There’s a new audience coming to the Memorial Opera House. The Porter County Community Foundation has granted the theater with a generous opportunity to start up their new program - aptly named 'A Theater for a New Audience.'
This latest adventure for the Memorial Opera House will create an opportunity for students, along with their teachers, leaders and parents that will be able to have the chance to come to the venue and watch their productions free of charge. “We at the Memorial Opera House feel so many opportunities for the arts are missing within our schools,” said MOH Business Director Michelle Smith. "We want to give that back to the children in our area.”
Their mission with this new program is to develop and nurture a student’s interest in theater and to provide a path for them to learn not only about the art, but to learn about potential career paths that are available to them. When the students come to watch the play they will receive a study guide full of important information about the production, its authors, and tidbits about the cast as well as the hard working crew. If that doesn’t seem tempting enough the night does not end after the last word is spoken. After the curtain closes the students will be able to have the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion involving professionals from different fields of the performing arts, as well as various workshops.
The life of the Theater for a New Audience program, though, would not exist without the generous donation from the PCCF. Barb Young, who represented the organization on Thursday night to give out the grant, says that their contribution to this program is vital for the community. “One of the things we’re very interested in supporting is the arts. In order for every community to have a good quality of life it’s important to expose citizens to all different kinds of things: good parks, good theater, good visual arts and good music.” she said. “So we’re pleased to be partnered with the Opera House to provide our community with something essential like this program.”
Essential is the perfect word to describe this program as their new audience might just become your new performers under the Memorial Opera House’s bright lights.
All of the upcoming opportunities to be involved in this great experience are the dates that follow: Thursday June 12 for “The Glass Menagerie”, Thursday, October 30 for “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” and finally on Thursday, December 4 for their adaptation of “Annie."