Each art medium is beautiful in its own way. Paint, oil pastels, dance, collage, acting, stand up comedy…each way of creating art is great in its own right.
This is the same for the arts organizations in the community.
The Plaza Arts Center (TPAC) in Eatonton has a mission of bridging the community and the arts. Between free community events and world class live entertainment, The Plaza strives for excellence. These events are only made possible through memberships, donations and ticket sales with a huge emphasis on memberships. Plaza members and volunteers help keep The Plaza going.
Down the road in Greensboro is the Oconee Performing Arts Society (OPAS.) OPAS also works to bring arts education to the Lake Country youth. While having performances at the Festival Hall in Greensboro and at The Plaza Arts Center, OPAS also runs off of members and donors.
Both entities are separate in the fact that being a member of one does not make you a member of the other. Donations are completely separate and each organization revolves around its own membership, however just because they are separate does not mean that these organizations do not work together for the greater good.
The arts have always been pretty intertwined. Dancers wear costumes that are designed by an artist. Painters can take their inspiration from a song that a musician wrote. Musicians are often subjects of photography. Designers create patterns to be used in homes. However you look at it, arts intertwine with each other and through day-to-day life.
This is also true with the arts organizations in Lake Country. While each organization is uniquely its own, they work together in ways that strengthen their capacities. OPAS and TPAC are working together this year to provide the youth in the Lake Country area a chance to work alongside each other and a Broadway veteran.
The Broadway Intensive, held at The Plaza, is designed for young adults (10th-grade students through 25 years old) to be able to hone their acting skills and develop new ideas.
OPAS has become a sponsor of The Plaza Art Center and The Art Barn’s Broadway Intensive. In its second year, the intensive is a two-week marathon that culminates in performances of Godspell. Having OPAS as a sponsor means that more students can participate that otherwise wouldn’t be able to because OPAS’s sponsorship is going directly to scholarships. Scholarships allow for young adults who otherwise could not afford to attend to now be able to attend. These go a long way within the community.
The Plaza is looking forward to what this partnership with OPAS can bring to the area youth.