Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Class Acts 2011-2012 Season

The University of Illinois Springfield kicks off the 2011-2012 Class Acts series at Sangamon Auditorium, Thursday, October 27th with 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. performances of Skippyjon Jones.   Class Acts is a series of educational shows and performances designed for young audiences which take place during the school day.  The goal of Class Acts is to present a diverse performing arts program for youth in support of educational and cultural goals mandated by the State of Illinois for grades K through 12.  The 2011-2012 Class Acts season is sponsored by PNC Bank.

2011-2012 is the twenty-sixth season of Class Acts events.  For each of the last several seasons, between 15,000 and 20,000 students and teachers have attended Class Acts events. 

Speaking of PNC’s involvement with the series, Doug Stewart, Regional President for Central Illinois said, “At PNC, we have a long history of strengthening and enriching the communities where we live and work, and we are pleased to serve as this season’s presenting sponsor for Class Acts.”

Teachers, administrators, and home school parents can reserve tickets through the Sangamon Auditorium Ticket Office at 217.206.6160 or 800.207.6960 or online at www.SangamonAuditorium.org. Tickets are $5.50 each, and every 16th ticket is free. The general public may purchase walk-up seats, if available, on the day of the scheduled event.  Parents interested in having their child attend a Class Acts performance are encouraged to talk to his or her teacher about arranging a field trip.  Additional information about the upcoming performances is available by contacting the Sangamon Auditorium Administrative Office at 217.206.6150. 

Youth programming in the Class Acts series and in conjunction with other Sangamon Auditorium events is supported in part by the Helen Hamilton Performing Arts Endowment for Youth Fund, gifts from Elizabeth and Robert Staley, the PNC Foundation’s Grow Up Great® initiative, and a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

2011-2012 Class Acts season:

Skippyjon Jones
Theatreworks USA
Thursday, October 27, 2011
10:00 am & 12:30 pm
Grades preK-2
Based on the book by Judy Schachner, Skippyjon Jones is an enchanting musical about unleashing your powerful imagination and following your dreams.  Skippyjon Jones is a little kitten with big ears and even bigger dreams! Sometimes he pretends to be a bird, sometimes he pretends to be a llama, and sometimes he pretends to be a whale… Anything BUT a Siamese cat!  Skippyjon’s wild imagination takes over as he catches his reflection in a mirror. “I am not a Siamese cat,” Skippyjon exclaims, “I am a CHIHUAHUA!”  He dons a mask, a cape, and an accent, and transforms into the greatest canine sword fighter in old Mexico! But when the local pack of chihuahuas is terrorized by the gigantic bee, will Skippyjon be a ‘fraidy-cat or the top dog?


Aesop’s Fables
Eckerd Theater Company
Thursday, November 3, 2011
10:00 am
Grades preK-3
For centuries, the wit and wisdom of Aesop’s Fables have been passed down from one generation to the next, and now these well-loved animal tales are presented in interactive, story-theater style. Through lively storytelling and with the help of the audience, the actors use physical comedy with minimal props and costumes to bring to life familiar favorites like The Lion and the Mouse, The Tortoise and the Hare and The Fox and the Grapes along with tales not so familiar. Fun and chock full of imagination, Aesop’s Fables is a perfect introduction to some of the world’s most cherished stories and to the magic of live theatre!

A Thousand Cranes
Eckerd Theater Company
Thursday, November 3, 2011
12:30 pm
Grades 4-6
There is a legend that says that any person who folds a thousand paper cranes will be granted a wish. Sadako Sasaki was two years old. Her mother held her in her arms and sang a lullaby. In the house, her grandmother was making tea. Suddenly, a flash of light cut across the sky.  Ten years later, in 1955, when Sadako was a happy 12 year old school girl in Hiroshima, the radiation sickness came. Sadako began to fold cranes, wishing to be well again, wishing that an atom bomb like the one that took her grandmother would never be dropped again.  This play tells the true story of Sadako and of how her spirit of hope and strength continues to inspire young people the world over to work for peace.

Danny, King of the Basement
Roseneath Theatre
Thursday, November 10, 2011
10:00 am
Grades 3-8
Danny’s life is all about embracing change. He and his mom are constantly on the move, struggling to evade homelessness and overcome poverty. When Danny moves into a basement apartment, the kids he meets have more problems than being hungry. Penelope’s parents won’t talk to each other, and Angelo’s Dad sounds like a dinosaur. But Danny’s imaginative play creates a community that allows his friends to cope with their problems and ultimately to help Danny tackle the shame he feels about his inability to read.

