Published: January 10, 2008 10:59 am         

New season for New World Arts

Arts group to announce upcoming events

New World Arts’ Season Ten will be announced Friday at 8 p.m. with a launch party in downtown Goshen. The free event is open to the public and will include free drinks and hors d’oeuvres, plus the music of Grand Rapids, Mich., band Ben and Bruno.

“In choosing a group of plays for our monumental Season Ten, I wanted to both respect the past of New World Arts as well as look towards our future growth,” said New World artistic director Laura Gouin. “I also wanted to choose a season that created dialogue about our current world events. When we treat our global community as adversaries, we create a world of distrust, dishonesty and disrespect. It is my hope that Season Ten will help us all to realize that whether it’s in our hometown or the world, we are a community.”

In addition to the New World Arts’ season and audition opportunities, a full year of theater and film festivals, concerts and gallery openings will also be announced.

“New World Arts is especially proud to be bringing the musicians of Grand Rapids’ Ben and Bruno to Goshen,” according to a news release. “Storytellers in their own right with a penchant for combining music with visual art, Ben and Bruno represent the diverse and multidisciplinary approach of the theater produced at New World Arts. The band has released four albums during the last three years, been involved in multiple collaborative releases, and have stirred up major followings in Grand Rapids and Portland, Ore.”

“Over the course of a mere four years, Ben and Bruno have transcended from basic musicians to organic, urban ‘myth-makers,’” said Daniel Palmer, art director at New World Arts. “Seeing them open for artists like Breathe Owl Breathe and Julie Doiron has given us an appreciation for the scope of their talents. I do not think New World Arts has ever brought such nuanced musical sincerity to our stage.”

For more information about the launch party, call (574) 975-0311 or go online to www.newworldarts.org. New World Arts is located at 211 S. Main St. in Goshen (parking lot and entrance are located at the back of the building, accessible from South Third Street).