Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts

Infobox_protected_area | name = Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
iucn_category = II

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caption =
locator_x = 240
locator_y = 80
location = Vienna, Virginia, USA
nearest_city = Vienna, Virginia
lat_degrees = 38
lat_minutes = 56
lat_seconds = 13
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 77
long_minutes = 15
long_seconds = 43
long_direction = W
area = 130 acres (0.53 km²)
established = October 15, 1966
visitation_num = 554,386
visitation_year = 2005
governing_body = National Park Service, Wolf Trap Foundation

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, known locally in the Washington, D.C. area as simply Wolf Trap, is a performing arts center situated in a setting of rolling hills and woods located on 130 acres (0.53 km²) of national park land in Vienna, Virginia. Through the unique partnership and collaboration of the National Park Service and the non-profit Wolf Trap Foundation, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts offers both natural and cultural resources.

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts began as a gift to the American people from Catherine Filene Shouse. Encroaching roads and suburbs inspired Mrs. Shouse to preserve this former farm as a park. In 1966 Congress accepted Mrs. Shouse's gift and authorized Wolf Trap Farm Park (its original name) as the first national park for the performing arts. On August 21, 2002, the park's name was changed to its present one, thus reflecting its mission while keeping the historical significance of this area.

In the year 2000, Wolf Trap debuted the Face of America programcite web |url= http://www.hanahou.com/pages/magazine.asp?Action=DrawArticle&ArticleID=533&MagazineID=34 |title= Face the Music |author= Lynn Cook |work= Hana Hou! Vol. 10, No. 1, February/March 2007 |date= photo by Scott Suchman |quote= ] which was created “to celebrate the country’s national parks and to honor the relationship between nature and the creative process."

Performing arts venues

Presently, the Wolf Trap Foundation organizes and runs several distinct elements as part of the whole. These are:
* Filene CenterThis is the major indoor/outdoor performance venue with seating for 7,000 both under cover and on the lawn in a more casual style. Performances are given nightly from May to early September and cover a wide range of musical styles from country music to opera.

In the summer of 1971, sixty young musical performers were chosen for training in music, dance and acting, to culminate in a production in the newly conceived Filene Center. The inaugural season opening was delayed one month due to a fire that destroyed most of the nearly built center. But when finally completed, the theatre, constructed of Oregon redcedar, was a ten-story-high facility equipped with a computerized lighting system and sophisticated sound equipment.

As Wolf Trap was preparing for its 12th season, tragedy struck once again. On April 4, 1982, a fire of undetermined origin, intensified by high gusting winds, destroyed the Filene Center. Almost immediately the Wolf Trap Foundation, the park's non-profit partner, announced that a 1982 season would still take place in a huge tent erected in the meadow.

The second Filene Center is made of douglas-fir with a yellow pine ceiling. It includes a smoke/fire detection and suppression system, as well as fire retardant wood. The new amphitheater was also built with state-of-the-art sound and lighting equipment.
* The Barns at Wolf TrapWolf Trap's indoor venue is a casual performance space which operates year-round and offers a very wide variety of entertainment possibilies. It seats 382.
* Wolf Trap Opera CompanyThis young Company, established in 1971, has developed into a quality resident ensemble program for young opera singers. Its mission is to discover and encourage emerging talent in the opera field and it serves young singers of achievement and potential by giving them training and performance experience with fully-staged performances each summer at the Filene Center and The Barns.
*Meadow Pavilion
*Theatre in the Woods

* EducationWolf Trap offers a wide variety of education programs for all ages both locally and nationally. Programs include the "Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts" for preschoolers through adult learners.

History

Donation of the land

Early records of Fairfax County tell that wolves ran wild in Wolf Trap, and bounties were granted for trapping them. In August, 1739, J.M. Warner placed "Wolf Trap Creek," a branch of Difficult Run, in his survey, evidence that the name has been used for over 260 years. In 1930, Catherine Filene Shouse acquired approximately 53 acres (21 ha) of land in the region and chose to preserve the enchanting name. By 1956, her holdings encompassed 168 acres (68 ha).

