Ovations Offstage upcoming events

Community outreach

“Art increases the sense of our common humanity.”  
                                                                -Michael Chabon, American author 
“I am sure that only art will bring together all the peoples of the world.” 
                                                                -Ousmane Dia artist and sculptor from Senegal   

Live art is a vital expression of the human experience and condition. Ovations Offstage believe that the understanding, appreciation and relevancy of the performing arts are enhanced through humanities-based lectures, meet-the-artist opportunities, and artistic residencies coupled with interactive or web-based resources linked to our community’s needs. Community outreach places artists and their art forms in historical, literary, cultural, aesthetic and social contexts. Through diverse activities, events, and suggested resources, it is our hope that audiences of all ages and backgrounds will invite the arts and humanities into their lives, share their experiences with others, and make them a vehicle for life-long learning and exploration of the different cultural views of the arts. 

For more information about community outreach activities, please call 207.773.3150 ×226 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The 2010-11 season offers two broad-based themes to connect performances: 

{title}Traverser la Frontière 

Traverser la Frontière focuses on our shared arts and cultural heritage with Canada. It looks at the different art forms that flourish in Canada and resonate with Mainers through their own cultural heritages. Ovations Offstage presents family series theater with Stellaluna from Toronto and the puppet theater of Goodnight Moon & The Runaway Bunny from Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia; Ed Asner as “FDR”, based on Sunrise at Campobello; the St. Lawrence String Quartet, originally from Banff; cirque nouveau from Montréal’s Cirque Mechanics; and Toronto’s Scrap Arts Music. 

Ovations Offstage is grateful to the government of Canada for providing funding support for the Traverser la Frontière series. 

{title}Maine and Its Ties to Africa

Maine and Its Ties to Africa explores cultural influences brought to our state from a continent filled with diversity. The series explores how artists view their relationship with their African-American heritage or the rich cultural influences from the African diaspora. Ovations Offstage presents the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company;  the joyous, powerful sounds of Soweto Gospel Choir; Cape Verdean songstress Maria de Barros; Philip Hamilton’s compelling “Voices”; and the powerful opera Porgy & Bess.  

Ovations Offstage is grateful to the following for their funding support for the Maine and Its Ties to Africa community outreach activities: the National Endowment for the Arts, the New England Foundation for the Arts’ “Expeditions” program, and the Travelers Foundation, the charitable arm of Travelers. 

Community Outreach Resources

 Download the Portland Ovations Community Outreach Resources PDF

 

Destination Portland


Introducing Destination Portland:
Subsidized Transportation for School Field Trips in the Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Portland Ovations is subsidizing transportation for field trips in the arts, culture, and humanities for Maine schoolchildren and educators for schools with populations of 50% or more free/reduced lunch.

Through the initiative, called Destination Portland, school groups are invited to attend an Ovations school-time or evening performance at Merrill Auditorium or Hannaford Hall in Portland, while also combining the performance with a program, tour, or activity at another Portland cultural institution. Ovations will make available transportation subsidy grants up to $400 when a school purchases tickets to an Ovations performance and plans a program the same day with any of these current Destination Portland partner organizations:

Transportation subsidies through Destination Portland are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Barri Lynn Moreau, director of school programs, will work with schools and Destination Portland partners to tailor a field trip that meets the needs of teachers and students and ties into Maine's Parameters for Essential Instruction.

You can download a flyer and application for a Destination Portland subsidy here.

Interested schools and teachers can also apply for a transportation subsidy via email to Barri Lynn Moreau at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or by writing Director of school programs, Portland Ovations, 50 Monument Square, 2nd Floor, Portland, ME 04101 at least one month prior to the performance date.

Destination Portland is funded in part by Unum and TD Bank.