The Carnegie and Newnan Coweta Art Association Rotate Art for the Spring

Hot Tamales by Deborah McNeil

The Carnegie and the Newnan Coweta Art Association partnered up to present a variety of art for the grand opening of the building. The Newnan Coweta Art Association has rotating exhibits in the Carnegie. There is an art gallery on the second level.

“Our program and meeting room attendees really enjoy strolling through the art gallery. The Newnan Coweta Art Association has once again provided us with a wonderful variety of paintings,” said Amy Mapel, Carnegie Director.

The NCAA artists being displayed will be the following:

Ellen Guillory
Rusty Sharp
Deborah McNeil
June Chambers
Susan Boehms Harris
Sheri Anderson
Cecil Cornwell
Mary Ann Madsen
Karen DeFelix
Suzanne Caldwell
Ellie Farrington
Donna Massey
Don Bilsky
Ruth Whittaker
Jenny Jones
Marc Stewart
Ken Hamilton

About Newnan Coweta Art Association (NCAA)
NCAA meets the third Thursday each month (from September through May) at the Harriet Alexander Art Center on Hospital Road at 7 p.m. An art demonstration is presented each month. Visitors and new members are welcome.

About the Carnegie
Restored by the City of Newnan, the Carnegie has brought back library type services in the downtown area. The bottom floor of the building serves as a reading room and the second floor as a meeting space. Among its many offerings, the Carnegie brings popular magazines and newspapers, computer workstations and Wi-Fi access, a gallery for local exhibits, meeting rooms with warming kitchen and programs for adults and children. The Carnegie serves the public with a non-circulating reading room, children’s area, and an art gallery. It seeks to be an integral part of the community by offering print and electronic materials.

For more information on the Carnegie, please visit www.newnancarnegie.com or email amapel@cityofnewnan.org

More Than $25 Million Awarded for Arts Projects Nationwide

Includes $20,000 awarded to Horizon Theatre Company for the New South Young Playwrights Festival

ATLANTA – National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $25 million in grants as part of the NEA’s first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $20,000 to Horizon Theatre Company for The New South Young Playwrights Festival. The Art Works category is the NEA’s largest funding category and supports projects that focus on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and/or the strengthening of communities through the arts.

“It is energizing to see the impact that the arts are making throughout the United States. These NEA-supported projects, such as this one to Horizon, are good examples of how the arts build stronger and more vibrant communities, improve well-being, prepare our children to succeed, and increase the quality of our lives,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “At the National Endowment for the Arts, we believe that all people should have access to the joy, opportunities and connections the arts bring.”

“Horizon Theatre would like to thank the National Endowment for the Arts for this grant to our New South Young Playwrights Contest and Festival which is focused on the development of the next generation of American dramatists,” says Horizon Co-Artistic Director Lisa Adler. “We are truly grateful for the support the NEA has provided for not only Horizon and our commitment to the growth and education of young artists, but to so many other significant arts events and programs in the Atlanta area.

This year, Horizon Theatre will host its 20th annual New South Young Playwrights Festival May 28 – June 2, 2018. The Festival is a FREE summer playwriting intensive for a diverse group of 20-25 high school and college student contest winners. Horizon solicits play submissions from students in high schools, colleges, training programs, conservatories and theatres nationwide. Students come from all across the country to take part in a series of classes, seminars, workshops, roundtables and rehearsals with professional artists, teachers and playwrights. The Festival culminates in a public showcase of their newly written short plays. As part of the Festival, Horizon Theatre provides participants with housing and meals for the entire week – including breakfast, lunch and dinner. Horizon Theatre receives no income from Festival participants or activities; The Festival’s continued success is contingent upon funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Art Works category. And this award will be pivotal in assisting us with providing young people with the chance to develop their skills as writers, thinkers and communicators in the company of peers and professionals for our 20th annual New South Young Playwrights Festival in 2018.

Horizon is currently accepting submissions from high school and college age writers for the 2018 New South Young Playwrights Contest and Festival. The application deadline is March 1, 2018. For more information or to apply, go to: http://www.horizontheatre.com/education-and-community/young-playwrights/

Now in its 34th season, Horizon Theatre Company has been bringing exciting regional and world premieres of contemporary plays to Atlanta audiences since 1983. Our mission is to connect people, inspire hope and promote positive change through the stories of our times. As a leader in professional contemporary theatre in the Southeast, we produce new plays and develop writers that offer fresh perspectives on our ever-changing world – stories that are entertaining, thought-provoking, relevant and accessible. Our programming includes a five-play mainstage season; our New South Play Festival that develops plays from, for and about the contemporary South; our Family Series for younger audiences; and other educational and outreach programs, including the New South Young Playwrights Festival.

