Ovations Commissions 5 New Works from Maine Artists
Investing in Maine’s Creative communities, Portland Ovations commissioned five original works in music, dance and theater to be presented during our 2021-22 and 2022-23 season.
“It’s an honor and pleasure to be entrusted by these artists with their new work,” said Mary Allen Lindemann, Chair of Portland Ovations Board and co-founder of Coffee By Design. “Each artist expresses a unique voice and personal vision of how they define what home is for them. In this exploration, they allow us to be participants discovering what surprises and delights us!”
Upcoming 2022-23 Season Performances by Commissioned Maine Artists
The Last Girl
A Play by Dianne ‘dee’ Clarke
Thursday, October 20, 2022 – 7PM
Westbrook Performing Arts Center
somewhere/elsewhere
Story, Book, Lyrics by Kerem Durdag & Music by Andy Happel
Thursday, March 23, 2023 – 7PM
Westbrook Performing Arts Center
Past Performances by Commissioned Maine Artists
Samuel James
Thursday, May 12, 2022 – 8PM
Brick south Beer Garden at Thompson’s Point, Portland
Riley Watts + little house dance
Wednesday through Friday, May 18 – 20, 2022 – 7:30PM
Mechanics’ Hall, Portland
About Portland Ovations’ Commissioning History
The initiative is an expansion of Ovations’ history of commissioning and producing new performance work, a history that includes most memorably the opera “The Summer King,” by Maine composer Daniel Sonenberg, which has gone on to productions in Pittsburgh and Michigan Opera Theater; as well as contemporary dance performances by Doug Varone, Sara Juli, Bridgman | Packer Dance; and musical works from composers Elliott Schwartz, Phil Kline and Tony Trishka.
Ovations invested $25,000 in commissioning fees and a total of more than $38,000 in this program in resources in addition to human resources/technical support. These funds will be paid out over the Spring of 2021 during the development phase of the commissioned projects.
Ovations’ Catalyst Fund supports the commissioning fees and is a revolutionary and visionary artistic initiative in support of projects rooted in commissions, co-commissions, and the creation of content original to Portland and Maine. The project was also recently awarded an Enterprise Marketing Grant from the Maine Office of Tourism to extend the visibility of these Maine artists and their work beyond the state’s borders as unique and critical components of Maine’s vibrant culture as an attractive destination and place to live and work.
