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Arts and Entertainment news for Summit County

daily news staff report

The Backstage Theatre, winner of the 2010 Outstanding Regional Theatre by the Colorado Theatre Guild, is accepting headshots and resumes for its summer production of the Yazbek/McNally musical, “The Full Monty.””The Full Monty” is the raucous, heartfelt story of six unemployed steelworkers in Buffalo, N.Y., who go to great lengths to make some cash and help out a friend in trouble.When a local male strip show – whose dancers venture down to G-strings – is a hit with the local women, the cash-strapped factory workers figure they can really cash in if they go “The Full Monty.” Desperate for self-respect and financial relief, the buddies must overcome their fears, their nerves, and their clothes for a shot at success. The show will perform at the Breckenridge Theatre from June 23 to July 23. Initial rehearsals will be conducted in Denver with final tech rehearsals in Breckenridge. Lodging will be provided for actors during their time in Breckenridge. Non-equity performers only need apply. All positions are paid. Roles are available for nine men and seven women, most age 25-50. Special requirements are a 12-14 year old non-singing boy, an African American singer/dancer age 30-60, and a 60+ year old singing female. All ethnicities encouraged to apply. Auditions and callbacks will be conducted on March 6, and candidates will be invited to attend from headshots and resumes submitted to the Backstage Theatre. Please submit an electronic version of your headshot and resume to artistic_director@hotmail.com or snail mail your vitae and headshot to The Backstage Theatre, attn: The Full Monty auditions, P.O. Box 297 Breckenridge, CO 80424. Actors in the Breckenridge area may phone the theater at (970) 453-0199 to arrange a separate audition.For more information, or details on our current season, visit http://www.backstagetheatre.org.

The Backstage Theatre in Breckenridge is calling all actors, age 30 to 55 – and also boys and girls who can play ages 7-10 – to audition for its summer production of Larry Shue’s classic farce, “The Nerd.”The Backstage Theatre production will be presented in partnership with the Aurora Fox Arts Center. Initial auditions will be held on Saturday, Feb. 12 from noon to 4 p.m. on the Aurora Fox mainstage, located at 9900 E. Colfax in Aurora, CO. Please prepare a one to two minute contemporary comedic monologue. Bring headshot and resume. Call the Backstage Theatre at (970) 453-0199 to make an appointment. Please do not call the Aurora Fox to book a time. Audition by appointment only.”The Nerd” will be directed by Missy Moore, multiple award-nominated Denver actress currently co-directing “The Wedding Singer” at the Aurora Fox. “The Nerd” will perform at theAurora Fox from July 15-24. The show will transfer to the Breckenridge Theatre for performances July 22 to Aug. 21. Housing while in Breckenridge will be provided by the Backstage Theatre. All positions are paid. All actors should be prepared to list conflicts they might have from June 19th through Aug. 21.To be cast: WILLUM CUBBERT (30 to 40) – an architect and a pushover. Kind and intelligent, but “could use a little gumption.” Lacks the backbone to stand up for himself; TANSY McGINNIS (30 to 40) – Willum’s on-again, off-again girlfriend. She’s been offered her dream job in Washington, D.C., and feels guilty for leaving Willum behind. Idealistic, upbeat and kind; AXEL HAMMOND (30-40) – Willum’s best friend, lives in Willum’s basement. Pretentious, often-inebriated drama critic, always ready with a sarcastic comment; RICK STEADMAN (30 to 40) – the titular “nerd.” He’s oblivious to insult and lacks manners or sensitivity. Works as an inspector at a chalk factory in Wisconsin. Mimicry skills; WARNOCK WALDGRAVE (40-55) – a boisterous, slightly dim businessman with no creativity and less tact; CLELIA WALDGRAVE (40 to 50) – Waldgrave’s high-strung, put-upon wife. She holds back all of her emotions and only releases her stress when she can break “something small”; THOR WALDGRAVE (stage age 7-10) – The Waldgraves’ terror of a son (can be cast as daughter). Spends most of the play hiding in a closet or bedroom. For more information, contact the Backstage Theatre or visit backstagetheatre.org.

