On Halloween,
Madisonville Arts Center presented a special treat for the community – a production of Hansel and Gretel with marionettes (puppets on strings, you know), music, singing, and candy treats. Kids in costume came with their parents and extended family.
I’m not sure what it takes exactly to introduce kids to the arts – opera and theater in this case – in a way that will translate to more participation and a community sense that the arts belong to all of us. But, the Halloween party in Madisonville sure seems like an important effort and a model worthy of support.
To see the show, I drove to the Center at 5021 Whetsel Avenue off Madison Road. As I cruised past the sparkling new center, Margie waved from the gallery on the first floor. As I slowed, she called out: “If you are looking for the show, you found us!” I parked in the spacious lot next to the center and listened to music playing over the outside loudspeakers as I made my way past the eye-catching mirrored murals on the doorway to the open gallery space on the first floor. Entering the upstairs theater, I was impressed with the intimate venue and comfortable seating – which I later learned will be the site of an upcoming
Blue Chip Players’ production of Arthur Miller’s play “The Price”. (That’s a play with a great story about family and the value of things we save.)
After the show, I watched as the kids bashfully got up close to the “cast”. They were still mostly afraid of the witch, but they liked Gretel and the forest animals a lot. As they left, the arts center volunteers offered kids water and a decorated bag of goodies. (Even the hand-created bags were little pieces of art!)
The
Cincinnati Opera staff and leadership are on the cutting edge of offering performances in the community – not just in the lovely historic buildings downtown. And Dan Dermody at the Madisonville Arts Center offers his new space to all kinds of art producers.
Other traditional and older art organizations are often found in unexpected spots as well. The Chamber Orchestra recently started playing concerts in the new
Anderson Center.
Linton Music offers a Monday night series in Loveland and the popular children’s
Peanut Butter and Jam Sessions in locations across town from Kennedy Heights to Wyoming to Mason. And leaders in neighborhoods from Evanston to Sharonville have opened their own arts centers creating a place for resident interaction and access to more arts for a diverse audience.
This is kind of community I want to live in – a region where there’s lots of opportunity and inclusion in the arts, spaces for people to share these experiences and talk together about the art they create and share.