Louisville Magazine

FEB 2012

Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.

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[ Feedback ] DECEMBER 2011 $3.75 THE BASKETBALL ISSUE Still producing at Actors Tank you for your sup- port of the arts in Lou- isville. We appreciate the coverage you give to this important sector each month in Louisville Magazine. I am writing with concern over several inaccuracies in the statements made in "Smillie's Picks" in the December 2011 issue. Te column states that Actors Teatre has shifted from a producing organization to a presenting organization. Tis is not true. Ac- tors Teatre produces over 20 productions each season and employs more than 100 tech- nical, production and artistic staff members who manage every process associated with the production and craft every element of what audiences see onstage. We pride ourselves on the fact that our art form and our way of producing is handmade from scratch — with Actors Teatre creating every element, from selecting the creative team to designing and building the physical sets, properties, lights, sound and costumes. More than half of our productions are actually world premieres through the Humana Festival of New Ameri- can Plays, where the scripts we are producing are also actually new. Tis is unique amongst regional theatres. Two productions in our current season, Sense and Sensibility and Te Adventures of Tom Sawyer, are labeled "imports" in the ar- ticle. Tis is also not true. Tese two scripts have had productions elsewhere, but so does every show that we, or any other producing organization, include in a season unless that script is a world premiere. With Sense and Sensibility, Actors Teatre www.bluegrasspain.com hired the creative team, helmed by the world- class director and adapter Jon Jory. We cast the show and executed all of the physical elements as described above with our staff. Te Adventures of Tom Sawyer was handled similarly, with the only difference being the exciting addition that once this production was assembled in the same way as Sense and Sensibility, it then left Actors Teatre to pro- ductions in St. Louis, Kansas City and New York City. We call this a co-production and work with our peer theatres in those cities to make the key decisions on assembling a cre- ative team, and then our staff members make it happen. Collaboration is ingrained in our art form, and we are thrilled to have tackled such a robust national collaboration with this production. We do from time to time book in a pro- duction. In the four seasons since we have all faced major challenges with the economic downturn, we have booked in or presented only three productions out of the 80 we pro- duced in that time frame. [6] LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 2.12 Again, we appreciate your support and we hope to work with you to communicate effectively in order to celebrate the wonder- ful theatre that is being created right here in Louisville. Jennifer Bielstein Managing Director Actors Teatre of Louisville JANUARY 2012 $4.70 WOMEN WHO ROCK Cheyenne Marie Mize Another Armstrong success Dave Armstrong accom- plished much during his one term as mayor, as featured by James Nold Jr. in the January edi- tion ("Mayor in the Middle"). One notable achievement that wasn't listed was his direct involvement in saving old Male High School. Shortly after Armstrong took office in 1999, (Louisville Historical League co- founder) Allan Steinberg and I met with the new mayor and asked if he could arrange a meeting between the Courier-Journal and Jef- ferson County Public Schools. Te goal was to determine if the Courier-Journal could sell a warehouse it owned at Muhammad Ali and 15th Street so that a football stadium could be built for Central High School. If the new stadium could be placed there, just a short distance from Central, then old Male, which was over two miles away, would not have to be razed for the stadium. Armstrong readily offered to help in whatever way he could. At this historic meeting, Ed Manassah (Courier-Journal publisher) and Stephen Daeschner (JCPS superintendent) agreed to negotiate. Te resulting $110 million deal allowed a small street, Armory Place, to be closed for an expansion by the Courier-Jour- nal instead of relocating outside downtown, while JCPS built the football stadium that had been promised for more than 50 years. Old Male was purchased by an investment group led by auto dealer Bill Collins. Now, Central students can walk to their athletic complex and the Salvation Army is located in the old Male building, all thanks to Mayor Armstrong's leadership. Steve Wiser Louisville Tanks for your wonderful article about Dave Armstrong. I was privileged to serve in his administration as director of a new Office for International and Cultural Affairs, which he created in response to Louisville's growing multiculturalism. Dave is a leader with imag- ination and integrity who did the difficult thing when it was the right thing, and we are a better community for his leadership. Donna Craig Louisville 12> 0 74470 12969 1

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