Mamma Mia! dances into Aurora Theatre, March 8 – April 22

Photo  by Chris Bartelski

Atlanta’s post-Broadway premiere of the smash hit to play downtown Lawrenceville

Calling all dancing queens and kings! Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’ Mamma Mia!, the smash hit musical based on the songs of ABBA, is set to run at Aurora Theatre from March 8 – April 22, 2018. Mamma Mia! is one of the most successful musicals of all time, the eighth longest running show in Broadway history and one of only five musicals to have run for more than ten years on Broadway - grossing over $2 billion and bringing smiles to over 54 million worldwide. Aurora Theatre is proudly producing Atlanta’s post-Broadway premiere of the feel-good show in the heart of downtown Lawrenceville!

“When the professional rights for Mamma Mia! were on the verge of becoming available last year, we knew we had to produce the show at Aurora Theatre,” says Justin Anderson, Director. “It is both the most anticipated and most spectacular production of our theatrical season. Along with hit after danceable hit—that every dedicated fan knows and loves—we’ve taken a fresh look at the design that will inject the show with unprecedented energy and verve, while also mining the story for its real heart. Whether you’ve seen Mamma Mia! once or a hundred times, this production is sure to leave everyone singing and dancing all the way home!”

Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA’s hit songs from “Dancing Queen” and “S.O.S” to “Money, Money, Money” and “Take a Chance on Me,” Mamma Mia! combines timeless tunes with a sunny, funny tale that unfolds on a small Greek island. Sophie dreams of a perfect wedding where her father walks her down the aisle, but she is faced with one problem: the identity of her father is unknown! On a quest to discover his identity, she secretly invites the three possible candidates to her wedding, bringing them back into her mother’s life for the first time in 20 years. Mamma Mia! is an absolute must-see, filled with ABBA hits, non-stop laughs and explosive dance numbers.

Under the direction of Justin Anderson, Mamma Mia! proudly stars Kristin Markiton as the leading lady, Donna Sheridan. Audiences will remember Ms. Markiton for her Suzi Award-winning performance as the star of last season’s The Bridges of Madison County. Other members of the all-star cast include Marcie Millard as Rosie, Terry Henry as Tanya, Chris Kayser as Sam Carmichael, Travis Smith as Bill Austin, Greg Frey as Harry Bright, Hannah Church as Sophie Sheridan and Nick Arapoglou as Sky. The song and dance are brought to life with musical direction by Ann-Carol Pence and choreography by Ricardo Aponte.

Mamma Mia! will play at Aurora Theatre March 8 - April 22, 2018. Regular tickets range from $40-$75 and may be purchased online at tickets.auroratheatre.com or by calling the Box Office at 678-226-6222. For more information on this production or other programming, please visit auroratheatre.com.

For true super fans, Aurora Theatre will also host three special sing-a-long nights during the 8 p.m. shows on March 27, April 3 and April 10. Audiences of these shows can sing out loud to all the ABBA hits, from “Honey, Honey” to “Take a Chance on Me,” and live the show fully from their seats!

Regular show times are as follows:
Tuesday–Saturday: 8 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 2:30 p.m.

*Evening performances on March 10, 13 and 20 and April 4 and 11 are sold out, as well as matinees on March 10, 11, 20 and April 10

Southern Crescent Chorale Presents Arise, My Soul

The Southern Crescent Chorale will present Arise, My Soul on Saturday, March 3 at 8:00 p.m. at Spivey Hall. Located on the campus of Clayton State University, Spivey Hall is a 400-seat, acoustically superior performing arts venue that has presented the best in jazz and classical music to metro Atlanta since 1991. Its celebrated concert series receives regular national and international attention as one of America's finest, and the hall's acoustics and design are routinely lauded by patrons and performers.

Janice Folsom, founder and artistic director of the Southern Crescent Chorale, stated: “The Chorale is always thrilled to sing in this amazing venue. Our audience routinely raves about the musical nuances that become so apparent in the spectacular acoustical setting.”

The Chorale’s thirteenth Spivey Hall appearance features magnificent choral classics including works by Bach, Mendelssohn, Gjeilo, Rutter, and Clausen, as well as familiar hymn arrangements about the soul. Accompanied by a professional string quartet and Spivey Hall’s magnificent Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ, the Chorale will transport you with glorious music.

