The Carnegie Theatre Launches Creative Disruption Committee to Support Local Art-Making and Performance Community

The Carnegie Theatre in Covington is using Covid-19 as a chance to get creative and keep the arts alive.
(Img: Lori Valentine, owner of Fort Thomas Coffee, played the role of Maude Dunlop in the 2017 Carnegie Theatre performance of The Music Man.)

Editor's Note: 

The following is a press release from The Carnegie Theatre. Located in Covington KY, The Carnegie has been hosting professional and community theatre in the former Carnegie Library (built in 1904 and on the National Register of Historic Places) since its inception in 1972.

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COVID-19 has significantly impacted the arts and live performance industry, leaving many workers fighting for their livelihoods and without a creative community. In a bid to support local theatre artists and entertainment professionals, The Carnegie is launching the Creative Disruption Committee, a thinktank dedicated to creating live arts experiences for a socially distant world.

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
At its core, The Carnegie Creative Disruption Committee (The Carnegie CDC) is a volunteer consortium of artists, educators, business and social service professionals that will act as a creative engine and rapid response team to the current struggles of the entertainment industry. It will also provide a new community-based structure for performing arts programming. Instead of The Carnegie planning new projects and then hiring artists to work for us, The Carnegie will go to work on ideas brought forward by artists and organizations and support them with our resources and staff.

PUTTING CREATIVE MINDS (BACK) TO WORK
Although the administrative committee is made up of volunteers, the projects created by The Carnegie CDC will specifically aim to create paid roles for local artists and performers. The Carnegie will devote 75% of profits from The Carnegie CDC-related programming to the artists and organizations collaborating on the projects. Membership in The Carnegie CDC is open to anyone in need of creative community or interested in supporting art-making during the pandemic. The committee seeks to dismantle traditional systems that have excluded minority voices from the arts by promoting and creating art that is inclusive of and/or created by artists from underrepresented communities. Together, we will advocate for the arts and bring joy in uncertain times.

Maggie Perrino, Theatre Director for The Carnegie, believes the creation of the new committee can – and will – be a landmark moment for the region’s live performance community and all its supporters.

“We’re all missing the buzz before the the curtain rises and the thrill of the applause. There is just nothing like live performance. Unfortunately, we can’t safely enjoy these moments in a traditional setting right now, which is why we launched The Carnegie CDC – to assist all those who have dedicated themselves to this industry,” said Perrino. “Our new stages will be the world around us – front porches and parks, city streets and bridges, public squares and personal backyards. And through all of this, we’ll bring a commitment to live theatre experiences in a socially distant world.”

In addition to exploring opportunities for safe, socially distant live experiences, The Carnegie CDC will develop companion digital components for these experiences – all of which equates to the most massive community engagement undertaking in The Carnegie’s history.

Current projects on The Carnegie CDC’s working list include:

Development of theatrical, audio-based walking tours;
Creation of an emotion-based curriculum to utilizing acting techniques to develop empathy;
A fall performance at Pyramid Hill staged in small sections with pre-recorded music;
A Halloween haunted theatre walk-thru experience;
A social issues performance series focused on topics in today’s headlines and offering educational and discussion components; and
Improv show performances at group homes for people with disabilities and living in retirement communities.

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To find out how you can become part of The Carnegie CDC or for more information, visit https://www.thecarnegiecdc.com or email mperrino@thecarnegie.com.

CCDC Membership

Maggie Perrino, Committee Director

Committee Chairs

Ria Villaver Collins, Artist/Volunteer Coordinator

Shauna Nelson, Carnegie @ Homes Stage Manager

Kelcey Steele, Keeper of the Pandemic

Committee Members

Clarity Amrein

Thomas Hart Boeing

Jules Breslin

Robert Breslin IV

Chris Logan Carter

Carissa Gandenberger

Tyler Gau

Justin Glaser

Hannah Gregory

Claire Hingsbergen

Jennifer Howd

Royce Louden

Kaitlin McCulloch

Sean Mette

Ashley O. Morton

Stix Newman

Farley Norman

Genevieve Perrino

Sarah Perrino Priestle

Caleb Redslob

Sharisse Vernelle Santos

Maddie Sensenstein

Spenser Smith

Cassidy Steele

Cian Steele

Jessica Steuver

Doug Stock

Elizabeth L. Taylor

Kyle Taylor

Sarah Willis