ArtCraft

A new partnership between the  University of Louisville's theater arts department and Stage One Family Theatre will add at least one university-produced play for younger audiences to Stage One’s programming. 

Stage One serves more than 100,000 children, teachers and chaperones every school year. U of L's repertory company sends  graduate students into area schools to perform plays for young audiences. They're teaming up on  “Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters,” a musical based on a folktale from Zimbabwe, which will be the first university repertory play to receive an expanded production in the Bomhard Theatre. 

Even Twitter users are divided on whether or not social media has a place during live arts events. 

The National Endowment for the Arts is leading a conversation on Twitter (#2TweetorNot2Tweet) about mobile social media use during performances. Are so-called Tweet Seats a fun engagement with a plugged-in audience of influencers, or are they a distraction from the events on stage? 

Some say bring it on—the more conversation the better: 

Federal tax-exempt status is invaluable for fundraising in the nonprofit arts world. Donations are tax-deductible, which can provide significant motivation for individuals to give, and many grants require applicants to have 501(c)3 status. But securing 501(c)3 status can be a long and complicated process. For new arts groups or smaller projects that don’t have the resources or haven’t yet met the requirements for filing, fiscal sponsorship can help.

The 15th annual Jewish Film Festival opens Saturday with "My Best Enemy," an Austrian Holocaust thriller about two best friends who switch identities to recover a priceless work of art. The Jewish Community Center produces the annual festival to explore in film the complexities of Jewish culture and what it means to be Jewish in the modern era. 

Let’s flash back to 1993, to the days before texting and ready Internet access, when living in a small town really could feel like living on the moon. We are in Nebraska, but it might as well be any small town in Kentucky, Indiana, England. Let us say we are dorks, friendless and stilted, moving through high school like occasionally kicked stray dogs. Or. We are wearing someone else’s life, someone popular and ambitious and accomplished and right, holding our breath until we can leave this town and shed the fake skin like a bad sweater.

On our audio diary series The Big Break, our emerging performers dig deep into their daily work. Actors Theatre of Louisville apprentice Samantha Beach learns how fearless high school playwrights can be while reading for the theater's New Voices Young Playwrights Festival. Louisville Ballet trainee Claire Horrocks studies character development from choreographer Helen Starr in rehearsals for "Romeo and Juliet," while Kentucky Opera studio artist Brad Raymond faces the unmentionable—losing his voice during a run of outreach performances. 

The Kentucky Arts Council is accepting applications until March 15 from artists for their Performing Arts Directory and for individual visual artist fellowships.

Applications are open for Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowships and Emerging Artist Awards this year for visual, craft and media artists (literary and performing artists apply in even-numbered years).

A veteran orchestra leader, David Hyslop's long career includes a combined 32 years at the helm of three prominent orchestras. Now retired from the Minnesota Orchestra, Hyslop is a consultant and sought-after interim CEO. Since he retired from full-time orchestra management in 2003, Hyslop has filled in during leadership searches for the West Virginia Symphony, the Tulsa Symphony and most recently the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Alan Brandt is the weekday afternoon  host on Classical 90.5 WUOL, Louisville Public Media's classical station.

The Louisville Orchestra recently announced its 2013-14 Classics series. Out of the entire scheduled season of compositions, only two were written by living composers. The rest of the composers are on the list of the Immortals.