Playwright Terrence McNally once wrote: “The glory of theatre is also its bane; you have to be there to experience it. When a production closes, it is gone forever. It lives in the memory of a lucky few and when they are gone, it disappears with them. There are published scripts and recordings, but they only tell part of the story. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Life itself is ephemeral and theatre is the art most like life as I have so far experienced it; transitory, unpredictable, overwhelming, and finally quite wonderful.”

He goes on to say “No wonder making theatre is like catching at moonbeams. In every project there comes a time when it seems quite impossible. And yet, we do it, generation after generation, no matter the risks and the possibilities for failure.”

As we look back to this time last year, we can see the accomplishments of many people working together to make something grow. We embarked on a vision to make our community a better place to live.

Tonight, you have seen many images of last year’s triumphs. A year that seems altogether too short but yet so rich. It is somewhat exhausting and exhilarating to recap our many achievements from year number one. As we launched our first season, we chose “Seeing is Believing” as a tag line. I liked it. It had a certain ring about it that stated confidence and assurance in what we were doing. I remember thinking to myself how hard it would be to promote Encore since we had no track record.

But what we did have was a vision – a vision of a good reputable arts company that would give back to our community in many ways. We had a valuable team of artists, educators, and community leaders to guide the way in establishing our vision.

Everyone of us here in this room played a role this year. Whether you served on the Board of Trustees, the Company, played a part in a production, worked backstage, played an instrument, gave money, participated as an audience member, or took part in a class or workshop, you have been a part of it all. Just as a tapestry has many weaves of thread, Encore takes many people working together for a common goal. In essence, it is what community is about – working together, learning together, and living together. So Encore, congratulate yourself – all of you – You ALL DID IT! Seeing IS Believing!

Tonight is a celebration of our inaugural year. We will look back tonight at high points of the past year. We will celebrate our success of being here together – one year later. And we will glimpse into our immediate future as we look ahead to what we have to look forward to.

So, why do we do it? Why put so much time and effort into something that Mr. McNally said is “transitory, unpredictable, and overwhelming.” It isn’t a necessity of life – like food, water, and shelter. It isn’t as pressing as a world disaster, a struggling economy, or a presidential election. It’s not even as reaching as the latest Harry Potter movie or the current American Idol season. But yet, it can take matters small and large and stretch our imaginations far beyond where we can journey in one single lifetime.

The arts challenge us to be better than we were yesterday or a year ago or ten years ago. Leave this world a better place than you found it. Through the arts, we accomplish this. We are creating and cultivating a better place to live. We are developing our youth. We are supporting the development of our economy.

Whether you were born and bred in the Lakeway Area or you chose to move here, your quality of life is one of the most important aspects of your choice for living here. Whether you want arts, parks, lakes, sports, or all of the above, many different interests play into making an area a versatile, diverse, and pleasant community to live in. The arts allow us to respond and react to the world around us. The arts help cultivate a creative workforce. Most new value in our companies is generated through human capital. The people who create in your businesses benefit from exposure to the arts. If we fail to provide opportunities for our creative class, we risk losing them to communities that do.

Throughout the past year, we’ve shared some of the important statistics with several groups on the impact of the arts on youth. Young people who participate in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievements, four times more likely to participate in a math or science fair, three times more likely to win an award for school attendance, and perform community service four times as often. They have lower truancy rates and higher graduation rates.

Research shows that arts education builds a school climate of high expectation. In some instances, 80 to 85% on a test or exam is exceptional, but for a music student, playing or singing 80 to 85% of the right notes would not be. Students who are invested in the arts develop problem solving and critical thinking skills that add to their overall academic and life achievement.

Through this year, we have seen the effect of arts on students. We have seen their imaginations hard at work as the first graders at Russellville Elementary School drew their own set designs for their 1st grade production. Their eyes lit up when they walked into school one day to see that we had taken their vision and turned it into a full scale, larger than life set.

We have seen this in the eyes of students who witnessed a live performance for the first time in their lives. Through our touring production to the schools, hundreds of children were entertained, educated, and encouraged to use their imagination to create, think, and dream.

We have seen this through the numerous students we have worked with in various classes, workshops, and camps. They have a desire to learn – to become a part of something larger than themselves. As I worked with a young lady in a technical workshop this year, she went from a quiet, shy uninterested student into someone who began asking questions, proposing ideas, developing solutions, and ready to get involved behind the scenes.