Treasured Stories by Eric Carle
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia
Friday, January 13, 2012
10:00 am
Grades preK-2
Mermaid's much-anticipated new production will bring together old favorites and new friends. Featuring evocative music, stunning visual effects and innovative puppetry, the triple-bill highlights three of Eric Carle's most beloved tales.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar is joined by a whimsical cast of adventurous animals drawn from the pages of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  The poignant story of a young girl's unusual quest, Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me, completes an hour-long performance, which both entertains and educates.

The Color of Justice
Theatreworks USA
Friday, February 17, 2012
10:00 am
Grades 3-9
Thurgood Marshall, prominent legal counsel for the NAACP, has been traveling around the country looking for families who will step forward and join the battle against segregation in the Supreme Court case Brown vs. the Board of Education. He finds the Carter family, including eight-year-old Grace Carter, who is tired of "colored" schools having to settle for ripped books and hand-me-down school supplies from well-equipped white schools. And so the little girl and the great man begin a battle. A battle against fearful friends and neighbors who want to leave well-enough alone. But a battle that they ultimately win, changing their lives and the lives of black schoolchildren all over America.

Fancy Nancy and Other Story Books
Theatreworks USA
Thursday, March 8, 2012
10:00 am & 12:30 pm
Grades preK-3
A series of mini-musicals based on your favorite story books!  Fancy Nancy just doesn't understand why she's the only one who appreciates the value of frilly accessories and a prodigious vocabulary.  As Duck is elected as the leader of the farm, and then governor, voters wonder if Duck will bring a new bill to Capitol Hill in Duck for President.  Find out if Babymouse win the lead in the school musical, or if will Felicia Furrypaws steal the show in Babymouse: The Musical.  In Pirates Don’t Change Diapers, Jeremy Jacob's seafaring mateys show up to claim a buried treasure, but they wake up his little sister and the crew must go on babysitting patrol.  Leonardo, the Terrible Monster learns that maybe it's better to be a wonderful friend rather than a terrible monster.  Andrew insists that he doesn't need to use the restroom first, but once he's buckled in the backseat, he hears the call of nature in I Have to Go! 

Garry Krinsky
Toying with Science
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
10:00 am, grades 5-8
12:30 pm, grades 2-4
Commissioned and developed with the Museum of Science in Boston, Toying with Science explores the scientific principles of gravity, leverage, fulcrums and simple machines. Combining circus skills, mime, original music, and audience involvement, Garry and his audience investigate basic scientific information and delve into the imaginations of scientists who explore our world. He turns audience members into stars as he playfully shares the stage, juggling, balancing and welcoming them into his colorful world. In a dramatic finale, he balances five ladders at one time on his chin as he demonstrates how to find the center of gravity!

Illinois Symphony Orchestra
Play Me A Story!
Friday, April 20, 2012
10:00 am, grades K-3
12:30 pm, grades 4-6
The Illinois Symphony Orchestra Youth Education Concerts are designed to introduce and acquaint students with the exciting sounds of symphonic music.   Play Me A Story! will explore music's ability to create moods, express emotions, and communicate ideas - all of which are important elements of storytelling.  Conductor Donato Cabrera, Resident Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony and Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, has selected a variety of colorful orchestral works to illustrate music as a communicative and expressive tool.  These works will serve to "set the scene" of a story, introduce and develop characters, and evoke action and emotion.  Music's suggestive power can relay stories in the most vivid way, especially when listeners are engaged and their imaginations are active.  Students will become aware that music is a powerful communicator, one which communicates to us in a way that goes beyond speech or sight.

Through the Eyes of a Friend: The World of Anne Frank
Theatreworks USA, a Living Voices’ Production
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
9:30 am, 11:00 am & 12:30 pm
Studio Theatre
Grades 6-9
This moving program is a poignant portrait of friendship and survival, brought to life through the eyes of Anne Frank's "best" friend.  Sarah Weis, the daughter of an average German family, is forced to move to Holland when the Nazis come to power. In Holland, Sarah becomes friends with Anne Frank, but the Nazis invade when they are teenagers. The story follows Sarah and Anne as they are transported to prison camps and endure pain and loss.  Sarah survives and is living a new life in America when she is sent a copy of Anne's diary. Sarah learns that she must never forget; through her, the memory her friend lives on.

