A Program Gone, But a Continuing Commitment
Upon reading a reference to the Arlington Arts Incubator in the article “The Big Crunch” (June 21), we at Arlington Cultural Affairs Division, the County’s official agency for the arts, wanted to offer a clarification regarding a blanket statement that inferred that the Scenery Studio is closed. In fact, the Scenery Studio is in service and is used regularly, both by Arlington-based theatres at a reduced fee and, increasingly, by other ensembles throughout the region who rent the space for a reasonable hourly fee. It continues to be supervised by skilled staff who oversee and train its user groups.
It is correct that the formal Arlington Arts Incubator program itself no longer exists. The 1996 winner of the Innovations in American Government Award from the Ford Foundation and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, the program leveraged modest levels of available grant support with access to free or low-cost facilities such as theatres, visual art galleries, and studios, as well as technical and administrative assistance.
Some of the lasting outcomes include the Tony-winning Signature Theatre, which began performing in a shared theatre space via the County grant system and continues to flourish as an anchor of the Shirlington neighborhood. Another success: the winner of 34 regional Helen Hayes Awards and 142 nominations, Synetic Theater in the National Landing community has won wide acclaim for their visually striking, movement-based theatre.
The goal of the Arts Incubator was to build a strong arts presence, and in many ways these goals were achieved. We thank you for the opportunity to clarify that, while the Arts Incubator itself is no longer extant, Arlington County’s support for the arts have contemporized and streamlined, while continuing to extend core services such as the Scenery Studio to serve our local and regional arts ensembles.
Michelle Isabelle-Stark
Arlington, Va.
Someday Our Print Will Come
Yay! This makes me very, very happy for all the reasons you stated so eloquently (“American Theatre’s Return to Print,” June 28). Thank you for keeping print alive and for caring about the enduring power of words on paper. All appropriate bells are ringing!
Pearl Cleage
Atlanta
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Patreshettarlini Adams
Philadelphia
I’m especially happy to receive scripts again! A great benefit for the reader!
Miryam Gordon
Seattle
Yay, I’m so excited! I never had a chance to subscribe before COVID shutdowns, so I’m excited that I get the opportunity to! It’s super important for early and mid-career artists to have a pulse on the industry nationwide. Digital is fine, but print still feels important—I hope each issue is a lasting resource of info and ideas throughout my career.
Vanessa Ogbuehi
Philadelphia
