TEXAS Panhandle
Heritage Foundation to Host 40th
National Conference
October 23-26, 2002
Details coming soon.
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From the Fall, 2001 U.S. Outdoor Drama, pages 1-2:
Songwriter John Denver once wrote
that West Virginia is “almost heaven”.
Anyone who has even been to Beckley, WV would surely agree
with that sentiment. Nestled in the majestic arms of the Allegheny
Mountains, surrounded on all sides by national and state parks,
clear-running streams and quiet farms, Beckley serves as the southern
center of commerce and culture for the Mountain State dating back
to the 1800’s when coal mining was the driving force of the economy.
Beckley’s own Theatre West Virginia,
producer of Billy Edd Wheeler’s Hatfields and McCoys
and Kermit Hunter’s Honey in the Rock, will host the 2001
National Outdoor Drama Conference from October 24-27, 2001.
Since 1963, the Institute of Outdoor Drama at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has sponsored this annual
meeting of in-depth discussions, tours and workshops as a forum
for individuals interested in the writing, producing and managing
of outdoor dramas, and those wishing to start new outdoor theatre
companies.
The major focus of the conference will be Theatre
West Virginia, a nonprofit corporation just completing its 41st
season, and offering a rotating repertory of three major stage productions
(two historical dramas and one Broadway musical).
Celebrating its 40th anniversary last
year, Honey in the Rock dramatizes the tumultuous Civil War
birth of West Virginia, and the frightening experience local Indians
encountered when they first settled the land and discovered its
strange natural gas wells. Hatfields and McCoys, which opened
in 1970, and with Honey has played to well over one million people,
chronicles the battles and bloodshed spurred by pride and politics
in the famous feud between the Hatfields of West Virginia and the
McCoys of Kentucky.
Conference participants will tour Theatre West
Virginia’s 1,259-seat Cliffside Amphitheatre located on National
Park Service property, including the front of house, control booth,
box office, backstage facilities, and administrative building. Theatre
staff and board members will be on hand to discuss the management,
direction, and creative process of the company.
For the eleventh consecutive year at the conference,
the Paul Green Foundation (Chapel Hill, NC) will sponsor the Paul
Green Seminar, focusing on creating and maintaining partnerships
in 2001. A panel of experts will discuss how theatres
can establish partnerships and the benefits to be gained from them
with traditional agencies (Convention and Visitors Bureaus, state
tourism offices, arts councils, etc.) and non-traditional agencies
(colleges and universities, sports franchises, corporations, profit
and non-profit foundations, fraternal organizations, parks and recreation
departments, etc.). Panelists will demonstrate how theatres can use
collaborative strategies to broaden the impact of their organizations.
Theatre professionals will serve on panels focused on current issues facing outdoor theatre. Topics include:
Artistic Directors Speak Out
Four outdoor drama artistic directors will field
questions designed to flesh-out the most pressing issues affecting
their work, including casting challenges, working conditions, salary
scales, artistic quality, the director/manager relationship, and
board support.
Exploring Options for Internet Ticket Sales
A look at the various commercial internet ticketing systems and software products available for outdoor theatres.
The Unveiling of the IOD’s New Economic Impact Model
Theatres can now provide the Institute of Outdoor Drama with data from a new audience survey and receive an individual report detailing the economic impact the theatre has on its community, region and state.
Three Case Studies Profiling Successful Theatre Camps for Public School Students
How three outdoor historical drama companies have improved audience development, increased cash flow, become more competitive in recruiting employees, and served their educational mission by offering drama classes for public school students and adults.
The Next Step in Raising the National Profile of Outdoor Historical Drama
Implementing collective actions for an ongoing
public relations campaign to enhance the national image of the outdoor
historical drama.
There will be a number of side trips, including
a tour of the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, a trip to the Canyon
Rim Visitor Center overlooking the New River Gorge Bridge (the world’s
largest steel arch bridge), and shopping at Tamarack, a premiere
destination featuring West Virginia handmade crafts, artists studios,
art gallery and theatre.
Conference brochures with programming, conference registration and hotel reservation information are available by calling 919/962-1328 or by emailing us at outdoor@unc.edu. Or visit our web site at www.unc.edu/depts/outdoor.