The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati and Cincinnati's Theatre IV Merging

Two of the city's most influential children's arts organizations become one

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2005

CINCINNATI, OH — Two organizations dedicated to providing theatrical experiences for school-age children are merging. The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati, one of the country's oldest children's theaters, and the Cincinnati branch of Theatre IV (formerly known as ArtReach), Ohio's oldest, largest and most acclaimed professional touring theater for young audiences, are joining forces to provide the region with educational, family-friendly productions, both in and out of the theater. Because The Children's Theatre presents productions in the theater and Theatre IV presents shows within the schools and other venues, the merger complements both organizations.

"We are thrilled about the opportunities that this alliance creates. Since our primary focus has been dedicated to large, fully produced, Broadway-style productions, this merger will allow us to produce smaller, meaningful works in more intimate venues," said Jack Louiso, Artistic Director of The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati. "Bringing the arts to more children is our priority."

The merger becomes official as of July 1, 2005. The Cincinnati branch of Theatre IV chose to sever ties with the Richmond, Virginia office due to a desire to have its headquarters in Cincinnati, the company's home base and where it was founded; as well as once again fully implementing the ArtReach name. The company will change its formal name to: ArtReach: A Division of The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati.

Kelly Germain, Artistic Director of the Cincinnati branch of Theatre IV said, "We look forward to working as a team to expand the variety of theatrical experiences and opportunities offered for young people in our community. This is a match made in heaven." After the merger, Ms. Germain will stay on board as the Artistic Director of ArtReach.

The new ArtReach will produce six shows during the 2005-2006 season and tour them to tri-state area schools, libraries, community centers, museums and other facilities throughout the region. Show titles come from classic and popular literature, fairy tales and history. Their schedule is already 61% booked for next season, and includes: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Gift of the Magi, The Satchel Paige Story, Mark Twain's The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Henny Penny: The Story of Chicken Little.

Both organizations have been Associate Members of the Fine Arts Fund since 1999. "We are delighted to see two of our respected Associate Members merge to capitalize on each organization's strengths while continuing to provide outstanding educational and entertaining theatrical experiences for the children of our community. It's a win-win for these two organizations and we wish The Children's Theatre and its new division, ArtReach, much success!" commented Mary McCullough-Hudson, President and CEO of the Fine Arts Fund.

ArtReach/Theatre IV Background
In 1976, ArtReach Touring Theatre was founded by Kathryn Schultz Miller and Barry Miller. At that time, the company was an innovation in the arts community: a professional theater for young audiences focused on touring to schools throughout the region. ArtReach was named Best New Children's Theatre in the United States by the Children's Theatre Association of America in 1983.

In December of 1996, the Board of Directors of the Cincinnati-based ArtReach elected to merge operations with Theatre IV, a well-respected Virginia competitor in national touring that had been working on a parallel track for two decades. With business operations shared between the Cincinnati and Richmond offices, this organization regularly toured throughout 33 states plus the District of Columbia, with performances serving more than 1.4 million school children each year.

The Cincinnati branch alone served 135,000 students per year, with productions for children pre-K through 12th grade. In addition to serving the schools, the organization pursued collaborations with other arts organizations to reach out to the public; for example, public performances were regularly held at the Taft Museum in downtown Cincinnati.

The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati Background
The origins of The Children's Theatre lie with the Junior League Players, formed in 1924. The company utilized the talents of Junior League members, playing to an audience of 700 children that first year, and growing to 11,000 by 1939. Several distinguished directors participated in those early years such as Helen Schuster-Martin and Owen Phillips from CCM. America's involvement in World War II spelled the end of the live performances, replacing the plays with radio dramatizations of children's books.

In 1947, the Junior League provided a $12,600 grant to launch a new non-profit community organization and The Children's Theatre was officially incorporated. After an initial season at Hughes High School, the Emery Auditorium became The Children's Theatre's home for the next two decades. During this period, four shows were presented yearly; one was produced by the Junior League, while the other three were presented by participating groups, such as the University of Cincinnati Mummers; Stage, Inc.; Children's World Theatre; the Merry Magic Players, and others.

In 1969, The Children's Theatre had yet another reorganization with Otto Kvapil of Xavier University serving as its director. Mr. Kvapil was able to utilize the talents of college students while giving them college credits. He served in this capacity until his untimely death in 1985. A variety of guest directors helmed performances of The Children's Theatre until 1993, when the organization regrouped once more.

1993 saw the first paid staff of The Children's Theatre. Jack Louiso was hired as Artistic Director, offering new levels of professionalism to the company. His first two shows, Once Upon a Mattress and Jack and the Beanstalk had great success, increasing audience size by 60% and bringing great notoriety to the company using Broadway-trained stars and featuring a legendary sports "giant," Anthony Munoz, as the famous big guy in Jack in the Beanstalk.

Today, The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati introduces young audiences in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana to the performing arts, through professional, fully-staged, Broadway-style productions that appeal to parents and educators while teaching morals and values. Each season, the company presents four one hour children's productions aimed at children ages 4-14. Weekday performances are held for local school students, while weekend shows are for the public. Comprehensive study guides are created by a panel of educators for each production, and are available to teachers and families for free on our website at www.thechildrenstheatre.com.

The Children's Theatre continues its commitment to education during the summer months when it hosts its S.T.A.R. camps for talented young performers. This intensive three-week program teaches drama, dance, vocal performance, and other performance skills.

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