Insights - Fall 2022

INSIGHTS

CONTINUED

INNOVATIONS IN SENSORY OUTREACH

Sensory Friendly (SF) programming is a cornerstone of what we do at the Lone Tree Arts Center. Each year, we present a full season of SF Passport to Culture performances on our Main Stage. This year, we expanded our reach into the SF community with both a beloved holiday tradition and a new job resource fair that we look forward to expanding in the years to come!

INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE

Since 2016, LTAC’s Usher Training program, offered in collaboration with the Wellspring Community in Castle Rock, has been a crucial component of our SF initiative. Through the Usher Training, adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) increase social engagement in an arts environment, while gaining transferable customer service, problem solving, and teamwork skills. Likewise, we collaborate with Arapahoe Community College’s Elevate program to provide in-person and virtual guest lectures, helping students with I/DD explore careers in the arts.

This past year, we expanded our programming related to SF job skills development. In May, we collaborated with Easterseals Colorado to pilot a new event, “Demystifying Employment for People with Disabilities.” The event was divided into three parts. The first was a panel for corporate guests, with leaders in the business world discussing their hiring programs for people with I/DD. The panel featured representatives from Charles Schwab, Walgreens, and Johnson Storage and Moving. Next, award-winning activist, educator, and artist, Kevin Spencer, hosted a free performance and Q&A for our SF and business communities. Closing out the day was a resource fair featuring community partners, with information for people with I/DD seeking employment.

“Schwab is proud to champion causes where we can further discuss how to create a more inclusive and welcoming workplace, for all employees. It’s important to us that we continue to influence an inclusive mindset to support colleagues.”

– Kent Clark, Managing Director, Operational Services at Charles Schwab and LTAC Fund Board Vice President

Charles Schwab is a longtime supporter of LTAC’s SF programming, and an advocate for workplace diversity.

FROM THE LONE TREE ARTS CENTER

Corporate panel from “Demystifying Employment for People with Disabilities” L to R: Brian Godfrey, Charles Schwab; Matt Armstrong, Walgreens; Jason Koch, Johnson Storage and Moving; Leigh Chandler, Lone Tree Arts Center; Kevin Spencer, Keynote Speaker

Photo: Julie Kemerling

LONE TREE CITY COUNCIL

LONE TREE CITY MANAGEMENT

You have received INSIGHTS as a patron or supporter of Lone Tree Arts Center. Please contact robin.scurto@cityoflonetree.com 720-509-1009, with questions or comments.

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Dear Friends,

What a delight it is to see all the great things happening at the Lone Tree Arts Center this fall. We’ve emerged from the uncertainty of the past few years with one of our most exciting seasons yet. As I write this letter, I think about the incredible night of music we shared with Mountain Heart and Jeremy Garrett; the beautiful dance that graced our stage with DanceAspen; a full house with our artist-inresidence Gerald Albright; the virtual trip to Hawaii with Masters of Hawaiian Music, and so much more. I think about all the kids that learned about Japanese culture with our Passport to Culture: Yokoso: A Japanese Culture Mix-Tape; the really young tots that danced and sang with Seedlings: Sing Along, Move Along with Swallow Hill; the students who learned about the Montgomery Bus Boycott through our student matinee with Mike Wiley, and so much more. I think about the packed house at Arts in the Afternoon with LTAC favorite After Midnight, and about the incredible discussions that happened among people who have early memory loss at SPARK! Commissioner’s Choice. These performances provide a mere glimpse of what we present over the course of a few weeks; imagine how much we have to look forward to as the season progresses!

When I think about these performances, it drives home to me how the Arts Center is really a place for community. But gatherings like these don’t just happen during performances; this year we’re thrilled to be able to bring artists into our community through workshops, masterclasses, and residencies. In October, we were thrilled to have all three Masters of Hawaiian Music join Kalama Polynesian Dancers to present a Hawaiian music and hula workshop for people with autism and developmental disabilities prior to their performance in the evening. Broadway star Scott Coulter, in town for the Jerry Herman Project, led a masterclass for high school musical theatre students. We’re working with Gibney Dance, Chicago Tap Theatre, and San Jose Taiko to bring their art to our community in various ways. We know that these types of events truly make a difference in people’s lives, whether it’s helping someone learn a new dance to inspiring a teen to pursue a role in their school’s musical production.

I hope you feel inspired by the work we do, because we can’t do it without you. Whether you support us through purchasing tickets or helping to fund our work, we appreciate all that you enable us to do.

Warmest wishes for a happy, healthy holiday season, and cheers to the new year!

