The Gainesville Theatre Alliance announced Wednesday afternoon that it has secured a 10-year sponsorship commitment from the Melvin Douglas and Victoria Kay Ivester Foundation.
GTA is a collaborative effort between the theatre departments of the University of North Georgia and Brenau University. This year's donation from the Ivester Foundation designates the foundation as the sponsor for GTA's April 2024 production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Additionally, the agreement will see the Ivester Foundation support one mainstage show each season over the next decade.
The Ivester Foundation has a history of supporting education, scholarship, visual arts, performing arts, parks, gardens and many other areas.
"The Foundation Directors believe that theatre is an important contributor to the wellbeing of any community. The Foundation is delighted with this new partnership with GTA," stated Doug Ivester. "The goals of the MDI/VKI Foundation are long-term. The desire of the Foundation is to be a perpetual contributor to Gainesville & Hall County, sponsoring organizations, programs, and people who simply make life in Gainesville special and better."
“The support of the MDI/VKI Foundation is an immense blessing to our program and a crucial showcase of how the support of our community is what drives our ability to bring what is good, true, and beautiful to our stages,” responded GTA Artistic Director Zechariah Pierce. “We look forward to fostering this relationship in ways that will make this unique university alliance program one that stands out regionally.”
"The Foundation Board hopes that our support will result in bringing theatre to a larger and more diverse audience than has existed before. We hope to work with the management of GTA to achieve that goal," added Brian Rochester, an Ivester Foundation Board member.
