Friday, October 12, 2007

VSA Audiences Write In

As part of our community outreach programming, the Flynn is delighted to have a strong partnership with VSA Vermont, the Winooski-based branch of the national organization dedicated to making the arts accessible to people of all abitlities. Part of this partnership includes ticket vouchers to select Flynn performances.

VSA Vermont recently passed along some wonderful emails from patrons who attended two of our recent MainStage performances, Ballet Folklórico de México on Thursday, October 4 and Weston Playhouse's "Master Harold"... and the boys (and the related pre-preformance lecture) on Friday, October 5.


Following the Ballet Folklórico de México performance, the mother of a son with a disability wrote:

"I heard glowing reports about the show this morning. My 11-year-old son, Jack, said he loved it, 'especially all the foot stompin' and costumes and music and the big paper mache heads.' Our thanks to you and the Flynn for making this opportunity possible. The performance deepened my son's excitement for Spanish, a language and culture he's studying in school. The event also provided my husband a chance to share an enjoyable music-alicious evening out with this darling little boy. The ticket stubs from this memorable night out are definately scrapbook worthy!

"!Viva La Artes!"



A patron who attended "Master Harold"... wrote:

"I'm very glad to tell you about my experience Friday evening at the Flynn seeing the Athol Fugard play, 'Master Harold'...and the boys.

"I took a friend with me who has MS, and we met for the presentation before the play in the Tarrant Gallery. One of the three producers spoke eloquently of the playwright, the play, the historical setting, and previous productions of the work. I had often heard the name Athol Fugard, but had never seen any of his plays. The speaker told us about Fugard's own childhood in South Africa and explained that the play was really autobiographical.

"At the actual play, the stage had a box setting of an English Tea Room on a rainy day. There were only three characters in the play—two black men who worked in the tea room and a white youngster, 17, who was the owner's son. What a performance! Within moments, my friend and I were transported to the locale, the times, and the story unfolding in front of us. The actors were excellent, flawless. At the end, the audience gave them a standing ovation, a long one.

"My guest and I talked a long time after the play, commenting on how much the pre-play talk helped us to understand better what was happening, amazed that three actors could remember all their lines in a play that went on without intermission with complete attention in the theater the entire time.

"Thanks so much for sending me the vouchers."


For more information about VSA Vermont, visit http://www.vsavt.org/ or email info@vsavt.org.

For information about the Flynn's commitment to accessibility, visit www.flynncenter.org/about/access.shtml.

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