Drama Professors Receive Governor's Arts Award

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Amy Herzberg and Bob Ford (far right) with Gov. Mike Beebe, Walton Arts Center president Peter Lane and Arkansas Arts Council executive director Joy Pennington

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Amy Herzberg and Robert Ford, faculty members in the department of drama in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, were honored with the Governor’s Arts Award for Arts Community Development during a luncheon Friday, Nov. 15, at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock.

The award recognized the couple’s creation of “hundreds of opportunities for actors, directors, designers and playwrights by creating an artistic home in Northwest Arkansas” through their work with TheatreSquared, also known as T2.

“After pouring 10 years of our lives into this idea of creating a professional theatre, it felt tremendous to be acknowledged by the governor,” said Ford. “But it really took a small village to make TheatreSquared happen – a bunch of incredibly creative, hardworking and passionate individuals, vital support from Fulbright College and the department of drama, where both Amy and I teach, and from area foundations and a slew of truly generous people.”

The Arts Community Development Award is given to civic leaders who have taken a leadership role in creating an environment for artists and the arts to flourish in his or her local community. The council received many letters of support for Ford and Herzberg’s nomination.

Martin Miller, managing director for TheatreSquared, wrote, “Bob and Amy have not only impacted, but in effect created a community of professional artists and theatregoers here in Northwest Arkansas.”

 According to a letter from the Walton Arts Center, “Though the thoughtful guidance and inspired leadership of Bob and Amy, T2 creates a rich and fertile environment for the arts to flourish in our community. Students enjoy successful careers on stage and screens around the country, and thanks to T2, many artists are choosing to come home to Arkansas to live, work and create theater of the highest caliber.”

In another letter, actors Kristopher Stoker and Sabrina Veroczi wrote, “Without Bob Ford and Amy Herzberg, we wouldn’t be able to work in our field in Northwest Arkansas. They are tireless in their efforts to provide actors, directors, designers and playwrights the opportunity to do what they love.”

Fulbright College has a history of faculty members who have been honored with Governor’s Arts Awards. Previous awardees include professors of journalism Larry Foley and Dale Carpenter, who received the 2011 and 2003 Individual Artist Award, respectively.

For more information about TheatreSquared, visit their website. For more information about Ford and Herzberg and their contribution to the arts in Northwest Arkansas, see Drama at Home by Becca Martin-Brown.

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CONTACTS:

Alexis Whitley, communications intern

J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences

479-575-3712, awhitley@uark.edu