The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel offers this fresh batch of online arts, entertainment and cultural enrichment options.
Theater pro to share tips with students
Whether you spell it “theater” or “theatre,” Don Farrell knows a bit about it after three decades as a professional singer, dancer, actor, director, choreographer and producer for Off-Broadway and Las Vegas productions and national and international tours. Closer to home, he is a co-founder and Artistic Director for the Center’s resident Actors Theatre of Indiana.
On May 6, Farrell will be the featured artist for the first-ever virtual edition of KAR Front Seat, a program sponsored by KAR Global that invites students of the performing arts to talk with seasoned performers and production professionals about the factors that have shaped their careers. Rather than the usual preshow gathering in the Palladium, Farrell will meet with a select group of students through Zoom, and their conversation will be available worldwide via Facebook Live.
A few openings remain for high school and college students with interests in musical theater to participate. To apply, they can simply submit their name, grade level and current school to Outreach@TheCenterPresents.org, along with a question they would like to ask during the event.
Questions should be submitted by midnight Friday, May 1.
Everyone else can tune in at 2 p.m. May 6 for KAR Front Seat with Don Farrell.
Show your true colors
At last, springtime is unveiling its multihued splendor, but you and your loved ones likely have countless other options in your Crayola box. The next rainy day might be a good time to crack open our new Virtual Entertainment Coloring Book, featuring magical, music-oriented scenes you can bring to life in every shade of the rainbow. And remember, it’s not just for kids – many adults enjoy coloring as a relaxing, meditative exercise.
Here’s the first chapter for you to print out and enjoy at home, and there will be more in the coming weeks. You and your coloring crew are encouraged to share your finished works on social media and tag at @CPApresents.
Bank gives volunteers their moment in the spotlight
The National Bank of Indianapolis Usher Corps is that army of friendly folks in white shirts who – among other contributions – welcome you, scan your tickets and guide you to your seats at performances on the Center’s campus. Even while in-person events are on pause, the Center wants to take time to highlight these remarkable people, without whom the Center and the Great American Songbook Foundation could not operate. During the 2018-19 arts season, more than 300 volunteers devoted more than 17,500 hours to serving the community.
In the coming weeks, you can learn more about these dedicated individuals through a new feature called Usher Spotlight, brought to you by The National Bank of Indianapolis and available on the Interviews & Features page of the Center’s website.
This inaugural Usher Spotlight features volunteer Linda McGlothlin, a lifelong music fan who also takes a great interest in genealogy. Read about Linda here.
Thank you to The National Bank of Indianapolis and to all of the volunteers who serve the Center and Songbook Foundation!
Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month in Perfect Harmony
Though the Songbook Foundation’s Perfect Harmony program is unable to host its participating senior-living communities in person, the staff is still hard at work, in partnership with a board-certified music therapist, to create resource packets that help people of all ages keep music in their quarantine routines.
The latest packet is inspired by Jazz Appreciation Month, established by the Smithsonian National Museum to “recognize and celebrate the extraordinary heritage and history of jazz.” As this year’s JAM (get it?) celebrates the contributions of women in jazz, the Perfect Harmony Jazz Take-Home Packet includes highlights on Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, song facts and lyrics, a movement activity and an accompanying YouTube playlist.
You’ll find the new packet here, and you are encouraged to access the other music packets and activities by visiting thesongbook.org/take-home-ph. This page is updated regularly with new materials and resources.
Songbook Foundation leader offers perspective
As a veteran performer, educator and arts administrator, Songbook Foundation Executive Director Chris Lewis has an interesting take on the current public health situation and its impact on the Foundation’s mission and the arts and life in general. Despite the obvious challenges, Lewis strikes a hopeful tone in a recent interview with longtime journalist and arts champion Tom Alvarez.
“I think this crisis has helped us find new ways to connect with each other,” Lewis says. “It has been amazing to see the creativity in how people have responded to life in quarantine.”