Fox Cities P.A.C. Celebrates Arts in Education Week 9/12-18

The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center is pleased to announce that the United States House of Representatives has declared September 12-18, 2010 as National Arts in Education Week. This declaration recognizes that arts education, including the disciplines of dance, music, theater, media arts, literature, design and visual arts, is a core academic subject and an essential element of a complete and balanced education for all students. This is the first time the U.S. legislature has formally recognized the intrinsic value of all art forms in education.

Maria Van Laanen, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center's vice president of communication and external relations, believes the week comes at a crucial time as students return to the classroom. "One of the really interesting things this resolution does is recognize trends that educators already know," says Van Laanen, "that arts education enables students to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, imagination and creativity, discipline and alternative ways to communicate. All of these traits support academic success and help students grow as individuals and as members of our community."

Arts education is a central component of the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center's mission. The Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Education Series presents age-appropriate matinee performances that reinforce Wisconsin Model Academic Standards in multiple subject areas. During the 2009/10 school year, more than 24,000 students traveled to the Center for an education performance. Van Laanen stresses that a visit to the Center is more than just a fieldtrip. It provides another tool teachers can use to help coursework come alive for their students. "The Center provides study guides and support materials, sometimes even workshops led by the performers. There's really a lot more that goes into an education performance than the hour students are at the Center."

Learning does not stop with a diploma, and the Center's director of programming and community engagement Amy Gosz sees education as a lifelong journey that can be inspired by the performing arts, citing a number of programs that encourage the community to explore the world through the arts. "The Boldt Arts Alive! Series presents an opportunity for people of all ages to learn together through a shared artistic experience. It's great to see families exploring history and literature with performances like Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight, other cultures with shows like Acoustic Africa, even themes like trust and teamwork with Cirque Dreams Illumination." Since the Center's opening in 2002, the Center has presented more than 100 titles as part of the Boldt Arts Alive! Series with highlights including the Boston Pops, Soweto Gospel Choir, Savion Glover, A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, singer Nneena Freelon and many more. Additional titles and information about this season's Boldt Arts Alive! Series performances can be found at foxcitiespac.com.

The Center also presents free Appleton Papers Inc. Community Engagement Activities with several performances each year. On October 21, a preshow discussion is planned before a performance of Barter Theatre's The Diary of Anne Frank led by Wisconsin Holocaust survivor Henry Golde. "Community engagement activities allow audience members to connect with a performance on another level, perhaps be lending a local perspective or by providing some historical context to the production they're about to experience." Last season's community engagement activities drew more than 8,000 audience members looking to expand their arts experience at the Fox Cities P.A.C. Since opening, this initiative has impacted more than 30,000 students and adults. To find out if a community engagement activity is connected with your next ticket, visit foxcitiespac.com or contact the Center's ticket office at (920) 730-3760.

Educators interested in learning more about the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center's educational opportunities for PreK-12 grade students can explore a newly designed educators menu on the Center's website at foxcitiespac.com. Ticket prices range between $5 and $7 for the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Education Series, and scholarship funds are available to offset ticket costs for students and classrooms facing financial hardship. Scholarship funds are available to nonprofit organizations for participants to attend select public performances. For details, visit foxicitiespac.com and click on About the Fox Cities P.A.C.

Tickets for public events at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center can be purchased through Ticketmaster at (800) 982-2787 or the Center's ticket office at (920) 730-3760. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center's ticket office or online at foxcitiespac.com. Groups of 15 or more can order now, before the public on sale date, and save by calling (920) 730-3786. Additional fees may apply.