New Survey to Shape the Future of Ventura County Dance, Theatre, and Music Nonprofits
Thousand Oaks nonprofits donated $2.4 million for children, seniors and schools to experience performing arts at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center.
- Ventura, CA (1888PressRelease) June 15, 2023 - Pacific Festival Ballet, New West Symphony and 5-Star Theatricals, the three resident companies of the Bank of America Performing Arts Center (BAPAC) in Thousand Oaks, in partnership with TOArts, are asking Ventura County residents to complete a brief survey to inform future performances and continue their legacy.
The survey is part of a TOArts audience development initiative, a three-year campaign to gain insights into audiences’ expectations regarding customer experience and preferences and increase awareness of the value each company, TOArts and BAPAC provides to Ventura County.
Ventura County residents are encouraged to take the short (7-minute) survey at: https://tinyurl.com/TOArts23. Each participant can opt into a competition to win free tickets for select upcoming performances.
“We are delighted to support New West Symphony, Pacific Festival Ballet, and 5-Star Theatricals. These resident companies provide exceptional live performances that more local people should enjoy and celebrate. This audience development initiative fits with TOArts’ mission to enrich lives and strengthen the fabric of the community through arts education and support visual and performing arts at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center and beyond,” said Niki Richardson, Associate Director, TOArts. “We encourage everyone to please spend seven minutes responding to this survey. It is key to continuing our rich, local cultural arts product at BAPAC”.
In a National Estimate of the Economic Impact of Arts and Cultural Organizations from 2015 (https://www.americansforthearts.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2017/by_program/reports_and_data/aep5/map/CA_CityOfThousandOaks_AEP5_OnePageSummary.pdf), the City of Thousand Oaks estimated that the nonprofit Arts and Cultural Arts industry generated $12,812,741. This figure would include larger visiting performances on national/state tours, but these, while popular, rarely provide educational opportunities to Ventura County youth and children and others in need.
The economic value of the three arts organizations to their local community is considerable. In the past five years, the New West Symphony has donated $1.07 million in tickets to seniors, children, youth, and people in need. Pacific Festival Ballet has provided free performances and tickets worth $1.05 million, and 5-Star Theatricals has provided tickets valued at more than $1,000,000. TOArts provides training, grants, tickets, and support of more than $350,000 annually.
These figures do not include audience spending in local businesses before/after performances. In addition, performing arts must not be valued through their economic contribution alone. Arts transform the lives of children, individuals, and communities, contributing to health, well-being, and overall resilience within Ventura County.
“We encourage all Ventura County residents to answer this short survey,” said David Yoshitomi, the County of Ventura’s Arts & Culture Manager. “Your input will assist TOArts and the three resident companies in understanding the needs and tastes of the communities they serve, which is vital to the sustainability of cultural arts programs within our county.”
ABOUT NEW WEST SYMPHONY
Founded in 1995, the New West Symphony is a professional orchestra that draws its players from the rich talent pool of professional Los Angeles-area musicians. With artistic direction led by GRAMMY® winner Maestro Michael Christie, appointed as music director in December 2018, the Symphony is the resident company of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and performs at the Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center in Camarillo. It presents six Masterpiece Series concerts annually, performing major works from the symphonic repertoire with internationally acclaimed artists as guest soloists.
The Symphony also provides quality outreach and educational opportunities for the communities it serves through its annual Symphonic Adventures concert programs for youth, its traveling Music Van, and the Laby Harmony Project, a year-round music and leadership program for underserved students.
The New West Symphony Association is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions to the New West Symphony Association are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. The New West Symphony Association’s tax identification number is 77-0406042.
ABOUT PACIFIC FESTIVAL BALLET
Pacific Festival Ballet is a not-for-profit institution with a rich history of presenting performance art to the Greater Conejo Valley. Our semi-professional company strives to cultivate tomorrow’s stars of the dance world while bringing the brightest talent from across the globe to our community. Our partnership with the city of Thousand Oaks and the Bank of America Performing Arts Plaza provides a forum for creative expression from a strong network of company dancers, professional alumni, and guest artists.
PFB features three major productions each season, preserving the tradition of classical ballet while creating innovative theatre to explore the ever-changing facets of dance. Since its inception in 1994, Pacific Festival Ballet has worked to create a strong tradition of civic support through public performances, local outreach, and children’s educational programs. In obtaining our appointment as resident ballet company in 2001, we accommodated an expanding audience, making dance accessible to a wider range of people in our community. Today, PFB continues to give aspiring dancers trained at its official school, California Dance Theatre, an opportunity to perform on stage with seasoned professionals while entertaining audiences of all ages throughout the year.
ABOUT 5-STAR THEATRICALS
For more than three decades, 5-Star Theatricals has been enriching the cultural life of Ventura and Los Angeles counties and the surrounding areas by providing an extraordinary performing arts experience through live, Broadway-quality productions of musical theatre.
It is 5-Star Theatricals’ mission to provide the highest-quality theatre experience, to foster educational opportunities, and to promote cultural and artistic enrichment to enhance the quality of life in Southern California. By creating opportunities for up-and-coming performers and artists, 5-Star Theatricals has launched hundreds of people to success in theatre, movies, television and music, including Adam Lambert, Katharine McPhee and Tony nominee Stephanie J. Block. In addition, 5-Star Theatricals goes “Beyond the Footlights” with outreach programs to give back to the community and to provide enhanced theatre experiences for all audiences.
Since the inception of “Beyond the Footlights,” more than 45,000 underserved children, in-need seniors and active military have enjoyed 5-Star Theatricals productions at no charge. In addition, 5-Star Theatricals provides ASL-signed performances of every production, talkbacks with the cast and staff, and beyond.
ABOUT TOARTS
TOArts is the nonprofit fundraising and presenting partner of the Bank of America Performing Arts Center at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. Its mission is to enrich lives and strengthen the fabric of the community through arts education, and the presentation and support of visual and performing arts at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center and beyond. TOArts has a vision to support arts education in all elementary schools throughout Ventura County and Northern Los Angeles County. For more information, please visit www.toarts.org.
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