SARTA Awards First Two Microgrants!

Sat, 20 Jul 2024 22:38:22 GMT

Happy Hour Theatre Company and Strong Eye Productions Receive First Two SARTA Microgrants

For the first time in its 40-year history, SARTA has awarded two $500 microgrants to small community theatre groups. SARTA created the Microgrant program to encourage small, local theatres and individuals to produce new works, and funds can be used for rights, costumes, props, etc. At SARTA, we are continually working on new ways to support the community we love!

Our first recipient , Happy Hour Theatre Group , is the brainchild of Christi van Eyken and Shana Kehoe. The company was created to help theatre artists grow, explore, and take on new challenges. With hour-long collections of short plays (“Happy Hours”), they create cohesive and impactful productions that balance of humor, emotion, and a bit (or a lot) of weirdness. These short pieces give actors the chance to push their boundaries in small but challenging roles and offer valuable opportunities to brand new or up-and-coming directors, designers, and stage managers.

Currently, Happy Hour is finishing a Shakespeare summer workshop with the incredible Janis Stevens, and also offer "The Playwright's Village" - a program where playwrights can work with the team at Happy Hour to host a small staged reading of their work with the intention of receiving feedback. The program is open on a rolling basis and is an excellent opportunity for writers to receive assistance in play development.

We are delighted to support Happy Hour Theatre Group in their work, and hope that our small contribution can aid them in supporting more enthusiastic members of the theatre community!

Our second recipient is Strong Eye Productions, which recently completed a run of "Mine For The Tribe - An Artist Versus His Brain" by Chris Smith. This one-person show delves into the ups and downs of artistic temperament and combines personal stories and learned wisdom to find hope for artists.

Chris plans to use the microgrant funds to bring his show to other venues in the area, as well as to the classroom. Hopefully we'll get more chances to see this insightful one-person performance!

If you want to know more about our Microgrants program, check out the page for information and to apply. If you'd like to support SARTA, there are many ways to do so! Consider becoming a member of our organization, or volunteering to help us organize more events!

Congrats again to our Microgrant recipients! We hope to award more grants in the future.

SARTA Presents Two Lifetime Achievement Awards

Sun, 09 Jun 2024 22:07:11 GMT

Honoring Jeannie Wood and Lisa Moon

On May 17th, SARTA was honored to present Lisa Moon, Artistic Director of CATS (Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra) , and Jeannie Wood, Executive Director of CATS, with Lifetime Achievement Awards. This award was created by the SARTA board in 2011 to honor members of our local theatre community who have gone above and beyond in their careers.

As our Board Director, Leslie Addiego, stated: "These two women, along with many volunteers, actors, and

supporters, created a legacy devoted to enriching the county’s culture and sharing their Asian heritage through the dramatic arts, providing education for people of all ages and, most importantly, lending agency to the Asian-American voice."

Since 1994, CATS has been dedicated to promoting multiculturalism through theatre, events, workshops, and more. Every year, they put on plays with Asian-based themes, and they have arranged cultural activities ranging from international trips to China, Tibet, and Southeast Asia to documentary screenings and courses for children - and so much more. In 2012, they established the Xiao Mao (Little CATS) Culture Club, which provides courses on Mandarin and Asian-themed workshops for the children of Nevada County.

Earlier this year, CATS was honored with a special exhibit entitled A Thousand Cranes – Celebrating 30 years of CATS at the Rood Center in Nevada City. It was presented by Nevada County Arts Council, where Jeannie serves as a board member, in partnership with the County of Nevada through Art in Public Spaces. The exhibition included memorabilia from past shows and an interactive origami station, and CATS partnered with he Nevada County Landmarks Commission to provide historical context and showcase sites throughout the GVNC Cultural District important to telling the Asian-American stories in the community.

As CATS celebrates their 30th year of bringing cultural enrichment, excitement, and wonder to the theatre community and Nevada County, SARTA is overjoyed to present Lisa Moon and Jeannie Wood with these Lifetime Achievement Awards. We hope to continue supporting CATS for years to come!

AMENDMENT : Shortly after writing this post, SARTA received word that Lisa Moon tragically passed away. She was an incredible force in the theatre community and she will be sorely missed. Our hearts go out to her family, her friends, and the team at CATS.

Community Spotlight

SARTA Awards First Two Microgrants!

Happy Hour Theatre Company and Strong Eye Productions Receive First Two SARTA Microgrants

SARTA Presents Two Lifetime Achievement Awards

Honoring Jeannie Wood and Lisa Moon