Why Subscribe to the UIS Broadway Series?

Jersey Boys

Here are some reasons why a subscription to the UIS Broadway Series might be a great choice for you:

1. SAVE $$$
   Benefit from the ticket discount available to subscribers.
2. SPEND TIME WITH SOMEONE
   Make plans now to treat yourself and someone special to a few fun evenings at the theater.
3. SEE THE BEST
   See the best of Broadway ranging from classics like Hello, Dolly! to exciting new shows like Memphis.
4. ENJOY EARLY ACCESS
   Get access to prime seats before they go on sale to the public.
5. SAVE TRAVEL COSTS
   See great professional productions without the expense of traveling to Chicago or St. Louis.
6. BE BROADWAY "HIP"
   Stay up-to-date with the newest Broadway shows coming to Springfield for the first time.
7. SECURE THE SAME SEATS
   Enjoy the same great seats at every performance and renew those same seats year after year.
8. BUY LOCAL
   Show your support for the local economy and for the local presentation of professional theater. 
9. ACCESS ADDITIONAL EVENTS
   Take advantage of your pre-purchase opportunity to keep your same seats if shows are added to the series.
10. ENJOY!
    Experience the magic that only happens during a live performance. 

To subscribe to the UIS Broadway Series, visit www.SangamonAuditorium.org or call the Sangamon Auditorium Ticket Office at 217.206.6160 or 800.207.6960, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and a ticket seller will help you put together your subscription package.  Packages start at as little as $197!

Visit http://www.uis.edu/sangamonauditorium/tickets/subscriptions.html for more information about packages available. For best seating options, NOW is the time to purchase your 2013-2014 Broadway subscription!  

Willie Nelson is coming!

We're pleased to announce that music legend Willie Nelson is coming back to Sangamon Auditorium on Friday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets will go on sale on Friday, July 26 at 10 a.m.

Read the State-Journal Register announcement here.

All about choices

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

It's a fine line: giving patrons the choices they want without overwhelming them with too many options.

We've made the same basic package options available for the past seven seasons, but we could always provide an additional explanation to help patrons understand their choices.  Here's the nitty-gritty of what we offer:

SUBSCRIPTIONS 

Subscriptions offer patrons a same-seat opportunity and the very best value for their money.  Subscriptions are series-driven, and they work slightly differently in each series:

BROADWAY - Fixed packages are available.  Choose any one of these configurations this year:

• Package 1 - All six Broadway events
• Package 2 - Memphis, Hello, Dolly!, Jersey Boys, Million Dollar Quartet, The Addams Family
• Package 3 - Blue Man Group, Memphis, Hello, Dolly, Million Dollar Quartet, The Addams Family
• Package 4 - Memphis, Hello, Dolly!, Million Dollar Quartet, The Addams Family

FAMILY - Our Family Series includes three events this year.  The Family subscription includes these three events.

VISITING ARTISTS / KITCHEN SINK - To subscribe to our Visiting Artists / Kitchen Sink series, select at least a total of six events from among the ten Visiting Artists events and six Kitchen Sink (Studio Theatre) events.  This subscription offers a lot of choice and value.

CREATE YOUR OWN SERIES 

As an alternative to a true traditional subscription, patrons may elect the Create Your Own Series option.  Create Your Own buyers select at least four events from among any of our series events and receive a savings by making this advance series purchase.  Create Your Own series buyers are not guaranteed the same seat.  

For the full listing of our season events, visit our website.

Why subscribe to the Family Series?

Masked Marvels & Wonder Tales

Sangamon Auditorium has lined up a fantastic UIS Family Series for 2013-2014.  As with all of our series, there are many good reasons to subscribe.  As subscribers, you and your family can enjoy a substantial discount on tickets and you guarantee your same seats across the series.  Think of your kids enjoying knowing where their seats are located each time you come into the theater for an event.  It's a VIP-kind of feeling!

This year's Family Series will be enjoyed by kids from toddlers through upper elementary school and those who love them.  Subscriptions are only $45 for adults and $30 for kids/youth high school age and younger.  That's THREE SHOWS for a total of only $45 for adults and $40 for kids!

Junie B. Jones

The series begins Sunday, November 10 at 3 p.m. with Masked Marvels and Wonder Tales.  Mask maker and storyteller Michael Cooper weaves tales that involve colorful characters, beautiful masks, and large-scale costume puppetry.  This is a great event for kids who have a creative spark of interest in visual art.  The things Cooper brings to life are amazing!

Next up on the Family Series is one of our longtime favorites, Junie B. Jones, making her third appearance on the Family Series on Friday, January 24 at 7 p.m.   The place was packed for each of the previous performances of this musical adventure of this popular children's book character.  We welcomed Junie in 2007 and 2010, so she is overdue for a return visit!

