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From April 10, 2009

1. NEA and N.H. State Council on the Arts Announce Recovery Grants
The National Endowment for the Arts is distributing $19.8 million in one-time grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to state and regional arts agencies. The money is earmarked for preserving jobs. The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts has been awarded $293,100 to distribute to eligible N.H. organizations via a grant program called Art Jobs. Read the NEA press release here: http://www.arts.gov/news/news09/nea-announces-first-recovery-grants.html. For information on the Art Jobs grants, visit http://www.nh.gov/nharts/recovery/index.html.

2. Curtain falls on Granite State Opera
The economic downturn has caused an important New Hampshire arts organization to close down. The eight-year-old Granite State Opera, which staged productions at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord and the Music Hall in Portsmouth, cancelled its upcoming production of Macbeth and ceased operations April 3. The organization had received funding from the State Arts Council. For more information, visit http://www.granitestateopera.org/index.html.

3. Two Arts Council-funded programs showing on public television

• An Island Kingdom
  A film by Andrea Melville about the Isles of Shoals airs Friday, April 10, at 10:30 p.m. on New Hampshire Public Television (Channel 11) and Sunday, April 12, on Vermont Public Television. For information: http://www.barkingspiderproductionsvt.org/. Also, Melville was a guest on New Hampshire Public Radio’s The Exchange on Tuesday. Listen to the podcast here: http://www.nhpr.org/node/24239.
• Village Store Verbatim
  New Hampshire Public Television will be re-playing Larry Siegel’s Village Store Verbatim during its “From the Vault” program, which celebrates the TV station’s 50th anniversary. Village Store Verbatim is an opera whose lyrics are actual conversations recorded in the small town of Westmoreland, NH.  The hour-long video will air May 18 at 10 p.m. and May 19 at 2 a.m. For info: http://www.nhptv.org/schedule/summary.aspx?progId=197014&chnl=sd&progTimeAir=4/6/2009%208:00:00%20PM

           
4. Pontine production opens
Pontine Theatre premieres its original stage adaptation of “Dunnet Landing Stories” at its West End Studio Theatre, 959 Islington St., Portsmouth, April 24 through May 10. Shows are held Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. ($25); special 4 p.m. matinee on April 25 ($20). Tickets are available online at www.pontine.org. For information, contact Pontine: info@pontine.org / 436-6660. The production is funded in part by the State Arts Council.

5. National theater magazine turns 25

American Theatre magazine, which focuses on nonprofit professional theater, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the publication of The American Theatre Reader, special writings from 25 innovative theater artists in its April issue, and a benefit event in New York City on April 20. For information and benefit tickets: www.tcg.org/AT25.

Last updated: August 13, 2009