What we would miss

I am scared.

This morning as I was starting my car I sat there for a bit waiting for it to heat up. NPR came right on and someone was talking about the stimulus package. They said they didn't have a problem with it but to include funding for the arts was "Pork Barrel Spending." I sat there stunned, when did funding for the arts become "Pork Barrel?" Last night I had sat through a School Board meeting which was all about the arts! And someones job was at stake.There is a decision for people to make and it will not be an easy one.
Will music have to go?
Up and down the state of California music, theatre, art is being cut from our schools. For many of our students this is what they Come to school for! Our districts want us to do well on test scores and have less truant children. Well the arts is one of the ways this can happen.
I worry.
I grew up in Patterson and there weren't a lot of arts programs back then. I was lucky enough to have a library card and a love of books and old movies. My Junior year I finally got to take Drama! I had been waiting for that... for forever! I loved it. The next year we got a new Theatre teacher Mr. Dias and he started a brand new program! I was there every step of the way! I am back now in Patterson because the arts made such a huge impact on my life. These teachers and librarians and people made such a big impact. I want to make the world a better place. So do the kids to are in band, art, and drama! We strive to bring the world beauty! Do not let Patterson's beauty die. Remember, yes we need the science, math, English and history to learn about the world, but we also need music, art, and theatre to understand the world and make it a better and more harmonious place.

It is not "Pork Barrel Spending" it is money well spent!

Cutting the Arts - An American Tradition

For far too many years the arts have been the first programs to be placed on the chopping block in our public schools. It has, unfortunately, become a "tradition" in the California school system. Now, in the worst recession we've had in generations, (some would say a depression, if not at the very least, a deep recession) California's public schools' arts programs are in jeopardy. But we can say, "Not in Patterson." Well, this is my hope, anyway.

Last night at the Patterson School Board meeting, band students and their parents came out in droves in support of their school's music programs. One student, a senior, was the most eloquent - a perfect example of how music and the arts can empower young people. He presented the school board with facts on how music students, on average, perform better in math, language and reading, and overall, do better on tests and go on to higher education. Others spoke out, as well. Many parents, some with tears in their eyes, pleaded with the school board to not cut the music programs because it is the music classes that give their student a reason for going to school.

I know in my own personal experience how much the arts mean, especially, music. If it weren't for my high school music program, I wouldn't have had a reason to go to school everyday. I was a very unmotivated student. It was music and theater that inspired me to go to school and try to do better in my core classes. Matter of fact, music and theater opened doors to literature, language and history. Even as I got more into the theory of music, I found a connection to math. I eventually made it through high school and went on to college with a music scholarship that helped pay for my first four semesters. I owe a lot to the arts; I'd even say I owe my life to the arts.

Yet, again, last night I was inspired by how the arts have changed and inspired so many young lives. And, I believe, the school board heard and understood these pleas. I don't envy them their job and I know they don't take their job lightly. I just hope they say about cutting our schools' arts programs, "Not here. Not in Patterson."

Perhaps they'll start a new tradition here in Patterson. Like the Thanksgiving Day tradition of the President pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey from the chopping block, the school board will pardon our arts programs from the chopping block, too!

Arts Facts

Young people who participate in the arts are:

• 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement


• 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools


• 4 times more likely to participate in a science fair


• 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance


• 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem

Young artists, as compared to their peers, are likely to:

• Participate in youth groups nearly four times as frequently


• Perform community service more than four times as often

Interpersonally

• Children learn self-expression (mentally, physically, verbally, emotionally)


• The arts give children a positive view of themselves


• They are generally more extroverted and comfortable with others (as well as themselves)

Creatively

• Children learn how to apply abstract thinking to other areas of their lives (such as academics and the career world)


• Their imagination develops more rapidly


• The creative process of theatre leads children to be more open-minded and acceptable because of the diverse roles they portray

Creative, Culture, Education and Workforce
Center for the Arts and Culture (2001)
A complete education in the arts and humanities is proven to help students:

• Think creatively


• Communicate effectively


• Work collaboratively in today's fast-paced, technologically advanced global economy

Arts in Our Economy

• Contribute $5.4 billion to California's economy


• Create 66,300 full-time jobs


• Create 95,100 part-time jobs


• Generate $300 million in state and local tax


• Attract 71.2 million in annual attendance


• Attract 6 million out of state tourists

Creative Industries Study
Americans for the Arts(2008)

• California is home to 98,949 arts-related businesses, institutions, and organizations.