Through The Eyes of a Friend is told from the view point of a fictional "best friend" of Anne Frank. Sarah is a composite character inspired by the experiences and testimonies of many individuals who knew Anne Frank at certain points in her life as well as those young people who experienced the Holocaust throughout Europe.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

A week of events with "It's All Relative"

In the week leading up to September 24, Sangamon Auditorium staff had the distinct pleasure of working closely with singing sisters Karin and Kirsten Paludan as we prepared for the first UIS Kitchen Sink Series event, “It’s All Relative.”  On Wednesday, September 22, Kirsten and Karin led a discussion/demonstration in a UIS Music course on American Music in which they shared their personal perspective on the ever-evolving shape and influence of music on the American public and on American individuals. On Thursday, September 23, Karin presented a discussion/demonstration about opera with an interested group from the Academy of Lifelong Learning.  Accompanied by the talented Pei-I Wang on piano, Karin shared a few opera selections to whet our appetites for future opera events in Springfield.  The week culminated with a delightful performance of the main event in the UIS Studio Theatre on Saturday, September 24.  Following the performance, the audience was treated to a casual dessert reception hosted by faculty emeritus Cullom Davis while the ladies and their accompanying musicians signed the kitchen sink, an architectural feature that will no doubt evolve as our new series does the same. 

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Professional Development for K-12 teachers

Sangamon Auditorium and Springfield Public Schools are pleased to announce this year's season of events in the Partners in Education program.  


Through the Partners in Education program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the two local entities work together to create and develop arts programs for the education of teachers. This includes expanding teachers’ abilities to integrate the arts into the curriculum using the best teaching practices and building their confidence, comfort, and enthusiasm in teaching in and about the arts. 


Participation in the Partners in Education professional development events is encouraged for fine arts teachers and any teachers wanting to integrate arts learning with other subject areas.

2011-2012 Partners in Education Workshops
All workshops are $15 per person.  If you register for two or more workshops they are only $10 per person.  If two or more people from your school register for the same workshop, you will also receive the discounted price of $10 per person.  To register for these workshops, please call the Ticket Office at 217.206.6160 or click here for the online registration form.

DOCUMENTING THE POWER OF LEARNING THROUGH THE ARTS*
Friday, February 3, 2012, 1-4 p.m.
Regional Office of Education Staff Development Center

For Teachers of All Grade Levels, Art Specialists, and Administrators
Workshop leader:  Melanie Layne
3 CPDUs

Communicating what students have learned through arts-integrated instruction can be complex and challenging. How do we share the learning process or the depth of student understanding when a product or performance only shows a part of it? In this session, explore purposes, components, and formats for communicating arts-integrated instruction and student learning, and consider ways to align them to the needs of various constituencies, such as school administrators and parents. Melanie Layne shares a wealth of experience and authentic examples of documentation that demonstrate student learning in a variety of art forms and subject areas.


POETRY OFF THE PAGE*
Tuesday, February 21, 2012, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. (a light meal will be provided)
Regional Office of Education Staff Development Center

For Teachers of Grades 5-8
Workshop leader:  Glenis Redmond
3 CPDUs

This workshop is based on the belief that poetry, in addition to being written and read, should be performed.  Teachers will learn ways to help students use brainstorming, imagery, and layering to write powerful and effective poems.  Clear and easy poetic structures and formats empower students to expand their imaginations and to cross creative boundaries.  Participants will also examine ways to involve students in memorizing and performing their poems to further communicate the written word with appropriate voice projection, physical stance, and gesture.


TOYING WITH SCIENCE TEACHER WORKSHOP
Monday, March 26, 2012, 5 to 7 p.m. (a light meal will be provided)
Sangamon Auditorium stage (enter through Sangamon Auditorium lobby)

For Teachers of Grades 2-8
Workshop leader:  Garry Krinsky
2 CPDUs

Through his “Toying with Science” teacher workshop, Garry Krinsky encourages participants to experience content that integrates scientific principals with creative performance skills.  Participants will experience the information in three ways: 1) as learners (students), 2) as appliers (teachers), and 3) as adapters. Teachers will first experience and digest this new information for themselves, as their students do. After each activity, they will then explore how they would apply this experience to their classrooms, adapting it to their individual needs and themes. Topics include gravity and air resistance, juggling, simple and compound machines, and exploring mechanics through mime.

