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Photo: Actors Theatre of Louisville
Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Kevin E. Moore are thrilled to share that Andrew Hinderaker’s The Magic Play will round out Actors Theatre of Louisville’s 2017 – 2018 Season. Critically acclaimed magician and actor Brett Schneider stars in this one-of-a-kind theatrical experience that combines love, loss and world-class magic into an evening of pure heart-warming spectacle. Chicago Sun-Times states, “True to its title, “The Magic Play,” Andrew Hinderaker’s highly original, altogether remarkable new work, is full of sleight-of-hand astonishments.” Directed by Halena Kays, The Magic Play will run from January 23 – February 11, 2018 in the Pamela Brown Auditorium as part of the Brown-Forman Series.
“The Magic Play is theatrical wonder at its very best,” says Artistic Director Les Waters. “Not only is it world-class magic that everyone will enjoy, but also a moving human drama of loss and love. I am excited to share this play with our community and think Andrew Hinderaker’s brilliance will be a perfect complement to the other wildly entertaining stories in our 2017 – 2018 Season.”
Presenting the finalized 2017 – 2018 Season at Actors Theatre of Louisville:
Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches
Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika
By Tony Kushner
Directed by Meredith McDonough
August 29 – October 14, 2017
Fifth Third Bank’s Dracula
Originally dramatized by John L. Balderston and Hamilton Deane
From Bram Stoker’s world-famous novel, Dracula
As adapted and directed by William McNulty
September 6 – October 31, 2017
Skeleton Crew
By Dominique Morisseau
Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III
November 14 – December 10, 2017
Fifth Third Bank’s A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Barbara Field
Directed by Drew Fracher
November 21 – December 23, 2017
The Santaland Diaries
By David Sedaris
Adapted by Joe Mantello
Directed by Meredith McDonough
December 1 – 23, 2017
Little Bunny Foo Foo
By Anne Washburn
Directed by Les Waters
January 9 – February 4, 2018
The Magic Play
By Andrew Hinderaker
Directed by Halena Kays
Featuring magician Brett Schneider
January 23 – February 11, 2018
42nd Humana Festival of New American Plays
February 28 – April 8, 2018
The 2017-2018 Season is generously supported by Brown-Forman, the official season sponsor, with additional support from Fund for the Arts, the Kentucky Arts Council and Yum! Brands, which supports the student matinee series.
For more information on the 2017-2018 Season, including play descriptions and ticketing availability, please visit ActorsTheatre.org.
Hollywood has a new character – he’s bold and daring with a rustic, yet smooth approach. America’s first bottled bourbon, Old Forester, is known for being full of character. But this time, Old Forester is introducing a new type of character – a straight bourbon whiskey – named Old Forester Statesman that will debut in acclaimed filmmaker Matthew Vaughn’s upcoming 20th Century Fox film “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” and available for film fans and bourbon aficionados to enjoy August 2017.
In “Kingsman: The Golden Circle”, our heroes face a new challenge when their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage. Their journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US called Statesman, dating back to the day they were both founded. The Statesman, based in Louisville, Kentucky, act as Master Distillers to hide their true identity. In a new adventure that tests their agents’ strength and wits to the limit, these two elite secret organizations band together to defeat a ruthless common enemy, in order to save the world, something that’s becoming a bit of a habit for Eggsy. The sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is directed by Matthew Vaughn and stars original cast members Colin Firth, Taron Egerton and Mark Strong, and introduces new cast members Jeff Bridges, Channing Tatum, Pedro Pascal, Halle Berry and Julianne Moore.
“Bourbon is an American tradition that Old Forester has celebrated for five generations, and we’re proud to reinforce the authenticity of the characters, The Statesman, as bourbon distillers,” said Campbell Brown, President of Brown-Forman.
When choosing partners for the Kingsman brand i look for excellence, integrity and taste. Old Forester is my first partner who takes the taste requirement to the next level,” said Matthew Vaughn.
Old Forester chose a unique taste profile when selecting the Statesman bourbon specifically for the film. Taking inspiration from the dynamic characters, Old Forester Statesman offers bold flavor blended to a smooth 95 proof, resulting in an exceptional balance of heat and spice.
Celebrating the film’s inclusion of Louisville, Kentucky as home of the Statesman, Louisville’s Mayor, Greg Fischer, declared the premiere date of September 22 as Statesman Day in the city.
An exclusive sneak peek of the film which highlights Old Forester’s Statesman bourbon and Kentucky will debut to fans at the Kentucky Derby this Saturday. Jeff Bridges, lead Statesman as “Champ” in the film will be in attendance at this year’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs and attendees at the track will be the first people in the world able to sample this new product.
