BWW Interviews: FirstWorks Executive Artistic Director Previews Kronos Quartet, Shares Passion for Arts Education

Kathleen Pletcher, executive artistic director of FirstWorks in Providence, joined BroadwayWorld.com to discuss the company's arts education program in Rhode Island, FirstWorks' upcoming 10th anniversary season, and an exciting musical collaboration with the world-renowned Kronos Quartet.

VB: How would you describe the "first" in FirstWorks' artistic vision?

KP: FirstWorks' programs are a whole season of world-class artists, and the performances are really the most visible part of what we do, of work that we do throughout the state with engaging communities and students with arts that we think are really transforming lives. And so we're bringing artists, sometimes to Providence for the first time - sometimes with new work to Providence - often artists or ensembles that people used to need to go to New York, or at least Boston, to see, that we're presenting. And we're also connecting kids with first experiences in the arts, and really supporting, incubating new work, which is what we're doing with Kronos Quartet, culminating a two-year project this Friday.

VB: Would you expand on the term "incubating"; is that more than a commissioned performance?

KP: In terms of Kronos Quartet, we are collaborating with a local group, Community MusicWorks, and collaborate its commission. But really that has meant many, many deep, exploratory conversations with both Kronos Quartet and the composer, and really seeing ourselves in the process of nurturing new work, not just a transaction.

VB: And the Quartet is in town for the week?

KP: Yes. That's right, and they will be certainly rehearsing the piece. A Voice Exclaiming is the name of the commission, and it features three generations of musicians on stage. Their concert is largely composers, and many of them international, who have written especially for Kronos Quartet. This is part of their 40th anniversary celebration, so we're really pleased to have Providence be part of that and feel that this project is kind of a demonstration that Providence is a great, fertile ground for innovation and for world class artists to be doing new work.

VB: Absolutely! Now did this [concert] grow out of your partnership with the Providence Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism, or was this something that developed primarily within FirstWorks itself?

KP: Part of our model is partnership. We began in 2004 as the first public/private partnership of the Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism when they were just being formed, and are still collaborating with them, most notably on the FirstWorks Festival on the Plaza, which we did last fall and we will be doing again in the fall of 2014. This particular project is a collaboration with Community MusicWorks and numerous other partners; we have a primary partner, but we're really about breaking down silos and finding the common interests that unite us, and develop deeper audiences, and let us do pretty ambitious projects.

VB: What can we expect to see with the Festival next fall on the Plaza?

KP: That's still to be announced, but one of the wonderful things that will be happening is that it will again turn Kennedy Plaza into a multi-stage venue. But we will be going from the rivers and WaterFire through the heart of downtown Kennedy Plaza, along Washington Street - where Trinity Rep, and AS220, and others call home - so really making the city's arts corridor come to life. We're very excited about it, and very excited about the artists that we have lining up, but we haven't announced that.

And of course, this season we still have a lot ahead. We have Savion Glover's newest work, STePz; that will be happening at the Vets Auditorium, and the Vets is another partner of ours. It's a gorgeous historic auditorium that is undergoing a wonderful renovation, and [it's] just a fabulous size for us to work in. We're working there both on Savion Glover and then also bringing Mark Morris Dance Group in a rare Rhode Island appearance with live music and dance.

VB: Is this part of [FirstWorks'] 10th anniversary season, or will that be more focused on next year's events?

KP: That will be more focused once we hit 2014. We are, in February, celebrating our 10th anniversary, and we're having an event at the Biltmore Hotel with Martha Redbone Roots Project; it's going to be a really wonderful evening of music, and I expect there will be some dancing as well.

VB: Before I let you go, would you speak a little bit to FirstWorks' arts learning program?

KP: Sure. The arts learning has really grown out of our sense that we are not just an arts presenter, we're really an arts engager. Here we are, nearly ten years old. In 2009, our arts learning reached 125 children; at this point, we're reaching 2,500 kids in 30 different schools across Rhode Island. We've really grown the program to include teacher training and curriculum that gets used for weeks and months in the schools, and really looking at creating a kind of deep experience for kids who participate. We have some core districts we're working with, some of the most underserved, and that would be in Central Falls, and Providence, of course, and Woonsocket, and Pawtucket. But really we have partnerships across the state, and it's something we're investing a lot of energy into growing and then also developing the funding to continue it.

I think whether kids ultimately are interested in the arts as a career path or not, there is so much in terms of innovative thinking, and the ability to improvise, and the ability to work as part of a team and problem solve that the arts bring, that it really is a huge asset to have those experiences for kids. And to have the perspective on the world that some of the international performers that we have brought from Pakistan or from Asia are just an eye-opening experience for kids who don't have that kind of breadth of cultural opportunities.

Kronos Quartet plays for one night only at the RISD Auditorium, Friday, November 8, 2013. Ticket prices range from $42-65; $28 seats on aisle folding chairs are also available. To purchase tickets, contact FirstWorks by phone at (401) 421-4281 or book online at www.first-works.org. Visit FirstWorks' website for further details on the upcoming season of performances and also for additional information on the company's community and educational outreaches.

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