About our Performing Arts

Dramas such as To Kill A Mockingbird, Eleemosynary and 100 Saints You Should Know, stimulate our thoughts and may break our hearts. You Ought To Be In Pictures, Spring Fling and Becky’s New Car lighten our souls and urge us to laughter. Performances engage the viewer, creating a connection between actors and patron and patron with the rest of the audience. Live theater: no other experience compares.

Upcoming Performance Arts Events

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Readers Theater

The 2023 Juice Box One-Act Play competition received almost 200 entries from around the world!  Our panel of Judges narrowed the entries to 20 semi-finalist plays including 10 Comedies and 10 Dramas.

The LSCFTA Readers Theater Ensemble performed each of the semi-finalists plays in an audio format which are posted here for your listening enjoyment!

Do not miss our Readers Theater…Please use the link below to enjoy these 20 original plays!

Readers Theater Mosaic

Jacqueline Phillips Theater

The Lake Shore Center for the Arts' Black Box Theatre seats 40 people and has a full stage and state-of-the-art lighting and audio technology. Live theatre was the origin of the organization because of its ability to draw people together, which continues to be the primary focus of LSCFTA. Generous grants from the Peter Brand Foundation also made the center possible.

Art Instruction Events

off premise event lake shore center for the arts
LSCFTA offers Art Instruction as part of our mission statement to provide art for everyone in the Lake Shore communities. Pictured above are a few participants from a painting class, L to R, Linda Anzalone, Barbara Johnson, Bettie Lacusia, and Rick Mascaro.  More paint classes are being planned and will begin soon.

 

Art comes in many forms, including writing, we have had a great writers group in the past and will be doing this again soon.

Musical Performances

chautauqua chamber singers concert music performances performing arts lake shore center for the arts
LSCFTA has hosted other organizations and individuals to perform in our space. Pictured above is a performance by the Chautauqua Chamber Singers. In addition to this very talented choir, we have welcomed Ekstasis from SUNY Fredonia and others.
Large events are held in the sanctuary of our host church, smaller events such as the Woollett Sisters and UofB have performed in the Bill Ross Recital Hall.

Bill Ross Recital Studio

it's a wonderful life bill ross recital hall lake shore center for the arts

The recital hall, with cutting-edge sound engineering accoutrements and potential to seat 30 is dedicated to William "Bill" Ross, the late Westfield Academy and Central School music teacher and county-wide renowned music educator.

We are currently planning a jazz series as well as individual recitals for the first week of each month. Stay tuned for our 2022 schedule.

Playing trombone and piano, young Bill Ross loved performing in a variety of venues: church lawn fetes, school dances, and his favorite, dance halls. Though he began his college education with a business career in mind, he soon realized that he wanted to pursue employment that would allow music to remain a major component in his life. Thus, Bill transferred to Fredonia Normal School. Graduating with a degree in Music Education, Bill and wife Mabel settled in Westfield, NY, where he began his career at Westfield Academy and Central School. Mr. Ross’s thirty-seven-year tenure there instilled in his students a love of music which they carried into their futures. Many continued to play their instruments long after graduation with some becoming music educators themselves. A special joy for Bill and some of his former students was playing side by side in the area’s renowned Deutchmeisters Band. We honor and thank Mr. Ross with The William “Bill” Ross Recital Hall.

Off Premise Events

off premise event lake shore center for the arts
off premise event lake shore center for the arts
off premise event lake shore center for the arts

Believing community interaction an important component of our group’s mission, we sometimes leave our facility to benefit the village. The fall Cemetery Walk combines the efforts of LSCFTA, Patterson Library, Chautauqua County Historical Society and Westfield Cemetery Association.

Class Reunion Weekend will find us hosting a Spirit Gathering in Moore Park to recognize Westfield Academy and Central School graduates and staff who have passed. You never know where we might show up during Christmas in the Village or on First Fridays.

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