The White Barn Performing Arts Center & Nature Preserve A Vision for the Future of Our Community The White Barn Theatre Foundation invites you to join us in our quest to create the new White Barn Performing Arts Center & Nature Preserve. Our immediate goal is to raise $800,000 by December 31, 2016 to forestall demolition of the landmark White Barn Theatre building and secure our opportunity to purchase the property, with an anticipated closing date in February 2017. By helping us purchase the property, you will be contributing to an exciting venture that will enrich both Norwalk and surrounding communities by uniquely combining four complementary goals under one shared vision. Establishment of a performing arts center: We plan to renovate the existing White Barn Theatre into a state-of-the art performance space in which to present new works in drama and comedy, dance, music and film. We will advance the legacy of Lucille Lortel by restoring this unique venue for audiences and artists alike, greatly enriching the cultural environment of Norwalk, Connecticut and the surrounding area. Preservation of the historic White Barn Theatre: In addition to purchasing the property, one of the most important steps in realizing the vision of creating the White Barn Performing Arts Center is the preservation and regeneration of the theatre itself. The White Barn Theatre complex is currently under consideration by the State of Connecticut for a listing on the National Register of Historic Places and part of our goal is to raise the funds needed to restore this landmark structure. Education in the performing arts and nature: Our goal is to create partnerships with the Norwalk School Board, other local school boards and community organizations that will enable school children from Norwalk and the surrounding communities to experience the wonder of the performing arts – from rehearsal to performance – firsthand. We also intend to partner with colleges and universities to provide postgraduates and other early-career artists with opportunities to develop their talents and their new works in a professional venue. Finally our conservation plan includes site- specific nature education for area school children. Conservation of undeveloped land and local wildlife: Conservation of the White Barn open space is key to maintaining the integrity of the local environment – including the availability of safe drinking water in the area in which the property is situated. Our goal is to place at least an additional 6.5 acres under conservation easement, more than doubling what is already conserved. Added to the 5.5-acre White Barn Preserve established in 2008, this would result in at least 12 of the 15.4 acres being under easement protection by the Norwalk Land Trust. Our fundraising efforts have already garnered wide support from conservation organizations, as well as from distinguished members of the arts community. Please join them by meeting with us or by visiting our website at http://www.whitebarntheatre.org/donate ===================================================================== www.whitebarntheatre.org Telephone: (212) 901-5239 [email protected] 237 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06880 Theatre History The White Barn Theatre has a 50-year legacy of fostering great talents. In 1947, at a time when women were not often the leaders and creators of businesses, the daring and visionary producer Lucille Lortel turned an old barn into an experimental theater for emerging actors, directors and playwrights. Her home in the country became an incubator for works that achieved extraordinary Broadway and international successes. Tennessee Williams, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Edward Albee, Eva Marie Saint, Donna McKechnie, Kevin Spacey and many other theatre legends graced its stage or premiered their work there. Miss Lortel ran the White Barn Theatre from 1947 until her death in 1999. She produced more than 400 shows at the Barn, encompassing drama, comedy, music and dance, always with an eye to multiculturalism and developing young talent. The White Barn Theatre Foundation (a 501c3 organization) now seeks to purchase the theatre and the 15.4 largely undeveloped acres on which it sits in Norwalk, Connecticut. The Foundation is working to reestablish the thriving experimental theater/performing arts community that existed on the site for more than 50 years and to preserve and protect the property as a place where both artists and community members can appreciate and be inspired by the glory of nature. The Property The area is an important, environmentally friendly habitat with sensitive wetlands. There are private wells nearby and a State of Connecticut Class A brook running through the property and feeding into Long Island Sound. It is a storied and beloved site and one of the last remaining large tracts of open space in this part of Fairfield County. The oldest trees are over 100 feet tall, and the woods have many levels of undergrowth. The property contains the White Barn Theatre complex, consisting of the historic White Barn Theatre building, a farmhouse used for