New Voices in Children's Literature: Tassy Walden Awards Announced

The Shoreline Arts Alliance is pleased to announce the winners of the 13th annual New Voices in Children’s Literature: Tassy Walden Awards.  The contest, open to writers and illustrators from the state of Connecticut, drew submissions from talented authors and artists from towns around the state.  Tassy Walden, for whom this contest is named, was a generous and vital member of the Shoreline community for over 40 years and her volunteerism with such organizations as Women & Family Life Center, the Guilford Free Library and Literacy Volunteers of America were all aimed at enhancing and enriching the lives of children in the community.  It is only fitting that this contest to promote and encourage quality children’s literature be named in her honor.

The winners will be invited to read from or display their work at the awards ceremony on Wednesday, June 26th at Blackstone Memorial Library, 758 Main St., Branford at 7pm. All are invited to come and celebrate with the writers, illustrators and their family and friends.

Winners:
Illustrated Picture Book: Mary Jo Scott, Fairfield: On Saturdays
Middle Grade Novel: Traci Grigg, Madison: Watch Out for Scorpions
Young Adult Novel: Leslie Cahill, Milford: The Understudy

Honorable Mention:
Picture Book (text):
Heather Sherlock DiLorenzo, West Hartford: Mama’s Chai
Karlin Gray, Westport: Monster Change

Young Adult Novel:
Betsy Devaney, Ledyard: Finding Beauty

Finalists:  
Picture Book (text):
Deborah Fleet, Norwich: I Love the Seashore
Natasha Garnett,Vernon: Scatter
Deborah St. Thomas, Branford: My World
Kate Summerlin, Guilford: A New Kinda Blue
Betsy Witteman, Glastonbury: Edward and the Halloween Snowstorm

Illustrator Portfolio:    
Lisa Hess Hesselgrave, Branford
Katie Skau, West Hartford

Illustrated Picture Book:
Edward Tucchio, Stonington: Croc on the Doc
Edward Tucchio, Stonington: Feathers    
Murray McDonald, Clinton: Little D’Art
Molly Agnew, North Stonington: Achoo to Zoom
Gabriella Svenningsen, New Haven: Messy Creatures: A Very Small Book About Making a Mess

Middle Grade Novel:  
Heather Sherlock DiLorenzo, West Hartford: There’s Room at the Inn  
Pamela Farley, Darien: The Beggar’s Brother
Meira Rosenberg, Stamford: Indiana Bamboo, Gutsy Gumshoe
Theresa Rovillo, East Hampton: Stuck  
Betsy Devaney, Ledyard: Filbert and the Goobers
 
Young Adult Novel:  
Cherish Ann Lisee, South Windsor: A Stranger’s Heart
Faith Hough, Guilford: Cirque

Shoreline Arts Alliance is very grateful to 2013 New Voices in Children's Literature sponsors: Jack & Helen Davis & Wendy, Rex, Shane, Erica & Skye Walden.  Additional thanks to our donors: Alice Bauer, Doe & Tom Boyle, Leslie Cahill, Tricia Carey, Leslie Connor, Pamela Farley, Deborah Freedman & Ben Ledbetter, Miriam Giskin, Barbara Gold, Thea & John Guidone, Leslie Bulion & Rubin Hirsch, Terry McGuire, Nina Nelson, Mary-Kelly Busch & Daniel Picchioni, Deborah St. Thomas, Judy & Jerry Theise, Dianne Warner, Pam & Buck Wilson, Betsy Wittemann, Karen Zoccoli.

Come and support these talented award winners as well as Shoreline Arts Alliance so that we may continue to nurture and support writers and illustrators of quality children’s literature here in Connecticut!

Featured Artist at Guilford Town Hall

Chickens by Pam Carlson

The new featured artist with work on exhibit at Guilford's Town Hall is Pam Carlson of Essex, CT.  Pam was born and raised in Darien where, even at a young age, she loved art and participated in local school art shows.  While attending college she worked each summer in New York working in commercial art in the advertising world.  Teaching won her heart over after graduation and she taught Art for several years before becoming a fulltime mother and bringing her craft back into her home.  The call of Art came again when she built a studio in her home and exhibited in 'town green' art and craft shows up and down the east coast.  She pursued this outlet for more than twenty years.

