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Show THUNDERBIRD THE THUNDERBIRDDSOUTHERN 1991DPAGE 17 UTAH UNIVERSITYDTUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, Festival grows, plans expansion BY MARCIA CLARK Thunderbird Staff Writer According to R. Scott Phillips, marketing director for the Utah Shakespearean Festival, Shakespearean fans are likely to see marked changes within the festival due to its success during the last seasons. The area surrounding the Randall L. Jones Theatre will become the Shakespeare Center for the Performing Arts in 1997, which will include the Adams Theatre transported from the campus to across the street, another small theatre devoted to modern plays, a bookstore, costume and scene shops, office space, i an ale house and a Renaissance Study Center all in Renaissance-styl- e architecture. h In 1997 a season will begin. The season will commence in March and end in October. However, Phillips said the festival will only develop as we feel there is an audience for it. Current plans for the use of the block will not be limited to the festival season. Activities include a tentative Halloween play and Christmas festivities such as caroling and a light display. Projected cost for the block is between $18 and $20 million. Last spring the State Legislature appropriated $420,000 for expansion of the festival, which has been used to acquire the needed land. A new internship program is starting in 1992. Ten undergraduate theatre arts students will be hired to work with professional actors here for the 1992 Shakespeare season. Those 10 students will be given roles as soldiers, ladies-in-waiting, etc. nine-mont- T They will have specialized classes in speech, acting, movement and stage combat. Phillips noted that the festival was very successful overall this summer. However, he said, there were smaller audiences at the plays. The 1991 production of Death of a Salesman, heralded by critics as being one of the best renditions of the tragic play by Arthur Miller was unfortunately, as Phillips noted, not well attended. Phillips says he hopes that with the continued search for professionalism and excellence, more people will come to the festival. We are unique. Theres not a theatre in the world that opens six plays in six We are in a remote nights, he continues. location, so we know to attract people we need to get them to come and see the plays in one fell swoop.. Matinees are presented every afternoon during the season, which helps the overall budget figures. This year, although some outstanding bills are coming in, early indications reflect the profits to be approximately $100,000. Phillips reports that since the festival is a it some of the money organization will go into a savings account to provide a windfall in case the company has a bad year. Because of such a windfall the festival was able to finish out the 1989 season, when the company lost money and as a result the reserve was wiped out. The remaining portion of the profits is used to upgrade and improve the festival. Phillips feels that Cedar City is a community that cares deeply about what happens here. We couldnt do the festival without volunteers at least not with the same style, the same ambiance. Involvement with the Utah Shakespearean Festival is just a phone call away. Volunteers 4 or Rick can contact either Phillips at Van Noy at non-prof- 586-788- 586-788- 5. Theatre season to be filled with musicals, comedies BY DAVID J. POWELL Thunderbird Staff Writer Its the funniest thing Ive ever seen in my life, Bean said. Then it turns you around and wallops you for a good cry. Performances are Dec. 7 and 4 with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Dec. Dec. 5-- If the Shakespearean Festival just wasnt enough, k treat for the SUU theatre department has a the for theme The upcoming year is theatregoers. and Life shouldnt be all work and no plays, according to Roger Bean, theatre department spokesman, the season will be filled with comedy and music. The season begins with the classic Little Shop of Horrors, a horticultural spoof which opens on Halloween night at the haunting hour of 8 p.m. in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. The play then runs Nov. 1, 2 and Nov. with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Nov. 9. Fred Adams will direct the musical which has been a hit in both Broadway theatres and movie theatres. Tis the season to go see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson and directed by Richard Bugg. This comical production has been known to liven the Christmas spirit for all. It entails the task taken on by a husband and wife to direct the annual Christmas play, which due to the nasty and scheming Herdman kids, is an almost impossible feat. six-pac- 7-- 9, 12-1- 14. Next, a Shakespearean pleaser will adorn the Randall L. Jones Theatre. Loves Labours Lost, directed by R. Scott Phillips and beginning Feb. 6, will run Feb. 7, 8 5 with a matinee performance Feb. 15 at and Feb. 2 p.m. The story deals with four noblemen who try to woo the princess of France and her ladies, but at the same time pretend to be keeping vows of celibacy and abstention from strong drink, sumptuous food and luxurious food. The play progresses as the residents of the court of Navarre break their vows one by one. 4 are the dates set aside for the March 7 and Neil Simon production of The Prisoner of Second Avenue directed by student Jesse Berger. This humorous tale exploits one mans nervous breakdown which comes after he gets fired, his wife who gets fired, all his plants die and his psychiatrist owes him $23,000 dies. The matinee production will be held March 14 at 2 p.m. 13-1- 5-- 12-1- And a Nightingale Sang... enriches the spring with a mosiac of humor and humanity. Written by C.P. Taylor and directed by Rick VanNoy, this war-tim- e story shows how the members of one family react to WWII in their own peculiar ways. It runs April 1 8 and with a matinee performance April 18 at 2 16-1- p.m. Finally, Roger Bean will direct the dazzling Into the Woods, based on the book by James Lapine with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. This Tony Award- winning musical contains a company of fairy-tal- e 6 with a matinee characters and runs May 9 and performance on May 16 at 2 p.m. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and The Prisoner of Second Avenue will be presented in the Auditorium Mainstage, while the rest will be held in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. 7-- 14-1- Were excited about the lineup, Bean said. When we announced it to the department, the students flipped out. Its not only a fun season, but a challenging one. Although most of them are comedies or have plenty of humor in them, theres also a message in most of the shows. |