READING PORTRAITS AS BIOGRAPHIES*
Thursday, April 19, 2012, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.  (a light meal will be provided)
Regional Office of Education Staff Development Center

For Teachers of Grades 1-5
Workshop leader:  Melanie Layne
3 CPDUs

There’s more to a portrait than you might think. Portraits are often viewed as a mere depiction of a person when in actuality they are a visual text that can be read as biographies that communicate significant information about a person’s life. This engaging workshop teaches how to help students build background knowledge. Teachers can apply this strategy to teaching historical and literary figures across the curriculum.


*These workshops were developed in association with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and are partially underwritten by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Committee for the Performing Arts.
Payment Options:
  • Mail a check payable to Sangamon Auditorium Ticket Office, University of Illinois Springfield, One University Plaza MS PAC 292, Springfield, IL 62703. Please write the name of the workshop in the memo line of the check.
  • Pay with credit card over the phone at 217.206.6160, Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm.
  • Pay in-person at the Sangamon Auditorium Ticket Office (Level 2 of the Public Affairs Center on the UIS campus), Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm.
Payment is due one week prior to the workshop.
If you have any questions, please contact Carly Shank at 217.206.6150 orshank.carlyn@uis.edu

Friday, August 5, 2011

Sangamon Auditorium Volunteer Association is currently accepting new volunteers for 2011-2012

The Sangamon Auditorium Volunteer Association is currently accepting new volunteers for the 2011-2012 schedule of events and performances at Sangamon Auditorium, UIS.

A dedicated, trained corps of over 280 volunteers, SAVA (Sangamon Auditorium Volunteer Association) members make up a team of ushers that help greet, tear tickets, hand out show programs and help ensure the safety and comfort of patrons attending performances and other events at Sangamon Auditorium and the UIS Studio Theatre. Volunteers also have opportunities to provide support, if interested and available, in the administrative office as needed assisting with marketing, community outreach and the Auditorium’s educational and family programs.

Speaking about the benefits of being a volunteer at Sangamon Auditorium, Carly Shank, director of audience and development and communication said, “Although it’s a wonderful way to support the university and the arts, it’s also great way to network and make social connections within the community. It’s the best way to get involved with our organization.”

Requirements and Expectations - Sangamon Auditorium Volunteers are requested to volunteer for at least three events a semester and required to attend at least one mandatory training session. There are still two training sessions that will be offered during the month of August on Saturday, August 20th, 10:00 AM-12:30 p.m. and Sunday, August 28th, 3:00-5:30 p.m. New and returning volunteers are only required to attend one of the sessions. Training sessions are held at Sangamon Auditorium. Those planning on attending are asked to RSVP by calling Mindy McCaffrey at the number below.

For a complete description of volunteer responsibilities and expectations, please visit www.uis.edu/sangamonauditorium/support/SAVA.htm

For additional information, or to join the Sangamon Auditorium Volunteer Association, contact Mindy McCaffrey at 206-8288 or audfohga@uis.edu

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

We want your kitchen sink! Seriously, we do.

Still got that interesting sink from last year when you remodeled your kitchen? Or maybe an old sink you discovered in the basement or out in the barn?

We would like to see it.

Sangamon Auditorium is so excited to present, new this year, a series of eclectic performing arts events in the intimate setting of the UIS Studio Theatre that we are calling the UIS Kitchen Sink Series. For fun, we are looking for a unique kitchen sink that we can decorate and display at all our upcoming UIS Kitchen Sink Series events. Between now and September 1, 2011, we are accepting images of unique kitchen sinks that you might have and would like to donate to Sangamon Auditorium. If your sink is selected, we will give you a pair of tickets to UIS Kitchen Sink Series event of your choice – plus all the bragging rights that come with it! Simply email your images to onstage@uis.edu to enter to win.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Is Sangamon Auditorium haunted?

The Legend of Ruby
By Chad Wester

Is Sangamon Auditorium haunted?  Many venerable performing houses have ghosts.  Whether they are theaters dating back to the 1800s like the National Theater in Washington D.C. or 20th century theaters like the Lincoln Theater in Decatur, few are immune from rumors of haunting.  According to legend, Sangamon Auditorium at the University of Illinois at Springfield acquired its requisite ghost almost as soon as it opened.

In the fall of 1986, just five years after the opening of the auditorium, a woman allegedly collapsed in seat E-7 of the orchestra pit during the intermission of a performance.  She died before she could be transported to the hospital.