Now she is concentrating on gallery shows and has had her paintings shown at Art Essex Gallery, Old Lyme Art Association, Guilford Art League, Mystic Art Association, Essex Art Association, The Garvin Studio, The Troy Gallery (Southport), and many other CT locations as well as Three Rivers Art Show in Pittsburg, PA and Gallery West and The Emerson Art Center in Bozeman, MT.

Her landscape and barnyard subjects come from the farms and back yards of Montana and Connecticut along with her landscapes and sunsets from Buzzards Bay to the Rocky Mountains.  Pam is a director of the Essex Art Association and a member of the Mystic, Old Lyme, Madison, and Guilford Art Leagues/Associations.  Five of her paintings depicting Connecticut's Farm animals are presently hanging in the Congressional Office Building in Washington, DC.  In addition she has been the recipient of several awards on her work from independent jurors including Best in Show honors.

Her work may be viewed at Guilford Town Hall, 31 Park Street, Monday-Friday, 8:30am - 4:30pm (closed on legal holidays) through September 6.  An artist's reception will be announced at a later date.

East Coast Premier of New Film ~ Clutter!

 Joshua Leonard as Charlie Bradford

Special Promotion for Shoreline Arts Alliance members & friends.  Click here for tickets and enter promotional code - CLUTTER - for Sunday night's screening, talk back and reception of Clutter!

Do Connecticut filmmakers Paul Marcarelli and Molly Pearson have another award-winning movie on the big screen?  You can judge for yourself this coming weekend as this season’s Connecticut Film Festival at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Art Center (Old Saybrook) closes this series with the Marcarelli/Pearson dark comedy film Clutter starring Oscar nominated and Emmy award winner Carol Kane with Joshua Leonard, Natasha Lyonne, Halley Feiffer, Maria Dizzia, Daniel London, Dan Hedaya, and Kathy Najimi.  At the 2010 festival Paul and Molly took home the award for Best Feature Film with their movie The Green.


Marcarelli, of New Milford and formerly of Guilford, wrote and co-produced the screenplay for Clutter with Molly Pearson. The film is directed by Diane Crespo.  Clutter had its world premiere during closing weekend (June 7&9) of The New American Cinema Competition at Seattle International Film Festival, a distinction shared by just ten other films out of over 400 at the month-long festival.  This screening on June 30th will mark its east coast premiere!  Doors open at 6:00pm. The one time screening will begin at 7:00pm and will be followed by a Q&A with Paul, Molly, Diane and members of the cast. A catered after party will follow with passed hors d'oeuvre, beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages courtesy of Some Things Fishy Catering.  Paul has secured a special event price for Shoreline Arts Alliance e-newsletter subscribers and friends.  Click here for tickets and enter the promotional code CLUTTER.

According to Tom Carruthers, Executive Director of CT Film Festival, Clutter is a powerful drama dealing with the intervention of The Bradford family amidst a household of disarray resulting from the mental inability of the home’s matriarch Linda, played by film, television and stage actress Carol Kane. Linda has a complex life complicated by her inability to distinguish some sort of reality between her past and present which is complicated by her compulsive need to collect things…. lots of things.

Breaking away from home, or a place called home can be difficult enough for someone who lives in a perfect world. It can be especially hard when you’re an adult burdened with the weight and guilt that accompanies watching out for an unstable parent or loved one like Linda. It can be even more complicated when torn between responsibility and pursuing a career. Such is the case with Linda’s son Charlie Bradford, played by Joshua Leonard, who has to deal with his mother’s mental stability and the sanity of his two sisters, while all the while trying to keep some assembly of a positive family dynamic and juggling a normal personal life.
Clutter’s storyline and delivery is creative and innovative. Its cast of characters is strong and well defined.  The dialogue is choice and at times cutting, sometimes all way to the bone. The quirky and beautifully done animated transitions tie together its serious and humorous plot lines as smoothly and sensitively as the direction given to the cast by Director Diane Crespo.

Clutter is part of a new generation of films and filmmakers that needs to be championed and embraced.  Films like Clutter reject the formulated norm and take chances. The creative production team at Table Ten Films is able to handle difficult subjects. Subjects that in the past were all too often glossed over or candy coated. It’s not just a drama. Clutter sends a strong social message - a message that needs to get out to a wider audience.  Clutter is dynamic and it evokes a myriad of universal feelings that we all share. It makes us take a closer look at ourselves, our families and the strangers who we see living on the streets. It helps us resolve how to handle the feelings and shortcomings of others. It’s a tall order to take this kind of a story and make it into a thought provoking, yet entertaining and memorable movie going experience, something that these producers and the director do oh so well.  See you at the movies!

