Welcome to White Pines

2012 Resident Ensembles Announced: click here!

See a slideshow of the three companies:

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Catch up with the White Pines Lyceum, featuring Cary Mazer, Thaddeus Squire and Andrew Simonet here!

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White Pines Productions from Benjamin Lloyd on Vimeo.

View the Extended Informational Video here.

This is the website for White Pines Productions, a live-performance production company located in Elkins Park Pennsylvania. Use the links on the left to poke around and learn more about us.

Yes! And . . . White Pines begins July 9 2012!

REGISTER FOR CAMP HERE!

Statement on Status of Elkins Estate

Recently, I was part of a Board retreat for White Pines Productions, the small not for profit production company I founded in 2009. Andy Robinson, the consultant we hired to guide us through the day, gave us the following exercise: "Answer this question - why White Pines? Begin with word 'Because' and then let the answer only be one sentence long."

We were sitting in the ornate Music Room of Elstowe Mansion, the grand white marble mansion William Lukins Elkins built in 1898. It is one of the rooms in the Elkins Estate that has a breath-taking effect. I use the phrase literally, as I have heard, over and over, the sudden in-rush of breath, the gasp, emitted by first-time visitors to this and other rooms on the property. It is a room designed to celebrate, and, I think, stimulate creativity. I saw this effect in action when, last summer, the Philadelphia dance group called Green Chair Dance Group nearly camped out in there during their week-long residency White Pines awarded them, as they worked on their newest piece. I have seen the room hum along with a wide variety of musicians White Pines has presented there: jazz groups, singer-songwriters, chanteuses and (our biggest audience to date), a capella groups from Cheltenham High School.

Indeed, the entire property acts as a kind invitation to creativity, renewal, and reflection. White Pines is in the process of working with local directors Adrienne Mackey, Maria Moller and others to create unique site-specific events at the Elkins Estate. Commonwealth Classic Theater presented Richard III outdoors there last summer and will be back in 2012 with the American classic Our Town, presented outdoors in the Estate's Rose Garden. And we are inaugurating our first summer camp for kids, partnering with Yes! And . . . Collaborative Arts to offer children the chance to experience the peace and beauty that is the Elkins Estate.

How tragic it would be if the opportunity to continue developing the Estate as a civic and community resource - for arts, education, retreats and events - was lost through legal obstruction and ill will. Let's be clear: the only reason the Elkins Estate is in the great condition it is, is because of the care and nurture of the Sisters of St. Catherine diRicci, who called the place home for 75 years. They deserve to be "made right" in any future plan for the Estate. White Pines stands ready to work with any and all partners to preserve and celebrate the Elkins Estate. And White Pines will be steadfast in its mission however this drama plays out, and continue to offer the community arts, culture and educational opportunities there at little or no cost, and to act as an incubator for the region’s performing artists. We hope to be a part of the Elkins Estate for years to come.

To that end, White Pines is excited to announce a new initiative to save the Elkins Estate. We have hired the firm CultureWorks of Greater Philadelphia, and together with them, White Pines will create a proposal for a dynmic, multi-use development plan for the Estate, which

• preserves its historic buildings and grounds
• fairly compensates the Sisters of Saint Catherine diRicci
• places the Estate in a true "land trust", governed by a board of trustees
• puts it to use as an event center for the township and greater Philadelphia region
• generates tax revenue for the School District
• continues to act as a resource for arts, arts educaton and cultural organizations
• is divorced from previous management groups

Why White Pines at the Elkins Estate?

• Because artists need a place to grow.
• Because creativity transforms people.
• Because beauty begets more beauty.
• Because art isn't only an event — it's a place.

Benjamin Lloyd

Founding Producer

White Pines Productions, Inc.

Pictures of High School/Summer Camp event!

Great event Saturday March 24 2012, supporting Cheltenham High School's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Yes! And . . . White Pines summer camp

On the Value of Art

The following story has been making the rounds on Facebook recently. In 2007, The Washington Post conducted an experiment in "Social Perception", placing a world renown violinist in the DC Metro during morning rush hour, to play some Bach on a violin worth over a million dollars. Here's the video:

Here's a longer article about the experiment.

White Pines likes to ask provocative questions about the intersection of money and art, and about how we measure the value of a performance. We think this story illustrates some our questions very well. 

Fred Waring's Christmas Shindig

Take a look at what White Pines has been making . . . 

Learn more about it here!

White Pines' Founding Producer Named one of Philadelphia's 76 "Creative Connectors"

Benjamin Lloyd was identified as a person who leads in the arts and cultural community of Philadelphia as a "Creative Connector". Liz Dow, of LEADERSHIP Philadelphia, puts it this way:

Leadership Philadelphia has compiled a list of the top 76 Creative Connectors, members of the local arts and culture community who are the glue that binds it together. 

They and their work are honored in this multimedia presentation on NewsWorks.  Stop back throughout the next year to see more in-depth profiles of the most creative leaders in our town.

Connectors is a term drawn from Malcolm Gladwell's famous book, The Tipping Point, referring to people who serve as civic hubs without needing to gain credit or riches from their work. Our first Connectors' list looked at the civic sphere generally, the second at younger leaders.

These 76 Creative Connectors are the folks in the region's cultural scene who seem to know everyone, connect for the common good, and get things done without worrying about who gets the credit.  That's leadership.

Working with WHYY/NewsWorks, Leadership Philadelphia identified these leaders this summer through an online citizen survey.

These 76 are the people most often cited by their peers for using art, culture, and design to build community and economic vitality. They are entrepreneurial professionals with an agenda for action. Though animated by highly personal visions, these connectors are committed to seeking common ground.

Here is Malcom Gladwell's description of the characteristics of a "connector":

"Connectors link us up with the world, introduce us to our social circles, and possess a special gift for bringing the world together."

- Malcolm Gladwell

• Creative Connectors are hubs of trust, seen as trustworthy and credible.
• They use art and design to mobilize people around an issue.
• They foster one-to-one linkages among people they know.
• They engage with diverse groups.
• They consider the common good as well as personal agendas.
• They convey a vision that generates excitement.
• They think strategically, act decisively.
• Most have founded an organization or program.
• Most work in the non-profit sector.

White Pines = Hot Press

Uwishunu, Philadelphia's popular night-life blog, covers White Pines!

Read the article here!

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Vanity Fair photo shoot at Elkins Estate featuring

Scarlett Johansson!

(you have to "like" the video to watch it)

WHYY feature on White Pines and Dzeici!

To read the whole story, click here!

Music comes to White Pines

Check out Day Labor Blues rocking out the Ball Room at our first concert, July 16, 2011!