Thalian
Hall’s Executive Director
Receives National Award
Tony Rivenbark Presented
with the
League of Historic Theatres’ prestigious Outstanding Individual
Contribution
Award
·
Read
this article, or:
·
Read
Tony Rivenbark’s Biography
·
Read
the text of the presentation speech
Award
Information: http://www.lhat.org/programs_services/awards_program.asp
Pictured: Tony Rivenbark with the 2005 LHAT Outstanding Individual Contribution Award.
Maureen Patton, Exec. Director of The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston Texas.
Tony Rivenbark, Executive Director of Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts was presented with the League of Historic American Theatres’ Outstanding Individual Contribution Award at the League’s 29th Annual conference.
The conference, held annually in various cities includes a series of lectures and addresses on subjects of interest to operators of historic theatres, as well as a tour of the hosting city’s historic theatres. The event culminates with a closing night banquet and awards presentation. This year’s conference, which ran from July 20-23 of this year, was held in Kansas City, Missouri. Thalian Hall has been a member of the League of Historic American Theatres since 1980.
The League’s official designation of the award’s merits are “Designed to recognize individuals whose remarkable efforts and generosity have contributed significantly to achieving the mission of the League, the Award recognizes the individual's: commitment and passion; professional expertise; and charity and generosity.”
The award was presented by League Past President, prior award recipient and award jury member Maureen Patton. Mrs. Patton is the Executive Director of The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston Texas. In her introduction of Rivenbark, Mrs. Patton enjoined League members, “Tony recognized immediately as we all must, that historic theatres ultimately are not about preservation, but about programming. To save a theatre as a museum or for the sake of preservation falls far short of our mission as a national organization and as individuals in the field. It is the program of work that lays the groundwork for restoration, the program that inspires, educates and entertains and embraces our diverse audiences and artists alike. Tony ‘gets it’.”
(The full text of the Mrs. Patton’s speech and contact information appears at the end of this release. Click here to go directly to the speech.)
Mr. Rivenbark, who was awarded Celebrate Wilmington’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to the community on behalf of Thalian Hall in 2004, is celebrating his 26th year as Executive Director Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts. In 1996 he was awarded the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society Cup in recognition of outstanding contribution to the History of Wilmington.
During his tenure as Executive Director, Rivenbark has overseen a major renovation and expansion of the City Hall-Thalian Hall complex, as well as overseeing a substantial growth in the use of the building by arts organizations, making the building one of the most active and viable performance spaces in the United States. In 2003, a new master plan for Thalian Hall was presented and approved by the City Council. A Capital Campaign for the renovation of the original theatre, as well as a proposed new 250-seat theatre on the West side of the complex, is in its early stages.
Tony
Rivenbark is a native of Duplin County, North
Carolina where his family has lived for the past eight generations. He has lived in Chapel Hill, Atlanta,
and
New York City, but he calls Wilmington home.
As a student at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington,
he was
listed in Who's Who of American Colleges and Universities and
received
his B.A. in History with a minor in Drama in 1970.
He did his graduate work at Chapel Hill
specializing in the 19th Century American Theatre.
His thesis was on the James Adams Floating
Theatre, the North Carolina show boat on which Edna Ferber based her
novel Showboat.
He made
his theatrical debut in Thalian Hall in 1966 in
the Wilmington College production of Good
News. Since then he has worked in
university, community, and professional theatre – and has appeared in
over 150
productions.
In 1970 he moved
to New York City where he appeared in several off-Broadway productions
including Holy Ghost, written by
Romulous Linney, and The Passionate Men,
a play about Aaron Burr in which Rivenbark played James Monroe. While in New York, he stage-managed The Tommy
Tune Show and The Charles Pierce Show. Also in New York he was
assistant to
painter and sculptor, Dorothy Gillespie, managing her studio and
helping to
supervise the hanging of her work in exhibitions all over the country.
In 1977
he returned to Wilmington where he helped to
develop the Historic Wilmington Tour and was the first tour manager for
Thalian
Hall. Later he went on to direct the
second and third seasons of The Liberty
Cart, a historical outdoor drama located in Kenansville, North
Carolina.
In 1979, he
became the
first Executive Director for the Thalian Hall Center for the Performing
Arts,
Inc. Under his direction, Thalian Hall
has grown from a little-used facility into Wilmington's center for the
performing
arts.