Keep Your Voice in Shape ~ Summer Sings

Do you miss singing in your church choir or chorus during the summer?  Do you want to stay in vocal shape over the next few months?  It is easy – just come out and participate in Summer Sings.  This program co-sponsored by Con Brio Choral Society and Cappella Cantorum is an informal, come as you are opportunity to stay in voice during the June, July and August hiatus.

All evenings feature respected area conductors, with soloists and accompanist, who will lead music lovers through masterworks of the choral repertoire as well as some Broadway tunes and Gilbert & Sullivan choruses. Just come ready to sing to these shared and energized sings!  All area singers, whether or not they sing in a chorus, are invited to participate and music lovers are invited to come just to listen.

Maties & Lasses

                               HERE YE, HERE YE! AND YO-HO-HO!
                              IT’S A PRINCESS AND PIRATE PARTY 

                                            AT THE KATE JUNE 23

OLD SAYBROOK - Here Ye! Here Ye! and Yo-Ho-Ho! Community Music School and The Kate invite all the princesses from across the land the pirates of the sea to join them for a Princess and Pirate Party on Sunday, June 23 at 2 pm at The Kate, 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook. The afternoon will feature special guest Miss Connecticut 2012 Emily Audibert signing autographs and taking photos with attendees.

Party-goers will join pirates in a search for “buried” treasure and students of the Fencers School of Connecticut will present an exciting fencing demonstration. There will also be music, arts & crafts, and refreshments. Princess dresses and pirate attire encouraged.

Tickets are $15 per person with proceeds to benefit programs and scholarships at Kate’s Camp for Kids, a unique summer arts camp program at The Kate this July and August.

To purchase tickets or for additional information, please contact Community Music School at (860) 767-0026 or visit www.community-music-school.org.

Hot Steamed Jazz Festival

Jazz Festival

For twenty-one years the Hot Steamed Jazz Festival has heated up the town of Essex, CT.  Located on the site of Essex’s most popular attraction, the Essex Steam Train, the festival pulls into the station this weekend – June 21, 22 & 23.  You can pick from cool jazz or bebop, ragtime or traditional jazz, Dixieland or blues, Calypso or Cajun.  Whatever your preference the Hot Steamed Jazz Festival offers three full days of quality family entertainment and all for a great cause.  All proceeds from this weekend’s event will benefit The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, founded by Paul Newman. 

This camp provides children who are coping with serious illnesses the opportunity to escape to a special hideout where they can simply be kids.  Paul Newman’s simple premise was that every child, no matter their illness, could experience the transformational spirit and friendships that go hand in hand with camp.  With support from such organizations as Hot Steamed Jazz Festival, the camp is celebrating its 25th anniversary and now serves more than 20,000 children and their family members each year through the camp and outreach programs.

Though Hot Steamed Jazz Festival is on a smaller scale than many festivals around the country it provides a family-friendly atmosphere with audience members returning year after year and reconnecting with those they have met in the past.  Many of the bands are local and others from across the country.  Performers for the 2013 festival include: Dan Levinson’s New Millennium All Stars (New York), Midiri Brothers (New Jersey), Wolverine Jazz Band (Massachusetts), Bob Seeley (Michigan), Ben Mauger’s Speakeasy 6 (Pennsylvania) and Connecticut’s own Galvanized Jazz Band, Heartbeat Jazz Band, Riverboat Ramblers, Jeff Barnhart, Funky Butt Jazz Band and Sugarfoot Youth Jazz Band.  Tickets are $100 for the full weekend sessions; $60 for an all-day Saturday pass (11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.); and $35 for the Friday afternoon, Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening, or Sunday sessions. Youth tickets for age 12 and younger are $8. To purchase tickets, call 1-800-348-0003 or visit www.hotsteamedjazz.com. 

