(Frankfort, Ky.) - Performing artists and ensembles will showcase their talent at the Kentucky Arts Council’s sixth annual Kentucky on Stage beginning at 11:00 a.m., Thursday September 2, 2004 at the Kentucky Center, 501 W. Main Street, Louisville, Ky. Primarily an opportunity for performing arts presenters to review samples of work by artists featured in the Kentucky Arts Council’s Performing Arts Directory, the 12-minute sample performances are also open to public.

The Kentucky Performing Arts Directory features 80 performing artists, groups or ensembles that have been selected by a panel of Kentucky and out-of-state performing arts professionals on the basis of artistic excellence, performance experience and marketing capacity. The widely diverse group of performers for Kentucky On Stage includes The Betweeners, Ceruti Chamber Players, John Christopher Knight and Family, The Onion Traders, Squallis Puppeteers, Olivia Duvall, Richard Goering, Carla Van Hoose, Hog Operation, Randy Wilson, Steve Rector, Juneteenth Legacy Theatre, Lorinda Jones and more!

Registration for performing arts presenters is open to college and university student activity boards, corporate event planners, festival organizers, local arts councils, local and state government agencies, library directors, night club and coffeehouse booking agents, Main Street and Renaissance program directors, local, state and national park site activities directors as well as performing arts centers.

Two concurrent workshops will be presented at 9:00 a.m. Performing Arts in Public Places/Alternative Spaces will present exciting examples of developing partnerships and utilizing community spaces and alternative venues for presenting performing arts programs. Presenting Yourself to the Marketplace: Promotion and Marketing for Performing Artists will assist performing artists in marketing to obtain bookings, promoting performances to the media and getting recordings in stores or on a label.

Registration deadline for Kentucky On Stage is August 26, 2004. The fee is $25 and includes choice of workshop, access to exhibitors hall, lunch, Kentucky on Stage performances, the Kentucky Performing Arts Directory, and admission to the closing reception at 5:15 p.m. Registration forms are available on the Kentucky Arts Council Web site at www.artscouncil.ky.gov.

For more information regarding Kentucky on Stage, or other opportunities for performing artists and presenters, contact Heather Lyons, Individual Artist Program Director for the Kentucky Arts Council at 888-833-2787 x 4827 or [email protected].

The Kentucky Arts Council is a state agency in the Commerce Cabinet. Working in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arts Council invests in programs that develop vibrant communities, provide lifelong education in the arts and support arts participation. Every $1 in grant funds awarded by the Kentucky Arts Council helps grantees secure $20 in earned income and matching funds from individuals, philanthropic sources and other levels of government.

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