Blue Star Award nominees announced

Starlight Theatre, in partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, are proud to announce the official nominations for the 2012-2013 Blue Star Awards! Make plans to attend the Blue Star Awards Ceremony taking place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, 2013.

more at Starlight Theatre

KC Repertory "Christmas Story, the Musical" nominated for three Tonys

Christmas arrived early this year for Kansas City Repertory Theatre. A Christmas Story, The Musical!, which had its world premiere at the Rep in 2009, today was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. “As a producing partner of the Broadway production, all of us at the Rep are elated for the success and national visibility that A Christmas Story, The Musical! has brought us,” said the Rep’s artistic director Eric Rosen, who directed show’s 2009 premiere and a 2010 production in Seattle.

Starlight to honor Greg and Deanna Graves at Benefit Gala

Greg and Deanna Graves will receive the 2013 Starlight Award May 18 during the Starlight Theatre’s 27th Annual Benefit Gala. The couple will be honored for their tremendous commitments to Starlight, as well as to other important causes in Kansas City.

more at Infozine

KC FilmFest award winners

Presenting all of the Kansas City FilmFest 2013 Award Winners. Congratulations!

more at KC FilmFest

UCM Professor Richard Herman receives Byler Distinguished Faculty Award

Richard “Buzz” Herman, an award-winning University of Central Missouri professor whom colleagues praise for  helping students and faculty members to grow as artists and scholars, will receive the 2013 Byler Distinguished Faculty Award.

more at the University of Central Missouri

Barn Players offers summer internships

Area high school and college students will have the opportunity to earn up to $500.00 to be used toward tuition, boarding or books at the college of his/her choice. Application deadline is April 30, 2013. This is an incredible opportunity for a student to earn necessary college money, by participating in something that he/she enjoys!  The internship requires the student to be available to work / study on our summer productions at The Barn Players Theatre.

The intern(s) might be working on one or more of the following productions this summer:

• Sordid Lives
• Dangerous Liaisons
• Disney's Winnie-the-Pooh, Kids (working with children in two different sessions)
• You Can't Stop The Beat: Rock On Broadway

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

• Currently be currently enrolled in a high school or college theatre program, and be from the Metro Kansas City area
• Have a minimum GPA of 2.75
• Provide a letter of recommendation from an instructor or counselor at the school that he/she attends
• Provide a cover letter of introduction by describing his/her interest in the performing arts
• Provide a current theatrical resume listing his/her experience in the performing arts

HOW TO APPLY

Send a resume, recommendations and letter of application to
Eric Magnus, Artistic Director, The Barn Players emagnitude@me.com

Deadline for application is May 15th, 2013.  Interviews will be held at The Barn Players at 6219 Martway, Mission, KS  66202. Announcement will be made by May 30th, 2013.

Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission meeting in Lawrence

The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission is organizing a public input session this week in Lawrence. The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St. Those wishing to attend are asked to register online at kansascommerce.com.

more at the Lawrence Journal World

Diane Scott appointed director of professional development at UMKC Conservatory

The UMKC Conservatory is pleased to announce that Diane Scott is named Director of Professional Development. Conservatory dean Peter Witte notes, “Diane Scott’s appointment as Director of Professional Development at UMKC’s Conservatory is big. Diane’s Artist INC., heralded as a model for partnerships, portfolio career development, and entrepreneurship, is yet another Kansas City success story.

more at the UMKC Conservatory

Lied Center director Tim Van Leer to retire

The executive director of the Lied Center in Lawrence is stepping down after 12 years with the venue. Tim Van Leer, whose knowledge of the arts was praised by peers in a news release Thursday, will retire at the end of the year.

more at the Topeka Capital Journal

American Heartland Theatre closing at end of season

The American Heartland Theatre announced today that it will permanently close at the end of its current season. This 26th and final season is scheduled to conclude on August 25, 2013.

more at the American Heartland Theatre

Starlight seeking applicants for Vincent Legacy Scholarship

Starlight Theatre is now accepting applications through April 8 for the Vincent Legacy Scholarship for ethnically diverse youth in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades who have a passionate interest and strong ability in the performing arts. Approximately two scholarships will be awarded that will pay for up to $2,500 of dance, voice or acting training for the selected youth.

Artist Inc takes training program to Arkansas, Oklahoma

Artist INC, a collaborative partnership of Charlotte Street Foundation, the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City, and the UMKC Innovation Center, announces a new partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA), to bring the Artist INC programming to two new communities in the region: Argenta Arts District and the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.

more at Artist INC

KC Women in Film short screenplay finalists

KCWIFT is excited that the finalists in our second annual KCWIFT & KC FilmFest Short Screenplay Contest have been announced! Screenplays rolled in from all over the world and have been narrowed down to the top six.


more at KC Women in Film and Television

University of Missouri receives $1.4 million for New Music Initiative

The University of Missouri has announced that a generous gift from the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation will support programs and scholarships directed toward promoting the creation of new music.

more at the Mizzou New Music Initiative 
and more at KBIA
and at the Missourian

Missouri Motion Media Association Meet Up

Since 1999, the Missouri Film Tax Incentive program has offered film and TV producers a tax credit for in-state productions. But the program is scheduled to expire in November and its renewal is tenuous, threatening the viability of future film and TV productions, including commercials, in the Show Me State.

more at the Missouri Motion Media Association

Bobby Watson receives Benny Golsman Jazz Master Award

Conservatory of Music and Dance Professor Bobby Watson was presented with the prestigious Benny Golson Jazz Master Award at Howard University in Washington, D.C., March 7. Watson was honored for his excellence in jazz and his role as a mentor in the worldwide jazz community.

more at the University News

Lyric Opera apprentices Chris Carr, Casey Finnigan join opera programs

2012-13 Lyric Opera of Kansas City/UMKC Apprentices Chris Carr and Casey Finnigan have been accepted into two separate nationally-renowned opera programs for next year.  Both apprentices are finishing their second and final year in the Lyric Opera Apprentice program and have been featured on the Muriel Kauffman Theatre stage this season. 

more at the Lyric Opera

Ingrid Stölzel named director of Park University's International Center for Music

Park University announces the appointment of Ingrid Stölzel, D.M.A., as director of the University’s International Center for Music. Stölzel began her duties at Park Feb. 25.

more at KC Studio

Olathe students win ESU Shakespeare Competition

Wyatt McCall from Olathe, Kansas, a student of Robin Murphy at Olathe Northwest High School in Olathe, Kansas, won the Kansas City regional event of the English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition.  

more at KC Studio

Barn Players "Volunteer Appreciation Ceremony" review by Alexia Lang

The Barn Players honored their volunteers Jan. 26 at a gala “Volunteer Appreciation Ceremony.”

more at the Vignette