Art Project Grant
Art Project Grant
"Anne of Green Gables", is the 2018 spring production presented by youth members of Borealis Bards, the community theatre troupe of Backus Community Center in International Falls. This play is the first full-length area youth production in twenty years.
Adam Guggemos: graphic designer, art events promoter; Michelle Ronning: jewelry designer and maker; Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, Cultural Programming Coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Jeanne Doty: Retired Associate Professor UMD Music, pianist; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children's Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artists, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kayla Schubert: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center.
Adam Guggemos: graphic designer, art events promoter; Michelle Ronning: jewelry designer and maker; Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, Cultural Programming Coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Jeanne Doty: Retired Associate Professor UMD Music, pianist; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children's Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artists, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kayla Schubert: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center.
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
Borealis Bards is producing a 2018 spring performance of “Anne of Green Gables"ť in effort to increase our audience base, increase the skills of the artistic community, and expand our Junior Bards youth theatre program. We anticipate gaining new audience members by broadening marketing efforts into surrounding communities and nearby Canadian towns. We also anticipate returning members will advance their artistic abilities including first-time director, Cody Boyer. New cast and crew members will be reached by advertising auditions in the play program of our fall performance, social media, recruiting students from four school districts, home school population, and church youth groups. We will utilize box office reports to determine if we are increasing attendance. An audience survey and social media responses will identify our success in reaching new audience segments as well as satisfaction levels and quality of performance. A participant survey will be distributed to all cast and crew to solicit response on their experience in the production and if they felt their skill level had an opportunity to expand and grow. Success in this area will also be measured by the number of members that return for the fall 2018 play. The growth of our youth program will be measured by the number of new cast and crew members.
This project had three measurable short outcomes: 1) provide quality and culturally-enriching theatre to our fellow community members that is not otherwise available in our remote area; 2) increase the level of participation in the Junior Bards program by recruiting new cast and crew members for a fun, educational and rewarding journey; and 3) develop the skills of a new director. The project’s long outcomes included: 1) allow local artists to grow and expand their abilities by developing their skills; 2) increase our number of available, experienced directors; and 3) increase audience base by offering a production attractive to youth and families alike. Borealis Bards feels it met, or exceeded, each of the outcomes. Detailed evaluation methods and description of success are included later in this report.
Other,local or private