Two tents with on-going simultaneous performances are located on grounds adjacent to the Steam Train.  There will be food vendors and picnicking is also permitted.  Events will go on rain or shine.  On Sunday morning there is a free Gospel service at 10:30am and all are invited.  So pack up the family, snacks, picnic baskets, chairs and blankets and head on over to the Essex Steam Train yard for a weekend of some of the best jazz in New England.  The list of versatile performers will have the train yard sizzling with something for everyone!

Contributed by Donita Aruny

Vanguards ~ Leaders & Followers in the European Musical Tradition

Handel and Haydn Society

The Connecticut Early Music Society is gearing up for its annual festival beginning June 15 and continuing for the next two weekends.  This summer’s festival explores the work of composers who led the way to new styles, sometimes at their own peril, and those who followed them.  Weekend One includes Rebel on Saturday June 15, 7:30pm with Barroco – Musical Treasures of the 17th and 18th Centuries performed at Evans Hall at Connecticut College (New London).  Sunday, June 16 at 5pm, Connecticut Early Music Ensemble presents Venit Lumen – Music in the Age of Aravaggion at the Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford).  Weekend Two all happens at Connecticut College.  The June 22, 7:30pm performance features Wayward Sisters performing The Naughty List:  Music by Braggarts, Hotheads, Curmudgeons, and Snobs (Evans Hall) and Sunday, June 23, 4pm The Play of Daniel will take place at Harkness Chapel performed by Gotham Early Music Scene. The final weekend features Tenet, Francois Couperin’s Leçons de Ténèbres de Mercredi saint on June 29, 7:30pm in Christ the King Church (Old Lyme) and at 4pm on June 30 members of the Handel and Haydn Society will offer a performance of Vivaldi and his Followers.  For tickets click here or call 860-439-2787.  For concert details and to hear audio excerpts click here.

Founded in 1982, the New London-based Connecticut Early Music Society presents an annual festival of between six and nine concerts each June. The term “early music” refers to both a repertory (European music written before about 1800, including medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical music) and an approach to performance (“historically-informed performance,” including the use of period instruments). Performers and scholars of early music seek to discover and present music from times past and to explore a repertory of music that is otherwise little known. From Gregorian chant to the music of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, the repertory spans a millennium, from roughly 800 to 1800. Early music specialists also aim to recreate the sound-worlds of earlier times through the use of period instruments and techniques. They base their interpretations on the accumulated evidence of original instruments, manuscripts, first editions, and the remarks of theoretical and instructional treatises rather than on “received tradition” passed on by previous generations of performers and teachers.

CEMF is a major annual festival for southeastern Connecticut and surrounding areas. Concerts are presented in Old Lyme, New London, Stonington, and occasionally in other regions in the state. The Festival is especially celebrated for the intimacy of its venues and for the remarkable rapport between its audience and musicians. The ensembles and individual musicians presented are nationally and internationally known in the field. The Festival is organized around a central theme, and the repertory includes both beloved and undiscovered masterworks. Innovative programming and pre-concert talks serve to broaden the audience’s understanding. In addition, school concerts are regularly presented by Festival musicians, engaging students in the region in dialogue with practitioners in the field. 

 

Remembering Lili: A Tribute

In April 2012 the Shoreline and the opera community lost a beautiful voice.  World-renowned contralto Lili Chookasian of Branford was a singer of remarkable versatility with a rich, dark vocal timbre, who portrayed roles both large and small with consummate artistry.  Lili made her debut at the Met in 1962 and sang 28 roles over 290 performances there during her career. She quickly became one of the leading contraltos performing on the international stage during the 1960s and 1970s, singing under Georg Solti, Leonard Bernstein, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa, Herbert von Karajan, Lorin Maazel, and many other great conductors, with such ensembles as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Vienna Philharmonic among others. She was particularly admired worldwide for her performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder and above all, Verdi’s Requiem. 

After retiring from the Met, Lili joined the faculty of the Yale University School of Music. She loved her work and imparted her passion, technique and work ethic to her students. She inspired them with her self-discipline and life’s work. We now honor Lili’s memory and life’s achievement by establishing The Lili Chookasian Fund for Young Singers.

