Stissing Center: On Track To Be The Center Of It All
By ML Ball
Most people only see what is. Artists see what could be. Brett Bernardini, executive director of Stissing Center in Pine Plains, is most definitely the latter.
On the job a year now, he is in the midst of a major renovation and expansion of the historic 1915 brick and timber building. When completed, Stissing Center will be home to The Cellar at The Center, a second performance and gathering space on the lower level with a stage, bar area, kitchen, and performers’ dressing rooms. The second floor—Banning Hall—will gain theatrical lighting, drapery, and a projection booth for movies. The third floor will have glass-enclosed staff offices, an art gallery, a community workspace (think WeWork), and a new roof!
Why all this effort to give new life to a local arts center? Bernardini explains: “Stissing Center has a unique opportunity to create a new model for what arts and culture can be in rural America—to create a national model, not just say, ‘We’re a building in a town of 2,500 people, and every now and then somebody with a name comes by,’ but to actually create a space that gives back to the community.”
Rendering by Larson Architecture Works PLLC
He adds: “What Stissing Center can do with philanthropic support, with grant support, with foundation support, with community support, is to bring in world-class artists and make it an affordable ticket. Moreover, we can create an arts and culture center that lifts up the incredibly artistic culture of rural America. There’s this idea that the best art happens in New York, LA, or Chicago. We’re here to show people that that big cities aren’t the only place where great art works.”
Stissing Center is showing, and people are noticing. The theme of the 2023 season was “Home Where We Belong,” focusing on the questions, ‘What is home? What does it mean to belong in a community?’ In response, says Bernardini, “We scheduled events that mattered to the community, like a teen open mic night. One of our most successful programs is called Local Produce, a series of plays featuring Hudson Valley playwrights and actors, with a five dollar ticket. We were also able to be bold, with acts like a Manhattan cabaret singer, the guitar and fiddle duo who wrote the score to Ken Burns’s Civil War series, and a Latin music series with groups from Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Standing ovations all around for these. Everyone loved them.”
Rendering by Larson Architecture Works PLLC
What’s on tap for next year? Focusing on the theme, “Legacy: The Stories We Tell,” programming will feature a rich buffet of theater, dance, orchestra, strings and fiddles, blues and folk, movie nights, dance parties, a summer children’s series, chamber music, and an evening with a very special actor.
Rendering by Larson Architecture Works PLLC
Stissing Center is already incredible, and its best days are still ahead. “I believe in the future, I believe in what this organization can be,” Bernardini emphasizes. “All I care about is that this town, the quality of life, will have been made better by the work.” Standing ovation.—thestissingcenter.org