ROBERT STADNYCKI AND CAPITAL AREA SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS TO RECEIVE THEATRE HARRISBURG’S 2008 AWARDS FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO THE ARTS IN THE CAPITAL REGION
Harrisburg, PA – Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced that Theatre Harrisburg has chosen the two recipients of the 2008 Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts in the Capital Region (Arts Award). The winners of this year’s awards are artist Robert Stadnycki and the Capital Area School for the Arts (CASA).
Reed said the Arts Awards, which have become an important community tradition, honor the regional contributions to the arts through vision, leadership, service, support and artistic achievement. The 2008 recipients were selected by a panel of 18 past honorees.
Reed said this year’s individual winner is Robert Stadnycki, one of the most dynamic producing artists and arts administrators in the Capital Region, the state and nation. As Executive Director of the Harrisburg Arts Council since 1995, he is the impresario and creative force behind the annual Patriot-News Artsfest on Memorial Day weekend and the PSECU Kipona Artfest on Labor Day weekend. Under his leadership, the Harrisburg Arts Council partners with the State Museum of Pennsylvania to present the annual "Art of the State® Pennsylvania" juried exhibition.
Reed said this year’s organizational winner is the Capital Area School for the Arts, a dynamic high school program for talented and highly motivated students in the Capital Region who wish to expand their education in the arts in innovative ways. A unique partnership between the Capital Area Intermediate Unit and Open Stage of Harrisburg, CASA offers accelerated experiences in five major art areas – visual art, dance, film and video, music, and theatre. Located in the heart of downtown Harrisburg’s arts district, the school operates from several arts and cultural sites and uses the city as a classroom to inspire students to create great art.
"Each of this year’s winners are worthy of this splendid recognition," said Reed. "Both Robert Stadnycki and the Capital Area School for the Arts have worked to enhance the arts within this City and the surrounding area, and each has done so with dignity and success. We applaud each of this year’s winners for their efforts."
Reed said the Arts Awards will be presented at a Hollywood-themed gala at Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts on Sunday, September 28, beginning at 5:30 p.m. with a Red Carpet Arrival, followed by the awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m.
Guests walking the red carpet will be greeted by adoring "fans" and "paparazzi" and will be individually announced by Chuck Rhodes of ABC27 News. The ceremony, in the Sunoco Performance Theater, will open with an on-stage reunion and salute to those who have received the award over the last 20 years. A trio of CASA students will perform an original composition by Emily Yanek of Boiling Springs High School and Theatre Harrisburg singers will perform numbers from "Sunset Boulevard" and two of its upcoming Theatre Harrisburg productions, "Ruthless! The Musical" and "The Sound of Music."
Reed said tickets to the Arts Award event, which benefits Theatre Harrisburg, are $125 per person, and include a post-ceremony party featuring a variety of food and beverage stations, each themed to a Hollywood film genre.
Founded in 1926, Theatre Harrisburg (formerly Harrisburg Community Theatre) is one of the oldest and most respected performing arts organizations in the nation. The Theatre’s critically acclaimed Mainstage productions are a collaboration between a full-time artistic and administrative staff and local actors, technicians and backstage talent. Since 1999, Theatre Harrisburg has been the resident Theatre Company of the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts.
For more information on the event or to order tickets, call the Theatre Harrisburg office at 232-5501.
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