A special Memorial Concert, Remembering Lili Chookasian, will be held on Saturday, June 15 at 7pm in Andrew’s Memorial Auditorium in the Clinton Town Hall.  Tickets are $25 and may be purchased at ctdistrictauditions.org or by calling 203.334.4206.  Friends, colleagues and former students will pay tribute in performance, anecdotes and video.  Proceeds from this concert will continue Lili’s initiative and support of the next generation of singers through the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the Connecticut District. The Lili Chookasian Fund for Young Singers will provide prize money for the Connecticut District Finalists who advance to the next level in the National Council Auditions process.  Lili was a great advocate of this program and always encouraged her students to participate. Many of her students appear on the roster of past winners.

"Through the awards presented through The Lili Chookasian Fund for Young Singers, we honor and celebrate the impact Lili had on the careers of hundreds of singers and continue her mission to prepare young singers well into the future."
Provided by Yale Alumni Association

Meet This Year’s Shoreline’s Top Talent: Scholarships in the Arts Awardees

Photo ID L to R: Sarah Gavagan, Devin Patton, Elya Bottiger Elaina Zachos, Julia Orosz, Tiffany Li, Eric Dillner, Deboray Heinrich, Sarah Marsoobian, Sarah McDonald, Emily Benzi, Maia Murdock, Kyle Bejnerowicz, and Erin Hutchinson.  Photo Credit: Judy Barbosa

In 1981 Shoreline Arts Alliance established its scholarship awards to encourage and recognize high school juniors and seniors from the Shoreline region who are outstanding in their art discipline.  This program, the only one of its kind in Connecticut, recognizes the six art disciplines of Creative Writing, Dance, Instrumental Music, Vocal Music, Theatre and Visual Arts.  We are continually amazed at the passion and commitment of those who apply and commend all of this year’s applicants for their diligence in submitting the application and preparing for performance auditions or portfolio reviews.

Professionals in each of the six categories judge and select the winners and special recognition awardees.  The winners receive a $1,000 cash award and both the winners and special recognition students are paired with a mentor in the respective art disciplines who meets with the students and provides insight and helpful information regarding the business of the arts.  Shoreline Arts Alliance congratulates this year’s awardees:

            Creative Writing:
            Winner:                       Erin Hutchinson, Haddam-Killingworth High School-Senior
            Special Recognition:  Elaina Zachos, Daniel Hand High School-Senior

            Dance:

            Winner:                       Emily Benzi, Eastern CT Ballet/ Westbrook High School-Senior
            Special Recognition:  Sarah Marsoobian, Eastern CT Ballet/ Guilford High School-Senior

            Instrumental Music:  

            Winner:                       Maia Murdock, Guilford High School-Senior
            Special Recognition:  Sarah McDonald, Valley Regional High School-Senior

            Vocal Music:

            Winner:                       Kyle Bejnerowicz, Guilford High School-Senior

            Special Recognition:  Julia Orosz, Coginchaug Regional High School-Senior

            Theatre:

            Winner:                       Elya Bottiger, Guilford High School-Senior

            Special Recognition:  Devin Patton, Guilford High School-Junior

            Visual Arts:

            Winner:                       Sarah Gavagan, Guilford High School-Senior

            Special Recognition:  Tiffany Li, Daniel Hand High School-Senior

Photos of the event will soon be available.  Click here. 

A special filming of the awards presentation took place on Tuesday, June 4 in the studio of Guilford Cable Television. Each of the award winners was also presented with a special proclamation from the Senators and Representatives from their town. These proclamations were presented by former State Representative Deborah Heinrich, Madison.  The ceremony will be aired shortly in Guilford and the towns in our region.  It will also be available on YouTube.  In addition to the awards presentation there is also a short personal interview with each of the recipients to learn a little bit about them and their future plans. 

Shoreline Arts Alliance thanks the many sponsors of this program.  Without their support it would not be possible to recognize and celebrate the talents of our high school students and to reward their achievements.  Sponsors are: John Matthews & Elizabeth Halvorsen, Guilford Art League, Mark Serchuck & John Casso, Joseph & Denise Marie Mendler, Anna & Stuart Subotnick, Donita & John Aruny, Susan & Joe DeLaurentis (Tiger Group, Inc.), Kiki & Ted Kennedy, Madison Art Society , Joseph Schiffer*, Marlene & Shepard Stone*, Dr. Monya Elgart (Eye Doctors of Connecticut),  Andy & Bonnie McKirdy, Melissa & Eric Thornburg, David Grewall and Daniela Cammack, Bill Freeman and Alicia Dolce (Celebration Development Group), Mrs. Anne Schenck*, Barbara & Bruce Galaski*, Barbara Taggart*, Kathleen Leitao*, John Little*, Sandra and Paul Beckman, Marcus Simpson (Associated Medical, Inc.), David & Susie Duncan, Brian & Ellen Buttolph*, Barbara & Richard Malinsky,  Pat & Keith Cunningham, Richard Squeri*, Paul & Nancy Sullivan, Alan & Polly Fitz, Gerald Degenhardt & Wendy Gifford, Alan Weiss*, Peter Borgmeister*, Amy Barry, and Pat Todd. (*in memory of David Buttolph).