The UIS campus police have no record of a death in the auditorium, but few theater buffs doubt its occurrence.  They just can’t agree when.  Auditorium director John Dale Kennedy places the death at a time before the autumn of 1986; technical director Scott Wilson asserts that the death occurred in the autumn of 1986; and head flyman (a term for the person who controls the curtains and lights of the auditorium) Robert Taylor estimates the untimely death occurred earlier in 1986.

Wilson says he remembers exactly when Ruby, as the ghost is named, made her first appearance.  Two weeks after the unfortunate incident, during a rehearsal for the Flying Karamazov Brothers (a traveling acrobatic group), a small child of one of the performers came crying to his father saying that he was scared of the lady down in front of the stage.  The child pointed right to seat E-7.  The performers had no idea that a death had occurred in that very spot only days before.

Wilson says, “I didn’t believe in any of that stuff, but that really got to me.”  Although he has not been visited by Ruby personally, Wilson claims that several members of his staff encounter her on a regular basis.  It is convenient to blame missing equipment and unexplained noises on the ghost, so Wilson lets the Ruby-mania run wild backstage.

Not all of the staff approach Ruby with such nonchalance.  One person has seen Ruby up close on more than one occasion.  Taylor has twice seen Ruby, or what he believes to have been Ruby.  Several weeks after Ruby made her first appearance, Taylor was walking with a coworker on one of the rails where the curtains and lights are controlled.  Taylor says he saw something “like a cloud, like a light, but not quite as bright, about the size of a human body” descending a staircase in front of him.  The apparition came down the stairs and then flitted away into the shadows.  Taylor stopped so suddenly that his coworker ran into his back.  Taylor asked him what he had seen and the worker described the same spectacle.

Taylor describes an even more dramatic encounter with Ruby that occurred months after the first sighting.  Late one evening, while the crew was taking down the orchestra shell on stage, one worker was assigned to turn out the lights in the sound booth in the center of the auditorium.  Robert Schleyhahn (no longer employed by the auditorium) dashed up the stairs to turn off the lights.  As he did so, the same light that Taylor had seen months before began moving rapidly across the auditorium towards the running man.  Another stage crew member saw the apparition and called out to Schleyhahn to look out.  Schleyhahn made contact with the apparition and came to a complete halt.  Taylor described the look on Schleyhahn’s face as stunned.  “He kept asking what happened,” says Taylor.  “I asked him what it felt like, and he said that it felt like he ran into a person, even though there was no one there.”  Taylor says that the hair on the back of his neck has stood on end only two times in his life- both in the presence of Ruby.

It has been several years since Ruby has been spotted by any of the staff, but strange things are still blamed on the ghost.  Taylor admits that the stage crew often tries to scare new employees with the Ruby phenomenon.  Practical jokes like leaving speakers turned on low and making strange noises into microphones are common backstage.

Taylor is not sure why Ruby has not been spotted in the last few years, but he says that he would not be surprised if she came back.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires auditoriums to keep at least one light on at all times for safety reasons, even when there is no staff working in the building.  This lone bulb is often referred to as the “ghost light.”  Rumor has it that the light is to keep the ghosts happy, but some say it is to keep the ghosts at bay.  Whichever is the case, Wilson says that he keeps the light on because “OSHA is more of a specter to me than any ghost.”

Chad Wester is a former graduate assistant at Sangamon Auditorium.

(Previously published in Springfield Magazine, June 2001.)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Update on opportunity for K-12 teachers

John Bertles, Bash the Trash

As part of the longtime mission to support K-12 arts programming that meets the educational and cultural goals of Illinois schools, Sangamon Auditorium recently entered into partnership with Springfield Public School District 186 to work together to offer arts programs for the education of teachers.  As one of only three Illinois partnership teams in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Partners in Education program, Sangamon Auditorium and Springfield Public Schools are hoping to effect systemic change in educational priorities and teaching practices so that arts teaching and learning will continue to be valued by local schools and its impact deepened. 

Outcome of the First Year:
·         Three professional development workshops led by Kennedy Center teaching artists were offered to local teachers during the 2010-2011 school year.

o   “Focusing on Arts Integration” led by Karen Erickson of Chicago, September 2010, held at and in cooperation with the Regional Office of Education Staff Development Center

o   “Using Visual Arts to Encourage Thinking and Writing” led by Sandra Phaup of Washington, D.C., February 2011, held at and in cooperation with the UIS Visual Arts Gallery

o   “Building Musical Instruments from Recycled Materials” led by John Bertles of New York City, May 2011, held at and in cooperation with the Regional Office of Education Staff Development Center

·         Forty-eight unique teachers, both from Springfield Public Schools as well as from other public and private schools, participated in the 2010-2011 workshops. 

