessed to perform in many different venues across the country and in other countries, and Overture stands apart— not only as a beautiful venue with great production value and an amazing, helpful team, but because Madison is such a welcoming community. To be able to connect with the community through our show is an amazing opportunity,” said Maldonado.
Tickets are available at overture.org. Arrive early to check out related art exhibits in the Rotunda Lobby and Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, and stay after the show for Meet the Artist, a Q&A session with the artists.
“Our designer was great at interpreting our style and offering suggestions. She helped with various aspects of our new construction, such as paint colors and lighting, and also helped with furniture, room layout, and decor. We love the end result!”