We have seen this through young people who are actively involved in the performing arts. I’ve seen the tears of joy from a parent as they see their little one become their own behind the spotlight. I’ve had parents tell me first hand how their children’s grades, behavior, and participation have improved drastically since their involvement with the theatre.

Finally, the arts in our community support the development of our community. Did you know that every dollar of public funding in the non-profit industry generates $4.57 in earned income in our state? In fact, 4000 jobs were generated in Tennessee alone by spending on the arts in 2002. Growing our arts programs in the Lakeway Area has effects on tourism, hotels, restaurants, and retail establishments.

So tonight, we want to celebrate our successes of the past year. Our 2007 Mainstage Season saw over 7000 audience members attend from the inaugural production of Peter Pan, our East Tennessee premieres of Three Days of Rain and Cats, the interactive dinner theatre production of Grandma Sylvia’s Funeral, and most recently, our holiday production of A Christmas Story.

Our Educational programs ranged from various classes, workshops, and camps. From acting, singing, and dancing, we worked at developing the interests and talents of young people in our community. We formed a partnership with the Lakeway Children’s Choir. We launched a touring production that played to many of our elementary schools free of charge. We awarded scholarships to students pursuing a post secondary education in the performing arts. We developed a ticket sponsorship program that allowed children who could not afford theatre attend three of our five mainstage shows. Over 2000 children in the Lakeway area were serviced through our educational programs.

Our Outreach Programs consisted of several talkback sessions throughout the season. We saw the successful development of “Broadway, ETC.” – a community choir dedicated to performing the music from the stage and screen. At the end of the year, we launched the Encore Volunteer Club which develops volunteers to become involved and learn all aspects of theatre and rewards them for their efforts through special recognition. Over 200 volunteers donated their talents, time and energy to making Encore’s vision become a reality.

So, where do we go from here? We continue on our road of success by further cultivating talent from our community. We look to the future in the continuation of our Mainstage, educational, and outreach programs. Later on tonight, you will learn more about what Encore has in store for our exciting second season. Finally, we continue to work towards establishing a long term goal of a performing arts center here in Morristown for the continued betterment of our quality of life through the performing arts.

Your financial support, your talents, and your attendance will assist in the continued efforts to carry out Encore’s vision. Our mission is that we believe in the power of the arts. Theatre is a reflection of the human experience. It crosses generational, racial, and socio economic lines. The theatre helps us discover and understand ourselves and our relationship with our world.

I think we live so much in our imaginations — not just artistic types, but everyone — that in some ways the imaginative connection you get between a play or movie or book or painting or piece of music and its respective audience is as close as we ever get to each other. The human being is more than a hundred pounds of clay – a Life Principle has animated this clay, and made it move. Not only move, but perceive. Not only perceive, but think. Not only think, but feel. Our senses are the doorways into the physical world, and serve us well in both movie theatres and live theatre. But we have more senses than the basic five. We have the sense that can perceive warmth in a conversation, that can perceive the light of truth in a person’s speaking, that can feel power in the presence of strong people and strong words.

In closing, I would like to share with you one last thought. One of my favorite movies is “Mr Holland’s Opus.” It chronicles the journey of a music teacher. Well, he didn’t set out to be a music teacher. He took a teaching job as a means to an end. But something stuck with Mr. Holland. Although he planned only to teach for a year, and then move on to bigger and better things, he found himself back the next year, and the next year, and the next year. He found himself immersed in the students’ lives. He found that there was a bigger picture out there, far beyond his own desires of becoming a world famous musician. He faced the challenges of fighting for the arts in a public school setting. From the challenges of teaching children music, to the challenges of competing against time and money that went to the athletics and other academics, to ultimately, the challenge of putting his dreams of composing his own work of art – his opus. His life became part of something bigger than himself.

Finally, at the end of the movie, he is called into the Principal’s office and given the news that because of budget cuts, the music program is now cut and he is forced to retire after 30 years of building a program. Mr. Holland takes a moment to absord the sobering news, looks square at the principal, and says, “You can the arts all you want, but sooner or later, there will be nothing to read or write about.”

As we continue on our journey of making Morristown and the Lakeway Area a better place to live, I thank you for allowing me to share in this community through the performing arts. I thank you for your vested interest in Encore and look forward to the exciting future Encore has in store.

Micah-Shane Brewer, Artistic Director
January 18, 2008