Jackpot hits for local arts groups

A trio of arts jackpots will create a 1940s radio drama series in Fernley, a traveling exhibit by a Silver City artist and pay for an art exhibit already on display at the Historic Fourth Ward School in Virginia City.

The lucky artisans didn't need to play the slots to win a jackpot. They won Jackpot grants from the Nevada Arts Council.

Jackpot grants are given quarterly to individual artists or non-profit arts organizations in need of timely assistance for projects and sudden opportunities, said Kellie O'Donnell at the Arts Council.

The Fernley Little Theatre, the Fourth Ward School and Silver City artist Larry Kotik each will get $1,000. They are among three artists and five arts organizations in Nevada splitting $7,900 in Jackpot grants for the second quarter.

Wrapping up its third season, the transitory Fernley Little Theatre is once again homeless. Except this time, founder Marion Streczyn hasn't been able to line up a new temporary home yet.

The theater company in the past performed in Fernley locales such as the Mormon Church, the high school and, most recently, a storefront next to the old Scolari's. The troupe had to leave at the end of August because Scolari's had another tenant for the store.

Ever innovative with her talented theater company, Streczyn put into action an inspiration she had in April - gather her local actors and tape radio dramas.

"I love radio dramas," Streczyn said. "I have a whole collection of them. I especially love to listen to them when I'm driving. There are radio stations out there that play them."

Fernley Little Theatre rehearsed their first script this week: "She Sings No More," the pilot episode for a series called "Jack Suede, Detective Files," a 1940s setting in the Nick Carter and Sam Spade genre.

"This is an ongoing process," she said. "Whenever we get a script done, we'll do it."

Nick Brill of Reno authored the first script. A second script is in the works and Streczyn is tinkering with a third Jack Suede story.

These are half-hour shows that Streczyn hope will reach the radio air waves. But she also plans to sell them on cassettes. They may be ordered by calling Fernley Little Theatre at (775) 575-6118.

"Our intention is to sell them as Christmas gifts," she said.

Streczyn said the Jackpot grant will pay for recording equipment, legal fees to copyright scripts, a sound engineer and script copying costs.

For Kotik, his Jackpot will pay for final preparation work for his multi-media exhibition he's calling "One Artist's View of Nevada in the Millennium."

Kotik has spent the year traveling the state recording his impressions with photographs, paintings and art works made of pastels, watercolors, acrylic and other media.

"This is a way for me to document for myself what I've done this year," said Kotik, a painter for the past 20 years. "These are rural settings I've come across that show the diversity of Nevada lifestyles."

Kotik's show will tour Nevada libraries for the next couple years, opening in January at the Douglas County Library in Minden. The show will be in Carson City in June and next year he will take it to Reno.

"One Artist's View" will make 40-day stops in Battle Mountain, Fallon, Elko and Clark County in 2002. Kotik painted the two large murals at Dayton Elementary School.

The Fourth Ward School has art from 17 Comstock artists on display. "Mining the Treasures: Contemporary Comstock Artists" continues in Virginia City through Oct. 30. The school museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The treasures, in this case, are the artists themselves, said Mark Preiss the museum's executive director.

"This is an attempt to chronicle the fact that there is a great tradition of art here," Preiss said.

A companion book compiled and edited by Virginia City resident Mary Beth Hepp-Elam includes stories and books from the artists featured at "Mining the Treasures." A limited edition of 500 copies of the book, bearing the same name as the exhibition, is available for $19.25 from the Fourth Ward School, P.O. Box 4, Virginia City, Nev. 89440.

The Jackpot grant will help pay for the 5,000 flyers distributed to announce the exhibition as well as costs to prepare the exhibition, Preiss said.

"This will be the last event in the Fourth Ward School for the season," Preiss said. "Pending additional funding, extensive restoration of the third-floor assembly space will begin in November as part of our Save America's Treasures grant."