Steve Shivers, the Chorale’s accompanist since 2009 and McDonough resident, will be featured in two outstanding pieces entitled Dark Night of the Soul and Luminous Night of the Soul. In Dark Night (2010), composed first, Ola Gjeilo wanted to place the chorus, piano and string quartet on more or less equal footing rather than writing for chorus with accompaniment. He also wanted to convey a sense of the poem’s colorful, passionate spirituality. The chorus and instruments work through contrasting passages, urgent seeking or serene contemplation. Gjeilo describes Luminous Night (2012) as “the brighter, sunnier sequel to Dark Night of the Soul.” Most of the text, composed by Charles Anthony Silvestri, a frequent collaborator, uses the human impulse toward artistic creation — choirs, silversmiths, poets, potters, actors, authors — as evidence of divine inspiration (“You were the Spirit of all that is art”).

Be sure to tune to WABE 90.1 FM on Monday, February 26 at 11:00 p.m. for the Atlanta Music Scene program in which excerpts from previous Southern Crescent Chorale Spivey concerts will be featured.
Tickets for Arise, My Soul are $20.00 for adults and $10.00 for students. Purchase tickets by calling Spivey Hall at 678-466-4200 or online at www.spiveyhall.org.

Center for Puppetry Arts introduces Healthy Choices Puppetry Program for Hispanic Youth

The Home Depot Foundation’s Building Community Network funds program
Thursday, February 8, 2018 — Breaking cultural barriers, building a healthier community

ATLANTA (February 8, 2018) – The Center for Puppetry Arts’ award-winning Distance Learning department and the Hispanic Health Coalition of Georgia (HHCGA) are teaming up in a strategic partnership to develop a new interactive program to educate and empower Hispanic and Latino communities in Georgia with the knowledge and tools they need to prevent chronic diseases and to live longer, healthier lives.

Sponsored by The Home Depot Foundation’s Building Community Network, the Healthy Choices Puppetry Program for Hispanic Youth will leverage the artistic talents, technical resources and digital reach of the Center for Puppetry Arts’ Distance Learning programming with the cultural knowledge and expertise of the HHCGA to improve the well-being of the Hispanic/Latino community of Georgia.

HHCGA, a more than 28-year-old non-profit, is Georgia’s only statewide organization focused on Hispanic/Latino chronic disease prevention and better health outcomes. It identifies needs and service gaps leading to health disparities for Georgia Hispanics and offers direct community services and supportive activities to improve the health of Georgia Latinos. As an expert in community health promotion, education, policy and health advocacy, HHCGA creates high quality, culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate health care and prevention services for their community.

“All communities have their own unique challenges around wellness. Ours include the rising rates of diabetes, Types I and Types II in adults and youth, largely manifested by poor dietary choices and increasingly sedentary lifestyles. We wanted to find a creative, engaging and educational medium to combat these issues, so we reached out to the Center for Puppetry Arts,” said Shirley E. Borghi, Executive Director & Co-Vice Chairman of the Hispanic Health Coalition of Georgia.

The Distance Learning program is the Center for Puppetry Arts’ digital programming platform, bringing curriculum-based workshops and puppet performances to every state in the U.S. and to countries all around the world. The department currently offers a variety of programming related to health, nutrition and safety to schools and community groups. According to Distance Learning Director Sara Burmenko, “Technology now makes it easier than ever to bring our programming directly into communities, connecting to schools and other community organizations…really anywhere that has an internet connection. The platform we use also allows us to connect to multiple schools and communities for one program.”

Using the art of puppetry, the Center skillfully uses performances and workshops to educate and enlighten people about serious issues of health and lifestyle in ways that are fun and accessible. The partnership with HHCGA will ensure that the content for Healthy Choices Puppetry Program for Hispanic Youth will be culturally relevant and targeted for maximum impact. The goal is to help Hispanic Youth living in the metro Atlanta area become more comfortable with healthy habits such as practicing hygiene, choosing healthy meals, and exercising.

“We know it’s hard to get young people to do some of the things they need to do. But if we can make it fun, engaging and interactive, we increase our chances of helping them make the lifestyle changes they need for a healthier life and increased sustainability.” said Borghi.

Center for Puppetry Arts
1404 Spring Street
Atlanta, GA 30309
www.puppet.org

Center for Puppetry Arts® is a unique cultural treasure – a magical place where children and adults are educated, enlightened, and entertained. Since 1978, the Center has introduced millions of visitors to the wonder and art of puppetry and has touched the lives of many through enchanting performances, curriculum-based workshops, and the hands-on Museum as well as Distance Learning and Outreach programs. Center for Puppetry Arts is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization and is supported in part by contributions from corporations, foundations, government agencies, and individuals. Major funding is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs. These programs are also supported in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. GCA is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Center is a member of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA/USA/ASSITEJ).The Center also serves as headquarters of UNIMA-USA, the American branch of Union Internationale de la Marionnette, the international puppetry organization.