ORLEANS – The Academy of Performing Arts, a cultural institution in Orleans for decades, has reopened under a new and broadened mission to bring arts programming to the local community, according to its board of directors.
The Academy will operate under the following new mission statement: “We inspire and build community by providing high-quality performances, arts education, and cultural opportunities”
Vice Chair Greg DeLory, speaking on the new mission, said “It’s different from what the Academy has traditionally done, in that we will no longer function as the in-house producer of live theater shows at the playhouse.”
Instead, he said, the Playhouse will become a Center for the Arts, providing a venue for diverse cultural and arts-related programming from outside sources.
“We envision that this will include hosting live theater productions by guest producers and companies, as well as concerts, open mic events, festivals, classes, and films.”
The Playhouse Theater closed in December, while the Academy school, which teaches arts to area children and youth, continued to hold classes.
“The future of the playhouse, honestly, is profoundly exciting because of the direction in which they’re going. No longer constrained by the school does school stuff and the theater does theater stuff, now it is a much larger vision,” said Interim Executive Director Brett Bernadini.
The Playhouse will be home to an art gallery and will continue to be a venue for the Academy School’s student and faculty productions.
“The rest of the calendar will be filled in with offerings by our own school, and predominately, offerings from the greater Cape Cod community,” said Bernadini.
“Everything from lectures, to demonstrations, to performances, movie nights, I mean everything is really on the table.”
The first scheduled event under the Academy’s new mission and direction was held last Friday. Nauset Regional High School perfumed a Variety show at the playhouse.
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