In 1983 he
produced the 125th anniversary celebration of Thalian Hall and served
as the
executive producer of Remembered
Nights, an original musical comedy about historic theatres
produced for
the anniversary and featuring Broadway/Film actor Lou Criscuolo. Out of his association with Mr. Criscuolo, he
helped to form the Opera House Theatre Company which has become Thalian
Hall's
major rental client.
Mr.
Rivenbark was instrumental in the
development design and construction of the Thalian Hall/City Hall
expansion and
renovation which was completed in 1990 at a cost of 5 million dollars. The present facility is in use
over 340
days a year with over 300 performances annually and rentals by over 30
educational, community arts, and civic organizations. .
For the past 10 years Rivenbark has also
produced the annual Pied Piper theatre production which plays to over
5,000
elementary school children in New Hanover County every year.
In
addition to his job as the Executive Director of
Thalian Hall, he frequently lectures throughout the country on Thalian
Hall and
historic theatre renovation. He also served on the Board of Directors
of the
League of Historic American Theatres for a number of years. His history
of
theatre in Wilmington was published in Time, Talent, and Tradition ,
a
book which chronicles 200 years of the cultural arts of Wilmington
printed by
the Cape Fear Museum 1995.
He
still performs occasionally and his most recent roles
include the title role in The Man Who
Came to Dinner directed by noted Broadway actress, Linda Lavin,
Ebenezer
Scrooge in a Chistmas Carol and Bossy
the Cow in the Pied Piper production of
Beanstalk — A Moo-sical for Children. He is slated to reprise the
role in
the 2006 Pied Piper production of that show’s new sequel: Bossy
on Broadway.
Text
of
Maureen Patton’s Speech
Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution
Tony Rivenbark
Two years ago, I was privileged to accept this award from the
League. Tonight, I am honored to
share with you the story of the 2005 recipient of the LHAT Award for
Outstanding Individual Contribution – Tony Rivenbark.
My relationship with Tony began one year after his first experience
with the
League, in 1983, when at what was then called a “Nuts and Bolts”
session, a
question was posed asking the number of staff members each of us
had.
Tony and I were the last standing, as it were, with a staff of
one. It
was love at first sight. I quickly discovered that
Tony was
much more than met the eye. His passion for Thalian Hall was
evident; his
commitment to the field of theatre,
preservation and history in general was unwrapped, layer by layer.
To know Tony, you first must know the personal history that has
informed his
work ethic and passions in all he has done. Tony’s “people “have
lived in
Duplin County, North Carolina for eight generations. In the
south, we
call that having roots. He has lived in Chapel Hill, Atlanta and
New York
City, but he calls Wilmington home. His B.A. in history and drama
were
combined in his graduate work thesis, specializing in the 19th Century
American
Theatre, specifically on the James Adams Floating Theatre, the North
Carolina
show boat on which Edna Ferber based her novel “Showboat”. If you
had the
privilege of attending Tony’s educational session during this
conference, you
would have witnessed first hand the depth and breadth of his knowledge,
not
only about showboats, but the historical context in which they played a
role in
theatre’s and our country’s history. And he dressed the part of
Captain
Andy to boot!
Which leads us to the actor. Tony made his theatrical debut in
Thalian
Hall in 1966 and has since appeared in over 150 productions.
After a
professional seven-year journey in New York, acting, stage managing and
administrating, he returned to Wilmington in 1977 where he helped
develop the
Historic Wilmington Tour and was the first tour manager for Thalian
Hall.
By 1979, he was its first Executive Director. Thalian Hall has
since
grown from a little-used facility into Wilmington’s Center for the
Performing
Arts. Needless to say, he is no longer a staff of one, but he
remains the
heart and driving passion of all that Thalian Hall does and means to
the
community and the state of North Carolina. Tony has been
instrumental in the development, design and construction of the Thalian
Hall/City Hall expansion and renovation and is embarking on yet another
project
to increase and enhance the use of the performance facilities.