Mrs. Shouse bought Wolf Trap to offer her children a weekend retreat from the hectic pace of Georgetown, Washington DC. There they grew corn, wheat, alfalfa, and oats to feed their chickens, ducks, turkeys, and milk cows. They raised horses, built a stable and a hay barn, and opened a dog-breeding kennel, producing champion boxers, miniature pinschers, and Weimaraners. Inspired to share her love of Wolf Trap with others, Mrs. Shouse often hosted lawn suppers and carnivals there.

In the 1960s, Wolf Trap was threatened by encroaching urbanization. Forty acres nearby (16 ha) had been set aside for the Dulles access road, and Mrs. Shouse sought a way to preserve her extraordinary treasure. Recalling her delight at entertainments she'd witnessed in theaters and auditoriums all over Europe and throughout the world, she decided to offer a portion of her land in 1965 to the National Park Service to be devoted to the performing arts, and in the following year, Congress accepted her offer.

First performance seasons

For the first performances at the Filene Center, Robert Lewis, founder of The Actors Studio and acclaimed Broadway director, was chosen to conduct the training program and direct the production called "Musical Theatre Cavalcade". With a mulimedia set by Leo Kerz, choreograhy by Gemeze de Lappe, and musical direction by Johnny Green, the "Cavalcade" was a history of musical theater from "The Beggar's Opera" to "Hair". Then President and Mrs. Nixon attended the opening night performance and afterwards invited the entire cast to the White House for a reception.

The first dozen seasons saw many performances and events of historical significance. In 1976, the Scottish Military Tattoo, a Bicentennial gift from Britain, performed at the Filene Center for capacity audiences including Britain's Prince Philip. The following year, the People's Republic of China's performing arts ensemble entertained Wolf Trap's audience with acrobatic troupes and dancers in one of the first cultural exchanges between China and the United States. In 1971, the National Folk Festival was the first event at Wolf Trap to use the park grounds (versus Filene Center itself) for performances, and it set a precedent for other events at Wolf Trap to do the same. From 1971 until the early eighties, the National Folk Festival was held at Wolf Trap.

Other highlights included Sarah Caldwell's production of "War and Peace", the Royal Ballet, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the annual US National Symphony Orchestra's "1812 Overture" concerts with live cannons and Beverly Sills' 1981 farewell appearance.

Following yet another Filene Center fire, the 1982 and 1983 Wolf Trap seasons took place in a huge tent-like structure known as the Meadow Center. The prefabricated structure, purchased with private and government funds, was disassembled from its previous site in the United Arab Emirates and transported to Wolf Trap through the generosity of the government of Saudi Arabia. Volunteers provided much of the labor needed to erect the structure.

= Enabling legislation = :"An Act of Congress" :"Public Law 89-671":"89th Congress, S. 3423":"October 15, 1966" :"An Act":"To provide for the establishment of the Wolf Trap Farm Park in Fairfax County,Virginia, and for other purposes."

:"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that for the purpose of establishing in the National Capital area a park for the performing arts and related educational programs, and for recreation use in connection therewith, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to establish, develop, improve, operate, and maintain the Wolf Trap Farm Park in Fairfax County, Virginia. The park shall encompass the portions of the property formerly known as Wolf Trap Farm and Symphony in Fairfax County, Virginia, to be donated for park purposes to the United States, and such additional lands or interests therein as the Secretary may acquire for purposes of the park by donation or purchase with donated or appropriated funds, the aggregate of which shall not exceed one hundred and forty-five acres" [58.7 ha] .

:"Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Interior shall administer the park in accordance with the provisions of section 1 of this Act and the Act of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1–4), as amended and supplemented."

:"Sec. 3. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may appropriation be necessary, but not in excess of $600,000, per annum to carry out the purposes of this Act."

:"Approved October 15, 1966."

References

See also

* List of concert halls

External links

* [http://www.nps.gov/wotr/ National Park Service: Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts]
* [http://www.wolftrap.org/ Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts]
* [http://www.wolf-trap.org/opera/opera.html Wolf Trap Opera Company]