Friends of the Performing Arts forms in the Valley
April 8, 2009
By Laura Geggel
Snoqualmie Valley artists can get by with a little help from their friends, especially if they seek the help of the new Friends of the Performing Arts group.
Spearheaded by Mount Si High School Counselor Thomas Tilton, the group seeks to support the performing arts in the Snoqualmie Valley community and school district.
The group plans to foster young artists and offer input for existing art groups. By connecting art leaders, the group will provide a Valley-wide performing arts network.
“I’d like to see it grow into a round table, where people doing performing arts and all of its forms have a chance to get together and share what they’re doing,” Valley Center Stage owner Gary Schwartz said. “Now, everyone is off doing their own thing.”
This cross-pollination of ideas could help people land roles, find venues and expand their careers.
Friends of the Performing Arts also plans to create a Snoqualmie Valley Performing Arts calendar, give music and drama scholarships and offer an artist-in-residence program.
Before it folded last year, Snoqualmie Valley Arts Live supported and brought in artists to perform at local venues. But Tilton, a former board member for Snoqualmie Valley Arts Live, said the group was monetarily difficult to sustain.
Now, he hopes the Friends of the Performing Arts can fill the void left by the Arts Live group, although its mission will be different.
“We recognized a need for performing stewardship of arts in the Snoqualmie Valley,” Tilton said.
Group members hope to recruit people interested in the arts as they continue to hammer out their mission statement. The group meets once a month at Valley Center Stage, located on the second floor of the Masonic Lodge, 119 North Bend Way, in North Bend, above SingleTrack Cycle. The next meeting is at 7 p.m. April 16.
“We are looking for residents in the community who share a passion in performing arts and would like to foster performing arts programs,” Tilton said.
To learn more, e-mail Thomas Tilton at tiltont@svsd410.org.
Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
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