Shoreline Arts Alliance’s Scholarships in the Arts has served the towns of Branford, Chester, Clinton, Deep River, Durham, East Haven, East Haddam, East Lyme, Essex, Guilford, Haddam, Ivoryton, Killingworth, Lyme, Madison, Middlefield, Moodus, North Branford, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Salem, and Westbrook.  For the 2014 program we will be extending the opportunity to include students from Cromwell, East Hampton, Middletown, and Portland.  To apply students must have primary residence in one of the 25 towns and be in 11^th or 12^th grade.  Students who are home schooled, attend private day schools or boarding schools are eligible to apply.  Applications for the 2014 Shoreline’s Top Talent may be downloaded at www.shorelinearts.org in the fall.  Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and audition and portfolio review dates will be on-line in the fall as well.  For additional questions or for more information please contact Donita@ShorelineArts.org or call the office at 203-453-3890.

If It's June It Must Be...

Every year in June, New Haven sparkles as the International Festival of Arts & Ideas displays a rare collection of gems: stunning music and dance, brilliant theater, bright and emergent thinkers gathered from around the world. From the New Haven Green to the courtyards of Yale University, New Haven becomes a Festival city with something for everyone, featuring world-class culture, award-winning dining and eclectic shopping, delighting guests from near and far.
    The Festival is now firmly established as one of the world's most significant arts festivals. It has the distinction of fusing arts and ideas programs to present a broad array of offerings within and across genres. The Festival showcases hundreds of international events each summer, from over 75 countries, with an impressive scale and scope unmatched in the Northeast.
    The International Festival of Arts & Ideas was established in 1996 by Anne Calabresi, Jean Handley and Roslyn Meyer. The founders envisioned an annual celebration in New Haven - a small city rich with diversity and steeped in strong cultural and educational traditions - distinguished from established arts festivals by its fusion of ideas events. Their aim was to gather world-class artists and pre-eminent thinkers from around the globe, showcasing the city and the state as a major arts destination.
    The Festival offers hundreds of events each June, over 80% of them free. The Festival has presented dozens of U.S. premieres, unforgettable evenings of opera on the New Haven Green, performances as traditional as Shakespeare and as edgy as inner-city slam poets. Internationally recognized names - Savion Glover, Little Richard, Michael Feinstein, Salman Rushdie - and dynamic new artists from all corners of the Earth are invited to share their unique talents and world views, reflective of the Festival's signature inclination for brilliance, controversy, social cohesion, and fun.
    The Festival continues to attract a diverse audience of thousands, and the best performers, speakers and leaders from around the world, to a city that revels in welcoming them. The dramatic growth of the Festival in size, duration and range of offerings parallels its growth in reputation as a major cultural event in America and a premiere international artistic enterprise.
    The Festival's ambitious music, dance, and theater programs fill New Haven with renowned international stars, newly-discovered artists, and a number of U.S. and world premieres each season. The eclectic ideas program offers a mix of serious, controversial, and whimsical topics, all designed to inspire new ways of thinking. The Festival also features plenty of family-friendly events. It continues to make more than 80% of Festival events free to the public, including some of the most prestigious opera, jazz, classical, rock, folk and fusion music in the world.  The entire city of New Haven plays host to The Festival. The New Haven Green, named one of the country's 10 most beautiful public spaces, is the jewel at the center. On the Green, the Festival presents a series of unforgettable concerts, art activities, and opportunities for creative play.
Many Festival events take place at Long Wharf Theatre, the legendary Shubert Theater, and in the historic courtyards, auditoriums, and theaters of Yale University. Tours by foot and bike take visitors throughout New Haven and beyond to discover its wealth of historic, ethnic and natural treasures.  The Festival plays a vital role in enriching lives in New Haven and throughout Connecticut by embracing diversity and leading people to understand how their futures are entwined.  Arts residencies are created in schools and community centers throughout New Haven to introduce a diverse audience to the performing arts. Every summer, international artists devote time to teach young students of music, dance, theater and the arts.

