BOARD eNEWS

OCTOBER 2015

KIM’S CORNER

The months ahead at the Center are busy ones with our venues in full swing. A more connected team has paved the way for new business.

In October and November we have and continue to present new events at the Center and Brown-- the V Foundation Bourbon Celebration Concert, the Innovation Summit, and the University of Louisville Grawmeyer Award Panel and the 3rd Annual Louisville Music Awards, previously held at Headliners. In fact, Peter Holloway, the General Manager of Stage One, who resides in our Bomhard commented he’s trying to adjust to the new normal with all of the activity at the Center. The Louisville Orchestra’s production of Bernstein’s Mass was an enormous undertaking that even had musicians using offices to rehearse and singers, production crew, and even a high school marching band taking up every other available space. And then Idea Festival overtook nearly every nook and cranny of the building, even transforming our East Room into Club IF reminiscent of a 60’s style nightclub.

We are definitely focusing on our strategic plan and our goal to maximize capacity and increase our earned income. But we have an incredible need to increase contributed income as well so we can ensure stability around our long standing education and outreach programs. Along with the launch of the performance season of KC Presents and our residents, ArtsReach begins its 25th year of serving our local community, bringing arts instruction to community centers and residential facilities, including weekly dance and violin studios and drop-in jewelry-making for families and youth.

You’ll read below the ground-breaking work that Carrie Nath and GSA are doing in Eastern Kentucky as reported by the Lane Report. You can also see video testimonials from our Arts in Healing program reaching men in recovery at Volunteers of America on YouTube. All of this work relies on philanthropic gifts, but with the loss of a few principal supporters these programs could be in jeopardy. So as we do more, we must raise more. And as we build our annual budget so must we focus on our long term funding and support strategies.

As always, we thank you for your leadership, your support, your expertise, and your advocacy. I hope you take part in some of the many wonderful events coming out of the Center this fall, be they inside our theaters or out in the community.

Q: In two words: How would you describe yourself?A: Energetic and Fun.

Q: As a community leader, why do you want to volunteer at The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts?

A: I believe to be a world class city you have to have a vibrant arts community. We are lucky that some years back some visionary leaders had the passion and the power to found our Kentucky Center. I want to be sure that it lives and thrives not only for the benefit of the community but in honor of them.

Q: What have you learned from or about board service?

A: First and foremost that you need a diverse board in order to challenge each other. I’ve also seen first-hand how good leadership with a good product can leverage the support of the city, state, foundations, individuals and corporations to pull off what initially looked like impossible goals.

Q: What other community causes and organizations do you support?A: I am a huge supporter of our Metro United Way and other organizations that are involved in working

together to improve the educational experience of our kids.

Q: Best performance you have seen at The Kentucky Center? A: Actually the performance that stands out for me is when Angelique Kidjo performed at the Muhammad

Ali Gala at the Center in 2010.

Q: What is your life motto? A: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!

PROFILEBOARD MEMBER

WHO’

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VP of Tax and Internal Audit for Yum! Brands, Inc., serves on The Kentucky Center Board.

KENTUCKY CENTER BOARD MEMBER

Mary Nixon

When there is an event happening at The Kentucky Center, chances are you will find Becky Grider there. For 8 years, Becky has been front and center to make sure every event goes off without a hitch.

EMPLOYEEPROFILE

Q: What do you like best about working at The Kentucky Center?A: My greatest joy in working at The Kentucky Center is the incredible staff I am honored to call my

colleagues. To be involved with the meaningful work they are doing as well as feel the strength of our commitment in supporting each other makes for a work environment that is familial and makes each day an adventure.

Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?A: My dreams while growing up ranged from actress to author to literary scholar and a brief consideration

of being a cowgirl. In the end, my position here at The Kentucky Center allows me the ability to indulge in my creative side. As for my dreams of being a cowgirl, I do that on vacations in Oklahoma!

Q: When did you discover your love for the arts?A: I honestly don’t remember a time when I wasn’t in love with the arts. I grew up as a voracious reader,

my mother instilled in me a love of live theater and old movies, and my father shared his extensive music collection. Perhaps the seminal change came during my five weeks of study in the Governor’s Scholars program where I studied theater and knew that being a part of a theatrical life was my greatest dream.