• Arts-related businesses, institutions, and organizations in California employ 500,891 Californians.


• There are 49,489 visual and performing arts businesses in California, employing 181,373 Californians.


• There are 18,663 film, radio and television businesses in California, employing 174,133 Californians.


• California ranks first in the nation with more firms than any other state in this creative economic sector

How States Are Using Arts & Culture to Strengthen Their Global Trade Development
National Governors Association (2003)

• Incorporating arts and cultural exchange in international and business development approaches


• Initiating cultural exchanges with foreign nations


• Making grants to communities and educational intuitions that are actively initiating contacts abroad

Moonlight and Valentino

Patterson Repertory Theatre Presents
Moonlight and Valentino

By Ellen Simon

Directed by Colton Dennis

Story: This lighthearted comedy by Neil Simon's daughter captures the warmth and spirit of four women seeking answers to life's biggest questions. When Rebecca's family and closest friend arrive on her doorstep following the sudden accidental death of her husband, they bring their own baggage and distinctive personalities: a controlling ex stepmother, a naive younger sister and an eccentric best friend. When a sexy painter is hired to paint Rebecca's house, each woman learns that, when all is said and done, laughter is the best medicine. This warm and wonderful play was the basis on the movie that starred Elizabeth Perkins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Bon Jovi, Kathleen Turner and Whoopie Goldberg.

Dates: Fri. February 20 - Sun. March 1
Fri. & Sat. @ 7:30, Sun. @ 2:00
Cost: $8-$10
Place: PHS Auditorium / 200 N. 7th Street
More Info: 209.892.7297 or www.pattersonrep.org/

And the winner is...

Last month, Eileen Butcher's watercoloring was selected for the Centennial Mural design. Now we must wait for the Planning Commission (Dec. 18) and the City Council (tba) to give the greenlight for us to paint it on the wall of US Bank.

The next step now is to find someone who will work with the winning designer to paint it up on the wall. The mural must be completed by one of our Centennial Celebrations, either the weekend of the 4th of July, or by Labor Day weekend, at the latest.

If you are a muralist or know a muralist who might be interested in painting Patterson's Centennial Mural, please contact Colton Dennis at, colton@pattersonrep.org, or 209.872.0430.

Revenge of 'THE NERD'

Patterson Rep presents, Larry Shue's The Nerd, directed by Tori Lee Scoles, opens this Halloween at 7:30 pm. at the PHS Auditorium, 200 N. 7th Street.

Shows are Friday - Saturday at 7:30, Sundays at 2 pm. October 31 - November 9.
To reserve tickets call, 892.7297 or pattersonrep.org.

Synopsis:
Now an aspiring young architect in Terre Haute, Indiana, Willum Cubbert has often told his friends about the debt he owes to Rick Steadman, a fellow ex-GI whom he has never met but who saved has life after he was seriously wounded in Vietnam. He has written to Rick to say that, as long as he is alive, "you will have somebody on Earth who will do anything for you" - so Willum is delighted when Rick shows up unexpectedly at his apartment on the night of his thirty-fourth birthday party. But his delight soon fades as it becomes apparent that Rick is a hopeless "nerd" - a bumbling oaf with no social sense, little intelligence and less tact. And Rick stays on and on, his continued presence among Willum and his friends leading to one uproarious incident after another, until the normally placid Willum finds himself contemplating violence - a dire development which, happily, is staved off by the surprising "twist" ending of the play.

Cast:
Daniel Mauterer, Jessica Hulen, Daniel Ortiz, Brian Schantz, Wish Foley-Cohen, Anthony Francis and Colton Dennis.

Reviews:
One of the funniest plays ever written, this extraordinarily inventive, side-splitting comedy was first presented by the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, then produced in Great Britain, then went on to Broadway. The action centers on the hilarious dilemma of a young architect who is visited by a man he's never met but who saved his life in Vietnam - the visitor turning out to be an incredibly inept, hopelessly stupid "nerd" who outstays his welcome with a vengeance.

"Shue delivers a neatly crafted package that uses some classic comic forms to bring the audience to its knees, laughing." - Milwaukee Journal. "...the audience almost never stops laughing-handkerchiefs wiping away tears of merriment..." - Variety. "...a spring tonic of side-bruising laughter..." - Milwaukee Tribune.

