The Cheboygan Opera House Newsletter

CAAC PURSUES REGIONAL REGRANTING PROGRAM

Along with other Regranting Agencies around the state (there are nineteen of us), the CAAC is moving forward with its application to the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs for Regranting funds, in hopes that the legislature will recognize the value of investing in small and rural communities who want to increase public access to the arts through locally developed, high quality arts projects. Any non-profit organization in this Northern Michigan region including, but not limited to, service organizations, arts organizations, parks and recreation organizations, professional associations, public and non-public schools, libraries, cities, townships, and villages, is eligible to submit a proposal to the Cheboygan Area Arts Council for funding for arts activities for the next fiscal year according to the following schedule:

FY '2009 DEADLINE PROJECT PERIOD

Round I July 1, 2008 October 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009

Round II February 1, 2009 April 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009

All projects for the 2009 fiscal year must be completed by Midnight, September 30, 2009.

The Cheboygan Area Arts Council is a Regional Regranting Agency for The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. The Mini-Grant Program is a grants-giving partnership financed by the State of Michigan through the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. As the Regranting Agency for Region 9, which includes the seven counties of Alpena, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, Montmorency, Otsego, and Presque Isle, the Cheboygan Area Arts Council has been allocated funds each year to re-grant for arts projects of up to $4,000 each.

The Cheboygan Area Arts Council funded ten mini-grant awards for Round II of the 2008 Fiscal Year. They are: Gaylord Chamber Orchestra for a Vivaldi Fest, Beaver Island Cultural Arts Association for Baroque on Beaver; Northland Players for Children’s Summer Theatre Camp; Rogers City for 2008 Summer Concert Series Cheboygan Historical Society for UV Protection of Artifacts using Art; Alpena District Library for Summer Reading Matters; Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra for their Emerging Artist Concerto Competition; VSA Char-Em 7th Annual Arts Festival;

Grant Applications, Guidelines and Instructions are available through the CAAC, or may be downloaded from the Download Page of The Opera House Website at www.theoperahouse.org. Assistance in grant preparation is always available by calling the Cheboygan Area Arts Council at (231) 627-5432, Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

TICKET PRICING POLICY BENEFITS MEMBERS AND YOUTH

The pricing of tickets for all single performances, sponsored by the Cheboygan Area Arts Council, provides an added benefit for Arts Council members and youth. Ticket pricing is determined by budget – how much a concert costs to present (artist fee, advertising, production costs, lodging, license fees, etc.) and projected income based on a percentage of capacity audience. The previous few years have not been good to us. Costs have gone up while audience numbers have declined. Our new pricing policy, while intended to benefit our members - those of you who faithfully renew your contributions on an annual basis - and hopefully attract more young people to our events – will also help to close the gap between expenses and income of presenting a program. Memberships support our programs and we hope this policy will also provide an incentive for ticket buyers to become members. Youth tickets (students through high school) will be priced at $10.00 on a fairly consistent basis, but is also dependent on the production costs of the artist. Member tickets will carry a savings of approximately $3.00 below the regular price.

Because of budget cuts and rising costs, many of you will notice that we will be reducing the number of programs we will be presenting. In this current economic climate, we need to be conservative and manage The Opera House in a cost effective manner. Certain programs will remain untouched: our Youth Series which brings in thousands of children from all over Northern Michigan (for a mere $3.00 per child); our Youth Arts Festival, our Dance program; Access to Arts which is generously underwritten by Citizens National Bank; the Missoula Children’s Theatre; our summer camp Scholarships (paid for by funds generated from an endowment bequest by Robert L. Moloney back in 1991 and preserved for that purpose); our Youth Visual Art Show, co-sponsored by Reusch Jewelers; and our support of local school’s Christmas and Spring concerts (for which these schools may use The Opera House free of charge for a one-time use per year.

While our winter subscription series and summer programs may be reduced in number, we pledge to you that the quality of artists and performances will not suffer. They will be announced mid-summer (we can’t let the cat out of the bag until all contracts are signed) but we promise that you will be as excited as we are. You will notice as you read on that I have inserted a survey that we used three years ago. It is still available because we always like to hear from our audience. I hope you will take the time to fill it out and return to us. After all, the Arts Council is here to serve you and we want to listen to your suggestions.

SPECIAL THANKS

In recent years we have had an extraordinary number of productions, which required many extra stagehands, wardrobe helpers, and meals served. To all of those who have helped backstage, carried in potluck dishes, and also to the various restaurants and grocers who donated a variety of main dishes – a big thank you is due. With your help, we were able to save many hundreds of dollars that it would have cost to provide meals for the many artists, particularly the large groups of artists, which required meals being served. And – the volunteer stagehands are always the last to be thanked. Those of you who attend our touring productions know how elaborate some of the sets are. Who do you think unloads all those big trucks and then puts the sets together? Right – the stagehands. And wardrobe helpers – they take loads of laundry to the Laundromat, they mend costumes when needed, they iron costumes and then they help to dress the artists when quick changes are required. It takes a great deal of work to put a show together and our volunteers behind the scenes make it all happen. Thank You! What would we do without you?

FINE ARTS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP

The Cheboygan Area Arts Council is dedicated to the growth and promotion of the arts in our northern Michigan community. In accordance with their Mission, the Arts Council is sponsoring a new Scholarship opportunity, established for graduating high school students planning advanced studies in an arts-related field. Beginning 2006, two $500 scholarships were awarded to students pursuing higher education in the arts at an accredited college in the school year following graduation. Those students were Abbey Kwiatkowski and Dani Mihora, both majoring in the fine arts. The 2007 recipient is Lacy Pyrzynski, who will be attending the University of Michigan this fall. Her intended major is Industrial Design. Majors may include, but are not limited to, music, visual arts, dance, theatre arts, and drama. Applicants must be graduating seniors from Cheboygan, Inland Lakes, Mackinaw City, Northern Michigan Christian Academy, Onaway, and Wolverine High Schools, as well as the Cheboygan Area Arts Council Dance Program and Home Schooled students residing in Cheboygan County. The scholarships are announced at graduation and are awarded following the students’ first completed semester of higher education. Recipients must maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher during the first college semester.

The criteria for selection for this award includes:

Graduation from High School
Acceptance by an accredited institution of higher learning
Interest in the appropriate arts-related majors
Sound educational goals

The initial funding for the Cheboygan Area Arts Council’s College Scholarship Fund came from “Homecoming for the Arts”, a musical extravaganza held at The Opera House in July 2005. All the performers and artists were graduates of Cheboygan County high schools and had utilized their experiences with the arts to enhance their quality of life as they went on to pursue their adult careers. Some went into professions in the arts, but all of them, appreciating their early exposure to a cultural life, continued to use their artistic skills in their adult life. The next "Homecoming for the Arts" will be held this summer, Saturday, July 28th. In the meantime, donations for this worthy project can be made to the Cheboygan Area Arts Council, P.O. Box 95, Cheboygan, MI 49721.