His
ability to work with and inspire the city fathers to create such a
multi-faceted facility within a City Hall is not only admirable but
astonishing. The present facility is in use over 340 days a year
with over
300- performances annually and rentals by over 30 educational,
community arts,
and civic organizations, all of which speaks to Tony’s unparalleled
ability to
collaborate as well as to cajole. For the past ten years, Tony
has also
produced the annual Pied Piper theatre production which plays to over
5,000
elementary school children in New Hanover County each
year.
Tony recognized
immediately
as we all must, that historic theatres ultimately are not about
preservation,
but about programming. To save a theatre as a museum, or for the
sake of
preservation falls far short of our mission as a national organization
and as
individuals in the field. It is the program of work that
lays the
groundwork for restoration, the program that inspires, educates and
entertains
and embraces our diverse audiences and artists alike. Tony “gets
it”. I would challenge each of you to follow his example of
excellence.
Tony’s work with Thalian Hall has been without peer. If, however,
that
were all he had done, he wouldn’t be receiving this award
tonight. For
this award is intended not only to recognize an individual’s
meritorious
service, but to recognize that individual’s commitment to the field of
historic
theatres and their dynamic use.
During Tony’s early years with the League, he became a Regional
Representative
(yes, we were first called that before the term “Colleagues” and now
once
again) and then a board member. His role on the board showcased
his
commitment to history. As a historian, he valued and celebrated
the work
of Gene Chesley, one of the League’s founders and the man who left us
the
Chesley Collection, the first official documentation of America’s
historic
theatres, painstakingly researched and gathered by Gene, containing
photos,
notes and personal observations. Only a few of you in this room
know that
were it not for Tony, the Chesley Collection would have been ignored
and
forgotten, likely to have been tossed away by design or accident
because it was
difficult. It was Tony who demanded that the Chesley Collection
be an
item on virtually every board agenda so that we could neither forget
nor ignore
it. We thank you for that Tony. You gave us an example of
what our
histories must mean to us as the context within which we continue to do
our
work. He is able to listen to a discussion, get to
the heart
of the matter, and clarify it so that it becomes understood and
appreciated by
all. Never more evident than in Tony’s board service, he could
disagree
without being disagreeable, act as the peacemaker when needed and
remind us
that it was a successful board meeting if “nobody
died”. Some things
never change.
Tony chaired the
1987 Annual
Conference in North Carolina and because so many of you tonight are
first-timers, I feel that you should also get a glimpse of just what
that meant
in the “old days”. We traveled miles together through the state,
going
from city to city within the five-day framework, spending each night in
a
different hotel, using the historic theatres we visited as our workshop
locations from day to day, spending one-on-one quality time with each
other on
the buses and still fitting in time for some fun and relaxation.
We saw
theatres small and large, restored and in process and those that were
still
“gleams” in the eyes of the dreamers. It was abundantly clear at
each
stop that Tony had a relationship with our hosts that went far above
and beyond
the phone call to set up the tour and/or educational session.
Tony not
only had immersed himself in the history of each, but had become a
mentor, making
himself available (in his copious spare time) for advice and counsel
and good
old southern hand-holding when needed. He was, in short, their
advocate
as well as Thalian Hall’s.
His work has not gone without notice and appreciation. Among his
many awards,
Tony has been honored with the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society Cup
in
recognition for outstanding contributions to the history of Wilmington
and in
2005 was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts for his
contributions to the cultural life of the region. All this and
still he
performs and directs occasionally.
This award
speaks to
commitment, passion, professional expertise, charity and
generosity. Tony
has an abundance of each. His energy and charm is irrepressible
and entertaining.
Whether it’s his annual reenactment of Ellen Burstyn’s 1983 remarks at
the
annual conference, his tale of Angela Lansbury’s impromptu rendition of
“Open a
New Window”, his charismatic drawing-into our circle Tommy Smothers who
happened
to be in the same bar after a closing banquet, or his expressive
historical
anecdotes and latest happenings at what he fondly refers to as the
“People’s
Palace”, Tony is a delight, an elfin pied-pier with a twinkle in his
eye.
From the person who nominated him, ”As an actor, director, manager,
historian,
author, speaker, fundraiser, project manager, producer and visionary
“and I
would add, a raconteur”, he knows this business like few will ever have
the
opportunity to do. We all “love the theatre”, but indeed, we also
all
love our friend.
Ladies and gentleman, I present to you…..Tony Rivenbark.