MANCHESTER ARTS CENTER
Rising from the ashes
The Manchester Arts Center was purchased on May 3, 2008. It officially opened for business with the production of "Seussical," the musical, in June of 2009. It took that long to turn the former furniture store into a performing arts venue with the availability to have visual arts classes as well. It was worth the wait!
The theatre area has 136 comfortable theatre seats and has the capacity to seat 150 or more with the addition of folding chairs. The 40 foot wide stage has a proscenium arch and a moveable canvas backdrop which can either be painted or used temporarily as a scrim.
We are so fortunate to have had the following sponsors for shows: Peoples Bank and Trust , The Broadway Jr. version of "Alice in Wonderland; " First National Bank and Sherrill's Pest Control, "Always...Patsy Cline;" Kelly Foote of First Community Mortgage, "Ruthless, the Musical" and" Seussical," the musical, was sponsored by the Hotel and Motel Association and the Tennessee Arts Commission. In December a Christmas choral and drama was presented. The sponsor for this show was Ascend Federal Credit Union and James Harden Signs. Two performances of this show was done in association with the Manchester Down Town Business Association. A ticket to the Saturday afternoon or evening event included dinner, a horse and carriage ride and entry to the Christmas choral and drama. It was a sold out event for two performances and a successful event for all concerned-in spite of the bitter cold!
The month of September saw a showing of photographs by Tom Wood of McMinnville. He specializes in wildlife and is a photographer for the Tennessee Wildlife Commission. The MMAC now owns one of Tom's works for our permanent collection. To view his work visit tomwoodnaturephotography.com
Our unfinished space temporarily housed watercolor classes by Jeff and Debbie Mayfield. They were for seniors, adults, and youth. These classes ran for 5 weeks and were enthusiastically received by the 15 students who took the classes. The classes were sponsored by the Tennessee Arts Commission with the National Endowment for the Arts.
A pastel workshop for beginners in pastels was held on September 26 with Paula Ann Ford. It was attended by 7 students, the maximum for a workshop. To see her works go to paulaford.com
November and December had art displays by Linda Gee who was a student of Jeff and Debbie Mayfield. Her works remain available for purchase by contacting the Manchester Arts Center or by calling Margie Gore at (931) 273-4686.
A Guitar Hero Rock Band Concert was held on January 16 which was sponsored by GEEKS ETC of Tullahoma and A+ Rentals of Manchester. There were prizes , lights, fog machines, big screen tvs and great competition! Our TAG group "ran a good show!" It was a fun night and we hope to repeat it in the late spring/early summer.
Future projects include a concert series featuring local and area musical groups, the first of which will be the South Jackson Street Band on March 20, 2010 and an International Folk Dancers group in June sponsored by the Community Foundation, the Lillian Ashley Fund for Coffee County; and this will be followed in the spring with a two day event for youth with arts, crafts, and storytelling and music featuring renowned folk artist, Carol Ponder. Ms. Ponder will be brought to us through a grant from the Arts Build Communities, a division of the Tennessee Arts Commission.
We have much left to accomplish--but we are on the move and we invite you to join us!
photos: by Russel Mobley