“A tried and true practice that has sustained many farms and the communities they serve is being creatively applied to a respected regional theatre,” writes Heron’s Eye Co-Founder Sandy Long in The River Reporter.
CSArts is a novel take on the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) concept practiced by many local farms, and it came to life through NACL Theatre co-founder and artistic director Tannis Kowalchuk, who also helps her husband Greg Swartz run Willow Wisp Organic Farm in Damascus, PA.
Adds Sandy in her River Reporter article: “NACL is bringing its homegrown product to the localvore movement through CSArts, based on the model of a farm CSA. A person or family would buy a share in the theatre at the beginning of the season and, as an invested member, reap the benefit of local arts produce.”
A CSArts season pass is $150 for an individual, or $300 per family. Single ticket admission is based on a sliding scale of $12 – $25, children $5.
CSArts is the brainchild of NACL associate artist Brett Keyser and became a reality with the help of Sue Currier, Executive Director of the Delaware Highlands Conservancy, a land trust serving the Upper Delaware River region.
It isn’t NACL’s first foray into the topic of sustainable agriculture. Kowalchuk and Keyser previously collaborated on The Little Farm Show, an original musical performance for all-ages about a brother and sister team of side show performers who tour “The Greatest Show on Dirt!” from town to town to discover “where your food comes from.”