Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Council President, Pete Alyanakian Proposes Premiere Arts Festival at the Media Theatre

At last week's Borough Council workshop meeting Council President, Pete Alyanakian announced a  major proposal designed to position Media as the destination for "All Things" Arts and Culture in Delco.  The proposed Arts Festival will be a collaborative event between MAC, Fair Trade, Media Farmers Market, and other groups interested in volunteering their time for four days of events at the Theater

The week of the event will be four days in November from the 8th through the 11th.   That Saturday night will feature a major musical act by the theater not related to the Arts Festival.  The purpose is to bring Media together with movies, gallery showings, music acts, comedy and just good old wholesome fun and enjoyment.  Proceeds from the event will go to Media's non-profits. 

This will no doubt be a win-win for all involved.   More details to come!



26 comments:

  1. I wont be so critical of the theatre as much...this is a step in the right direction...Except for... "Why are teens performing RENT this summer???" Shouldnt they do something less dark and risque' and more fun? And if you explain to me that it is a PG version...then aren't you compromising the originality of the performance. I am not a prude, I just think the selection is questionable.

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  2. National and regional press for the Media Theatre is always about the professional musicals. It's a shame that Media borough cannot appreciate the musicals at the theatre, which bring national attention to the entire town.

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  3. If you had a speaker series, concerts, local bands, or even popular music at the Media theatre, you would get "National and Regional" press. The only reason they cover the "musicals" is because that's all there is to cover.

    As much as some love musical theatre, the theatre is (pun intended) dramatically underutilized, I've heard rumors that it's only at 10% capacity most of the time. You can't put Wanda Sykes in every musical, either.

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  4. I saw RENT on broadway 4 times...favorite show ever...however, I find it wildly inappropriate that a local theater using minors would do this performance. Would not go see it at Media theater if it were free.

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  5. It is amazing to me that media has such a love for over-the-hill wannabe entertainers when they have a professional theatre company. The reason they get national attention is that it is professional not the wannabes that you see on second saturdays. Why do you thing there is an avenue of the arts in philadelphia and broadway in nyc. There is no designated area for wannabes except state street in media on second saturdays.

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  6. you don't know that it is RENT JR. you speak before you know what you are talking about. I am a proud parent whose child goes to Theatre School at The Media Theatre. I pay $400 a month because of the quality of the training he gets. No other organization in media can give him this training. Please, a little more sophistication and a little less provincialism.

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  7. great...another...street arts festival...with scary clowns, third rate singers...fried food, drunks and bad art...a shriner's carnival...great...snore

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  8. Don't you love it when people say " I'm not a prude BUT....." or " it my favorite show I saw it 4 times BUT"....I'll only see it on Broadway...I won't see it in Media......????...... it only means they are prudes...be PROUD prudes

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  9. @ 6:02pm...agree with the posting about the street fairs...they are turning into trinket festivals with lots of same old junk on the street that you see at every low down street fair...where's the themes or creativity?

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  10. every concert event that these people talk about is alcohol or drug driven. people please support art that is real, not amateur crap that is self-promoting. where are the real artists in Media?

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  11. second saturdays, bad art, bad music, one who is an artist doesn't have to try to be an artist. second saturday music is alcohol driven just as this week roots drunken ramble.

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  12. paying $400 a month for lessons to perform in a show nobody wants to see does not sound like the best idea...I think using the theater for other venues would be terrific- bring on lecture series, comedians etc...

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  13. RENT is the SCHOOL EDITION, folks. Please be aware of that. Having said that, why shouldn't teens deal with important issues at their age that will affect, and perhaps SAVE, their lives? It's better to teach them about the prospect of AIDS now than to wait for the results of a test.

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  14. Wow, a lot of hyper-criticality hidden by "Anonymous" on this threat. Most folks come to Media for exactly these things...So, if you have better suggestions, bring them out, otherwise shut up and stay home. A few folks have provided some very solid ideas. I like the idea of a speaker series, if anyone is interested in trying to put something together, let me know. I would like to help.

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  15. Sorry about the "shut up". That was a little harsh...

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  16. Tom, they are not hyper-critical. They are elitist snobs. Great job to the Media organizations involved, Mr. Alyanakian, borough council, and Becky Lee! It is great to see "amateur" artists given an opportunity to showcase their talents! Everyone has to start somewhere. Even the theater "professionals" were wannabes at some point.

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  17. everyone going to this roots ramble is attending to get drunk. they don't care about the music which is pretty awful. you would think that these people would eventually become adults.

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  18. Proud to be an elitist snob. there is no such thing as amateur art or amateur artists. it is just called BAD.

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  19. And I am proud that Media supports all artists, not just the self-proclaimed accomplished ones. Music and artistic taste are matters of opinion, not fact. No true artist would condemn another for their vision. How sad that you are choosing to insult other artists who, by the way, have nothing to do with planning the event mentioned in this blog. And, if you are going to challenge others to be adults, stop throwing a hissy fit.

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  20. Tedman, I know that you are a really positive person and that you want to try to bring bipartisanship and a sense of everyone working together to Media, so I'm sure that these comments must be painful for you to read. I can only say personally that I moved here from NYC and have been so impressed with the artists and musicians that I've discovered on 2nd Saturday. My husband will be attending the Roots Ramble tonight, and he's most definitely not going there to get drunk. There are a lot of people working really hard behind the scenes to make these things happen. It might not be your cup of tea, but they are doing something.

    I'm not sure how people can say that the music tonight is bad. The headliner, Charlie Gracie, has been performing since the 1950s and is considered to be one of the fathers of rock and roll. His music influenced the Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc. Several of the performers have performed at the World Cafe Live in Philadelphia for WXPN. It might not be your cup of tea, but that doesn't mean it's bad.

    And art is in the eyes of the beholder. Again, it may not be what you like personally, but that doesn't mean that it's not art.

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  21. Well.... there's a puppy in the parlor,
    And skillet on the stove,
    And a smelly old blanket,
    That a Navajo wove,
    There's popcorn in the popper,
    And a porker in the pot
    There's pie in the pantry,
    And the coffee's always hot
    There's sausage in the morning,
    And a party every night,
    There's a nurse on duty,
    If you don't feel right,
    There's a chicken on the table,
    But you gota say grace,
    There's always something cooking down at Old Joe's Place...

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  22. It is easy to talk and not act and it is even easier to just complain as many of these comments prove. Thank you Media volunteers for your hard work and for making community events happen.

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  23. I am proud of our town and its support of the arts. I am also proud of the theater shows here, and the inclusion of young people in theater at both the Media Theater AND at the Hedgerow, which does a spectacular job of teaching kids of all ages. Our beautiful community has activities centered on arts and entertainment that suit a wide variety of tastes. I agree with other posters -- if you don't like what you see, get involved. There are a lot of people who work hard volunteering for these events. You should be one of them if you have something to say. Anonymous comments on a blog doesn't help anyone.

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  24. I agree with Tom Bates and Marie. If you don't like it, come to the table with ideas! Volunteer with MAC, go to borough council meetings, etc. I know both Tom and Marie personally. Tom can attest that I can be quite cynical at times, but I would rather have art and music of all types at the festivals and fairs than live on a cul de sac where the only entertainment is whatever garbage is on TV that night.

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  25. What Tom Bates and Marie said.

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  26. The daughter is moving into her first apartment in Media next week. I'd love to find some kind of Media, PA arts/ music event poster, etc. for her as a gift. If you know of something like this, please contact Steve at skoshlap@verizon.net
    Thanks!

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