Friday, July 31, 2009, 12:19pm EDT Proctors in line for $30K from stimulus The Business Review (Albany)
Proctors in Schenectady, N.Y., will receive $30,000 in federal stimulus money to retain its education program manager.
The historic theater in the heart of the city’s downtown was one of 19 arts organizations in the United States to receive funding to retain or reinstate positions.
The grants, totaling $501,142, were awarded by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in Baltimore, Md., through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009’s Emergency Salary Program for Presenting Organizations..................>>>>................>>>>...........http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2009/07/27/daily44.html?surround=lfn
SCHENECTADY Educating and entertaining Programs at Proctors offer many lessons BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Teenagers watched intently and gracefully stepped out of the way as curtains were raised and lowered at Proctors’ main stage. “It’s really neat how so much of this stuff that seems to be so complicated is not really unbelievably hard,” said 14-year-old Calvin Temoshok of Galway. At the weeklong Theatre Tech Boot Camp, teacher Jeff Knorr said students get a chance to learn how to build sets, rig lights, paint scenery and manipulate sound. “It’s really hands-on. They get to work with the crew,” he said. Pat Brehm, 15, of Schenectady, said he enjoyed the opportunity to learn about the inner workings of the theater. “It’s just preparing us for more serious stuff if we ever get into the theater business,” he said. Theatre Tech Boot Camp is one of the Proctors Summer Adventure camps that are running this season. Other camps have been for jazz, chess and magic. The Summer Adventure program is just one of the many activities that Jessica Gelarden, education program manager, is responsible for coordinating. “I pretty much do everything internally that has anything to do with education,” she said. Gelarden’s job had been potentially in jeopardy but was saved thanks to the federal stimulus package. Proctors received a $30,000 Emergency Salary Program for Presenting Organizations grant to retain the position, part of $500,000 in funding that the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation handed out to 19 institutions. Gelarden has been working at Proctors for about six months after receiving her master’s degree in art history from Stony Brook University. Another Summer Adventure camp running this week is the Missoula Children’s Theatre, where young children ages 6 to 18 got to audition for, rehearse and perform in a special version of “The Princess and the Pea” — all in the same week. Among the other activities that Gelarden is responsible for is the iLearn program, which features educational films shown on the theater’s Iwerks “Extreme Screen” in the GE Theatre. “It’s another way of teaching outside the classroom,” she said. This fall’s films include “The Human Body” in 3-D, which teaches students about the inner workings of the body. In addition, Proctors’ “Literature to Life” also runs out of the GE Theatre. The theater companies involved in productions at Proctors help out with these events. “What they do is they put on a oneperson production that illustrates the entire book and they interact directly with the students,” she said. “It’s a really intimate setting. We usually have 400 kids for the show.” Among the books that are being discussed and analyzed are “The Things They Carried,” about the Vietnam War, and “Fahrenheit 451,” about book burning. Gelarden is also responsible for programming “Theater Talks,” in which cast and crew of current shows at Proctors meet with school children either before or after performances. “They get a taste of what their job is like, and they get to ask questions,” she said. She also works to get grant money so schools that would not normally be able to afford to come to Proctors can do so. Gelarden is one of only two people in Proctors’ education department. Education Director Christine Sheehan works on external affairs, including the artists in residency at schools and partnerships with schools. Karen Johnson, campaign director for Proctors, said Gelarden’s job is crucial because Proctors serves about 45,000 children a year in 400 schools and 56 districts through its programs. “This position is responsible for having input on the shows we present for kids, hiring teacher artists, overseeing student workshops and curriculum [and] for making sure the shows are performed and managed professionally and making sure that all the programming for kids goes off without a hitch.” Proctors provides support materials for teachers on the Internet including curriculum guides and publications, Johnson said. “Everything is tied to the New York state learning standards,” she said. Education is important to Proctors’ mission, Johnson said. “We’re very interested in helping kids learn how to read and learn how to tell and write stories because that’s kind of what the theater is. It’s another form of telling a story.”.............>>>>...........>>>>......................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01601&AppName=1
SCHENECTADY Schumer to seek federal funds for Proctors BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, is scheduled to tour Proctors Theatre today as a prelude to helping secure $900,000 in federal money to expand the historic theater’s district energy plant. Schumer spokesman Max Young said the senator will try to get the money either through congressional appropriations or through the federal Department of Energy. The money would become available in 2011 if obtained through Congress and in 2010 if obtained through the DOE, Young said. Proctors CEO Philip Morris said the expansion project would cost an estimated $1.5 million and would be completed over the next 18 months. “We think reducing energy costs, reducing energy reliance and reducing carbon output are important government agendas,” Morris said as to why Proctors is seeking federal assistance. Proctors built the $7.5 million district energy plant in 2005. The four-story facility at Clinton and State streets provides heating and cooling to the theater and to other downtown customers, including Center City and the Hampton Hotel, totaling some 450,000 square feet. ......................>>>>....................>>>>....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00702&AppName=1
Proctors is doing really well, now when the city can,t suck any more taxes out of us thru Metroplex they go begging to the Federal Government to suck tax dollars from the rest of the country.
