Arts Education at The Palace – An Essential Component of Our Mission

2014 Young Playwrights Festival participants thank Sheryl Battles (center) from Pitney Bowes for making the program possible

At The Palace Theatre, we believe in the thrill and the power of the performing arts to change lives, whether on the stage or in the audience.

Because of massive funding cuts in public schools, many children and teens are missing out on chances to develop their own creative expression. Arts education has been proven to contribute to academic and life success. Students learn confidence, problem solving, teamwork, perseverance and focus.

The Palace invests in nurturing a community of aspiring young performers and the next generation of engaged adults.  When young students walk through our doors they are experiencing theatre history. They are following in the footsteps of generations before them and creating their own artistic legacy.

         

           Dancers perform in 2014's Young Choreographers Festival

Scholarships & Free School Trips

While not all of these programs are free, our goal is to keep admission fees very low and, most critical for our mission, offer deep scholarships to students who would not otherwise be able to participate. Families and friends are provided with free tickets to every student performance.

For five years we have awarded an Emerging Young Artist Scholarship in a specific field of study, to ensure underprivileged kids with chances to succeed. The 6^th annual award in 2015 will be given to students who are learning playwriting.

Throughout the year, we provide children from low-income families the chance to attend world-class entertainment on our stage through organized school trips. Very often it is the first live show they’ve ever seen. In 2015, we estimate attendance to be 4,500 school kids at The Palace.

Help us continue to make and develop young aspiring performers in our community.

Donate $10 during Fairfield County Giving Day on March 5^th!

Ladies Night at The Palace

Are you stressed? Are frigid temperatures and snow making you miserable?

According to a UCLA study, a ladies night can help you beat stress and the winter blues!

Women’s bodies release a hormone called oxytocin to counteract the stress women feel. UCLA scientists claim that spending time with other women helps to increase your oxytocin production.

So, a ladies’ night with your closest girlfriends is about more just than catching up and drinking a glass or two of wine—a ladies’ night can improve your overall health!

By helping you to combat stress, a ladies’ night benefits both you and your family.

With an extra boost of oxytocin flowing through your body, the UCLA study asserts, you will feel a greater need to care for your children and your family.

*Taking time out for yourself doesn’t make you selfish; in fact, it makes you a more caring mother and wife!*

Ladies night makes you healthier and happier!

As the Mayo Clinic tells us, laughter is also a great stress reliever and mood lifter. Laughter gives our bodies an abundance of benefits: laughter lowers blood pressure, relieves muscle tension, releases healthy neuropeptides that may help supercharge our immune systems, and more.

Attending a comedy show with your girlfriends at The Palace like Colleens of Comedy or even enjoying the iconic and mood-lifting music of ARRIVAL-The Music of ABBA will make you laugh and make you healthy. 

So, what is this science telling us? A ladies’ night filled with laughs—and perhaps some heart-healthy red wine—should not be an infrequent occasion in your calendar.

Make ladies’ night a nonnegotiable part of your schedule!

Top Five Reasons to See Arrival from Sweden at The Palace

5 Reasons Arrival From Sweden is the Ultimate Girls’ Night Out

aka

Mamma Mia!

It’s time to let your Dancing Queen Take a Chance on Arrival From Sweden!

  

Arrival From Sweden, the Abba tribute group, comes to The Palace Theatre on Sunday, March 1 at 7 PM! It’s the perfect excuse to get the girls together, throw on your best sequined outfits, and dance the night away to some of the best music to emerge from the disco era.  Let us teach you a bit more about the formation of this amazing tribute band.

5. Disco is making a huge comeback

With the success of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk”, many of today’s hottest artists are starting to take disco seriously again.  You want to be prepared for the Disco Renaissance, don’t you?  Find your disco roots as you boogie the night away with all the glitz and glamour the 70s had to offer.  You may even want to feather your hair for the occasion!

4. Abba was your mom’s favorite guilty pleasure

Do you remember in the 90s when Swedish darlings Ace of Base were all over the radio?  You couldn’t escape “The Sign,” and despite your best efforts, you couldn’t help but sing along.  Well, think of Abba as the Ace of Base of the 70s.  They were prominent, mainstream, and extremely successful despite many listeners claiming they didn’t enjoy the music.  Bring Mom along for a night out on the town, and see the joy that hearing Abba’s music perfectly executed by Arrival From Sweden will bring her.  You’ll quickly learn that guilty pleasures tend to evolve into genuine entertainment over time!

3. Arrival From Sweden was officially sanctioned from Abba themselves, and performs with original Abba band members!

Arrival From Sweden is not your average cover band.  They are a passionate, dedicated group fully supported by Abba and the ONLY group given permission to re-create the exact stage show audiences saw back in the 70s, including Abba’s original costumes!  At selected performances, members from Abba’s original band will even accompany Arrival From Sweden.  This show, professional from head to toe, and completely devoted to the ultimate Abba experience, is as close to seeing the real thing as you will possibly get in 2015!

2. You already know the music!

Even if you have never heard of Abba by name, chances are you know at least one of their hits by heart.  Abba’s music was successful in the 70s, but found their music was timeless with the smash hit musical “Mamma Mia!” which created an original story framed by Abba’s greatest hits.  If you enjoyed the musical or its very popular movie adaptation, you are already prepared for the non-stop fun Arrival From Sweden will bring to the Harman Stage. We encourage you to sing loud and proud right along with the audience!

1. It’s your chance to travel through time!

We may not have the DeLorean that takes us back through time (yet), but this tribute show may as well be a time machine.  Arrival From Sweden has re-created every detail of Abba’s hugely successful stage presentation, from lighting, to choreography, down to every last thread on the costumes.  In fact, Arrival performs their shows in exact replicas of the original Abba costumes that thrilled audiences around the world back in the 70s.  This is your chance to see what a concert experience was like before arenas and big screen TVs changed pop performance forever.  This is pure entertainment, presented beautifully!

Whether you want to go ironically with friends, genuinely with mom, or just want to throw caution to the wind and “take a chance”, there’s fun to be had for everyone who comes to see Arrival From Sweden.  You’ll never boogie the same way again!  Remember to call The Palace Theatre Box Office at (203) 325-4466 or CLICK HERE for your tickets today!