Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA) — November 25, 2011 — STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer

It's called the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School for a reason - because most students there are interested in pursuing some sort of career in the arts.

So why not give them a chance to perform on a pretty big public stage in the biggest town in the region?

That's just what the PVPA, in South Hadley, in conjunction with Northampton's Academy of Music, now aims to do. The two organizations have formed a partnership that will bring PVPA student performers to the Academy for 10 of the school's 23 shows this academic year. The first one set to take place next week.

What's more, both the Academy and PVPA are hoping to make this a regular arrangement, something they can build on to give students more learning opportunities and to allow the Academy to broaden its mission as a community-based performance and arts center.

PVPA's first show in the series, "The Sound of Light: An Evening of Music, Movement and Poetry," is Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. The performance will feature two choral groups, a women's a cappella ensemble, poetry readings and African dance, all of it backed by additional musicians and student-designed lighting.

A second show, "Sounds of the Season," on Dec. 13 will feature a wide range of PVPA musicians and bands.

Staff at PVPA say there's been a long-running discussion at the school about how to give students a better performance venue than the school's auditorium, which has a small stage and seats about 170 in a narrow, rectangular space. Martin Bridge, director of PVPA's visual arts program, said the auditorium's lighting is quirky at best - people onstage can suddenly disappear into shadow, depending on where they move - while the acoustics are less than ideal.

"It just seemed to us that if we're preparing students for careers in some type of performance art, we really need to give them an appropriate place to learn their craft," Bridge said. "Students need to learn in the right kind of environment."

The small space at PVPA means big, popular shows, even concerts that would typically be one-night events, often have to be staged a number of times to accommodate audiences of families and friends. The school has 400 students.

It's also important, added the theater department director, Michael Arquilla, that student performers "learn how to fill a large space" like the Academy of Music, which seats 800.

This won't be the first time PVPA students perform at the Academy of Music. Bridge notes that the school's annual musical was held there between 2006 and 2008; it has since moved to Bowker Auditorium at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. PVPA music director Frank Newton says that the arrangement with the Academy will give students an appreciation for being on a big stage and performing in a public setting.

"I think working with the Academy will give us a chance to broaden our audiences and raise more awareness about the kind of talent our kids have," Newton said. "They are our biggest assets."

Real-life experience

At PVPA last week, music teacher Sarah Armstrong, the director of next week's show, was leading the high school chorale in a rehearsal, both for the show and for a videotaping of their performance that would be submitted to the "Together in Song" competition hosted by WGBY-TV in Springfield. Under the watchful eyes of an Uncle Sam-style poster that read "I want YOU to practice every day!" the nine young women worked through a number of songs, including one in Latin and another in French. Their repertoire also includes songs in Bulgarian and Arabic.

Armstrong, who's in her first year at PVPA, says she's thrilled that the school's students will have the opportunity to perform at the Academy. There's one caveat: They won't be able to rehearse there before the show because of other events there. "We'll have to be very, very organized and ready to go," she said.

"That's a real-life experience [for someone in the arts]," she said. "I can't help but think that our students will really benefit from having this kind of opportunity and public exposure."

An experiment

Debra D'Anthony, executive director of the Academy of Music, says she's excited about working with PVPA. When the school approached her in the spring to inquire about staging shows in Northampton, "It seemed to make sense for both of us," she said. "We benefit from being able to offer community-based programs, some more variety, and the school gets a great experience."

D'Anthony says the Academy and PVPA are looking at additional ways to work together, such as joint fundraising. Information about PVPA shows will be included in the Academy's newsletter, which has a mailing list of 4,000, and will be mentioned on its website, too.

Some details are still being worked out, D'Anthony says. For instance, students work on all aspects of production, such as lighting, for their performances. Some shows at the Academy, though, require union workers to run certain equipment. Also, the Academy lighting board has newer technology that students are not yet equipped to handle.

However, one of the theater's electricians, Emily Brownlow, is also a lighting instructor at PVPA. Bridge, the school's visual arts director, says students will be able to watch Brownlow work the lighting board to pick up experience.

"What we're doing is something of an experiment, and we'll sit down and assess how everything has gone after the season," D'Anthony said. "But we think this is going to be a very good fit for both of us." She added that she was able to offer PVPA "a good deal" for renting the Academy.

Robert Brainin, PVPA's chief financial officer, says the school's partnership with the Academy of Music will result in no additional cost to PVPA's approved performance budget. The Academy will assume certain staffing and technical direction expenses that the school would have to pay for at its in-house shows.

"Our marketing efforts will definitely be more intense" this year, Brainin said in an email. But he believes that the school's "energy and enthusiasm" and the visibility of the Academy "will spark a great deal of interest in our performances at the Academy."

Advance tickets for the Nov. 30 show, "The Sound of Light," cost $14; $12 for seniors and members of the military; and $6 for students and children. ($16, $14 and $7, respectively, on the day of the show). To purchase, visit the Academy of Music box office Friday, Tuesday and Wednesday between 3 and 6 p.m., go online at www.academyofmusictheatre.com or call 585-9032, ext. 105 (a service fee is charged for telephone sales).

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