Monday, July 13, 2009

Summer arts amusements at home and in Burnsville

Minneapolis, Minnesota


During July, MinnesotaPlaylist.Com is featuring "Stories," video interviews with 11 people who were there, about Minnesota's performing arts past. Check-in with the Playlist regularly for brief but informative visits with Don Stolz, Judith Brin Ingber, Patrick Scully, Faye Price, Charles Nolte, Marcus Dillard, Barbara Fields, Carolyn Pool, Sheila Livingston, Barbara Kingsley, and Stephen D'Ambrose.


• • •


My friend, Stephen Rueff, is the production manager at the new Burnsville Performing Arts Center. Steve and the Center are starting a new late night series on Saturday evenings, July 18, July 25, and Aug. 1.


"Sweeney Todd" will be running in the Main Hall theater which will be kept open after the Saturday night performances for a Late Nite hang out. BPAC will set up lounge furniture in the art gallery and lower lobby, will book two music groups to play for 40 minutes each night, and the art gallery will feature two people to paint/sketch the room live each night. They are looking for other performers (spoken word/choreographers/video artists) to come by for short performances.


BPAC will build the Late Nite audience with word of mouth through the arts community, using 40 cast, 15 orchestra, and 10 crew members of "Sweeney Todd" as the seed audience. Anyone – that means you and me – can join them in the lobby after the second act starts, from 9pm to Midnight.


BPAC opened in January with a 150-seat black box theater, a 1,000 seat proscenium stage (45' x 100' – with 48' proscenium opening) with sprung floor and orchestra pit, an art gallery, and a second floor lobby/reception area that can seat 300 in a banquet setting. Take I-35 south from Minneapolis or north from Lakeville to Burnsville Parkway; go east to Nicollet Avenue; go north to Travelers; then one block east to free parking.


For more information, call Rueff at 952.895.4678.


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