The doors are open at the Arts Center of the Ozarks, and a new company -- Northwest Arkansas Audio Theatre -- will make its debut next weekend with a radio-style production of "The Canterville Ghost."
The show, taking place in the upper gallery, is just one of myriad new things at the Springdale arts center. The building at 214 S. Main St. has been mostly shuttered since the summer musical, while the board -- led by president Tareneh Manning -- considered the future of the 50-year-old nonprofit.
FYI
ACO Board
Members of the newly announced Arts Center of the Ozarks Board are:
Tareneh Manning, president
Patty Kimbrough, vice president
Derek Gibson, treasurer
Sirod Meineke, secretary
Members: Lynn Carver, Michael Weir, Heather Lind, Wanda Austin-Wingood, Ching Mong, Mary Ann Taldo, Ana Aguayo, Pablo Fuentes, Paul Swington, Marshall Prettyman, Milan Jilka, Mike Gilbert
FAQ
‘The Canterville Ghost’
WHEN — 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14-15
WHERE — In the upper gallery at the Arts Center of the Ozarks in Springdale
COST — Free but tickets are required
INFO — 751-5441
BONUS — ACO will now be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.
"Our goals are to be a major stimulus for the revitalization of downtown Springdale, economically and socially, and to add to the rich cultural ecology of the region," Manning said Tuesday in a press release announcing the biggest change at ACO. Jenni Taylor Swain, best known in Northwest Arkansas arts circles for her 26 years in programming at the Walton Arts Center, has been named executive director. The word "interim" has been removed from her title.
"Jenni Taylor Swain is a cutting-edge arts leader," Manning says. "She has extensive arts presenting experience, fundraising, and participation on an executive team from start-up to a multi-million dollar organization. She is a passionate advocate for arts education and for the role arts centers play in economic and community development. She is nationally known and brings a wealth of experience that will enable the center to grow and expand its new vision."
Swain, who left the WAC in June, says she never expected to find herself at the Springdale arts center. ACO was not even on her radar.
"In fact, if you had asked me when I announced my retirement, I would have looked at you funny and said, 'Why would I do that?'," she admits. "[The board] approached me, and I was hired initially to come in and get my hands around the programming and get to know the organization. I began to do that in June and July."
But Swain says as she got to know the people involved at ACO, the board members, audience members, arts organization and the community development groups in downtown Springdale, it began to feel like the early days of the Walton Arts Center.
"I found I was enjoying being back working at the grassroots level," she says. "I began to have a lot of that same feeling I recall when I started my arts career 26 years ago -- the feeling of possibilities, opportunities, of people who are excited and see the potential. Springdale is really a gem of a community where everything is kind of converging at the same time. I wanted to be part of that energy. I discovered how much I enjoyed that."
Swain is also the founder of a presenting organization called Potluck Arts, which debuted this week with contemporary circus performances at the Springdale Civic Center, and she sees "opportunities to work together in a partnership over the next year." She adds that at that point everyone involved will reevaluate the future.
In the meantime, longtime patrons of the ACO will see many familiar offerings return to the arts center. Swain says directors have been lined up for a five-play season, beginning Nov. 11-12 and 18-19 with "Barefoot in the Park," under the direction of Jacob Mann Christiansen. The 5x5 art exhibition opens Nov. 8, with the soiree and silent auction set for Dec. 8. The ACO Chorale continues to rehearse and will perform Dec. 3. And visual arts and theater classes will be announced after Christmas.
"We are going to be rolling things out on a monthly basis, rather than having a full series announced," Swain says. "There's been a bit of a shift, with arts centers around the country rolling things out in a mini-series or half a year. Because of our situation, we can experiment and see how we do with that.
"It does require us to reconsider the subscription model and membership model, and we may make some new decisions on that."
In her "summer job" consulting with ACO, Swain says she discovered "how important the programming has been to the community, how people have made friends, met the person they love. People have been cautious, but they've been open and very welcoming to possibilities and are waiting to see how things are going to roll out.
"People have spoken very highly and positively of Harry and Kathi [Blundell's] work, and the love and the care they put into the arts center is very evident -- and something I certainly respect."
Scott Anderson, the creative mind behind Northwest Arkansas Audio Theatre, has on-stage experience at ACO in shows including "The Bad Seed," "Arsenic and Old Lace," "Spider's Web" and "Much Ado About Nothing." He says after seeing "War of the Worlds" presented as radio theater at WAC, "I conned a bunch of people into trying it out with me." With theater productions "up in the air" at ACO, he adds, it seemed like a great time to do "something brand, spanking new."
The show will use neither costumes nor sets, and actors will step up to their microphones scripts in hand. Sound effects will be done in full view of the audience, and the presentation will include advertisements to evoke the time of radio drama.
"I'm just hoping it will be fun," Anderson says. "It's been a lot of fun creating it."
NAN What's Up on 10/07/2016