Q: When someone is asked, “What’s Becky like?” you hope they answer…A: I would hope I am known as kind, dependable, perhaps a little witty, honest, possessing integrity,

helpful, and pleasant.

Q: Best performance you have seen at the Kentucky Center? A: Jake Shimabukuro because it was an utter surprise. I had slipped backstage to find a KC staff member

and they encouraged me to listen to a song or two and it was amazing. It was magical, endearing, and revelatory and I remember thinking how incredible it was that I worked at an organization who showcased so much artistic diversity. It had never occurred to me to listen to ukulele music and I realized how visionary The Kentucky Center is in highlighting creativity.

MANAGER OF SPECIAL CLIENT SERVICES

Becky Grider

COMM

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SCOMMUNITY NEWS

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MASS APPEAL

WARRIOR’S HEART

PARSONS DANCE

VOTE FOR ELIZABETH BEAM!

Madeline Abramson received the Spirit of Sug (Schusterman) Award from the Butterfly Society at the Butterflies in Motion event, which benefits the Heuser Hearing Institute. Check out the photos here. If you are wondering about her unusual attire, each table had a theme, and Madeline’s was Out of Africa. Also, The Kentucky Center received the Silver Anchor Award from Friends of the Waterfront. The award, which is given annually to people/organizations that have contributed to the vitality of Louisville’s Waterfront Park, recognized The Kentucky Center’s contributions to the success of last year’s Centennial Festival of Riverboats. Click here to see the photos.

CONGRATULATIONS!

What an amazing night! The Louisville Orchestra kicked off their 2015-2016 season with an awe inspiring performance, taking on the complexity of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass. Along with the orchestra, the performers in this fully staged work included three choirs, a rock band, a blues band, a marching band, and a troupe of actors and dancers. This stunning event was truly a family affair, as 29 Kentucky Center Governor’s School for the Arts alumni, Grace Robertson and Emily Nash from The Kentucky Center’s Box Office staff, and Carlie Schoner from Broadway in Louisville performed in the choirs. You can read The Courier-Journal review here.

Arts in Healing began its Warrior’s Heart Community with 10 veterans and 14 civilians coming together to use the arts and compassionate listening to provide a space for healing, learning and transformation. It is a 9-week pilot project made possible through funding from the Younger Women’s Club of Louisville.

World renowned company Parsons Dance held a special Master Class at the Youth Performing Arts School prior to their October 15th performance. We were thrilled to welcome a special guest, company founder David Parsons himself! What a wonderful event.

Each year, the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau sponsors the Recognition of Service Excellence (“ROSE”) Awards to honor individuals in the hospitality industry who go above and beyond to make Louisville a great place to live and to visit. There is a category for volunteers, and this year, the Kentucky Center’s nominee is Elizabeth Beam. A panel of judges is responsible for selecting the ROSE recipient, but part of their decision is based upon the number of votes each candidate receives from members of the community. Please take a moment to show our support for Liz by going to this link: http://www.louisvilleroseawards.com/volunteer/ and casting your vote for her! You can only vote once, but feel free to share this link with your friends and they can also vote. Voting is open until midnight on Friday, October 23rd, and it only takes thirty seconds of your time. Thank you for your help and be sure to congratulate Liz the next time you see her!

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EWWHAT’S NEW

DROP & DATE

HOMETOWN HERO

GSA NEWS

Have you seen our latest resident? Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence’s “Hometown Hero” banner is now a part of The Kentucky Center on the 6th Street side of the building.

• 120 voices, representing the 120 counties in Kentucky, sang the National Anthem at the opening of the New Commonwealth Stadium. 44 of those individuals were GSA alumni, ranging from the first class to the most recent.

The Kentucky Center and Kentucky Science Center have launched a brand new partnership this fall—Drop & Date: Parents’ Night Out, Kids’ Night In. During select shows, families can enjoy a night out at The Kentucky Center, while Kentucky Science Center hosts kids grades K-6 for dinner, fun-filled activities and demonstrations. For more, visit http://kysciencecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dateNIGHTfull2015.pdf.

This was another event organized by the University of Kentucky Opera Program. Out of the 44 GSA singers, 29 of them are currently in UK’s prestigious vocal program. You can see videos of the performance here and here. GSA also worked with UK last year at the 100th anniversary of the Governor’s Mansion celebration.