Compiled from Arts  & Ideas Web Site

Rising STAR Summer Theater Experience

    Shoreline Arts Alliance will offer a program this summer to encourage reading, critical thinking, imagination, self-worth and educational development among school-aged children and has instituted a week-long summer theater experience for children in collaboration with its annual Shakespeare on the Shoreline event. The Rising Star Summer Theater Experience will be held July 29 – August 2 from 8:30am – 3pm daily on the Guilford Green.  Tuition for this program is $250 and need based scholarships are available.  Promoting the arts as a method of educating and empowering, the program intends to specifically cater to the youth of the community, offering children and teenagers the opportunity to become involved in an artistic endeavor that speaks to their own needs, desires, dreams, and aspirations. Aiming to allow every child to contribute his or her strongest skills and talents and to develop others, this theater experience speaks to a child’s desire and need to be recognized and nurtured as a successful individual as well as a strong, contributory member of a group.
    Alongside the goals of promoting creativity, critical thinking, cooperation, literary enrichment, and self-confidence, this weeklong program is designed to offer a more in-depth educational experience for youth participants.  Providing training from professional instructors for all participants in script analysis and performance, with some additional attention to set design, sound and lighting, costume design, and stage management as well as training in work/life skills (proper dress, inter-personal development, public speaking, communication, etc.).  For many of the older participants these crucial skills can aid in admission to college or entrance into the workforce.
    Shoreline Arts Alliance will employ Shakesperience Productions, Inc. for the operation of the Shakespeare on the Shoreline Rising Star Summer Theater Experience. A nonprofit professional, educational theatre founded in 1996 and headquartered in Waterbury, this organization serves Connecticut school systems and those of neighboring states, reaching over seventy communities per year. A recipient of “Arts Organization of the Year” by Waterbury Neighborhood Council, Shakesperience’s programming has proven a regular success among its client schools, with 93% of these schools rescheduling events with the company year after year.
   Shakespeare on the Shoreline Rising Star Theater Experience will offer youth between the ages of seven and seventeen the opportunity to study the art of acting and theatrical production. In the first year of its inception, this program will begin with sixteen to eighteen campers, expanding staff where necessary if the number of interested students exceeds these numbers. Learning how to perform a monologue, execute an audition, design a set, and interpret a script, students will be grouped and cast into an adapted Shakespearean play to be performed for family, friends, and community members. Students will receive invaluable experience seeing a production from start to finish while gaining exposure to quality literature. Taking the reading of a play beyond classroom walls, students will be encouraged to use their creativity, imagination, and collaborative skills to participate in the direction of shows and see plays grow from a concept to a finished product. For registration form click here.
    With the addition of this summer theater experience for children, the annual Shakespeare on the Shoreline programming will be expanded to encompass and involve the youth of the community more specifically, granting them access to hands-on experience in the world of theatrics. The mission is to instill an enduring passion for learning by not only allowing students to participate in an educational opportunity outside of school, but to also take reading, interpersonal skills, and self-expression of ideas beyond the classroom and into a public, professional setting. Showing students how their education can be supplemented and expanded  upon  in the world beyond school walls, the program ultimately intends to allow each student to bring his or her personal strengths and passions to a creative setting, encouraging each individual’s separate proficiencies and capabilities. In addition, students are shown that through a collaborative process, these individual skills can come together to create a powerful display of culminating talents. Brought together to achieve the same goal, students learn the importance of valuing others’ thoughts, opinions, and personal strengths to create and complete a successful project. Emphasizing the importance of individual ability and group cooperation, the program builds upon the building blocks of institutional education, allowing students to apply these fundamental principles to a “real world” setting. Ultimately, these kinds of experiences promise to prepare students for successful lives in which they will utilize their personal and collaborative strengths in future educational and professional settings.
    Rising Star Summer Theater Experience is funded in part by May & Jeff Beeman, Liz & Niall Ferguson, Guilford Foundation, Guilford Fund for Education, National Roofing, CT Department of Economic & Community Development-Office of the Arts and Sennheiser Electronic Corporation.