Over fifty members enjoyed gathering for the first luncheon of the new Arts, etc. year at the River Course Ballroom on October 2 and hearing from Program Partner PURE Theater’s Co-Founder, Sharon Graci. The luncheon was kicked off by President Amy Creamer, who was pleased to announce the addition of a new Program Partner, the Charleston Youth Symphony. With the help of member donations, Arts, etc. will help fund their trip to NYC in February to perform at Carnegie Hall. This orchestra draws young musicians from throughout Charleston County and will perform for two of the Johns Island schools in the coming year. Ellen Walkley, one of the founding members of Arts, etc., shared the story of the organization’s origin some twenty years ago. She recalled how she and a handful of friends sent out a call to have luncheons to “nourish our brains” and to complement all the other activities Kiawah had to offer. The philanthropy to education programs developed naturally with the Kiawah Art & House Tour being the lead event to bring in funds. The dedication of volunteers from the women of Kiawah and Cassique has always been central to the success of the organization. Past President Carla Powe encouraged members to consider upcoming open positions on the Board, and Jennifer Tesoro proudly announced that we are already at 150 registered members for this year. Kerry Pardoll told members to look for an email announcing this year’s member donation campaign, where our goal is 75% participation to make a meaningful impact on our targeted $200,000 of arts funding for our Program Partners this year.
Speaker Sharon Graci shared the history of PURE Theatre, which she was key to starting in 2003. In the 20+ years that it has been offering productions to the Charleston Community, PURE has held 28 world premiere plays and will host its first world premiere musical this year. As a Southeast regional theatre, it has had 97 premieres. Last year, PURE featured a musical based on the life of Charleston native Septima Clark, which just received a NEA grant to tour the region. Since then, the musical has won several South Carolina Arts Fellowship awards. PURE is an “ensemble” company with 22 actors who are core members. It has been reviewed in the Wall Street Journal as the place “where theatre gets real in Charleston”. Arts, etc. funding has been central to PURE’s ability to conduct programs in schools. It has been partnering with area schools since 2017 with over 400 hours of theater training. This is so important since our area schools have minimal offerings. They have had success in five schools on Johns and Wadmalaw Islands by making theatre participation function like a sport. Sharon shared that this year they were happy to have 38 students at Haut Gap Middle School involved in the program there. Transportation home from the schools has been a challenge, but by making this part of the budget for the theatre programs, this can be overcome.