CATCO RESTRUCTURING; COLLABORATING WITH CAPA
The Contemporary American Theatre Company (CATCO) in Columbus has announced a restructuring plan designed to promote sustainable artistic growth for the future and ensure the continuation of its high quality professional theatre programming. Included in the restructuring is a reduced budget for the 2003-04 season and the launch of a large capital campaign to eliminate a $551,500 debt. CATCO will also partner with the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA), Columbus' largest arts organization. Plans are underway to transfer certain administrative functions to CAPA and the organizations will collaborate on at least one theatre production next season.
"CATCO is a vital part of our arts community in central Ohio, and we are committed to working with them through these challenging times. Our future collaboration will provide CATCO the opportunity to continue to develop artistically and do what it does best - produce high quality theatre for our community," said Bill Conner, CAPA president.
CATCO is central Ohio's only professional resident theatre company and presents contemporary, classic and new work for the diverse central Ohio community. For more information call Geoffrey Nelson at 614/461-1382.
arts smarts
According to the College Entrance Examination Board, students involved in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion and 41 points higher on the math portion of the SATs than students with no coursework in the arts. Students with coursework in music appreciation scored 64 points higher on the verbal portion and 43 points higher on the math portion than their non-arts peers.
In fiscal year 2002 the Ohio Arts Council supported nearly 800 artists, arts organizations and projects with $11,292,458. Ohio's communities matched that investment with $374,954,847. This means that for every state dollar allocated there was a $33 match.
OPERA COMPANIES JOIN FORCES TO SURVIVE TOUGH ECONOMIC CLIMATE
The Heartland Opera Network (HON) was created as an alliance of professional opera companies invested in developing methods to strengthen and promote opera in the Midwest. The Network was established as a means for Midwest opera companies to leverage their individual resources and expertise through collaboration in programming and marketing. It includes professional opera companies in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Pennsylvania.
A formative meeting was hosted by Opera Columbus and facilitated through the guidance of OPERA America and the Ohio Arts Council in August 2000. It was unanimously acknowledged by professional opera company staff members that they faced similar challenges and opportunities due to their comparable community sizes, company budgets, staff sizes, and environmental trends.
Now as opera companies are faced with budget cuts due to the downturn in the economy, the alliance has only grown in importance. Nicolas Muni, artistic director of the Cincinnati Opera said, "Especially in these tough economic times the spirit of collaboration is vital. HON offers a simple, invaluable way for companies in our region to connect, share information and improve. I am pleased that Cincinnati Opera has the opportunity to be a part of this effort."
In the spring of 2002, HON developed and placed a free-standing insert in the Midwest edition of The New York Times, including season and contact information about all member companies. The placement costs were shared between the companies and most of the design and printing of the piece was donated by the Kentucky Opera.
For more information e-mail smcclure@operacolumbus.org or visit www.operacolumbus.org.
