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Arts academy prepares to host performance at new home

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By Rick McCrabb, Staff Writer 9:07 PM Tuesday, October 18, 2011

MIDDLETOWN — If this was a play, it may be called, “Towne Mall: Waking up Rip Van Winkle.”

The Middletown Performing Arts Academy, which has been located in four churches and two school buildings since its inception three years ago, has found a home at the Towne Mall, the struggling shopping center near Interstate 75.

On Tuesday morning, inside the Elder-Beerman wing, construction workers and four volunteers — referred to as the four kings — frantically built the stage and seating area.

The academy will host its first play in the Towne Mall this weekend, and while there’s still plenty of work to be done, Nina Markle and Dawn Cooke, directors and assistant directors of the academy, are confident the show will go on.

“We can do this,” Markle said over the loud pounding of hammers.

“We have a place of our own,” Cooke said.

The academy, which offers private and group instrument, voice and acting lessons, rented the 7,000-square-foot space in September in the mall after it outgrew its previous locations. The Towne Mall location will be used for rehearsals and performances and Markle and Cooke hope it eventually becomes a drawing card of the mall.

So far, they said, the response from mall walkers and businesses has been extremely positive.

“People like to see the activity,” said Cooke, who teaches piano, handles publicity, provides musical accompaniment and directs shows.

“It’s very exciting,” said Markle, a longtime music teacher for Middletown City Schools.

The role of the Middletown Performing Arts Academy: Give area residents a chance to have affordable arts instruction when schools are cutting back on their arts program for budgetary reasons.

The 240 students enrolled in the academy come from surrounding communities, and a few are children with physical and mental disabilities. Each child, regardless of their abilities, are created equal and are offered the same opportunities, Markle said.

“When you see them up there, and the way they look, well...” Markle said, her voice cracking as her eyes welled with tears. “That’s our pay. It’s more than money.”

But the women realize it takes money to operate a community theatre. So far, they said, every performance has made money and all instructors have been paid.

 Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2842 or rmccrabb@coxohio.com.

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