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Maidstone Area Arts Council presents Living Arts by Living People!
There is a deep sorrow in assembling the notes for this Spring Edition of the Events Brochure. The untimely death of Diana Raffle since the Autumn Issue is a truly tragic loss to the arts community in Maidstone. Diana, gifted writer of farce, was truly the ‘Queen of Chuckles’, offering production after production to Willington Players and others to deliver fabulous ‘feel-good factors’ to their audiences
We offer our sincere condolences to her husband Scott, and family, and indeed to all members of Willington Players, who, no doubt, will shed a good few more tears in memory of her death following a stoic struggle to fend off cancer. Goodbye Di, you will be remembered equally for abundant tears of laughter and sorrow.
One aspect of the work of the Area Arts Council to be commended to you is the contribution it has made to web sites. MAAC pioneered workshops, headed up by local thespian David Vale, to inspire and support those wishing to establish such sites to ‘connect’ to members and potential audiences.
The internet, and the use of websites and email transmissions, for many of us - ah um, silver tops – is a relatively new experience. In a remarkably short period of time such technology has embedded itself in daily lives. No doubt printed books caused quite a stir when they first arrived on the scene (thanks Mr Caxton).
May we extol you to log on and get connected to some of the MAAC websites on offer. This brochure contains some of them for you. They are really, really good, as you would expect from creative people from within the arts world. Coming highly commended is the Film Society’s website, and those of both the Orchestral Society and Choral Union. The MSO site enables prospective seat purchasers to ‘connect’ to the Membership Secretaries and reserve seats from the comfort of their PC desk. Easy peasy eh?
We are aware that several of our members present excellent websites to ‘visitors’, revealing their organisation, current activities and future events, and contact points for ticket sales. Whereas five years ago we all were wondering if this was the way forward to enable our organisations to build or retain audiences, we are now in the unequivocal position of saying ‘boy, they certainly do!’ The internet goes way beyond parochial or borough borders, accessing potential ‘aesthetes’ right across the county and possibly the South East.
It is here that lies the central philosophy of the Maidstone Area Arts Council. We have the potential to draw lovers of the arts to our town, having identified and found a successful vehicle to communicate with them. A younger generation coming through are highly conversant with pursuing their life-styles from a keyboard. This modus operandi will only increase in its daily usage.
Get connected, go cyber, put botties on seats!
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editions of the MAAC brochure, Lionel Marchant, |