What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1488902
8 WHAT'S UP! DECEMBER 25-31, 2022 COVER STORY Proudest Moments Arts organizations rejoice in 2022 success BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette W ith the end of the year in sight, we asked some of our friends in the arts what happened in their organizations in 2022 that excited them most. These are their answers. It's an enlightening look at the arts community from the inside out. Lara Jo Hightower TheatreSquared Jerry Perez didn't know much about TheatreSquared — or live theater at all — when he won tickets to a show at TheatreSquared in 2010. But he's gregarious and outgoing and always up for a new experience, writes publicist Lara Jo Hightower, so he thought he would give it a try. He says that first exposure to the organization's work was like a lightning bolt. "We went, not knowing what to expect," he says, adding that he was so astonished by what he saw, he started talking to other audience members afterwards in a kind of "Did you see what I just saw?" fact-seeking mission. "I was saying, "That was fun! And weird. I've never seen anything like that before.' And they said, 'Well, this wasn't a one-time thing. They have other shows!'" A dozen years later, Perez is a season ticket holder, a generous donor, and a good friend to the theater company he's grown to love so much. So on March 13, 2020, when a global pandemic forced T2 to shut its doors to live audiences for a time, he was devastated. "You just want to be there and have a good time and talk with other people about the things we're all experiencing," he explains. "Because I think shared experiences are important. I remember receiving tickets in the mail during the pandemic, realizing there was supposed to be a show that day — but there was no show that day. So you just sadly put them in the trash. As far as you know, you're not even really sure when you get to go back." Flash forward to the first week of December 2022. "A Christmas Carol" — the stage adaptation by T2 co-founders Amy Herzberg and Robert Ford that first captured the holiday hearts of Northwest Arkansas in 2019 — is opening in West Theatre. Meanwhile, audiences are packing the smaller Spring Theatre to see playwright Marie Jones' "Stones in His Pockets." The Commons Bar/Cafe, on the first floor of the T2 complex, is redolent with the smell of baking cookies, and tables are full with the lunch crowd. Staff is making finishing touches on holiday decor as the events team gives a tour to a prospective client interested in renting the space for a holiday event. There's no contest: Seeing the building full of people — staff, actors, patrons, and donors — is what Executive Director Martin Miller and Artistic Director Robert Ford are most proud of this year. It's everything they imagined the space could be back in August 2019, when the company first opened the doors of its brand new, 50,000-square-foot, $31 million theater building to audiences flocking to see "Shakespeare in Love." We all know what happened next. But the team that built TheatreSquared from a conversation around a kitchen table to a nationally acclaimed company tries to look at the pandemic as a learning experience. "We take nothing for granted," says Ford. "You want to embrace every returning patron, thank everyone individually." "Certainly, it's been a tough few years," admits Miller. " But look at this space, look at this lineup of shows, look at the people who are making them — how could you be anything but excited for what's ahead?" The best thing about 2022 was seeing full houses for shows like "It Came From Outer Space," agree TheatreSquared Executive Director Martin Miller and Artistic Director Robert Ford. (Courtesy Photo/Wesley Hitt)