by Marilyn Delk |
Darke County Center for the Arts will soon announce its shining 2023-2024 season in which DCCA will be celebrating its 45th anniversary. This Sapphire Celebration will be filled with a wide variety of wonders and delights—but I cannot yet reveal many details about the artists who will entertain and inspire DCCA’s audiences next year. I know, I know—usually by now season subscribers will not only have received DCCA’s season brochure in the mail, but will have reserved their seats for the shows they want to see. Although the season is pretty much set, some details remain to be taken care of before that season can be announced; contracts must be finalized before announcements are made, and the announcement brochures should not go out until all i’s have been dotted and t’s crossed.
So—everyone on the mailing list can expect receiving a brochure within a month and last year’s Artists Series season ticket holders can rest assured that their seats will be held for renewal until August 31. DCCA’s 2023-2024 Coffee House Series does not open until October 12, while St. Clair Memorial Hall will not host DCCA’s initial Artists Series show until October 21—so calm down, all is well.
Although I cannot reveal details, I can hint at what DCCA will be offering next season. A rockabilly legend will take the Memorial Hall stage to share his music, as well as stories about his long life on the road during his 40-year career. DCCA’s Artists Series will open with an outrageous adventure in the arts like nothing you have ever experienced; that enticing tidbit will have to do at this point in time. However the closing concert for the Artists Series will not come as a surprise to anyone who has attended DCCA’s final presentation for the past several years. In between those two appealing events, a twenty-year veteran of world-famous comedy clubs and numerous television performances will come to town, as will a high energy Celtic Rock band that has been leaving a trail of enthusiastic fans as they travel the world. Another innovation for the upcoming Artists Series season will be the start time; due to requests from patrons as well as to attract new audiences, the shows will now begin at 7 p.m.
DCCA’s 2023-24 Coffee House season offering high quality performances in an inviting casual atmosphere will open at Montage Cafe with a gifted singer who also offers true tales of the music legend whose songs he highlights. Next, an award-winning performer will bring magic and fun to BEANZ—one of two new venues for DCCA shows; at the 1819 Room in the Versailles Hotel, DCCA’s other new site, a rocking blues singer who has appeared with the likes of Buddy Guy and Koko Taylor will share her talents. Guitars will provide musical magic when the series moves to The Coffee Pot; the series will close at Arcanum’s Wayne Trail Historical Society’s with an award-winning duo who beautifully perform music which thrived in the pioneering coffee houses of the 70’s.
Youngsters and their families looking forward to DCCA’s Family Theatre Series presentations can also be assured that the entertaining, enriching fun will continue next season beginning in late October with a unique version of an ancient tale enhanced by electroluminscent artistry. Another children’s literature classic will be retold in February by a talented touring troupe that hails from the British Isles, and then in April, something entirely different will come to the Memorial Hall stage—an action-packed comedy team of four-legged performers who will unleash havoc and hilarity among audiences.
In addition to all of that, in July, Missoula Children’s Theatre will offer local youngsters the opportunity to perform in an entertaining full-length musical following a jam-packed week of intense rehearsal, and from September through December, DCCA’s Arts In Education program will present exceptional artists to students in every grade of all local public schools at no charge to the students. Wow! DCCA’s Sapphire Season sounds like a real gem offering many facets of entertainment, fun, wisdom, and enrichment—something truly worth waiting for.