Up Chuck is playing the same buy-out/bail-out game like all the rest. The rest of the country is going to pay for proctors just the the rest of the country is going to pay 100% of Nebraska's medicaid expense FOREVER! It's their freakin' trade off for obamacare. This health care is costing the taxpayers more than they could ever have imagined!
To all of the people who voted for obama.....you got what you wished for!! Remember that next time you are sitting in proctors. And don't forget to tell all of the people in line at the dss/unemployment building how great they are doing! And ask them how they liked the performance of WICKED!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Instead of this green crapola, Proctor's should increase it's measing PILOT from $150,000 to $500,000. This would lead to renaissance for all the County taxpayers aka sheeple.
Schumer should be working on fixing his horrible Obamacare mess, instead of shilling for more pork for Proctor's. BT's point is well taken-under Metrograft Ray we now have the worst unemployment in the Capital District.
Up Chuck is playing the same buy-out/bail-out game like all the rest. The rest of the country is going to pay for proctors just the the rest of the country is going to pay 100% of Nebraska's medicaid expense FOREVER! It's their freakin' trade off for obamacare. This health care is costing the taxpayers more than they could ever have imagined!
To all of the people who voted for obama.....you got what you wished for!! Remember that next time you are sitting in proctors. And don't forget to tell all of the people in line at the dss/unemployment building how great they are doing! And ask them how they liked the performance of WICKED!!
LOL, Sad but true but that was a funny way of putting it.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer pledged to rustle up funds for a planned expansion of Proctors’ district energy facility, but stopped short of divulging how much of the estimated $1.5 million tab could be covered by federal grants. Schumer toured the $7.5 million facility with local officials Tuesday and promised that he’d find money to help build the infrastructure needed to expand service to additional buildings in downtown Schenectady. Already, the district heating and cooling plant provides service for Proctors’ two theaters, indoor arcade, the 93-room Hampton Inn next door and MVP Health Care’s offices across State Street. The facility will also help with heating and cooling costs at the rest of the former Center City complex once the renovation is completed. And eventually, both county and city officials would like to connect their municipal offices downtown into Proctors’ mini-plant. “The federal government has many programs supporting green projects,” Schumer said. “We’ve got to find the right one.” Right now, the plant services a total of 450,000 square feet of space and saves Proctors an estimated $200,000 in energy costs. Schenectady County’s office building further up State Street would bring another 200,000 square feet of building space onto the system, which has about an additional 300,000 square feet of capacity. “We really want to take advantage of what we have here,” said Susan Savage, chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature. Philip Morris, Proctors’ chief executive officer, said the four-story facility also has enough room to install additional turbines. If the space is completely utilized, he said the energy district could one day provide service to roughly 1 million square feet of building space. The theater also would like to expand its facility to create a cogeneration plant that would provide energy. The district already operates a 240-kilowatt cogeneration system and is expected to supply half of Proctors’ energy demands. “It’s the only arts center that has cogeneration in the world,” Schumer said during the tour. County Attorney Chris Gardener said a similar facility is being considered for the proposed $51 million nursing home on Hetcheltown Road. The new nursing home will feature a central core with attached multi-story wings, consisting of 140,000 square feet. “It’s something we’re seriously considering in the design,” he said.
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Instead of this green crapola, Proctor's should increase it's measing PILOT from $150,000 to $500,000. This would lead to renaissance for all the County taxpayers aka sheeple. 
