here - Jacob's Pillow

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:Mariclare HulbertDirector of Marketing and Communications413.243.9919 x130mhulbert@jacobspillow.org-or-Alyssa MayfieldPublic Relations and Marketing Coordinator413.243.9919 x132amayfield@jacobspillow.orgJACOB’S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL TO UNVEIL NEW SEATSIN THE HISTORIC TED SHAWN AND DORIS DUKE THEATRES“NAME A SEAT, SUSTAIN A LANDMARK” CAMPAIGN MADE POSSIBLE BY CHALLENGEGRANT FROM THE KRESGE FOUNDATIONJACOB’S PILLOW TO RAISE $230,000 TO COMPLETE $2 MILLION CAPITAL CAMPAIGNMay 16, 2013 – (Becket, MA) Jacob’s Pillow, National Historic Landmark, National Medal of Artsrecipient, and home to America’s longest-running dance festival, will soon unveil new seats in itshistoric Ted Shawn Theatre (1942) and Doris Duke Theatre (1989). The new seats are part of a$1,000,000 challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation, enabling the Pillow to implement longneededimprovements to its theatres and residential buildings and to seed a facility reserve designedto address long-term maintenance issues. The new seats in the Ted Shawn Theatre will be officiallyunveiled at the Pillow’s June 9 Member Appreciation Film Event, highlighting the final months of the“Name a Seat, Sustain a Landmark” fundraising campaign.The Pillow’s historic grounds and buildings have roots in the days of horse-drawn carriages; “Jacob’sPillow” was first a family farm in the 1790s and also served as a station on the Underground Railroadbefore the Civil War. Purchased by dance pioneer Ted Shawn in 1931, the property hosted its firstperformances in 1933. The Ted Shawn Theatre, built in 1942, is the first theatre in the U.S. designedspecifically for dance, and has since hosted the world’s finest dance artists for eight decades.Architect Joseph Franz, who also built The Music Shed at Tanglewood, designed both the interiorand exterior to harmonize with the existing farmhouse and barns. The Doris Duke Theatre, alsocomplementing the existing vernacular, was constructed in 1989 and is a flexible performance andrehearsal space.. Today, world-renowned dance companies and artists perform in both theatresWednesdays through Sundays every week during the Festival, drawing audiences of more than43,000 people annually. In addition, the Pillow offers more than 200 free events, totaling over 90,000visitor experiences every season.New seating in the Ted Shawn Theatre and Doris Duke Theatre will enhance patrons’ comfort withpadded seats and backs, supportive armrests, and uniform seat heights and widths at modernstandards. In the Doris Duke Theatre, padded seats with armrests will replace the original hardstacking chairs. In addition, the seat risers will be a state-of-the-art telescopic system, enabling fasterchangeovers for various purposes such as rehearsals, classes, and technical production needs. Aislelighting will be improved in both theatres. The seats were selected for their high-quality materials andaesthetic fit with the theatres, and are sourced from Connecticut-based American Seating andIllinois-based Irwin Telescopic Seating Company.

Jacob’s Pillow Executive and Artistic Director Ella Baff comments, "Jacob’s Pillow is a NationalHistoric Landmark – a destination and beloved place for people from all over the world. The KresgeFoundation has given us an extraordinary opportunity to improve the quality of our theatres and toensure their long-term maintenance. This opportunity also carries a big challenge in meeting thegrant match. Every single person who contributes to matching this grant is helping to sustain thePillow and bring dance to the hundreds of thousands of people every year. We appreciate this kind ofsupport in every way, and thank everyone who has and will help us reach our goal.”Other long-needed facility improvements are also part of the Name a Seat, Sustain a Landmarkcampaign. The Doris Duke Theatre backstage was remodeled, providing two new dressing rooms,two additional bathrooms each with multiple showers, and a lounge area (green room) where artistscan relax and greet visitors. The Ted Shawn Theatre building envelope was tightened, and newsiding applied, while preserving the New England barn vernacular, including the replacement ofwindow casements, door casings, and installation of copper flashing. One of the Pillow’s olderresidential cabins, Baba Yaga (1933) has been moved to a new foundation to meet Town of Becketzoning, and was rebuilt, expanded, and winterized to increase capacity and maximize comfort.Works-in-progress include two more residential cabin projects to increase housing capacity for artistsand seasonal staff. The Kresge Foundation grant includes $350,000 for current facility needs and$650,000 to establish a cash reserve to support facility repairs in the future.Name a Seat, Sustain a Landmark, the Pillow’s three-year $2,000,000 capital campaign concludingin September 2013, is anchored by a $1,000,000 challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation, a$3.1 billion national foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations throughits support of nonprofit organizations working in its seven program areas: Arts and Culture,Community Development, Detroit, Education, the Environment, Health, and Human Services. Thecampaign has attracted charitable contributions from American Express and the LuEsther T. MertzCharitable Trust, and more than 50 individual donors. More than 50 new seats have been named inboth theatres and the Pillow continues to seek individuals and institutions to complete the $1,000,000challenge. These investments allow the Pillow to better serve the public and artists, and implementeffective capitalization for its future.Jacob’s Pillow, celebrating its 81st Festival in 2013, is a National Historic Landmark, recipient of the National Medal of Arts, and home to America'slongest running international dance festival. The Festival includes more than 50 national and international dance companies and 350 free and ticketedperformances, talks, tours, classes, exhibits, and events. The School at Jacob’s Pillow, one of the most prestigious professional dance trainingcenters in the U.S., encompasses the diverse disciplines of Ballet, Cultural Traditions, Contemporary, and Jazz/Musical Theatre Dance, as well as anIntern Program in various disciplines of arts administration, design, video, and production. The Pillow’s extensive Archives, open year-round to thepublic, chronicle more than 80 years of dance in photographs, programs, books, costumes, audiotapes, and video. Year-round Community Programsenrich the lives of children and adults through public classes, residencies in area schools, and more than 200 free public events. Through Jacob’sPillow Curriculum in Motion®, a nationally-recognized program, artist-educators work with Berkshire County teachers and students grades K-12,transforming curricula such as biology, literature, and history into kinesthetic and creative learning experiences. Creative Development Residencies,in which dance companies are invited to live and work at the Pillow and enjoy unlimited studio time; choreography commissions; and the annual$25,000 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award all support visionary dance artists and choreographers. Virtual Pillow is aimed at expanding global audiencesfor dance and offers the opportunity to experience dance and Jacob's Pillow from anywhere in the world via online interactive exhibits, global videonetworks, and social media. As part of the Virtual Pillow initiative, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive is a curated online video collection of dancehighlights from 1936 to today. On March 2, 2011, President Obama honored Jacob’s Pillow with a National Medal of Arts, the highest arts award givenby the United States Government. Jacob’s Pillow is the first dance presenting organization to receive this prestigious award. For more information, visitwww.jacobspillow.org.###