TheatreSquared's Tenth Anniversary Gala Set for Tonight

TheatreSquared announced today its Tenth Anniversary Gala, the theatre's signature annual celebration supporting education and access to remarkable live theatre. The 2015 event will be held tonight, November 19, 2015, at 6:00pm at the Fayetteville Town Center and will feature a command cabaret performance, wine reception by Stirling Vineyards, and a three-course meal catered by Bordinos Restaurant. David and Jane Gearhart will receive the 2015 Arts Advocate Award, recognizing their longstanding dedication to arts and education in Northwest Arkansas. Longtime Fayetteville High School teacher Warren Rosenaur will receive the 2015 Arts Educator Award. Individual tickets to the evening's event are $125; individual sponsor tickets are $250. Sponsor tables for up to ten guests range from $1,000 to $5,000. Guests are invited to RSVP to (479) 445-6333 or online at theatre2.org/gala.

The 2015 Gala includes an all-star cast in a command performance, "The Tenth Anniversary Revue." The cabaret will feature Faith Sandberg (TV's Boardwalk Empire), Andy Smith (Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story national tour), Esther Stilwell (Spamalot national tour), and Bruce Warren (T2's Around the World in 80 Days). Lead sponsors for this year's event include Lynn and Joel Carver, Harrison French & Associates, Harps Food Stores, Margaret and Richard Rutherford, and the Willard and Pat Walker Family Charitable Foundation.

At the event, the 2015 Arts Advocate Award will be presented to David and Jane Gearhart. Dave retired as Chancellor of the University of Arkansas on July 31 of this year, having served in that role since 2008. Record-setting fund raising, the motto Students First, renovation of iconic buildings throughout campus and the construction of several new structures marked his time as chancellor at the University. The U of A was the seventh-fastest growing university in the country, having increased its size to nearly 27,000 students. His support for the arts on campus manifested itself in a variety of ways, including the appointment of a committee to place art in public spaces, the collection of art by Arkansas artists in the chancellor's residence, Fowler House, and the opening of the Faulkner Performing Arts Center earlier this year. Dave is a Fulbright Scholar, having studied in Oxford, England in 1992. He has received the Alumni Achievement Award from his undergraduate alma mater, Westminster College, and was named to the Fayetteville Public Schools Hall of Honor in 2005. After a year's sabbatical, he will return to the University to teach in the fall of 2016.

Jane Gearhart has been involved in numerous community activities. Her chief interest is food insecurity. She has been a long-time volunteer in food pantries and was supportive of the founding of the Full Circle Campus Food Pantry at the U of A, recently renamed in her honor. Jane co-chaired two successful sales tax campaigns for the City of Fayetteville - Citizens for a New Library in 2000 and Citizens for Clean Water in 2001. She was also inducted into the Fayetteville Public Schools Hall of Honor in 2014. Jane, along with Dave and Judy Schwab, was instrumental in collecting the art by Arkansas artists featured in Fowler House. The Gearharts have two children and four grandchildren.

TheatreSquared's education programs will reach 16,000 students and teachers this year. Initiatives include the Arkansas Schools Tour, bringing live educational performances to high schools throughout the state; the T2 Professional Development Institute for Arkansas educators; the Word/Play literacy intervention program, engaging at-risk students in NWA and the Arkansas Delta through in-school residencies and curriculum integration; and deeply discounted performances year-round at the theatre.

Evening Highlights

• Gourmet plated dinner by Bordinos Restaurant and wine reception at The Fayetteville Town Center

• Command Performance: The Tenth Anniversary Revue starring Faith Sandberg, Andy Smith, Esther Stilwell, and Bruce Warren

• Presentation of the 2015 Arts Advocate Award to Dave and Jane Gearhart

• Presentation of the 2015 Arts Educator Award to Warren Rosenaur

• The Education Challenge, supporting arts-in-education outreach throughout our state

• The Diamond & Wine Raffle awarding one lucky winner a $1,500 gift certificate to Romance Diamond Co. and a collection of exceptional wines selected by Bordinos Restaurant and Cork & Keg.

Tickets & Reservations

Tickets and tables for the Tenth Anniversary Gala can be reserved by calling (479) 445-6333 or visiting theatre2.org/gala. Individual tickets are $125, sponsor tickets are $250, and table sponsor levels range from $1,000 to $5,000. Dress is cocktail attire. Guests may also take part in the 2015 Diamond & Wine Raffle, awarding one lucky winner a $1,500 gift certificate to Romance Diamond Co. and a collection of exceptional wines selected by Bordinos Restaurant and Cork & Keg.

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