“Kingsman: The Golden Circle” will be in theaters on September 22, and Statesman will be available for purchase in the U.S. in August. For more information, please visit www.oldforester.com
Louisville Metro Emergency Services Officials are providing attendees of Derby Week events with a new safety tool designed to provide an additional layer of safety and security to measures already in place surrounding the Pegasus Parade, the Kentucky Derby Festival events, the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby.
LENSAlert now allows citizens and visitors to text predetermined keywords to sign up for alerts at major events in the city. The system provides real time alerts and notifications and will inform event attendees of severe weather, hazardous material incidents and other emergencies.
Attendees are encouraged to Opt-In prior to the event, by texting to 67283 and using one of the keywords below:
Keyword / Event
Parade – for notifications at the Pegasus Parade
Festival – for notifications at any Kentucky Derby Festival event
Oaks – for notifications at the Kentucky Oaks
Derby – for notifications at the Kentucky Derby
DerbyWeek – to sign up for all of the above at once
Emergency Services Director Jody Meiman states, “Use of LENSAlert’s Opt-In feature will be coordinated through the Incident Management System from the Emergency Operations Center and is meant to communicate emergency information only and will be the trusted source of information should a major incident occur. We expect a safe and secure Derby Week but based on events that are occurring around the world, we would be remiss if we did not use tools such as LENSAlert to assist in safely securing the public.”
In the event of a major incident, Emergency Services, the Kentucky Derby Festival and Louisville Metro Police Department will post a LENSAlert Opt-In graphic on social media in order to direct inquiries to the LENSAlert Opt-In feature.
Photo: Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation
Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation will be offering local youths the opportunity to take part in a local golf tour that begins with a kickoff event at Seneca Golf Course on May 28.
The “Louisville Junior Golf Tour” is designed for all children who play golf or are interested in learning the sport. Metro Parks and Recreation golf pros have come up with a series of one-day events with highlights that include easier, more relaxed rules than traditional golf, short-yardage courses, stroke limits with each hole, and affordable pricing with professional experience and guidance from the pros themselves.
“We want to bridge the gap between kids who are introduced to the game casually and the kids who compete in high-level golf tournaments,” said Tommy Betz, the PGA Professional at Bobby Nichols Golf Course and Director of the Junior Golf Tour. “This is the perfect way to start competing and more importantly begin by learning to enjoy the game first.”
The tour starts with a “Kickoff Event” on Sunday, May 28th at Seneca Golf Course for a cost of only $9.50 – the other tour events will be $25 per player. To register and enter junior golfers, check out the schedule and other pertinent information at LouisvilleJrTour.com.
“This is another way for children already involved in our many youth golf programs such as The First Tee of Louisville, PGA Junior League teams, summer camps, elementary, grade school, and high school golfers in Louisville to compete and enjoy our amenities at Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation golf courses,” said Marty Storch, Deputy Director of Metro Parks and Recreation.Pho
ABOUT METRO PARKS GOLF:
Louisville’s nine public golf courses offer a quality golfing experience at some of the most affordable prices in the nation. Each course has its own unique character, and some consistently rank among Kentucky’s best and most challenging courses. The nine municipally-owned golf courses meet the needs of everyone from beginners to scratch golfers. For more information, visit http://www.louisvilleky.gov/MetroParks/golf.
Bobby Nichols Golf Course, 4301 E. Pages Lane, 502/937-9051 (9 holes)
Charlie Vettiner Golf Course, 10207 Mary Dell Lane, 502/267-9958 (18 holes)
Cherokee Golf Course, 2501 Alexander Road, 502/458-9450 (9 holes)
Crescent Hill Golf Course, 3110 Brownsboro Road, 502/896-9193 (9 holes)
Iroquois Golf Course, 1501 Rundill Road, 502/363-9520 (18 holes)
Long Run Golf Course, 1605 Flat Rock Road, 502/245-9015 (18 holes)
Seneca Golf Course, 2300 Pee Wee Reese Blvd, 502/458-9298 (18 holes)
Shawnee Golf Course, 460 Northwestern Parkway, 502/776-9389 (18 holes)
Sun Valley Golf Course, 6505 Bethany Lane, 502/937-9228 (18 holes)
Photo credit: Olga-Maria Cruz
Gov. Matt Bevin has appointed Louisville poet, author and teacher Frederick Smock as Kentucky Poet Laureate for 2017-18, the Kentucky Arts Council announced last week. Smock, will be formally inducted during a ceremony on Kentucky Writers’ Day, May 1 at the Old State Capitol, 300 W. Broadway St. in Frankfort.
“I’m thrilled,” Smock said shortly after learning of his appointment. “Jim Wayne Miller (2015 Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame inductee) has said that Kentucky is a writerly state, and that’s so true. Many of our poets laureate have been writers I’ve looked up to, and I’m excited to join their company.”
Though he has only begun to think about goals for his two-year term as poet laureate, Smock said he wants to make poetry relevant to all Kentuckians.