Leigh Chandler Executive Director

LONE TREE ARTS CENTER ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Leigh Chandler Executive Director

Heidi Conley Business Manager

Jen Kiser Technical Director

Elaine Caras Rental Events Manager

Dana Ciccotello Director of Grants and Corporate Development

Allissa Dailey City Events Manager

Bailey Dunning Events and Rentals Assistant Justin Given Audio Visual Manager

Patrick Hinchliffe Lighting Specialist

Katie Konishi Marketing Manager

Mary Louise Lee Marketing Specialist

Makenzie Pedersen Administrative and Artistic Assistant Don Post Assistant Technical Director Robin Scurto Director of Individual Giving

Ashley Vander Weg Box Office Manager / Education Coordinator

Jacqueline Millet Mayor Wynne Shaw Mayor Pro Tem Mike Anderson Council Member Cathie Frazzini Council Member Marissa Harmon Council Member

Seth Hoffman City Manager Kristin Baumgartner Deputy City Manager Austin Good Assistant City Manager

Our talented, knowledgeable speakers, vendors, and community partners were what made this day so meaningful. Participants wholeheartedly agreed. One attendee commented that he was “blown away by the passion and knowledge of the panel and speakers.” Another said that she was “grateful to hear people focus on the abilities and not the disabilities.” One corporate partner claimed that the fair had greatly facilitated the creation of his hiring program for people with I/DD, since all of the necessary contacts were assembled in one room. Continuing our partnership with Easterseals, we’re thrilled to be planning a similar program for 2023.

HOLIDAY TRADITION

In December of 2021, we offered our stress-free holiday staple: the SF Santa Morning. At this annual event, families can sign up for a private conversation and photo opportunity with Santa, minus the crowds, lines, and distractions of a typical visit. They also enjoy quiet activities and holiday treats! We work with our SF Santa to help draw participants out of their shells while making them feel safe and comfortable.

For many, this program is a highlight of the holiday season. “Sensory Friendly Santa has allowed our family to be able to have this magical annual experience,” said mom, Rebekah Griffith. “Without this approach, our son with sensory needs was never able

to tolerate this experience and it became something we just avoided. Now it’s something all of my children look forward to each year. Santa meets your kiddo right where they need him to. He makes it a truly inclusive and enjoyable experience where they feel special and comfortable.”

In 2022, our SF Santa morning will take place on Saturday, December 3. Visit our website for additional details.

Since 2011, we’ve worked hard to champion inclusiveness through SF programming across the south metro Denver area. Many other arts institutions are now joining this effort to make our region one of the most sensory friendly in America. We’re so grateful for this thriving community, and the chance to continue to demonstrate that the arts are for everyone!

By Dana Ciccotello Director of Grants and Corporate Development and Robin Scurto Director of Individual Giving

CELEBRATE A NIGHT IN NEW ORLEANS WITH THE PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND

On Saturday, March 11, 2023, the Lone Tree Arts Center (LTAC) invites you to be transported to A Night in New Orleans Tickets to this can’t-miss party and concert will benefit LTAC’s wide breadth of Main Stage and Community Impact programs.

Guests at the party will enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres, festive cocktails, and jazz, blues, and brass band funk performed live by The Royal Street Ramblers. Lavish decorations, party favors, and a champagne toast will bring a taste of Mardi Gras to a Colorado winter’s day!

Following the party, guests will be treated to a one-of-a-kind performance by the world-renowned Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

“Preservation Hall Jazz Band performing on our stage is really special—bands of their caliber rarely perform in halls our size and instead play at Red Rocks and big amphitheaters,” says Leigh Chandler, LTAC’s Executive Director.

“Being able to see them in a 500-seat theater with LTAC’s incredible acoustics is a once-in-lifetime opportunity. Even if you’re not into jazz, the artistry and the energy of Preservation Hall Jazz Band will blow you away!”

Proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships will directly benefit LTAC’s programming, including signature Community Impact initiatives like Student Matinees, Sensory Friendly performances, and SPARK!, an interactive and engaging cultural experience for people experiencing memory loss and their caregivers.

Join us for a sparkling evening in the Big Easy!

Our generous patrons and sponsors allow LTAC to fulfill its mission of providing high quality, accessible arts experiences, for everyone.

Presenting Sponsor: Park Meadows

Platinum Sponsors: Charles Schwab, Merrick, RidgeGate, Shea Homes

Gold Sponsor: Thrive Home Builders

Silver Sponsors: Patrick R. Davidson & Associates, LLC, The Delectable Egg, Dave and Marianne Huelskamp, Debbrah Courtney and Brad Calbert, BMO Commercial Bank, Beyond Campus Innovations, Infinity Properties

To purchase tickets, scan the QR code below. If you already have tickets to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band concert and would like to add tickets to the party, please call the Box Office (720-509-1000).

