Showcase: There’s no business like “show” business | Columnists | Summerville Journal Scene

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Showcase: There’s no business like “show” business

Published Thursday, July 15, 2010 4:29 PM

By Barbara Lynch Hill
Summerville Journal Scene ®

To quote the late Ed Sullivan, television’s 1950s and 60s talent presenter extraordinaire, the Cultural Arts Alliance has “a really big show” coming up. The venerable Ed pronounced it “shew” and presented dozens of performers for the viewing audience who were destined to become even more famous than he was. But he knew how to pick talent and how to stage it – whether it be the performing or the presenting arts. And he knew in either case it was as much about “show” as it was “business.”

The Alliance is sponsoring the first-ever art show, proposed for the fall season, in our new Town Hall building. The planning committee for this event includes Peggy Hartwell, Heather Leiterman, Pat Watts and Kathleen Wiley. Preliminary arrangements for the show are expected to be discussed at The Alliance’s next meeting, Tuesday, July 20, at 7 pm at the Depot (Located off W. 4th North Street behind Mr. K’s Piggly Wiggly, on No. Laurel Street near to the Faith Sellers Senior Center.)

Members of the public are encouraged to attend and take part in the planning or execution of the show. If you are interested and/or involved in fine art and would like to offer suggestions or work to help make this show a success, this is the meeting to attend.

And we’re not only looking for those who produce wall art. While this is an art show, the event will hold an opening ceremony at the start of the show’s duration, during which other cultural arts are to be featured. Preliminary ideas include a musical segment such as an ensemble of instruments or vocalists, a theater segment, perhaps dramatic characters in costume, or a writing segment like a representative reading. We also plan to offer refreshments while feeding the community soul.

This is an opportunity not only to “show off” our handsome Flower Town government building, but to also illustrate the variety of talent in the many cultural arts which flourish here. Enter the “business” part of “show” business.

The Cultural Arts Alliance exists to coordinate the arts and help make Summerville an important arts destination. Its collaborative organization, The Arts, Business and Civic Coalition (ABC) has as its goal to obtain a civic center for our town which can be used for all three of those interests. It will be a place which not only features a myriad of local events, but which can bring in money from participants to boost the local economy. The ultimate win-win situation in any market.

This art show is a key to this win because it’s the opening act of cooperation among The Alliance members to highlight the importance – both monetarily and esthetically – of the arts in our lives. We need as many representatives from as many organizations as possible to make this happen. Good cooperation and a good turnout for this initial event will be a good predictor for continued success. Another key to making this show a hit is publicity. Talk about this show – and other upcoming events in other local cultural arts – with your friends, neighbors, business associates and in your other organizations.

Use readily available tools – such as this Showcase column and the Cultural Arts Calendar to help get the word out. Let us know what’s going on with your group – what the plans are for your next event, who are your most effective go-getters and your most effective doers. Let’s help keep the arts promotion going by featuring these people and plans in this column and event dates in the calendar.

If you’d like more information on the Cultural Arts Alliance and/or to have your cultural arts organization and activities featured in Showcase, contact Barbara Hill at hill2227@bellsouth.net. Deadline for submissions to Showcase is the last Wednesday of each month. Please be sure to include contact information.

To learn more about the ABC and its efforts to obtain a civic center, please contact info@abcsummerville.org.

Please submit cultural arts calendar events to Sandra.Baden@gmail.com by the 20th of the month before publication.

Ellen Hyatt, a charter member of both The Alliance and The ABC, and an English professor at Charleston Southern University, shared some good ideas about using these tools. She says to be sure to use the e-mail communication on behalf of the respective groups to which you are committed. The calendar (in addition to your Websites, personal lists, etc.) is a great way to keep members informed and/or to involve the community. Do encourage each group to get the information in, to that e-mail so that events can be published for the upcoming month. A good idea is to make one person in your group responsible for reporting the details to Sandra.

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