“In my teaching, I like to bring poetry to everyone,” he said. “I imagine that will color some of what I do as poet laureate.”
As a boy, Louisville native Smock immersed himself in the literature of Kentucky luminaries James Still and Jesse Stuart. He even corresponded with Stuart while working on a book report. In his last letter to Smock, Stuart wrote, “I hope you get an A,” an endorsement Smock made sure to include in his report.
“And I believe I did,” Smock said.
Though he was born in Louisville and has lived in the city for much of his life, Smock’s work reflects upon his formative years spent in the country.
“I find myself drawn to nature. When I was 6, we moved to Fern Creek (in Jefferson County) where my father built a house on a hill in the midst of a forest. Those years were spent wandering fields and forest mostly on my own,” Smock said. “It was laying my imagination on that landscape and drawing from that experience. I can’t say I direct my mind that way. The inspiration comes to me, but those sources give me a lot to work with.
With the exception of one summer teaching in Denmark, Smock has lived, written and taught in Kentucky all his life. An author of 10 books of poems and essays, with two more on the way, and four chapbooks, Smock has earned several awards for his writing and teaching, including the 2002 Henry Leadingham Poetry Prize, the 2003 Jim Wayne Miller Prize for Poetry, Bellarmine University’s 2005 Wilson Wyatt Faculty Award and the 2008 Kentucky Literary Award for Poetry. The Kentucky Arts Council honored him in 1995 with an Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship in poetry.
“Frederick Smock has the passion and insight required to take on this important literary ambassador position for Kentucky and I have no doubt that he will impact people’s lives in meaningful ways through his work in this role,” said Lydia Bailey Brown, arts council executive director. “The arts council looks forward to working collaboratively with him during his tenure.”
Although the Writers’ Day and Poet Laureate Induction ceremonies of May 1 will include traditional elements from past events, this year’s celebration will include some modern twists and will provide a more diverse program, incorporating literary-related arts into the event and including youth talent. Grant County High School senior Haley Bryan, Kentucky’s 2017 Poetry Out Loud state champion, will present a recitation and Kentucky Crafted visual artist Mike Maydak will create a performance painting interpreting a literary impression of the day. In addition, Louisville music group Small Time Napoleon, a juried member of the arts council’s Performing Artists Directory, will perform.
Kentuckians who cannot come to Frankfort for Writers’ Day can still participate by organizing events in their own communities. The Writers’ Day Planning Guide is a free publication, downloadable from the arts council’s website. It provides a blueprint for planning local celebrations of Writers’ Day.
The Kentucky poet laureate promotes the literary arts in Kentucky through readings of his work at community and educational events, meetings, seminars and conferences across the state. Since 1995, the governor has appointed the position in consultation with the arts council. Smock succeeds poet laureate George Ella Lyon, who was appointed in 2015. Smock will serve through the end of 2018.
The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, fosters environments for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Some 1,200 volunteers cleaned up alleys and roadways in Shelby Park, Smoketown, Shawnee and California. Hundreds gathered at Meyzeek Middle School to build beds for JCPS school children who didn’t have one. More than 3,000 students walked for compassion through downtown Louisville as part of the international WE Day. And still others repaired bikes for refugees or landscaped area nonprofits.
Those and many other projects and deeds amounted to more than 180,000 volunteers and acts of compassion during Louisville’s sixth annual Give A Day week of service, which ended April 23.
The amount of helping and giving broke the city’s own world record of 175,000 volunteers and acts of compassion set last year in April. Mayor Greg Fischer said the creativity of compassion was impressive and inspiring.
“The beauty of this annual Week of Service is that it puts a spotlight on the compassion that we know happens in this community every single day, though we might not always see it,” Mayor Fischer said. “Every year, I learn about new things that people are doing throughout this community to help build each other up, and it’s amazing.”
The Mayor cited, for example, a small group of volunteers who gather every Sunday from spring into fall at Eastern Cemetery on Baxter Avenue, and armed with a few mowers, rakes and brooms, work to mow the grass and make once-forgotten, unseen monuments visible again.
“This little army is out there every week, and hardly anyone knows it’s happening,” said the Mayor, who stopped in to help and close out the 2017 Give A Day week on April 23. He and Dr. Barry Kerzin, one of the Dalai Lama’s two personal physicians – who was visiting for the Festival of Faiths – jumped in and mowed portions of the massive cemetery.
The numbers for Give A Day week included more than 51,000 JCPS students and teachers – often entire schools and classes – who, along with thousands more private and Catholic school students, were involved in projects ranging from writing letters to troops overseas to collecting and sorting food for the hungry to cleaning the neighborhoods around their schools.
And a record number of people – more than 17,000 – joined the Brightside & Passport Health Plan Spring Community Wide Cleanup, removing litter and debris from neighborhoods, parks and schools.
