Brenda P. Schleunes Presented with O. Henry Award 2009

Three community service awards are presented each year at the Greensboro Partnership Annual Dinner - the Thomas Z. Osborne Award, The Athena Award and The O.Henry Award. The O.Henry Award is presented jointly by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce and the United Arts Council of Greensboro. It is given to recognize an individual's outstanding contribution to the arts and cultural development of the community. The 2009 award was presented to Brenda P. Schleunes, Producing Artistic Director of Touring Theatre of North Carolina, for her contribution to the performing arts and her willingness to delve into timeless social issues on the stage.

Ms. Schleunes' work through Touring Theatre of North Carolina is unmistakably unique. As stated by Jeanie Duncan, United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro President and CEO, Touring Theatre has, in essence, "created a new medium." Touring Theatre productions, for the past 28 years, have touched so many lives because of Ms. Schleunes' insight into cultural issues that impact people from every walk of life. She has an astute ability to extract key emotional components from literature and historical documents and then translate them into engaging, powerful theatre experiences. Organizations then present these educational theatre documentaries to help advance their own educational missions.
Corporations also find the work of Touring Theatre useful in engaging employees in dialogs on work place diversity, tolerance and race.

To quote Ms. Schleunes, "Often the power of the production comes from the audience's opportunity to walk around in the hearts of the characters."

The Annual Dinner of the Greensboro Partnership was held January 29, 2009 at the Koury Convention Center/Sheraton Four Seasons. The event is held to highlight the 2008 accomplishments of the Greensboro Partnership and to provide a forum for the business community to hear from prominent speakers about the issues impacting Greensboro. The program featured keynote speaker Kelly King, CEO of BB&T, and special remarks by Maurice "Mo" Green, Superintendent of Guilford County Schools. Approximately 700 guests attended.

Helping to support Ms. Schleunes in receipt of her award were friends and members of the TTNC Board of Trustees (from left): Steve Sumerford, Brenda Schleunes, Donna Bradby, Donna Fairfield, Vivienne Mays, Cindy Ensley, and Amy Conley.

Touring Theatre Announces Auditions

Touring Theatre is announcing auditions for its Spring production, Piece Work, based upon Barbara Presnell's poetry anthology of the same name.

Rehearsals will begin in March, 2009.

The Piece Work project is funded through generous grants from the American Express Foundation and the North Carolina Humanities Council and with in-kind support from the Greensboro Public Library and Guilford Technical Community College. Performances of Piece Work will be presented at 10 North Carolina community colleges during the 2009-2010 academic calendar year.

Touring Theatre is also considering actors for its other productions in rep for the 2009-2010 academic year. Please visit the production page of TTNC's website for more information regarding these shows.

Criteria for actors include:
• Flexible schedule for rehearsals and touring performances
• Ability to travel easily to and from Greensboro, NC
• Singing experience preferred
• Professional acting experience preferred
• Multi-ethnic casting
• Character age ranges: 21-60

Auditions will be held, by appointment only, on February 26 from 7pm to 9pm. To schedule an appointment, please email headshot and resume to performs@ttnc.org.

Jeff Aguiar, Production Coordinator, will be contacting auditionees regarding time slots.

American Express Awards Touring Theatre!

Sonya Conway, Director, Public Affairs & Communications for American Express presented the Touring Theatre of North Carolina with a $13,500 check, awarded to TTNC through the American Express Foundation. The grant is for Touring Theatre's upcoming production entitled Piece Work, a piece based upon a collection of poems by the same name by Barbara Presnell, a North Carolina poet, prose writer, and lyricist. Presnell's Piece Work focuses on the lives and stories of the mill workers' community of central North Carolina. The Piece Work project involves the in-kind support of the Guilford Technical Community College and the Greensboro Public Library.

Michelle Gethers-Clark, American Express, Senior Vice President and Chair of the North Carolina Philanthropic Committee, Greensboro, had this to say: "On behalf of all the American Express employees in North Carolina, we are proud to support the Touring Theatre of North Carolina. We believe that respect for, and celebration of, our diverse cultural heritage promotes human understanding and economic development in an increasingly interdependent world. American Express is proud to support organizations and projects that preserve or rediscover important cultural works in order to provide enjoyment for current and future audiences."

Touring Theatre is proud to receive the support of such sponsors as American Express in continuing its mission to bring awareness of issues of race, culture and gender in North Carolina and throughout the region.

For more information concerning Piecework, be watching the website for more information. The production is set to premier in the Spring of 2009.

FAMILY BUSINESS Premieres!

Touring Theatre's production of Family Business premiered last night at the Broach Theatre in downtown Greensboro. In addition to the post-show dialogues, the Premiere also played host to Jill McCorkle and Randall Kenan, both North Carolina writers, whose short stories were used and adapted by Producing Artistic Director, Brenda P. Schleunes, for Family Business.

Following the performance and dialogue, a fundraising reception was held at the Blue Diamond Gallery on the 600 block of South Elm Street. McCorkle and Kenan were in attendance along with the cast of Family Business and other supporters of Touring Theatre for a delightful evening hosted by Danielle Hatfield, curator and owner of the Gallery.

The Touring Theatre thanks its supporters and hopes to continue its mission of bringing literary and historical documents to life for the purpose of encouraging reading and providing focus to issues of race, culture and gender.

Please help support the Touring Theatre by choosing to join us for the remainder of the run of Family Business through Sunday, June 29th. Visit www.carolinatheatre.com for ticket information and reservation options or pay at the door of the Broach Theatre. The house opens at 7:30pm Friday and Saturday and 2:30pm Sunday.

See you there.

Triad Arts Up Close Interview with Producing Artistic Director, Brenda Schleunes

In Bradley George's Triad Arts Up Close segment on WFDD,the Triad's local NPR affiliate, Touring Theatre's Producing Artistic Director, Brenda Schleunes, and Board member, Ivan Canada, were interviewed about Family Business, its themes and ideas, as well as Guilford Green's involvement as co-sponsor of the production. Click below to listen to the interview.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Touring Theatre's news and multimedia hotspot. Use the News link on our website, www.ttnc.org, to get to this page, or subscribe to the blog to receive immediate notice of new postings. We hope to bring you a variety of experiences through this blog including interviews, audio and video footage, and pictures of Touring Theatre, its endeavors, its constituencies to keep Touring Theatre a part of the Southeast's theatrical vocabulary for innovation, education, and giving audiences deeper insight into cultural and historical perspectives.

Actors Chat

Listen to actors share their thoughts and reactions to Family Business, premiering at the Broach Theatre June 25-29. Contact the Carolina Theatre Box Office at (336)333-2605 for reservations.