Midland Center For The Arts Receives A Grant From Arts Midwest's Performing Arts Fund

Midland Center for the Arts has been selected to receive a $4,600 grant from Arts Midwest's Performing Arts Fund, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes a great nation deserves great art, with additional contributions from Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, General Mills Foundation, and Land O'Lakes Foundation.

The Performing Arts Fund supports the touring of professional performing artists specializing in the fine arts of dance, theater, music, and family entertainment throughout Arts Midwest's nine-state region. These engagements include public performances and in-depth educational activities reaching audiences that lack access to the performing arts.

Arts Midwest Executive Director David J. Fraher says, "Arts Midwest is proud to support Midland Center for the Arts and MATRIX:MIDLAND in their upcoming presentation of Actors From The London Stage. In these economically trying times, arts events like this not only provide uplifting experiences for audiences, they also create meaningful jobs for those employed in the arts industry - thus amplifying the effectiveness of our funding."

During three public performances (February 4, 5 & 6, 2010), the renowned theatre troupe, Actors From The London Stage, will be performing Shakespeare's iconic romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. The tragedy was written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare and is about two young lovers whose untimely deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.

Five highly skilled professional actors will perform this story of star-crossed lovers involving 21 characters, a chorus, plus groups of watchmen and musicians. With a change of voice, body position and prop, the artists are able to instantly and convincingly switch between characters. The audience will be able to concentrate on the words and storyline without the distraction of elaborate costumes or staging. This also creates an unusually intimate theatrical experience. It is theater reduced to its essential elements - actors, audience, story. There is no director; the actors are responsible for their own performance, which results in a much more inventive show. All actors remain on stage during the performance, sitting in back when they are not performing. All sound effects are produced by the actors as well! Even the audience is involved, as the troupe often walks through the aisles and may address members of the audience while in character.

In addition, Actors from the London Stage will be offering workshops as part of its tradition of top-notch talent combined with unique educational opportunities for local residents. They will be reaching out to artistically underserved counties through partnerships with regional educational institutions, ensuring the benefits of exposure to the arts are not limited by geography or economics. Details on the workshops to be held at Midland Center for the Arts will be announced at a later date.

For more information:
• Midland Center for the Arts, call 989-631-8250 or visit www.mcfta.org
• Arts Midwest, call 612-341-0755 or visit www.artsmidwest.org.

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