Academy of the Arts

C
REC Academy of the Arts is an inter-district magnet high school that serves
students in grades 9-12 from over 50 school districts. Established in 1985 by the
Capitol Region Education Council (CREC), the Arts Academy program is designed
to prepare students to pursue post-secondary studies and professional careers in
creative writing, media arts, dance, instrumental music, vocal music, theater, musical
theater, technical theater or visual arts.
CREC
Academy
of the Arts
We believe the arts are vital to human development, and that training in the arts
educates the whole human being, integrating the creative with the analytical.
Education in the arts promotes independence of thought necessary for leadership and
creativity.
Photos by Carrie Ricciardelli, Thomas Giroir, and Wesley Santiago
Artwork by Anne Dunne and Katherine Guildner
2014-2015 Season Brochure
860-757-6300
Theater of the Performing Arts
359 Washington St.
Hartford, CT 06106
Box Office: 860-757-6388
CREC.org/Theater
CREC Academy of the Arts
15 Vernon Street
Hartford, CT 06106
crecschools.org/artsacademy
Celebrating 30 Years of
Excellence in Arts Education!
2014-2015 Season
For Tickets Call: 860-757-6388 or CREC.org/Theater
Septembe r
December
Six Plays in Six Days
March
A Day in Hollywood, A Night in the
Ukraine: A Musical Comedy
Violet Enlightens:
A Radio Drama in 3 Acts
Directed by Brian Jennings & Michael Nowicki
September 20, 7:30 p.m.
Main Stage Theater, $5 General Admission
A week-long experiment where students create
original plays from concept to fully staged productions
in only six days.
O cto be r
Stop, Look & Experience
Visual Arts Exhibition
October 9 - November 14
Reception, October 9, 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Lobby Gallery, Free admission
Choreographers’ Showcase
Directed by Judi Tolomea
October 24, 7:30 p.m.
Main Stage Theater, $20 & $15 Adult, $15 & $10 Student/Senior
A celebration of dance featuring work by Otis Cook;
Canadian choreographer Helen Simoneau; internationally
renowned choreography by Bill T. Jones; and a Hip Hop
dance by Brandon Couloute. Funding assistance provided
by The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation.
N ovem ber
Antigone
By Sophocles - adapted by Bertolt Brecht
Translated by Judith Malina
Directed by Kimberly West
November 7, 8, 14 & 15, 7:30 p.m.
Black Box Theater, $10 Adult, $5 Student/Senior
Sophocles’ ancient play receives a modern twist when
placed abroad the US Aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln
in 2003.
Fall Showcase & Visual Arts Exhibition
November 25
Gallery Reception: 4:30-6:00 p.m., Lobby Gallery
Main Stage Performance: 6:30 p.m., Free admission
A sampling of student performances and artwork.
Autumn Art Exhibition will be on display until January 9.
Book and Lyrics by Dick Vosburgh
Music by Frank Lazarus
Directed by Mary Cadorette-Harris
December 12, 13, 19 & 20, 7:30 p.m.
Black Box Theater, $15 Adult, $10 Student/Senior
Winner of two Tony Awards, this musical comedy is
a double feature more hilarious than any presented
in Hollywood’s heyday: the first act is a salute to the
Golden Age of film musicals and the second is a
rambunctious Marx Brothers farce.
Ja n u a r y
Romeo and Juliet
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Joni Weisfeld
January 16, 17, 23 & 24, 7:30 p.m.
Black Box Theater, $10 Adult, $5 Student/Senior
Shakespeare’s most famous and tragic love story. Two
families hate each other so completely and so blindly,
that they simply cannot accept that their children have
fallen in love. In this modern production, Romeo and
Juliet will both be women.
Fe b r u a r y
Merging
A Dance Concert
Directed by Alexa Melonopoulos
February 13 & 14, 7:30 p.m.
Black Box Theater, $10 Adult, $5 Student/Senior
A dance performance featuring works by Arts
Academy dance faculty and students.
Things That Make You Go Hmmm…
Collaborative Visual Arts Exhibition
February 26 - March 27
Reception, February 26, 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Lobby Gallery, Free admission
Written by Rafael Osés
Directed by Brian Jennings
March 13, 14, 20 & 21, 7:30 p.m.
Black Box Theater, $10 Adult, $5 Student/Senior
This part-creation myth and part-love story plays with
traditional expectations of the theatre audience. It is a
tale told by an unreliable clock, in frame-by-frame, stopaction fashion, about the marriage of a violet to Old King
Cole, though Violet has no recollection of the event.
Six Chambers
An original, site specific theatrical event devised
and directed by Michael Nowicki
March 20 & 21, 7:30 p.m.
Colt Building, $10 Adult, $5 Student/Senior
Beneath the Blue Onion Dome, Hartford’s most famous
landmark, sits the former Colt Firearms Manufacturing
Company factory. Join us for a theatrical event inside of
this old factory tracing the stories of the people that have
toiled and triumphed on this land for the last 400 years.
Dance Intermezzo
March 24, 6:30 p.m.
Main Stage Theater, Free admission
Musical Theater Intermezzo
March 26, 6:30 p.m.
Main Stage Theater, Free admission
Music Intermezzo
March 31, 6:30 p.m.
Main Stage Theater, Free admission
Apr il
30th Anniversary Gala & Concert
Broadway with the Callaways
With Hartford Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, April 18 at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Join us in celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Arts
Academy with a show stopping Concert and Gala. All
proceeds benefit the Arts Academy Endowment Fund.
30th Anniversary Gala & Concert continued
When Tony Award-nominated sisters Ann Hampton
Callaway and Liz Callaway perform together with the
HSO and Arts Academy students, they’ll turn sibling
rivalry into singing revelry with their great music, witty
banter and heartwarming stories.
The concert will be held at The Bushnell Center for
the Performing Arts in Mortensen Hall at 7:30 p.m. For
information about concert tickets and Gala reception
please call the Arts Academy Box Office, 860-757-6388.
Spring into Art!!!
Culminating Visual Arts Exhibition
April 23 - May 19
Reception, April 23, 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Lobby Gallery, Free admission
May
Sweet Charity
Book by Neil Simon
Music by Cy Coleman
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Based on an original screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli
and Ennio Flaiano
Directed by Stacie Beard
May 1, 2, 8 & 9, 7:30 p.m.
Main Stage Theater, $25 & $15 Adult, $15 & $10 Student/Senior
Sweet Charity is a tender, poignant and funny look at the
romantic misadventures of Charity Hope Valentine. This
delightful musical features fabulous dancing and a great
score which combine to make it a must see show!
Creative Writing/Media Arts Intermezzo
May 14, 6:30 p.m.
Main Stage Theater, Free admission
Theater Intermezzo
May 20, 6:30 p.m.
Black Box Theater, Free admission
Senior Musical Theater Performance
May 22, 6:30 p.m.
Main Stage Theater, Free admission
Senior Dance Performance
May 28, 6:30 p.m.
Black Box Theater, Free admission