7 minute read
TACOMA
TACOMA ARTS LIVE
NONPROFIT SUPPORTS TACOMA RESIDENT ARTS
By Rachel Kelly | Photos Courtesy of Tacoma Arts Live
Walking into the Pantages Theater is like walking into a story that’s yet to be told. And we listen with bated breath. And no wonder! Newly restored to its original turn-of-thecentury splendor, Pantages Theater breathes the art of Tacoma’s history. Also, thanks to event renovation, it seats over 700 people and is capable of supporting a cast of 100 in its backstage.
Tacoma Arts Live (a nonprofit) is largely responsible for the restoration of the Pantages to its original glory. Inviting a restorer to analyze the original paint buried beneath 22 top coats, filling framed walls with vintage wallpaper and matching the paint with the breathtaking array of colors seen in the canopy of stained glass on the ceiling were just a few of the labors of love that Tacoma Arts Live has poured into its larger performance hall.
The Pantages Theater is not the only art venue that Tacoma Arts Live has taken under its wing. The nonprofit also manages the 102-year-old Rialto Theater, Theater on the Square and the Historic Armory. While the Pantages Theater is a hall that highlights a menagerie of performances from opera to standup comedy, the Rialto focuses mainly on concert performances. In contrast, Theater on the Square seats half that of the Rialto, making a more intimate setting that’s perfect for the experience that is live theater.
However, Tacoma Arts Live is more than just a manager of performance arenas; they are a living pulse with their ear to the ground of Tacoma’s expression. This is made possible through partnerships. Tacoma Arts Live has fostered relationships with nine separate art organizations. Examples include Tacoma City Ballet, Tacoma Symphony and Tacoma School of the Arts. All nine nonprofits are given a discount on stage labor, rent,
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marketing, box office services and house staffing. They are also given the first pick of the yearly calendar, so that each nonprofit is sure to get prime time slots for their yearly productions. Ultimately these partnerships provide much needed support and encouragement for resident arts—giving our local artists a huge advantage.
Currently Tacoma Arts Live is excited for a more recent partnership with Pierce Transit, making possible the renovation of Pierce Transit Plaza for outdoor arts performance. Tacoma Arts Live also provides support for events like First Night, the Broadway Farmers Market and Brew 253, all the while functioning according to three core values: support of resident city arts, diversity and education.
As previously mentioned, Tacoma Arts Live takes an active role in encouraging local arts and is regularly fostering new valuable partnerships. Each partnership made brings about new opportunities for community engagement, interweaving a whole tapestry of people.
Because Tacoma Arts Live is partially supported by funds from the City of Tacoma, the people of Tacoma are direct investors in the actions of the organization. They seek to honor this relationship by attempting to represent its people by offering a diverse selection of performances: from the Latino group Ozomatli to a play about deaf and hearing communities called Tribes. Tacoma Arts Live is not interested in simply reflecting itself upon the city; rather they seek to let the city reflect itself, giving diversity its due by letting it voice its own art. Lastly, the arts naturally teach through a variety of learning styles; engaging the ears, eyes, voices and hands of their audience. Tacoma Arts Live seeks to capitalize on this through a blend of services meant to support students and their teachers. Programs include civil rights legacy tours, student matinees, teacher workshops, the LENS project (teaches nonviolent responses to conflict), conservatory (engages youth in productions), the Beatrice Herrmann Endowment (offers high quality musical education to Eastside and South End), and residencies. Art in education allows for a freedom of expression, an explosion of confidence and an opportunity for exploring new avenues of thought, strengthening young minds by encouraging critical thinking. TACOMA ARTS LIVE IS MORE THAN JUST A MANAGER OF PERFORMANCE ARENAS; THEY ARE A LIVING PULSE WITH THEIR EAR TO THE GROUND OF TACOMA’S EXPRESSION.
All this is made possible through the generous support of donation, as ticket prices almost always fail to cover the actual cost of production (which is considerable). Donations made to Tacoma Arts Live come with a series of benefits, some of which include member lounge passes, ticket savings, tickets to Brew 253, and box parties for eight guests. There are also plenty of volunteer positions. Within the nonprofit there is a division of funds, distinguishing between operational and capital (building renovation and upkeep). This allows for proper allocation of funds; those who donate to the arts will be donating directly to production and resident art support versus building upkeep.
artists in the limelight present a new point of view; a new way of seeing the world; naturally encouraging discussion and understanding through performance. Tacoma Arts Live is interested in bringing those artists forward so that we might understand a different way of seeing. A bridge of understanding. Tacoma Arts Live sees art as an exercise in community empathy and is interested in it flourishing at peak capacity.
By being directly involved with its community, Tacoma Arts Live hopes to encourage understanding, and it is through that understanding that they foster engagement. Once a community is engaged, it naturally becomes a community that feels deeply for others. A community that stands up for its neighbor. A community that cares. Tacoma Arts Live seeks to be an active part of increasing empathy; strengthening the social fabric of Tacoma by reinforcing the idea that “we’re all in this together.” Because, of course, we are.
It is true that Tacoma Arts Live seeks to knit a common thread regardless of differences. It is also true that they do this seamlessly. Arts broaden the mind without pain, without defense. We do not mind our lessons when they come neatly packaged in song and dance. We do not mind being exposed to the grand human arena that is the world, as long as the world seeks to befriend us. Through story our misconceptions, our prejudices, our narrow viewpoints suddenly melt away, leaving us delighted and enchanted by the variety and beauty that is art.
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