Louisville Metro Government teams also donated hours during the Week of Service. Louisville Metro Police, for example, sponsored projects in every division, and Louisville Fire helped with landscaping, beautification, cleanup and children’s activities at places like the Louisville Masonic Home and Baxter Park.
Mayor Fischer said the numbers probably exceeded 180,000, given how many acts of compassion occur that no one reports or are difficult to count, including contributions from local media and hours donated by companies, including Humana, GE, Ford, UPS, Computershare, Hogan Lovells and more.
The Mayor said he’s already hearing from citizens, organizations and companies making plans for the 2018 Give A Day event, which again will be connected with the annual Kentucky Derby Festival.
“We couldn’t think of a better way to kick off the Kentucky Derby Festival each year, than giving back to our community and its residents,” said Mike Berry, KDF President and CEO. “With countless volunteers who help make our celebration possible, we know first-hand the importance of volunteerism, and it makes Give A Day week a perfect fit.”
Mayor Fischer stressed that the success of Give A Day would not be possible without the support and coordination of Metro United Way, which matches volunteers with needy projects and organizations through the website, www.mygiveaday.com. “At Metro United Way, uniting people with the passion and expertise to get things done around our community’s most pressing needs is at the heart of what we do,” said Theresa Reno-Weber, Metro United Way president and CEO. “All year we mobilize thousands of individuals to fight for the education, financial stability and health of every person in our community, so we’re especially proud to serve as the volunteer engine for Mayor’s Give a Day week of service.
“Behind all of our work,” she added, “there are countless individuals, nonprofit partners and private companies who get involved in big and small ways to ensure a better future for all of us and a stronger community, and we are grateful for all who help us ensure every individual, child, and family achieves their fullest potential.”
2017 Give A Day week of service — Notable Numbers:
- 52,248 – Meals packaged by volunteers at Love the Hungry
- 40,000 – Pounds of supplies donated for the Love from Louisville effort to send goods to refugees in Greece
- 30,000 – Meals donated through Kroger and Dare to Care food drive
- 20,000 – Personal hygiene kits created and distributed to JCPS and KRM, as part of WE Day
- 17,000 — Brightside volunteers who helped clean up Louisville
- 100 — Bicycles donated to and refurbished by the Pedal Power Project to provide basic transportation for new refugees to Louisville
Interapt LLC, a tech development startup focusing on business innovation services and workforce development, will establish a new Louisville headquarters with a nearly $3.7 million investment and create 250 full-time jobs over the coming years, Mayor Greg Fischer and Gov. Matt Bevin announced yesterday.
“Louisville is seeing growth like never before in our tech sector right now. Interapt’s expansion is confirmation that we have created an environment where entrepreneurs, innovators and makers can thrive,” said the Mayor. “I look forward to seeing the continued growth of our trained IT workforce and applaud the company on its move to the Portland neighborhood in west Louisville.”
Photo: Interapt
For its new office, Interapt will renovate a 22,000 square-foot manufacturing and warehousing facility at 1226 Rowan St. in the city’s Portland neighborhood near downtown. The new headquarters will include dedicated space for community-focused workforce development and technology training programs.
Interapt develops mobile, web and high-tech wearable applications that help businesses improve their processes, communication and bottom line. Customers include Baptist Healthcare, Eurofins, Humana, Kindred Healthcare, YUM! Brands, General Electric and many others.
“Interapt has dedicated itself to creating a pipeline of highly qualified software developers in Kentucky, and their work is catching the attention of a national tech industry,” said Gov. Bevin “The tremendous work of founder and CEO Ankur Gopal, and his team, serves to further establish Kentucky as a premier location for high-tech businesses. With its new corporate office, Interapt will invest in both its own future and that of the commonwealth’s tech industry, and we are thankful for their continued commitment to Kentucky.”
In 2016, Interapt collaborated with multiple for- and nonprofit organizations to develop a technology workforce training initiative. That initiative includes TechHire Eastern Kentucky (TEKY), which has successfully re-trained under-employed individuals in the Appalachia region.
Gopal, who founded Interapt in 2009, said he hopes the company’s growth inspires the next generation of Kentuckians to start their own entrepreneurial journey, and that other global technology companies take notice and consider Kentucky when expanding their businesses.
“This is an exciting milestone for Interapt. Our team has worked very hard to establish ourselves in the global technology industry and help create technology skills across the Commonwealth. We are proud that our work is changing many people’s lives and creating new opportunities for people to embark on fruitful technology careers,” said Gopal. “I appreciate Kentucky’s support and commitment to Interapt’s growth, and look forward to our team making continued impact throughout my home state.”
To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in April preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $2 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
Additionally, KEDFA approved Interapt for up to $75,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.
For more information on Interapt, visit www.interapt.com
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