Skylight Opera Theatre Receives NEA Funding

Skylight Opera Theatre announced that the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded a $20,000 grant to Skylight to support its production of Adding Machine: A Musical in May 2011.

Adding Machine was composed by 33-year old Milwaukee native Josh Schmidt who has close ties to Skylight. Schmidt was resident sound designer as well as assistant to Skylight's former Artistic Director, Richard Carsey, in the late 1990's and considers Skylight to be his "artistic home". Schmidt freely acknowledges that he had Skylight in mind when he composed the score.

In addition to composing the piece, Schmidt is the co-librettist with Jason Loewith, Artistic Director of Chicago's Next Theatre. The musical is an adaptation of Elmer Rice's 1923 expressionist drama of the same name.

Adding Machine has won numerous awards, including the 2008 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical and Outstanding New Score. Josh has had other successes including his 2009 musical The Minister's Wife which will be making its New York City debut at Lincoln Center in May of this year.

Plans are underway for several seminars for the students at Schmidt's alma mater, Homestead High School (Mequon, WI), and music majors at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee campus where Josh did his undergraduate work. A comprehensive education program with the Milwaukee High School of the Arts as well as several pre- and post- show events with donors and the public are also being scheduled.

Skylight's production will be the Wisconsin premiere of Adding Machine and the final production of Skylight's 2010-11 season.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

http://www.skylightopera.com/
http://nea.gov/
http://web.mac.com/josh_schmidt/Josh_Schmidt/Home.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adding_Machine_%28musical%29

ABOUT SKYLIGHT OPERA THEATRE

Skylight Opera Theatre is a nationally recognized producer of the full spectrum of Music Theatre.

Skylight is proud to be a cornerstone member of the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), which provides major annual financial support. Through community support of the United Performing Arts Fund, UPAF Member and Affiliate Groups are able to provide education and outreach to over 400,000 children, provide over 2,000 live performances and reach over 1,000,000 people every year.

Skylight is also supported in part by grants from the Wisconsin Arts Board, the City of Milwaukee Arts Board, and Milwaukee County CAMPAC. Skylight is a member of OPERA America, Visit Milwaukee, Historic Third Ward Association, Theatre Wisconsin, and Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee and is a cultural partner of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's Arts in Community Education (ACE) Program. This theater is an equal opportunity employer. Except in plays where race itself is an issue, casting is based on ability, not race.

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