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FACILISI
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Avalon
Theatre Company and
Grand Center Arts Academy
Announce a New Collaborative
Partnership
February 20, 2012
(St. Louis) - Avalon Theatre Company and Grand
Center Arts Academy are thrilled to announce a new artistic partnership and
educational collaboration.Avalon and
its cofounders, Larry Mabrey and Erin Kelley, will bring their years of
professional theatrical experience and will provide resources which will
enhance GCAA’s theatrical learning and performing environment. Throughout its first seven seasons, Avalon Theatre Company,
one of St. Louis’ most respected professional theatre companies, has developed
a reputation for high artistic quality and created a very successful
performance venue in ArtSpace at Crestwood Court.Due to ArtSpace redevelopment plans, Avalon
must vacate its theater in Crestwood Court at the end of February.
While exploring options for the future, Avalon’s Producing
Artistic Director, Larry Mabrey connected with Dan Rubright, GCAA’s Community
Relations officer and learned that GCAA was in need of resources to convert
their theatre and acting classroom into a “blackbox” type space.Mabrey and Kelley sat down with Rubright and
Lynne Glickert, GCAA’s principal, to discuss the idea of an artistic
partnership and educational collaboration and what such a partnership could
mean for both Avalon and GCAA.
Grand Center Arts Academy is a St. Louis public charter
middle and-eventually-high school located in the heart of St. Louis’ vibrant
cultural district.The mission of GCAA
is to serve students with a meaningful, well rounded educational experience
that includes a strong emphasis on the visual and performing arts and a deep
commitment to academic excellence. GCAA strongly believes in community
engagement, multi-cultural understanding, service and good citizenship.
The first step for this new partnership will be the transfer
of Avalon’s physical theater resources to Grand Center Arts Academy.Throughout the initial transition phase, ATC
and GCAA will work together to address the physical space needs of the students
and create a comfortable and appropriate theatrical environment for both
learning and performance.While this new
environment benefits Avalon by providing a potential new performance venue, the
primary focus of the partnership is to establish a theatre home for the GCAA
students much sooner than they thought possible.
ATC is thrilled to be able to help GCAA with the donation of
seats, risers, curtains, stage, furniture, props, and costumes to enable GCAA
to grow its theatre arts program while demonstrating Avalon’s commitment to
developing future theatrical artists.This collaboration will allow Avalon to develop new educational works,
such as Portrait of My People, while helping students hone their acting skills
through workshops and additional opportunities, and the enhanced lighting and
technical equipment will give GCAA productions an added level of
professionalism and quality.In
addition, the performance venue provides a space for visiting and touring artists
to hold master classes, workshops, and performances for GCAA students.
The full details of the partnership are currently being
explored and more information will be forthcoming as this exciting relationship
unfolds.