• This fall, GSA has embarked on a new initiative: The Rising Artist Group. GSA, in partnership with Morehead State University, is providing daylong arts instruction in instrumental music and visual art to Owsley and Lee County students as well as classroom teacher professional development. And, the program provides hands on teaching opportunities for MSU arts education students. In addition, the arts education students provide two private lessons a week to every participating high school student utilizing a virtual teaching

platform. The school visits and private lessons allow the arts education students to amass much needed student teaching hours for graduation. The main goal is college and career readiness for Owsley and Lee students, as well as positioning students for a stronger GSA audition. GSA has a statewide mission and we are committed to ensuring that students in all 120 counties are able to take part in GSA’s life-changing program. Projections last spring for number of students participating were 25 per school, we are currently serving 92 students in Lee County and 90 in Owsley County. Chick here to read the Lane Report article on the program.

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DEVELOPMENT NEWS

• Facilities continues to manage the two major capital projects for 2016, one being the roof project bidding and the other is the selection of the design engineer for the Chiller/Air Handler project. The projects will be coordinated as the Chiller/Air Handler project will most likely require roof penetration. Construction for both projects should start and be completed in 2016.

• Finance is preparing for the biennial budget submission to the state. This consists of our baseline requests as well as additional budget requests for GSA and funding for utilities and insurance. Additionally, we are updating our capital budget requests for consideration and possible inclusion in the biennial budget.

• Third quarter marks a very busy season for Facilities, Finance, IT, and Production. With the continuation of the PNC Broadway Series, the start of the new seasons for our resident companies, finalizing the IdeaFestival, and an active KC presents, KCA staff is very busy making our facilities the choice locations in which to enjoy the arts.

Give Local Louisville – The Kentucky Center participated in the Give Local Louisville effort on October 1st and raised $7,255. Not only did this effort raise funds for the center but it also provided a wonderful opportunity to continue to educate the community about our community outreach programs. We had an extensive push on social media that assisted in these efforts. The Center will also receive an additional contribution from the Community Foundation as part of a community match for participating in the program.

The Center and StageOne jointly applied for and received a $100,000 grant from the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence. The proposal was entitled Reaching Students from Page to Stage.

• The Center’s $50,000 gift will fund year two of Anne Frank: Bearing Witness, a project designed to teach Jefferson County middle school students The Diary of Anne Frank through a technique called “the Performance Cycle,” an arts

infused approach to studying literature. The Diary of Anne Frank is included in all middle school literature anthologies. The Performance Cycle uses the arts to create an emotional bridge between the student and the Diary. As the students respond creatively by producing visual, performance or written works of art they engage deeply in the Diary’s theme of bearing witness to the suffering of others.

Note: The Center will also use income from the Murrel Straley bequest to subsidize a field trip for middle school students to visit the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education museum in Cincinnati.

• StageOne’s $50,000 gift will support production of the play And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank

ArtsReach has received a new $15,000 grant from UPS to support the program’s monthly Open Mic, Annual Performance Showcase, and Keepers of the Dream. This support will also provide an additional 100 KCard tickets for the 2015-2016 season. The KCard allows ArtsReach sites and students to purchase subsidized tickets for only $3 each to select performances by the Louisville Ballet, Kentucky Opera, Louisville Orchestra, StageOne Family Theatre, PNC Broadway in Louisville, and Kentucky Center Presents.

UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES:• The Center received a $75,000 grant from The Gheens Foundation to fund expanded concert programming and a continued partnership with America’s largest national youth classical music showcase, From the Top. They will perform a concert featuring a side-by-side performance by the Louisville Orchestra and Louisville Youth Orchestra, and a special performance of From the Top. The concert will be Wednesday, February 3, 2016 with the “Side by Side” concert with the Louisville Youth Orchestra and the Louisville Orchestra starting at 5:30 pm and the “From The Top” program, recorded for national broadcast featuring the Louisville Youth Orchestra conducted by Teddy Abrams, taking place from 6:15 pm – 7:45 pm.