We conclude the season with We're Going on a Bear Hunt on

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

Wednesday, April 16 at 7 p.m.  Bear Hunt appeared on our school series, Class Acts, last season and the students, teachers, and Sangamon Auditorium staff had such a marvelous time taking the well-loved bear hunt journey with this troupe of playful performers, we decided they simply *had* to come back for this year's Family Series.

All of this year's Family Series events are only one hour in length.  Each performance is preceded by an hour of family-friendly activities and displays in the lobby.  We hope you and your family will join us for these three memorable events in 2013-2014!

Information about subscribing to the UIS Family Series.

The 2013-2014 Performing Arts Season is here!

We are pleased to be able to announce our 2013-2014 Performing Arts Season!  We are delighted to offer up a varied season of events that offers something for everyone.  Check out our website for more information or download our free phone app for all of the up-to-the-minute information.

Subscriptions are available for purchase now.  Why not give yourself the gift of live events in the coming year?  Commit to select events in the series of your choice and guarantee your same seat across the year! More information is available here and will be posted to this blog in the coming days.

Extending the experience beyond the performance

During the 2012-2013 season, we were engaged by many great performances, but also by exciting exchanges between artists, patrons, sponsors, students, and educators that extended the experience of performance.

Princess Fiona greets audience members backstage at Shrek The Musical

• To kick off the 2012-2013 season in style, we turned the performance of The Midtown Men into a grand event including a silent auction, pre-show dinner, and a special up-close performance by The Midtown Men for the dinner attendees.
• Opportunities to interact with performers are always exciting experiences. Princess Fiona from Shrek The Musical met with several young fans before the performance, posed for photos, and answered questions about life as a professional actress. The smaller, more intimate setting of the Kitchen Sink series has created a casual post-show atmosphere where audience members can interact with the performers.
• UIS students attending The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were able to receive course credit by participating in a post-show discussion as part of the University’s Engaged Citizenship Common Experience program.
• Whenever possible, we facilitate workshops and masterclasses, because they offer the opportunity for local artists to interact with and learn directly from professionals.
• Young tap dance students worked with one of the greats, Savion Glover, to enhance their understanding of rhythm and meter.
• Area guitar players attended a workshop with Stanley Jordan, learning about his practice methods.
• A handful of local musicians and composers sat down with the members of Time for Three to discuss their creative process.
• The Springfield Choral Society worked with Jace Wittig, music director of Chanticleer, in a master class setting to give more depth and emotion to pieces they were preparing for an upcoming concert.
• The Class Acts series of daytime educational performances, sponsored by PNC Bank, welcomed nearly 14,000 students, teachers, and chaperones and the learning opportunities extended beyond just seeing the performances. Teachers were provided with study guides that connected the themes in the shows to subject areas beyond the fine arts, which helped them achieve Illinois State Learning Standards and develop 21st century skills.
• Teachers have even more opportunities to broaden their experiences in fine arts by participating in professional development workshops. Sangamon Auditorium and Springfield Public Schools are a partnership team in the Kennedy Center’s Partners in Education program, and in 2012-2013, hosted workshops on topics including assessment in the arts, music of the Underground Railroad, and using shadow puppetry to enhance literacy.
• Thanks to a generous grant from the PNC Foundation’s Grow Up Great initiative, all students in the Springfield Urban League’s Head Start program were introduced to arts and culture learning opportunities and attended two Class Acts performances. Sangamon Auditorium staff visited each Head Start classroom to read a story book and lead activities that would help prepare the young students for the experience of attending a live theatrical performance. The Head Start students, staff, and their families were also invited to attend the evening performance of 3-Legged Tale and participate in interactive craft projects in the lobby before the show.

Gearing up for a new season

It's a busy time of year at Sangamon Auditorium.  Though the stage may be cleared from our closing performance of the season, last night's Rock of Ages, we are busy, busy, busy as we look to what's coming up in the next month.

Here are the broad strokes about what's happening:

• One month from today, the Springfield Muni Opera opens its summer season with the first-ever local community theater production of Les Miserables. Tickets for the Muni are sold through the Sangamon Auditorium Ticket Office and the entire season of events went on sale just this morning.  Tickets are available for purchase at 217.206.6160 or online.  
• Our ushering and event staff are in the midst of a busy few weekends of high school and college commencements, which began with the UIS commencement exercises last Saturday.  Coming up, we will host SIU School of Medicine, and Pleasant Plains, Sacred Heart-Griffin, Auburn, North Mac, Rochester, and Williamsville High School exercises.  It's a lot of details to coordinate.  We are grateful to our fantastic volunteer staff who see us through these events!  
• And finally...we look forward to announcing a new Performing Arts Season on May 30.  Watch the mail and media outlets for all the information about what you can expect from 2013-2014 at Sangamon Auditorium!