theater offices and housing, a parking area and sheds. The Foundation seeks to renovate and re-establish the theatre operation (dormant since 2002) and place an additional 5.5 acres of the existing open space under conservation easement. Added to the White Barn Preserve (5.5 acres) established in 2008, this could result in 12 of the 15.4 acres under easement protection by the Norwalk Land Trust, preserving this beautiful site and making it available to the community in perpetuity. ===================================================================== www.whitebarntheatre.org Telephone: (212) 901-5239 [email protected] 237 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06880 Community and Artistic Support Enthusiastic support for the Foundation’s efforts to re-establish the White Barn Theatre and bring Lucille’s original vision into the 21st century has been voiced by performing arts leaders as well as conservationists, including: Jane Bergere A.E. Hotchner Estelle Parsons Carmen De Lavallade Edgar Lansbury Kevin Spacey Christopher Durang Terrance McNally The Norwalk Land Trust Eric Falkenstein James Naughton The Norwalk Historical Society Tovah Feldshuh Kelli O’Hara The Norwalk Preservation Trust Proposed Housing Development When the White Barn property was proposed for a housing development, Miss Lortel’s grandnephew Waldo Mayo connected with the Save Cranbury Association (SCA) to preserve as much of the property as possible. Subsequent challenges to the developer’s demolition request were made by Save Cranbury members, the Norwalk Preservation Trust and the Norwalk Historical Society, resulting in a court order to delay demolition of the theatre until August 31, 2016 to give the White Barn Theatre Foundation time to raise the money to purchase the property. Mr. James Fieber, the owner/developer, agreed he would sell for $5.2 million and generously extended the deadline for an initial commitment to the end of 2016. The White Barn Theatre Foundation seeks to raise the funds necessary to achieve our vision and mission: To preserve and protect this unique site and continue Lucille Lortel’s legacy by establishing The White Barn Performing Arts Center. The Center will serve as a hub for the development and performance of new work in the fields of drama, dance, music and film in a unique atmosphere where theatre artists can connect to each other and the audience can connect to the performing arts in an intimate way not available elsewhere. To conserve an environmentally important property To enrich the opportunity for children and families to learn about and be part of both theatre and nature through a robust education program in partnership with local schools and community organizations. We are grateful for the encouragement we have received from Norwalk and surrounding communities and from the many members of the theatre, preservation, and conservation communities who support our mission – both financially and by lifting their voices so that Ms. Lortel’s legacy can be the inspiration for the future of the White Barn Theatre. We invite you to join them by lending your support or by learning more at http://www.whitebarntheatre.org. Additional, detailed information on our plans relative each of the proposed areas encompassed in this proposal (performing arts, preservation, education and conservation) is available in separate addenda. ===================================================================== www.whitebarntheatre.org Telephone: (212) 901-5239 [email protected] 237 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06880 The White Barn Performing Arts Center A Summary From its founding in 1947 by visionary producer Lucille Lortel and throughout its more than 50- year history, the White Barn Theatre played a very special role in the New York Metropolitan area theatre community. It was an intimate site where audiences could see new and experimental works from playwrights both known and unknown, a place for the new, the innovative and the untried. At The White Barn writers, performers, designers and other theatre artists could grow and flourish as the theatre’s slogan From the White Barn to Broadway Photo by Peter Ling and Beyond was proven true over and over again. The White Barn was the stepping stone to recognition and success for many up-and-coming theatre artists, but it was also a showcase for plays by such theatre luminaries as Tennessee Williams, William Archibald, Eugene Ionesco, Lanford Wilson, A.R. (Pete) Gurney and Jean Giraudoux, all of whom debuted works at the White Barn. The goal of the newly revived White Barn Performing Arts Center will be to once again make that vision a reality, creating a unique venue for audiences and artists alike, while greatly enriching the cultural environment of Norwalk, Connecticut and the surrounding area. Our Vision “Oh, I so hope the Lucille Lortel The first step in realizing our vision for The White White Barn may be saved for people Barn Theatre will be to renovate the performance who value the arts! Ms. Lortel space into a state-of-the-art venue, an ideal site for presented so many wonderful both performers and audiences.