STAGES for a New Millennium

A Multi-Disciplinary, Community Approach To The Arts

The Huntington Theater Company has announced a new theatrical collaboration. STAGES for a New Millennium, the third installment of STAGES (Storytelling for the Ages), is an innovative community program that combines oral history with the performing and visual arts.

The Boston Globe Foundation has awarded the Huntington a generous grant to support the multi-ethnic, multi-generational program, which will utilize the Huntington’s partnership with the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) to produce a multi-disciplinary showcase highlighting the life experiences of participants.

Beginning this fall, the Huntington’s Department of Education and Outreach will recruit and train a team of oral historians, comprised of both young people and elders, from the South End, the Fenway, Mission Hill and Lower Roxbury areas. They will tell their stories which will then be transcribed and turned over to professional artists who will use their mediums to convey the stories.

The artists selected will include a playwright, a visual artist, a composer and a choreographer. A broader-based selection of community members, including the oral historians, will provide feedback for the project, and ultimately work with the professionals as artists and performers. Two prior versions of the Huntington’s STAGES program (1993-95 and 1998-2000) used theater and photography to showcase the stories told.

Huntington Education and Outreach Director Donna Glick, who will spearhead STAGES for a New Millennium commented, “This is an exciting opportunity to broaden the Huntington's arts-in-community initiatives. STAGES combines the talents of dancers, musicians, visual artists, and playwrights, all of whom share the Huntington’s commitment to education and community outreach and eagerness to establish a connection with South End artists and residents.”

The names of those participating as lead artists, storytellers and oral historians will be announced in December. The project will culminate in a series of free performances and presentations in the fall of 2004. They will include student matinees, accompanied by curriculum guides for teachers, and ASL interpretation and audio description.

Partnering with the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) will be an essential element of STAGES for a New Millennium as the series will help inaugurate the new Theatre Pavilion being built in the South End by the Huntington and the BCA.

In the fall of 2004 the Huntington and BCA will open two new theaters, the Virginia Wimberly Theatre and the Nancy and Edward Roberts Studio Theatre. In addition to providing a second stage for the Huntington, the new theaters, which will be cooperatively programmed by the BCA and Huntington, will also host a range of performances by smaller arts organizations.  

-- OnStage Boston

11/20/03