To join our family of sponsors for A Night in New Orleans, please contact Dana Ciccotello at dana.ciccotello@cityoflonetree.com

By Dana Ciccotello Director of Grants and Corporate Development

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

BELLCO CREDIT UNION PRESENTS:

SENSORY FRIENDLY

There is no place like LTAC for the holidays! We’ll have the entire family covered -- from a Celtic spin on classic carols, to country Pioneers, to joyous choral sounds of the season, to our family friendly holiday spectacular! This season, programming is generously brought to you by our partners at Bellco Credit Union.

Home for the Holidays returns for its 8th year and for many of you, serves as a holiday must-see with your families, friends, neighbors, and coworkers! This heartwarming, family-friendly variety show, produced in association with Chris Starkey, will awaken your holiday spirit.

HOLIDAY LINE-UP

Our holiday line-up officially kicks off with your favorite Irish ensemble, Cherish The Ladies, on November 27. Their Celtic Christmas program brings timeless Irish traditions and good cheer. If country western is on a holiday wish list, then Sons of the Pioneers Christmas will take to you back to the American West. On December 1, you’ll be able to join 85 years of unique cowboy harmonies and experience Christmas on the Front Range. Denver’s own Kantorei is back for their 6th holiday choral concert. Come feel the magic and joy of A Kantorei Christmas on December 8.

SENSORY FRIENDLY

Did you know that we have Sensory Friendly holiday offerings? This year’s Sensory Friendly performance of Home for the Holidays is on December 18 at 7pm. We’ll also be offering our annual Sensory Friendly Santa experience, which is a free opportunity for families to create holiday memories in a low pressure and welcoming environment.

Visit lonetreeartscenter.org/sensoryfriendly for more information.

THE PERFECT GIFT

Looking for the perfect gift this holiday season? Give the gift of an LTAC performance by purchasing a gift card online or through our box office! Show your loved one you care about them not just for today, but for always, with a permanent seat plaque. It’s also easy to give a gift in memory or honor of a loved one in any amount! Visit lonetreeartscenter.org/gift_cards.php for more information.

HOLIDAY SPONSOR

By Katie Konishi Marketing Manager

Photo: Danny Lam

TIME FOR MERRYMAKING

Come celebrate the most wonderful time of year and help us light the Holiday Tree in the Arts Center Plaza! The Arts Center rolls out the welcome mat on Friday, December 2nd for Lone Tree Merry Days, a free community celebration that brings together residents and local businesses to kick-off the holidays in Lone Tree.

At the Arts Center, enjoy live holiday tunes with On The Rocks, hot cocoa, s’more roasting, and a visit with the Big Guy himself and his reindeer.

Once you’ve had your fill of hot cocoa and s’mores, head over to the Lone Tree Library and Morningstar Senior Living for story time, crafts, cookie decorating, and holiday card making. Bundle up the family and come join us for a fun-filled evening! 6pm-8pm cityoflonetree.com/cityevents/merrydays/

By Allissa Dailey City Events Manager

GIVING TO MAKE REMARKABLE HAPPEN

This is the time of year when you might be thinking of gift-giving and ways to share your values by supporting important causes. When you choose to support the Lone Tree Arts Center, you demonstrate that making remarkable arts and culture happen for our community is valuable to you!

Your generous gift enables us to resume the Arts Center’s vision to produce our own award-winning theatricals. Your support now helps us fund the resources needed to produce and present extended runs as we move into our second decade. Did you know that, as a theatrical producer, we identify all the creative artists and staff necessary to design, build, rehearse, and then perform the extended run shows? We can’t let the cat out of the bag just yet, but we’ve begun planning for a return to producing theatricals in the 23-24 season!

GIVING FOR IMPACT

By giving, you also share in our commitment to make the arts accessible at every stage of life. You help us serve increasingly diverse needs, which makes the Arts Center the cultural heart of our community and beyond. As you make giving plans, please consider the breadth of impact your gift supports:

• Innovative programs for children and families like Seedlings, Passport to Culture, Student Matinees, and Classroom on Stage to support underserved schools.

• Engaging high-quality daytime programs for seniors, which are free or low-cost, to entertain and provide ongoing cultural activity.

• Accessible and adapted Sensory Friendly performances welcome those with sensory, developmental, or intellectual disabilities in a relaxed environment.

• Community outreach and artist residency experiences that are inclusive, accessible, and powerfully impactful. WAYS TO GIVE

Giving

By Robin Scurto Director of Individual Giving

MORE EXPERIENCES, MORE ENGAGEMENT, MORE IMPACT

BRINGING VISITING ARTISTS INTO THE COMMUNITY

Not only do we present remarkable programming on our stage, but we also offer special opportunities for visiting artists to engage with our community outside of performances. In collaboration with touring artists, LTAC’s artist residencies provide experiences that are inclusive, accessible, and powerfully impactful.