ARTS IN HEALING IN ACTIONFor several months, Kentucky Center Media Producer Alix Mattingly and Arts in Healing Director Kristen Hughes have been working on a project showcasing how Arts in Healing is making a difference. This video focuses on the work AIH does at Volunteers of America Shelby Street campus which is a men’s addiction recovery program. Please take a moment to watch and share with others.

BINGHAM FELLOWSDiane Tobin has been a 2015 member of Leadership Louisville’s Bingham Fellows program and graduates at the end of October. The topic the class has been examining is “United We Stand: A New Model for How City Collaborates with State.” The class divided into four project groups to help design strategies and plans on how Louisville can better work with government leaders in Frankfort. Diane’s group, Unite Kentucky, is doing research on the state’s urban-rural divide and to understand the perceptions and attitudes toward Louisville by communities around the Commonwealth in order to identify common concerns and values. This information will serve as the foundation for approaches that can be implemented to improve the quality of life for all of us. As a state-wide institution, The Center should benefit from this information also. Congratulations Diane for working on this important project.

FUNFACT

WHITNEY PROPOSALSince 1983, there have been many weddings on the Whitney Hall stage. However, there has only been one wedding proposal. In August, Martin, the groom-to-be, created a scavenger hunt for his girlfriend Megan all over the city and it ended here on the Whitney stage (the happy couple are both huge performing arts fans). Senior Manager of Events Services Rachel Cummings coordinated the event and Peter Bell, Darren Taylor and Noelle Shotwell set up special lighting.

Of course, she said YES!

And speaking of weddings, our own Holly Griffitt, who was the Center’s Visual Arts Intern and has now accepted a position as Senior Part-Time Ticketing Supervisor, got married on September 26th at Gardencourt to Dexter Neeld. Congratulations Holly!

UPCOMING EVENTSLee Ann WomackOctober 23The Kentucky Center-Bomhard Theater

Eroica October 23-24The Kentucky Center-Whitney Hall

Third Eye BlindOctober 24Brown Theatre

Mersy Beatles - USA Debut TourOctober 25The Kentucky Center-Bomhard Theater

David SedarisOctober 25The Kentucky Center-Whitney Hall

Halloween at the LONightmare on Main StreetOctober 30 The Kentucky Center-Whitney Hall

Halloween SpooktacularOctober 31Brown Theatre

REPRESENT! November 1The Kentucky Center-Bomhard Theater

REJOICE IN CONCERTNovember 1The Kentucky Center-Whitney Hall

Kat Edmonsonwith special guest MiltonNovember 3The Kentucky Center- Bomhard Theater

The Bach Effect November 6-7The Kentucky Center-Whitney Hall

Prevailing WindsNovember 6-14The Kentucky Center-MeX Theater

Menopause The MuscialNovember 7-8The Kentucky Center- Bomhard Theater

VeggieTales Live! Little Kids Do Big ThingsNovember 8The Kentucky Center-Whitney Hall

Open MicNovember 8

Straight No Chaser-The New Old Fashioned TourNovember 10The Kentucky Center-Whitney Hall

Sufjan Stevens with special guest GallantNovember 12The Kentucky Center-Whitney Hall

Three DecembersNovember 13-15Brown Theatre

The Music of Led Zeppelin November 14

StoryTellersNovember 14

WickedNovember 18-December 6The Kentucky Center-Whitney Hall

3 Provocative Plays by Larry MuhammadNovember 19-22The Kentucky Center-MeX Theater

Girls Night OutNovmeber 19-20Brown Theatre

MessiahDecember 4-5The Kentucky Center-Whitney Hall

Company by Stephen Sondheim December 4-13The Kentucky Center-MeX Theater

A Year with Frog and ToadDecember 5-19The Kentucky Center-Bomhard Theater

Home for the HolidaysDecember 5-19Brown Theatre

One-Man Star WarsDecember 6The Kentucky Center-Bomhard Theater

David Benoit: Christmas Tribute to Charlie BrownDecember 10The Kentucky Center-Bomhard Theater

WickedNovember 18-December 6The Kentucky Center-Whitney Hall

Over the RhineDecember 11The Kentucky Center-Bomhard Theater

The Brown-Forman NutcrackerDecember 12-20The Kentucky Center-Whitney Hall

Open MicDecember 13

The Tenors Under One Sky TourDecember 15Brown Theatre