Amelia Fullmer announced the National Arts Week Spotlight in Education at the Aug. 20 Flagler County Board of Education meeting.
Arts Education Week runs from Sept. 8 to 14, but it's not an ideal time because it's at the beginning of the school year, said Fulmer, director of the Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center, long known as Flagler Auditorium.
At the time the proclamation was released at the August board meeting, Arts Education Week activities had yet to be finalized, but every week is Arts Education Week at Fitz.
“At Fitzgerald we celebrate the arts in education all year round,” Fulmer said.
Without arts education, the auditorium wouldn't be able to put on professional shows for the community because all of the performers got their start in arts education, Fulmer said. Without the shows, arts education in Flagler County wouldn't be the same.
Fitz earned artists $308,000 in performance fees last year, Fulmer said. The shows have helped fund college scholarships for the Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center, teacher grants, auditorium renovations, shirts for the Matanzas High School steel drum band to wear at graduation, new earphones for elementary school students, art nights, choir lessons, costumes for drama classes, instruments for Old Kings Elementary School to start a fifth-grade steel drum band after school, and props for student auditorium stagehands.
The Fitz is a unique venue that serves its school district and local community.
Our theater is the most utilized theater in the southeastern United States, with classes serving 150 students daily.
ā Amelia Fulmer, Director, Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center
“Our theater is the most used theater in the southeast because we have 150 students taking classes here every day,” Fullmer said.
There will also be popular performances and cultural shows aimed at all age groups, from kindergarteners to the elderly.
“Our theme is promoting culture so students can see live performances as if they were living in a big city,” Fullmer said.
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Well-known artists performing at the Fitz this year include The Gatlin Brothers (November 8th), Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits (December 12th), Crystal Gayle (January 17th) and Lee Greenwood (January 23rd).
London's Kingdom Choir, which performed at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, will perform at the Fitz on December 7th.
“One of the reasons we have them here is so our students can see a world-class choir,” Fullmer said.
Mandy Gonzalez will perform in concert on March 13. Gonzalez played Angelica Schuyler in Broadway's Hamilton and Elphaba, the green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West in Wicked. She has written a series of middle grade books titled Fearless, which is also the title of her album, and the title song was composed by Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Gonzalez hopes to get Flagler High School students to join her on stage to sing her son's songs. The next day she will hold a workshop with the choir students. Auditions for Gonzalez's show will be held in January, Fulmer said.
The Dallas String Quartet will perform April 11, with free tickets being given to Flagler Youth Orchestra students and their families.
Fulmer said the St. Augustine Orchestra will perform on Oct. 10, with tickets costing $25 in honor of Palm Coast's 25th anniversary as a city.
“Our funds pay for them to come here so our students can spend one-on-one time with them and watch rehearsals,” Fulmer said.
Tango Apassionado is scheduled for Jan. 9 and will feature Pointe Tango, a combination of Argentine tango and classical ballet, and will also feature students from Mia Bella Dance Academy.
Destinations
Renaming the auditorium to Fitz has made it a more popular venue, Fulmer said. The name has been on the building since 2010 and pays tribute to Dennis Fitzgerald, an ITT executive and School Committee member who was instrumental in the bond campaign to build the auditorium 33 years ago.
“Recently, we've started using it for our branding. It reminds us of our history,” Fullmer said. “And the performers are starting to understand that too. Coming to the Fitz is a different experience. They're helping the young people who are a part of the show. One of our box office students created an image for Crystal Gayle on the sign. We have students working in the box office, graphic design (creating brochures, websites, signage) and customer service. We have students working as stagehands and assistants in professional shows.”
Fitts also has more than 100 volunteers from the community, including senior citizens who act as ushers.
When the county voted to build an auditorium on the school grounds and share it with the community, a steering committee was created to oversee the balance between arts education and attracting professional shows, Fullmer said.
“That's why we are such passionate supporters of Arts Education Week,” she said.
At the Aug. 20 school board meeting, Fulmer asked Dr. Marshawn Hymon to read a proclamation commemorating Arts Week in Education in Flagler County. As a Flagler student, Hymon performed in musicals at Wadsworth Elementary School, sang in the Buddy Taylor Middle School choir and was a member of the Formality Singers and Theatres Society at Flagler Palm Coast High School. He received a music scholarship from Florida State University, earned his master's and doctorate in education, and is now the founder and managing partner of True Change Alliance.
“Music was his path to education,” Fullmer said. “He epitomizes what we do. We must remember that the arts teach kids so much and give them so many opportunities.”