‘Informance’ Ingathers an In-Group

Soprano Elisabeth Braden kicked off the Performing Arts Center’s “Thank You Orange County Celebration Series” Monday in Segerstrom Hall with an informal performance and talk about her operatic career before a closed audience of about 80 reporters and others.

Up to 80 similar “Informances,” as they are being called, will be offered around the county by Braden and three other artists in the coming months.

Other sites will include the Parkhurst Retirement Home in Fountain Valley, the Braille Institute in Anaheim, Childrens Hospital of Orange County, Fullerton College and the Saint Joseph Ballet Company in Santa Ana. Locations for a limited number of the informal talks have yet to be assigned. For information, contact the Center offices in Costa Mesa.

Center officials announced the “Informances” series in August, as a replacement for the first anniversary concert, scheduled for Oct. 3, which was canceled after headliner Bernadette Peters bowed out to accept a role on Broadway.

Braden will be in Orange County through Oct. 23. The other artists in the series and the dates of their residencies are:

- Harpist Catherine White, Nov. 7-19.

- Pianist William Wolfram, March 7-18, 1988.

- Dancer-choreographer Tandy Beal, April 11-22.

The artists’ performances in Orange County are being underwritten by the Metropolitan Life (Insurance Co.) Foundation. The Orange County Performing Arts Center will pay for advertising and lodging for the artists.

The term “Informance” was coined by Affiliate Artists, a nonprofit organization in New York that conducts community service programs in the arts. All four artists on the Center series are represented by Affiliate Artists.