Theatre in Education

Like a good Neighbor: Pollyanna Theatre Company and The Long Center announce newstrategic partnership

Aaron Alexander stars in Playground Superhero.
Gricelda Silva and Aaron Alexander in Playground Superhero.

Just in time for the fast-approaching five year anniversary, The Long Center for the Performing Arts announces a brand new formal partnership with one of Austin's most prominent children's theatre organizations, Pollyanna Theatre Company.

Dubbed The Good Neighbor Arts Education Project, Pollyanna will become the official youth arts education arm of the Long Center, conducting long-range educational programming at The Long Center and, eventually, in seven elementary schools that lie within a 3-mile radius of the performance hall.

Pollyanna began by visiting classrooms this month at Baty, Dawson and Becker Elementary Schools to introduce some of the concepts that appear in their latest professional production for younger audiences, Playground Superhero, showing at the Long Center's Rollins Theatre. After the performance, Pollyanna's teaching artists will return to the schools for post-show discussions as well.

The goal is not only to introduce the performing arts into elementary curriculum but to also introduce the students at these schools to the world of theatre. According to Pollyanna founder and artistic director Judy Matetzschk-Campbell, the majority of the students at these schools struggle with having basic needs met, so attending the theatre is far down on their list of priorities.

With a PhD in children's theatre, Matetzschk-Campell knows full well how exposure to the arts can provide students with opportunities for expression, enchantment and even escape, and it's her goal to provide them with "ongoing, repeated visits to the Long Center where [they] will consistently explore and make discoveries through theatre."

Within this initiative, Pollyanna's entire season will consist of new works written specifically for these audiences and applying them to the work they're covering in school. In May, for example, the new play Plus Meets Minus will help very early learners with their math skills. Imagine how much better you would have learned algebra if you saw the functions performed for you live on stage.

Matetzschk-Campbell will also be training Pollyanna's company of actors to become engaged teaching artists who visit the schools before and after each show. "This way, the students will get to see the teachers they've known in their six-week classes up on stage," she explains, and actors will be able to see the direct impact of their work on their audiences.

The Good Neighbor Education Arts Project will begin with three schools this fall and add four more by the end of the school year. So far, reception at the schools has been overwhelmingly positive.

"In order for something like this to work, you have to know the right people to partner with... and be willing to wait for some people," says Matetzschk-Campbell. "I'm so thrilled that we're working with the schools that we have here. It's so great to have so many people who share your goals."

The Long Center and Pollyanna's strategic alliance comes at a fortuitous time for collaborative arts educators in Austin. This Wednesday, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and mindPOP will announce a major launch in our city called "Any Given Child" for expanding and funding collaborative projects just like this one in the years to come.

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See the full 2012-2013 Pollyanna Theatre Company performance calendar. All shows are open to the public, and all ages will appreciate them.

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Historic Austin museum will close for more than a year for restoration

Photo courtesy of the City of Austin

The Elisabet Ney Museum will close at the end of 2024 and reopen in mid-2026.

Every building needs some maintenance here or there, and the historic Elisabet Ney Museum needs some extra-special care. Formerly the art studio and residence of its namesake, it's been standing since 1892. It'll spend 2025 in relative solitude, as it undergoes renovation for a year and a half with no visitors allowed.

The museum will close to the public December 30, 2024, and open again in the summer of 2026 if all goes according to plan, a news release from the City of Austin shares. It'll be a quiet period compared to the 21,000 people visiting from around the world each year.

According to a museum overview on the city's website, Elisabet Ney, a European portrait sculptor, bought the property and called her new studio Formosa. She worked on sculptures depicting important Texans like Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, and collected works of European contemporaries.

The building at 304 East 44th St. includes 3,700 square feet of museum space, which was converted by Ney's friends after her death in 1907. It retains its unique look that juxtaposes a Neo-Classical main studio from 1892 with a later addition from 1902 including a tower for her husband, Edmund, to write in. It is also on 2.5 acres of land, which has largely been restored to its natural state with native species.

A press release lists these tasks (verbatim) within the scope of the new work, referred to as the Capital Improvement Project (CIP):

Restoration of original exterior wood doors and windows
Upgrades and replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system
Replacement of the exhibit and general lighting systems
Repairs to the roof, masonry, plumbing, and interior finishes.

There will also be work to do outside of the building. Workers will replace the pedestrian bridge across Waller Creek, stabilize a 20,000-square-foot portion of the bank, and make the grounds more accessible by adding new pathways.

Funding comes from several sources, according to a release: "the 2012 Bond, Proposition 14, the Parkland Dedication Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, Partners in Preservation through the National Trust, and contributions from the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum."

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