·         In addition to the teacher workshops, John Bertles led in-classroom teaching demonstrations at a Springfield elementary school, affording classroom and arts specialist teachers at that school the opportunity to observe his teaching methods in action.  We hope to engage future workshop leaders in additional classroom and community opportunities to help extend and deepen the learning for teachers.

Responses from Teachers:
·         In June 2011, the partnership team convened a meeting of teachers interested in serving on an advisory committee to advise this program.  Five teachers, both from inside and outside district 186 attended the meeting and provided valuable feedback on their experiences with the workshops this year and insight that will assist with planning future years’ workshops.  We plan to have this committee convene once or twice annually to provide feedback and engage in planning.

·         A teacher who attended the February workshop provided the following testimonial to the partnership team:  My class did a painting project in the style of Rie Munoz, an Alaskan artist, because of the connection to their study of the Iditarod in Alaska in fourth grade.  (a stretch - but the same state.)  Anyway, we drew some of her paintings, using the process we learned in the last workshop, and then wrote our cinquains (poems).  I am typing them up and gluing them on their pictures, and that, along with a letter, is what we sent off to the artist.  Then the kids wanted to write another artist we have studied, and so we did it again.  It has been a great exercise, and the poems really reflect the feeling of the paintings, which is very rewarding.”

·         Selected feedback from workshop participant evaluations is as follows:
o   “The compare and contrast of the same lesson was excellent and very helpful in what I can take back to my principal and teachers.”
o   “Excellent presentation and presenter wonderful.  Loved learning more drama terms.”
o   “Superb.  Workshop leader is so creative – she makes it happen.”
o   “Very engaging!”
o   ”Amazing opportunities to learn from expert in field.  Real-life examples helped put process into perspective.”
o   “This was the best workshop I’ve been to in the district.”
o   “Great motivator!”

We look forward to announcing the 2011-2012 season of events for teachers later this summer.  

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

What would *you* choose? Plus staff picks…

Have you noticed several upcoming events on our Performing Arts Season that are of interest to you, but thought, “Well, I’m not really a *subscriber* type.  I’ll just wait for the individual ticket on-sale.” 

Hold on there!  Not so fast!  Have you considered our Create Your Own Series option? 

Four shows.  That’s all you need to commit to.  They can be from among events on the UIS Broadway, Visiting Artists, Kitchen Sink and Family Series.  The “Create Your Own Series” package gives you the freedom to select all the shows that you want to see and still receive many subscriber-type benefits.

·         Create your own personal series, selecting the shows you want to see the most.
·         Receive up to a 20% discount on the shows you select.
·         Enjoy access to UIS Broadway Series tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

So what would *you* choose as your four events?  Here are the picks of several Sangamon Auditorium staff members:

Michelle Yenerall, Ticket Sales Assistant:
5th House – Listen to the River
Beauty and the Beast
Young Frankenstein
Imago
*Michelle says, “And if I could add a fifth, I’d add ScrapArtsMusic”

Elise Robertson, Event Coordinator:
Jake Shimabukuro
Eric Bibb & Grant Dermody
Tribute to the Blues Brothers
Young Frankenstein

Mike Bermingham, Administrative Office Student Worker:
My Fair Lady
South Pacific
Riverdance
Pink Floyd Experience

Mindy McCaffrey, Volunteer Coordinator:
Fifth House
Jake Shimabukuro
Erin Bode
JLCO w/Wynton
*Mindy says: “There are actually many more I would choose...but if I had to rank them, this would be it!”

Brandy Stabler, Development Assistant:
Beauty and the Beast
In the Heights
Imago
Treasured Stories by Eric Carle
*Brandy says, “My choices almost always center around something I can take my children to so that I can make sure they get to experience live performances. However, In the Heights is totally selfish – I’ve never seen that musical, and would love to!”

Amy Zepp, Audience Development Assistant:
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
My Fair Lady
Jake Shimabukuro
In the Heights

Alice Bettis, Administrative Aide:
Original Tribute to Blues Brothers
Pink Floyd Experience
Riverdance
Scrap Arts Music

Bryan Leonard, Associate Director of Marketing:
Erin Bode
Imago
Ruth Moody
Pilobolus

So again, what would *YOU* choose?