Photos by Elias Funez/Patterson Irrigator

Three Tall Women as reviewed by David Keymer

The Prospect Theater Project certainly picked a winner to kick off its ninth season. Three Tall Women is Edward Albee’s third play to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Albee turns eighty this year and theaters across the country are producing his plays as an act of well deserved homage. Women may be the best play that Albee has written. It balances his trademark ambiguity (dialogue and scenes that seem almost realistic but veer slightly off kilter, into a reality that has sharp and painful edges) with a heartbreaking poetry composed 99% of the ordinary language we all use every day. Three women sit in a bedsitting room: a well-off elderly woman, 90, 91, or 92 depending on who’s counting, drifts in and out of reality, falls back on the past in repetitive coda, is never very nice and is occasionally outright nasty in the way she treats her companions; a fiftyish caregiver, her sympathy for her charge worn down by the old woman’s complaints and pettiness; a twentyish lawyer, sent to persuade the old lady to cash her checks and pay her bills, and repulsed by her constant tirades and close-minded bigotry. The old woman dominates their conversation. It falls back again and again into monologue, the old lady reliving her past. Watching her behavior, seeing her drift in and out dementia is a wrenching experience, especially for a viewer like me who’s already several steps along life’s path. I won’t tell you what happens later in the play but the second act completely transforms the revelations made in the first act and brings the play to a sad but richly lyrical close.

Fine writing is one reason to see this play. Exceptional acting is another. Grace Lieberman is absolutely perfect as the old woman. She neither overacts nor underacts in an exceedingly difficult role – as an actor myself, I know just how difficult it is to strike that balance, especially when so much depends on you in the play. How she can make us care for such a despicable character amazes me. But she does. She strikes a chord in all of us. The details may vary but we too some day will have to face the end her character does. Our strength will go, our influence diminish, our grasp on reality won’t be as strong. Lieberman’s character captures our sympathy, not for her personal qualities –she’s an awful person-- but for the common fate we share with her. Of the other two actors with speaking roles, Jennifer York, as the caregiver, delivers a strong performance in a challenging role. Though no newcomer to the theater, this is her first performance in the Central Valley; it shouldn’t be her last. Although occasionally awkward in her use of her body, Angela Ruby performs creditably as the young lawyer and deserves praise as well. Jay Sprague, who plays the old lady’s son, is on stage briefly and has no lines. All I can say of him is that he fits the part.

Everything in this play works. For the second year in a row, Colton Dennis has directed a standout play with an exceptional cast. The stage set, designed and constructed by Brian Swander, is neither too much nor too little. This is not a play where heavy demands are placed on other technical services: the lighting, designed by Jon Duran, does its job and doesn’t intrude; Kristi Mayfield’s costumes are appropriate; Vance Whitaker, who is responsible for props and special effects, has one surprise in store for the viewer.

Anyone who enjoys theater should see this play and this production. Women is one of the best productions I’ve seen at this intimate, edgy theater. Don’t miss it!

Prospect Theater Project
520 Scenic Drive
Modesto CA 95352
(209) 549-9341
http://www.prospecttheaterproject.org/

Celebrating California Arts Day by Submitting a Centennial Mural Design

The deadline for the Centennial Mural design is Friday, October 3. It was no coincidence that this date was picked; every first Friday of October is California Arts Day. For more on California Arts Day and the impact and importance of the arts, even in small towns like Patterson, check out the California Arts Council website. For more information on Patterson's Centennial and the Centennial Mural Project, check out Patterson100.org.

Below is a photo by Elias Funez of the first Centennial Mural design submitted. For purpose of judging the designs on it's own merits, the designers of these murals will be kept a secret...

(The artist) tried to convey Patterson’s past, present and future as viewed by one of Patterson’s families.

It includes the D.B. George house when the palm trees were first planted on Las Palmas. The three cyclists in front of the historical building in the circle represent the Amgen tour. The Del Puerto Hotel is on the right side of the mural and the Senior Center of the future is on the left. The Plaza Center Building is registered as an historical landmark. The largest celebration of the year is the Apricot Fiesta, so the banner is depicted between two palm trees. The Apricot Fiesta logo is under the Centennial sign.

Patterson’s agricultural base is represented by an orchard in the left-upper corner, as is a farm with rows of produce. A steam thresher, as pictured on the upper-right, was made by W.W. Cox and taken in 1909 as it harvested barley.

The image of four men by a vintage car on the lower-left is thought to be taken by T.W. Patterson. He reportedly told W.W. Cox, “Will, I want to start a town here – will you harvest the barley as soon as you can, so I can have it surveyed.” W.W. Cox is in the center, leaning on his car.

Lastly, the mural includes the aqueduct and a nod to Diablo Grande’s golf course.