VSA arts of Pennsylvania
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2030 Sansom Street, Suite 3C |
Mimi Kenney Smith |
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Tel.: (215) 564-2431 |
Website: |
Organizational Profile:
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Full-time Staff: 2 |
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Amaryllis Theatre Company, now VSA arts of Pennsylvania, is an inclusive professional theatre whose mission is to produce new forms of theatre and encourage a richer sense of community by bringing together artists and audiences from the most diverse community spectrum possible. To accomplish this, Amaryllis provides accessibility for all people with disabilities, uses casting procedures that preclude discrimination on the basis of physical or cultural difference, and produces new plays, new forms of theatre and new translations of classics into American Sign Language.
Programming Partners and Other Funders:
Art-Reach, Inc.; The Mayor's Commission on People with Disabilities; The Mayor's Commission on Services to the Aging; The Arts and Business Council of Greater Philadelphia; The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance; The Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia; Creative Access, Inc.; The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts; The Walnut Street Theatre; The Please Touch Museum; The Philadelphia Museum of Art; The Franklin Institute; The Arden Theatre Company; InterAct Theatre Company; The Philadelphia Theatre Company; Temple University; Inglis House; The Free Library of Philadelphia; Overbrook School for the Blind; The Braille Revival League; The Philadelphia Regional Chapter of the PA Council of the Blind; Blaik ADA Associates, Inc.; The Prince Music Theatre; Jean Ruddy Dance Co.; Chosen Dance Company; Mum Puppettheatre; Kardon Institute for Art Therapy; The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art; The Non-Profit Finance Fund; PA School for the Deaf; Penn State Performing Arts Center; Arts and Health Outreach Initiative; Penn State University; View Via Headphones; The Sight Loss Support Group of Central PA; City Theatre (Pittsburgh); The Golden Triangle Chapter of the PA Council on the Blind; Carnegie Library for the Blind; BOLD (Blind Outdoor Leisure Development); Fulton Opera Company; Susquehanna Association of the Blind; PA Council on the Arts; The Philadelphia Cultural Fund; Independence Foundation; The Samuel S. Fels Fund; The William Penn Foundation; The M and S Foundation; The Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation; The Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Foundation; The Dolfinger Foundation; The Connelly Foundation; The Good*Friend Foundation; Comcast Foundation; Wachovia Bank; Target Stores, Inc.; The Valley Forge Music Trust
State Programs
Educational Programs and Artist Residencies
The Communication Connection
This is a touring educational program comprised of a 50-minute musical production commissioned by the company in response to requests from area educators; a pre-performance teacher training session; a post-performance talkback with the production’s inclusive cast and director; and a series of curriculum-based, intensive workshops. Mainstreamed, developed last season, explores issues of communication between Deaf and hearing teenagers. Friends of Shadows treats the critical topic of bullying for middle and high schools students, and Bully for You treats bullying at the elementary school level where bullying first begins. All programs include state-of-the-art accessibility for artists and individually designed accessibility for school audiences. Program dates are from September 2005 through July 2006.
Professional Development and Technical Assistance
Independence Starts Here!
This is a cultural access program led jointly by VSA arts of Pennsylvania and Art-Reach, Inc. It draws on the strengths of the region’s disability and cultural organizations working together to create greater inclusion of and accessibility for people with disabilities in the cultural life of Greater Philadelphia and to develop audiences for accessible programsand venues. Activities occur at numerous cultural institutions across the Greater Philadelphia region throughout the year.
Americans with Disabilities ACT!
A professional development program for actors with disabilities, this program provides internships for high school and college students, mentorships for graduate students, ongoing professional development workshops, audition preparation, professional production opportunities, and an online discussion group to connect with artists with disabilities across the country.
Cultural Access and Inclusive Arts Services
PA Visual Access Project
The goal of the PA Visual Access Project is to create cooperative community programs across Pennsylvania to increase access to cultural institutions for people who are blind or who have low vision. The Pennsylvania Visual Access Project works in partnership with a cultural leader with experience and ongoing relationships with the blindness community in each of four locations — Pittsburgh, State College, Lancaster and Philadelphia — to launch a Visual Access Program in which the cultural and blindness communities in each location work together to create accessibility and to develop audiences for accessible programs. This year organizations will concentrate on developing new audio describers for their communities and the promotion of accessible performances throughout their communities.
Public Awareness and Outreach
Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
In partnership with Gallaudet University, VSA arts of Pennsylvania/Amaryllis Theatre Company will co-teach a class at Gallaudet entitled “Hands on Shakespeare: translation, dramaturgy and ASL theatre.” In the spring of 2006, Gallaudet and VSA arts/Amaryllis will coproduce Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing at Gallaudet and in Philadelphia using VSA arts/Amaryllis’ new translation of the play in American Sign Language. The production will feature professional Deaf and hearing actors from around the country and four to five students from Gallaudet and will include a number of workshops and artists residencies with area schools.
(F) 202-429-0868