Archive: Arts & Entertainment

The Hangar Theatre celebrated their accomplishments of 2014 at their annual meeting on Monday, April 16th where four community members were recognized as substantially impacting the artistic integrity and financial health of the Center for Performing Arts at Ithaca. Board members, staff, volunteers, and community members all gathered to celebrate the continual success of the Hangar, celebrate the positive impact of those who so generously contribute their time and resources to the organization, and a brief look forward the 2015 Mainstage summer season.

Josh Friedman, Managing Director of the Hangar Theatre discussed the ever changing landscape of the performing arts, with a glimpse of what that means for theatre on a national and local level. Presenting both the challenges it brings and exciting opportunities that the Hangar might take advantage of.  Rebalancing the organization has been something that Mr. Friedman has been passionate about since starting at the Hangar in 2012. With the hard work of the staff and Board of Trustees, the organization has seen great strides in their efforts to rebalance and has begun to really take advantage of the space as a year round facility. Aside from the Hangar's summer season, the Center for the Arts at Ithaca hosted 27 ticketed events, to entertain and engage the community with performances of all types.

For the past 10 years the Hangar Theatre has presented the Philanthropic Angel Award to a person or organization for contributions that set a pace for support of the arts in our community and at the Hangar Theatre. This year, Carolyn Sampson, long time Hangar Board of Trustees member received the award. Since joining the board in 1999, Carolyn has been a steadfast supporter, regularly contributing exemplary gifts to the Hangar's Annual Board Fund as well as special projects.  Her generosity with other community organizations demonstrates her understanding of the importance of supporting organizations to strengthen a community. As a member of the Development Committee, Carolyn has provided the Hangar with valuable insight and guidance in planning and implementing development activities.


The Agda Osborn Award has been described as the volunteer award honoring Mrs. Osborn's dedication to community service within many community organizations. She served on the Hangar Board for over 20 years, including the Hangar's inaugural year, and she was among those visionaries who decided to convert the old Morse Field hangar into a theater. This award is given annually by the Hangar in honor of Agda Osborn to an individual for exemplary service and commitment to the Hangar Theatre characteristic of Mrs. Osborn. This year, Cathy Darrow was awarded the Agda Osborn Award for her invaluable contributions to the Hangar. Cathy began her volunteer work with the Hangar after retiring. In the 10 years since, she has brought invaluable help to Hangar administrative staff, particularly in the Development department.  As a patron of the Hangar since its first season, she instilled the love for theatre in her daughter, Gretchen, (a past recipient of the Hangar's Tom Niederkorn Award), who parlayed her volunteer work in the costume shop into a career as Costume Shop manager for Syracuse Stage and a frequent costume designer for the Hangar, most recently for our 2014 production of  Red by John Logan.

The third award presented was the Tom Niederkorn Award which has been presented annually since 1989. Tom was a fellow visionary with Mrs. Osborn and without his persistence and determination the Hangar simply would not exist. His efforts on behalf of the Hangar range from personally securing seed-funding from Nelson Rockefeller to hammering in loose theatres seats. Today, Tom continues his service to the Hangar as an emeritus board member. This year the Tom Niederkorn Award was presented to Steve TenEyke for his long time contributions to Hangar Mainstage Design, and for being a mentor to the Hangar's Design Fellowship program. He was recognized for  his artistic contribution to the Hangar Theatre over several years, designing lighting and/or scenery for numerous Mainstage productions such as Once on this Island, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Clybourne Park, and last season's Other Desert Cities.  Additionally, Steve has designed for our educational School Tour program and continues to design the off-season lighting rep plot.  Steve is a generous and affable collaborator that has continuously achieved excellence on the Hangar stage.  Steve continues to be an exemplar of skill, craft, and integrity for our local community and for the national performing arts.


The fourth and final award for the event was the Erin Aljoe Schlather Award which is awarded to a young person who has made a significant contribution to the Hangar's educational programming and sparked the contributions of others. This award is named in honor of the late Erin Aljoe Schlather, a young woman whose prolific talents and generosity of spirit were a model to those around her. This year, Dani Copeland, received the Erin Aljoe Schlather Award for her wonderful work, enthusiasm, and dedication to the Next Generation School of Theater, her long standing history with the Hangar as both audience member, Project 4 ensemble, and Next Generation student.  She has brought a professional level of work ethic and ensemble mentality to the Hangar's education programs, leads other students by example, and is a shining illustration of the importance of encouraging the love of theater from an early age as she enriches the Ithaca arts community.

Jen Waldman, the Hangar's Artistic Director concluded the event with a look back at the Hangar's extraordinary 40th season and shared some exciting updates about the 2015 season. Discussing the remarkable talent that she's seen in the audition process and her personal thoughts and excitement about what's to come. Don't miss another incredible season at the Hangar. Show titles this season include: God of Carnage¸ Spring Awakening, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and Talley's Folly.

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