PR class project leads to grant for Opera House
 quot;>Rick Davis, third from right above, stands with the group of Public Relations majors who helped the 1891 Fredonia Opera House make strides in attracting younger audiences. The students are Lindsey Anderson, Amanda Davidson, Ian Maloney, Rebecca Warner, and Sarah Woodhouse. quot;>The capstone senior PR project is part of a course taught each spring by Ann Carden. |
A key component of a comprehensive public relations plan designed by senior public relations majors to help the Opera House expand its membership and attract younger audiences has been awarded a $1,000 grant from the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation.
Known as the CASE (Carter Academic Services Entrepreneur) grant, it is designed to recognize excellence in academic-service learning. The former president and first lady’s Foundation recognizes and provides financial support to outstanding examples of campus-community collaboration and innovative ideas to serve the community.
The section of the overall plan submitted to the grant competition presents a step-by-step sequence to renovate a largely unused meeting room, located in the landmark Village Hall/Opera House, into a community facility to host small gatherings and offer support services for the Opera House. Only one other CASE grant was awarded in the entire state of New York.
The five students – Lindsey Anderson (Fredonia High School, Fredonia), Amanda Davidson (Kenmore High School, Tonawanda), Ian Maloney (Bishop Kearney, Rochester), Rebecca Warner (West Genesee Senior High School, Skaneateles), and Sarah Woodhouse (Blind Brook, Nyack) – were enrolled in Public Relations Management, an upper-level course within SUNY Fredonia’s communications department, during the spring term. All five were awarded bachelor’s degrees in Communication/Public Relations in May.
The class, developed and taught by Ann Carden, assistant professor of Communication, enables students to literally become entry-level practitioners and obtain real-world experiences in their field by completing a public relations plan for an actual client.
“This is the capstone course, the big senior course that requires the most work,” Ms. Carden said. “It’s the culmination of everything they learned in the Public Relations program.”
Students in Ms. Carden’s class were divided into two groups to assemble plans for both the Opera House and Literacy Volunteers of Chautauqua County, which was also facing a public relations challenge to increase awareness of its program and recruit tutors. Each year, SUNY Fredonia’s public relations program designates two agencies for its Community Partners program. These five students, however, went beyond the course syllabus by entering the community room makeover plan into the CASE competition.
The meeting room’s very existence was an unexpected surprise for the students, and a new opportunity. “During the course of their research, they discovered this basement room that, with some renovation, could play an important role in the Opera House achieving its goal of attracting younger audiences,” Ms. Carden explained.
What they envisioned was a room hosting small gatherings and enhancing the Opera House experience by serving as a reception area for guest artists following performances. Last used as a teen center more than five years ago, the room already has some seating and a small concession area.
“Food and drink are not allowed in the main theater of the opera house, so this makes it nice to have someplace where people can mingle with artists and have some refreshments,” said Rick Davis, executive director of the Opera House.
The renovation strategy calls for capitalizing on the storied movie history of the Opera House, which continues to screen foreign and independent films, and the artistic talent at SUNY Fredonia. Old movie posters left from the Opera House’s many years as the Winter Garden Theater, a new cinema-themed mural painted by School of Art students, and a fresh coat of paint elsewhere can transform the old teen center and hallways into an attractive space. And throughout the plan’s creation, the students embraced the notion of not sacrificing or compromising the historic integrity of the facility.
The CASE funding will help purchase paint, fabric to reupholster seating, new rugs and lighting fixtures. Donations will be sought from businesses to defray costs not covered by the grant.
“From our perspective, we’re very excited the students took the initiative to apply for and secure the grant,” Mr. Davis said. “I know that the village is also excited about the chance to improve the aesthetics of that room and make it more usable as a public space.”
Not only will a properly equipped reception area make the Opera House more attractive for workshops and conferences, it may also have a secondary benefit for the Opera House., Mr. Davis added. “The students also thought, and there’s some wisdom behind this, that attracting businesses brings with it a younger audience. And if you expose those people to the Opera House itself—be it for a seminar or workshop — you may see those people back for a live show or movie, which specifically gets to our goal of increasing our attendance.”