Dan Taylor and his family lived in Florence a year at a time at three different times and he knows the city in great detail. From the best gelato to bargain days at the museums, from what to see at those museums to Italian schools.If you want to truly know Florence before you visit or just want to relive a trip, don’t miss Taylor’s talk, “Let’s Go To Florence” presented by the Friends of Summit County Libraries at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4 in the Blue River Room of the North Branch Library, 651 Center Circle in Silverthorne.Florence is a city of beauty, history, culture, and, of course, wonderful food. “One of the best parts of our experience was that our girls attended Italian public schools. When we were there in 1980-81, our older daughter was in fourth grade and our younger daughter was in nursery school,” explained Taylor.”When it comes to the museums of Florence, e.g., the Uffizi, Bargello, I could probably be blindfolded and still be able to describe what you’d be looking at – we spent lots of time in those museums as well as the beautiful churches.”Florence is a busy city, but you can really get a feeling for the life and culture of the city as you explore. “I will take you on a walking tour of the four mediaeval quarters that today constitute the ‘centro storico’ or historical center of the modern city.” Taylor’s slideshow will increase your knowledge of Florence and perhaps give you new places to discover.The slideshow is free, but donations are appreciated and help the Friends of the Libraries purchase books and other supplies. For more information, call (970) 468-5887.



Colorado Ballet will present nine performances of William Shakespeare’s classic love story, “Romeo and Juliet,” beginning Feb. 25, and running through March 6, at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Last performed by Colorado Ballet in 2003, Shakespeare’s great play is enacted through ballet by the choreography of Alun Jones and to a score by Sergei Prokofiev, whose music serves as a melodic substitute for Shakespeare’s poetry. Prokofiev assigns themes to particular characters and emotions in the ballet, and uses the recurring themes to musically unite the story and composition. This dramatic score will be performed live by the Colorado Ballet Orchestra. “The marriage of phenomenal balletic technique to a great score and a powerful plot is the ultimate expression of dramatic ballet,” said Gil Boggs, Colorado Ballet’s artistic director.Because of the power and poignancy of this timeless love story and the popularity of Prokofiev’s dramatic and melodic score, “Romeo and Juliet” has become one of the most famous of the full-length ballets. Jones’ staging of the ballet focuses on the varying degrees of love among the characters and their relationships to one another as each character is affected differently and each character has its own significance within the story. “Of all the great dance dramas, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is the personification of this,” Boggs said. “The famous balcony scene transforms into one of the most beautiful pas de deuxs in all of classical ballet and the crowd scenes are energized with a dynamic only ballet theatre can achieve.”While all the roles in the ballet are noteworthy, the roles of Romeo and Juliet require exceptional levels of technique, artistry and strong acting skills. Colorado Ballet’s production of Romeo & Juliet will feature three rotating casts in each of the title roles. Principals Maria Mosina, Sharon Wehner and Corps de Ballet member Caitlin Valentine-Ellis will share the role of Juliet, while Principals Alexei Tyukov, Dmitri Trubchanov and Soloist Viacheslav Buchkovskiy will portray the lovelorn Romeo. Principal Igor Vassine will not be reprising the role of Romeo as he is currently recovering from knee surgery and a foot injury. Ticket prices range from $19 to $135 (plus seat tax). To purchase tickets visit http://www.ColoradoBallet.org or call (303) 837-8888, ext. 2.

The ECOArt Exhibition: Western Colorado Schools K-12 is an event presenting the creative talents of young artists from the western slope of Colorado. This exhibition provides you and your school the opportunity to share in the creative achievements of your students while demonstrating the goals and values of art education. Thanks to the generosity of the Thrift Shop of Aspen, $5,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to various school art departments. Participation in this event could garner your school art department a $500 award. Nine awards will be distributed. There will also be an ECOart exhibition for professional artists. The artistic submissions must be created from recycled and/or reclaimed objects. Judging is based on, and awards are given, in the following categories for elementary, middle and high schools: most creative, best educational intent, and best community involvement. For this year’s event, the Red Brick Council for the Arts will be able to provide transportation for the art being submitted by schools that are unable to deliver their submissions. An RSVP to the event is due by March 18; the application is due on May 6; pick-up for transportation of the art submissions is scheduled for May 25-27. The exhibition runs from June 1-19 and will be part of Aspen EcoFest, a four day festival in downtown Aspen, June 2-5.The Red Brick Council for the Arts promotes art in education and we urge you to take advantage of this opportunity. Please contact us at (970) 429-2777 or email info@aspenart.org. You can also get more information by logging onto our website http://www.aspenart.org. There are also opportunities for vendors and artists to participate in the festival; for more information on the festival log onto http://www.aspenecofest.com.


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