Spring 2010 Letter from Dr.John Lawton Haehl

Spring 2010 is an amazing term in the Theatre Arts Program, with a diverse selection of performance offerings as well exciting educational opportunities for Gavilan Students!

February we are offering two wonderful performances, beginning with Fiesta Mexico 2010. This folklorico dance and music fesitival features the dancers and beautiful costumes of the Ballet Folkorico Costa de Oro, and the Ballet Folklorico Mexicano Fuego Nuevo. The benefit is organized by our Folklorico teacher, Benny Valles (Thea 21, Sat 9:30 - 12:30) and is a partial benefit for our student club, TADA.

On February 26 & 27 at 8 PM, TADA presents a student conceived musical project, Apres Moi le Deluge. Written and directed by Robert Jerome Page, the show features songs from musicals such as Springs Awakening and Cabaret, as well as songs from the groups Green Day & No Doubt. Tickets are free, donations benefit the ASB club.In March we collaborate with local dance artist Kathryn Waggoner and the South Valley Civic Symphony on Peter and the Wolf, March 13 at 4PM as part of their program of "Music for the Young and Young at Heart". Please contact the South Valley Symphony website for ticket information.

Our Main performance for the spring will be Shakespeare's As You Like It, in a new adaptation by Randall Stuart, (Upon These Boards Theatre, Portland Oregon). Stuart's adaptation creates a more streamlined narrative for the love story, and shortens the performance length to just two hours. But fear not, the language shall remain unmolested! We are delighted that Stuart will be a Gavilan College Visiting Artist in Performing Arts, Spring 2010, conducting two weeks of vocal, text and period acting workshops as part of the rehearsal process for the play. Check out Stuart's bio posted under mine!

Opening April 30 and running through May 15 (Fridays & Saturdays at 8PM) our adaptation of As You Like It, is sure to delight all lovers of romance and Shakespeare's pastoral comedies. Tickets will be available in April at the Gavilan College Bookstore in Gilroy and BookSmart in Morgan Hill.

A new project geared towards Middle and High School students is The Odyssey Project, an original one hour performance based on Homer's epic poem. The play will be developed by Youth Theatre (Thea 2a/b), with school performances starting in May. Performance dates and times TBA. We hope to see you soon at a Gavilan Theatre Arts performance. Check out the Gav Arts & Events website for updates and other new performance postings.