and Lourelene Snedeker in Michael Hollinger’s play,
Ghost-Writer, which premiered at Florida Stage in March.
Florida Stage subscribers to get special offers in mid-July
Following the unexpected news earlier this month that Florida Stage was filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and could not refund subscribers for their 2011-2012 season tickets, numerous cultural groups have united to help mitigate some of the loss.
The Palm Beach County Cultural Council, along with 25 organizations, has joined forces to present Florida Stage patrons with special offers, including discounts, two-for-one tickets and free tickets, which will be presented in a mailing to be sent to subscribers in mid-July.
Participating organizations include the Caldwell Theatre Company, Jazz Arts Music Society of Palm Beach, Miami City Ballet, and Palm Beach Opera. A full list of participating groups can be seen at www.palmbeachculture.com.
“Florida Stage was one of the few performing arts organizations in the nation that regularly created and produced new art,” said Rena Blades, Cultural Council president and CEO, in a prepared statement. “It’s a very big loss to the entire local cultural community and indeed to the nation. But, thankfully, overall, our cultural community is healthy, and cultural leaders have really pulled together for the Florida Stage subscribers.”
Florida Stage dropped the curtain on its 24-year history June 5, citing debts of $1.5 million and diminished audiences since its relocation to the Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse. Its last production was a world premiere, Carter W. Lewis’ The Cha-Cha of a Camel Spider.
“Nothing can replace what Florida Stage offered the community,” Blades said. “But hopefully, the generosity of the participating organizations will help reassure the subscribers that Palm Beach County culture is vibrant and their support is recognized and very much appreciated.”
For additional information, contact Larry Boytano at (561) 471-1601.
(Photo by Nancy Crampton, from the Macmillan site)
Wright to headline at upcoming PB Poetry Festival
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Charles Wright will be the special guest for the eighth annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival, which runs Jan. 16-21 in Delray Beach.
Wright, 75, is a Tennessee native who received his education at Davidson College and the University of Iowa. He has published several books of poetry, two volumes of criticism and has received the Griffin Poetry Prize (for Scar Tissue), the Pulitzer Prize (for Black Zodiac) and the National Book Award (for Country Music).
Wright’s honors also include the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award of Merit Medal, Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and election as chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. He currently teaches English at the University of Virginia.
The Old School Square Cultural Arts Center in Delray Beach will host the festival, which features workshops conducted by renowned and revered poets and teachers, talks on craft issues by two faculty poets, a panel on publishing poetry, readings, book signings and special events.
Performance poets Vanessa Hidary and James May are headlining the Annual Coffee House, which will be followed by a DJ dance celebration. A brand-new event, open mic nights at the Colony Hotel, has also been added. All workshops will run from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and are limited to 12 qualified participants and three auditors to ensure a quality level of discussion and feedback.
The workshops are as follows: The Shimmer: Metaphor in the Machine of Words, with Kim Addonizio; The Art of the Draft: Reading the Poem’s Palm, with Cornelius Eady; Mother of Muses – Poetry and Memory, with Claudia Emerson; Three-Dimensional Poetry, with David Kirby; and Word by Word, Line by Line, with Thomas Lux.
Three manuscript conferences are also available, for an additional fee. For more information on the events, or to apply, visit www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org.
FAU art professor wins South Florida cultural fellowship
Walter Hnatysh, a professor in Florida Atlantic University’s department of visual arts and art history, is one of 12 artists who recently received a South Florida Cultural Consortium (SFCC) Visual and Media Artists Fellowship, and the only recipient residing in Palm Beach County.
The 2011 fellowship, announced June 14, was granted for paintings and drawings and includes a $15,000 award, one of the largest provided by local art organizations nationwide. Hnatysh had previously received a SFCC fellowship in 2007, for his digital photography work.
An exhibition featuring the works of the 12 recipients is scheduled to open at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood from Sept. 9 through Oct. 16.
Hnatysh lives in Lake Worth and has shown work in 20 one-person exhibits and more than 100 group shows. He holds a BFA from Indiana University and an MFA from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia.
The South Florida Cultural Consortium is an alliance of the arts councils of Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Martin counties. Recipients of the annual awards are chosen following a two-tier panel decision process, which includes the input of regional and national arts experts.