<bt>Bob and Sue Philips, age 69 and 65, respectively, have been enjoying the theater program at George Mason University since they moved to Fairfax.
"We have had the same seats since 1990," said Sue Philips. "I wouldn't give them up if you paid me."
With the performance packed upcoming 2004-05 season that GMU’s Center for the Arts announced on April 2, the Philipses’ reluctance to part with their tickets is understandable. While the Washington, D.C., area sports a proud Kennedy Center, George Mason University's Center for the Arts is a beacon of artistic support in Fairfax, drawing both talent and community together.
The 2004-05 Center for the Arts season program boasts a variety of theatrical and musical performances including a Theater of the First Amendment production of "Nathan the Wise" in September, the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra in October, and even guests from overseas like the Dresden Philharmonic, which will perform in November, or the Opera Verdi Europa's performance of "Carmen" in January.
"The arts at George Mason are expanding, and expanding dramatically. I've never worked in a situation that was so supporting of the arts," said Rick Davis, associate dean and artistic director of George Mason’s Center for the Arts.
The new season is based on "some real success in the last couple of years," Davis said. "We are very proud of the extent to which the series has caught on in the community." Davis pointed to the $250,000 difference between 2004 and 2003's daily ticket report, as of April 1, as an indication of the Center for the Arts' increasing ability to draw patrons to its performances. In the last four years, subscribing households have increased by 50 percent, and overall ticket sales have increased 54 percent.
"We have been emboldened," said Davis. "Next year, we are projecting, and we think confidently that we are going to increase another 20 percent based on the events we have planned, the number, the quality, and the trend that we have seen in the community."
THE 2004-05 SEASON is different in that the Center for the Arts has acquired its first corporate sponsor, First Horizon Bank. Tom Reynolds, director of external affairs at GMU, "established the bridge to First Horizon and has been negotiating that relationship," said Davis.
"The official word on the financial issue of the sponsorship from the Center's perspective is to say that it is a substantial financial commitment for each of the next four years," said Reynolds.
The relationship is greeted favorably by both the school and the community. "The whole university is of the same mind in support of the arts," said Ellen Acconcia, marketing coordinator at the College of Visual and Performing Arts. "I think it’s a good match."
"I'm excited about it all," said Shirley Joyce of the Clifton Community Woman's Club. "Especially the orchestra, all the new variety is such a plus." Joyce is a member of Friends of the Center for the Arts with her husband, Charlie, who is serving as president of the board of Friends of the Center for the Arts. The Friends acts as a bridge between the community and the Center.
"They are like our ambassadors," said Davis. "On a face-to-face level, they bring people in. It's the most efficient because you have a trust in your acquaintance, and they say, 'Oh, this is exciting." While "the Arts are the front door to the community," as Charlie Joyce said, the community remains the field upon which that door opens.
"The arts have the ability to do some very concrete things in people’s lives,” said Davis. “Inspiration, that's good enough. It has the capacity to expand one's notion of what it is to be human. A wonderful line from 'Nathan the Wise' comes back to me: ‘Nothing human is alien to me,’ and that is, I think, the bottom line of the arts. They offer a way that encourages us to be part of a richer community."