New York State Council on the Arts to Support Chenango River Theatre in 2014 Season

The Theatre Panel of the NYS Council on the Arts has announced that Chenango River Theatre is one of the select theatres statewide to receive direct funding for General Operating Support for their upcoming 2014 season. The award of $5,000 annually covers two years, extending through the 2015 season.

Funding from the panel is considered indicative of meeting the highest levels of professional standards in production and is available only to professional, non-profit theatre companies. CRT is the greater Binghamton area's only theatre company authorized to use members of Actors' Equity Association (the union for professional actors and stage managers in the United States) in every production.

Chenango River Theatre's Artistic Director Bill Lelbach noted that of the total theatres funded statewide, the vast majority of selected ensembles were in the greater NYC area, saying "Very few upstate companies, located in rural areas such as Chenango County, receive this honor. The funding matters to us, but perhaps even more important is the recognition that our community can see truly terrific theatre that's on a par with much larger companies in major metropolitan markets. We're thrilled to be able to offer the greater Binghamton area a regional theatre of note. We're only 15-20 minutes from much of Binghamton and want to invite those that care about the importance of high quality cultural arts in the region to come see us."

Chenango River Theatre's 2014 season will be announced in March, with over 60 performances scheduled from May to October.