We kicked off our first residency in April, with Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, by engaging seniors at MorningStar Senior Living at RidgeGate. Flamenco Vivo provided a hands-on workshop with a brief history of the origins of flamenco dance, music, and song. By the end of the class, participants were able to perform a seated, choreographed dance. Before Jarabe Mexicano took the stage for Tunes on the Terrace concert in July, the “Bordeno-Soul” group took MorningStar residents on a ride through a versatile songbook of Mexican Folk, Rock & Roll, Tex-Mex, Latin Rock, and Reggae-Cumbia. Through these workshops, visiting artists brought the magic of performing arts directly to our older adult neighbors. The unique, tailored experiences were personal, uplifting, and fun.

On October 2, Masters of Hawaiian Music and Kalama Polynesian Dancers worked with Wellspring Community STARS for a Sensory Friendly Aloha Experience on our Main Stage. Participants learned a traditional song and dance called the Hukilau. This was a joy-filled event, and performers and workshop participants were all smiles as they sang in harmony and moved together under the lights.

At the end of October, we welcomed local high school theater and choir students for a Jerry Herman Broadway

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

In 2023, we will reach out to additional members of our community, beginning with survivors of domestic violence. In January, we will collaborate with the Crisis Center in Littleton to present a workshop called Move to Move Beyond, offered by members of New York company, Gibney Dance. This workshop seeks to help participants heal trauma and reclaim their power through movement. Vibrant dance company, Chicago Tap Theatre, joins us in February for a masterclass with local tap students, who will learn from one of the foremost tap choreographers in the country. In March, we will partner with the Parkinson Association of the Rockies to present a workshop for people with Parkinson’s, promoting physical activity, cognitive engagement, and social support; all things that help slow the progression of the disease.

Help us make a bigger direct impact on the people in our community through Artist Residencies. To give an individual gift in support of this program, contact Robin Scurto at robin.scurto@cityoflonetree.com. To learn more about sponsoring the Artist Residency program, contact Dana Ciccotello at dana.ciccotello@ cityoflonetree.com.

By Ashley Vander Weg Box Office Manager / Education Coordinator

Masterclass with Scott Coulter, one of New York’s most honored vocalists, and provided the chance of a lifetime to two students: singing on stage during the evening performance, in front of a packed house!

COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY

If you’ve attended a show at the Arts Center recently, you probably noticed all the green bins throughout the lobby, and you may have also noticed that the beverage cup you received at the bar for your wine or cocktail looks and feels a little different than it used to. Say hello to the reusable r.Cup!

As part of our commitment to sustainability, we’ve partnered with r.Cup to decrease single-use plastics, becoming the first performing arts center in the Metro Denver area to begin the program. r.Cups are made of #5 Polypropylene plastic which is high quality, durable, food safe, BPA-Free, dishwasher safe, reusable, refillable, and easily recyclable at the end of its life cycle. r.Cup’s reuse solutions and systems include commercial washing and sanitization. Reuse is food safe, protects public health, reduces CO2 emissions, stops single-use plastic pollution, and reduces waste. There are specific r.Cup return bins located throughout LTAC and the cups are collected after events and brought back to the r.Cup Wash Hub for thorough sanitization and inspection. The r.Cup Wash Hub is Energy Star certified and is able to conserve up to 12,740 gallons of water each year. The fee for the r.Cups is per cup, so the goal is to have as many of the cups returned to those green bins as possible. Freshly sanitized cups are dropped off before each event at LTAC.

Each month, r.Cup provides an environmental impact report. In our first month alone, we had a 96% return rate (thanks to all of you!), eliminated the use of 420 single-use plastic cups, diverted four pounds of waste, eliminated 22 pounds of CO2, saved 85 gallons of water, saved 42kwh of energy, and saved 14 liters of crude oil.

Born from three decades of sustainability experience and innovation, r.Cup has been at the forefront of awareness and action in the environmental movement, climate change and single-use reduction since 1990. Their reuse partners include U2, Maggie Rogers, Dave Matthews Band, Bon Iver, Rolling Stones, Fiddlers Green, the Bluebird Theater, Mission Ballroom, and now, Lone Tree Arts Center. Together, we’re eliminating the billions of single-use cups that contribute to our world’s climate crisis.

LoneTreeArtsCenter.org | 720.509.1000

You have received INSIGHTS as a patron or supporter of Lone Tree Arts Center. Please contact robin.scurto@cityoflonetree.com, 720.509.1009, with questions or comments.