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INSTITUTE OF OUTDOOR DRAMA
CB# 3240, NCNB Plaza
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3240
919/962-1328
Contact: Judy Via September 19, 1991
919-962-1328 For Immediate Release
THE STEPHEN FOSTER STORY (BARDSTOWN, KY) TO HOST NATIONAL CONFERENCE
On October 24-27, outdoor drama professionals from across the country will
gather in Bardstown, Kentucky, home of Paul Green�?�s long-running outdoor drama,
The Stephen Foster Story, to discuss their remarkable brand of "theatre under the
stars" at the 1991 National Outdoor Drama Conference.
Sponsored each year since 1963 by the Institute of Outdoor Drama, a research
and advisory agency of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the
conference is the only national meeting for those involved in the production,
management or planning of outdoor historical drama in America. Local host for
the four-day event will be The Stephen Foster Drama Association, producers of the
historical drama now entering its 34th season in the 1400-seat J. Dan Talbott
Amphitheatre on the grounds of My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown. The
Holiday Inn at Bardstown is the Conference hotel and will host evening meetings
and meal functions.
Outdoor drama brings to life actual historical events which took place at or
near the sites where the plays are performed. This strong sense of place, along
with the larger-than-life portrayals and generous portions of song and dance,
often supplemented by spectacular special effects, combine to create a unique
form of theatrical entertainment, seen last year by more than 2 million people.
The annual meeting of these theatre professionals traditionally draws
representatives from more than 70 outdoor historical drama companies located in
30 states from Kodiak Island, Alaska to St. Augustine, Florida. Together, they
produce historical plays, Shakespeare festivals, religious dramas, and pageants
which, in 1990, generated a travel industry impact of $6 billion. Creating more
than 4,500 jobs each year, outdoor historical drama is one of the largest
employers in the American theatre,
This year�?�s Conference will feature an in-depth look at the operation of
The Stephen Foster Story, including a tour of the Talbott Amphitheatre, a panel
on community relations, and a performance workshop by the Stephen Foster Singers.
Panel discussions and workshops chaired by leading theatre and travel industry
professionals will be augmented with tours of local historic attractions,
including Federal Hill, the 19th-century plantation which inspired Stephen
Foster�?Ts most famous melody, "My Old Kentucky Home." Conference delegates will
enjoy a four-course gourmet meal aboard the 1940s vintage dining cars of My Old
Kentucky Dinner Train as it travels from Bardstown to Limestone Springs and
back.
On Saturday, October 26, the Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation, producers
of the outdoor drama Texas! (Canyon, TX), will present the Paul Green Seminar in
Theatre Production. Designed for the seasoned professional and PR director who
are already well-acquainted with the basics of audience development and
promotion, the two-and-a-half hour seminar will offer an inside look at the nuts
and bolts of the Texas! marketing campaign, with emphasis on those elements of
the campaign which set it apart from the more traditional marketing approaches
used by many outdoor dramas in the U.S.
The 1991 Mark R. Sumner Award, established to honor the lifetime
contribution of the Institutes director emeritus, will be presented at Saturday
evening�?Ts banquet. The Sumner Award recognizes the significant contribution of
an individual to a specific outdoor drama or to the field as a whole in such
areas as playwriting, choreography, direction, dance, acting, design, theatre
architecture, patronage, scholarship, musical composition, technology and
innovation, production, and administration.
Registration deadline for the Conference is Thursday, October 10, 1991.
To receive a Conference registration brochure, contact: The Institute of Outdoor
Drama, University of North Carolina, CB 3240 NCNB Plaza, Chapel Hill,
NC 27599-3240; 919-962-1328.