Call for Actors: Auditions for "Miasma" to be Sept. 20, 21, 22 at Rozsa

HOUGHTON -- Auditions for Eric Samuelsen’s play Miasma, a story of enduring love’s struggle with selfish desire, will be held by appointment: 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20, on the Rozsa Stage; 7 - 10 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21, and Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Rozsa room 120 (Choir Room).

Please enter through the Rozsa Stage Door next to the loading doors. Email amsouthg@mtu.edu for Rehearsal Appointment. Auditions will be by "cold" readings. Callbacks are planned.

When you come to auditions, please wear a closed-tight mask. Use hand sanitizer when you come in and when you leave. Observe social distancing within the audition space. This first round of auditions will need you for about 30 minutes. The cast consists of Claire, who wrangles her feisty and stubborn father Ben. Ben holds the power of the family purse over his wife and children. His sons abandoned him and depend on Claire to speak for them. His other daughter, Beth, is his favorite; she follows his pursuit of wealth. Ben has left his wife, Liz, who weeps for the old West, in favor of Liza, a strong woman, who knows what she wants. Jorge, the ranch manager, is trapped between the family and the illegal aliens who work in Ben’s enterprises. (2 men, 4 women)

The play will be captured on video in Covid-19-compliant recording studios and spaces. The production will be streamed from the Rozsa Center facilities at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 10 through Dec. 12.

Rozsa Center to host family-friendly "Fiesta! Latin American Music for All Ages" Feb. 15

Image courtesy Rozsa Center.

HOUGHTON -- Michigan Tech’s Rozsa Center and Department of Visual and Performing Arts are pleased to present a family-friendly event of music, poetry, storytelling, puppetry and more on Saturday, Feb. 15.

At 7:30 p.m. the Superior Wind Symphony will perform a concert of original Latin American music by celebrated Guatemalan composer Raúl López Colibrí. The compositions are arranged by Michigan Tech's Director of Bands Mike Christianson with children’s choir direction by Dr. Amanda Plummer.

In a pre-concert "fiesta party" at 6:15 p.m. local poet, formerly of Guatemala, Hugo Gordillo will present Fiesta, his collection of children’s poetry on which the music was based. The party is hosted by Hugo Gordillo and Christ Alquist, with crafts, storytelling, and more fun, in the Rozsa lobby -- making this truly an event for the whole family. Poems and children’s stories will be read in both Spanish and English, and the entire evening will be the culmination of work by poets, Spanish language professors, theatre and fine art professors, and local and Guatemalan poets, writers, artists, musicians, and students.

Hugo Gordillo says, "All of the happiness of the world fits in a small party for children. (Toda la felicidad del mundo cabe en una pequeña fiesta para niños.)" 

International collaborators include Raúl López Colibrí, Mike Christianson, Hugo Gordillo, Lisa Gordillo, Patricia Helsel, Christopher Plummer, Amanda Plummer, Leyre Alegre, and the Superior Wind Symphony. In addition Patricia Helsel will present a live shadow-puppet performance during the concert.

Click here to view the Program.

Tickets are $13 for adults and $5 for youth. Click here to order tickets.

Tech Theatre and Keweenaw Symphony bring "West Side Story" to Rozsa April 13, 14, 15

With music by the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, West Side Story will be performed at the Rozsa Center Apr. 13, 14 and 15. (Program cover photo courtesy Rozsa Center)

HOUGHTON -- The Rozsa Center, Michigan Tech Department of Visual and Performing Arts (Tech Theatre), and the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra present West Side Story at 7:30 p.m. for three nights, Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- April 13, 14 and 15 -- in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

West Side Story changed the very nature of American Musical Theatre. With music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by a young Stephen Sondheim, the play was grounded in a distinctively modern sound with a passionately poetic statement: A place where everyone can grow beyond the confines of hate and poverty, a safe and beautiful place. A modern adaptation of a quintessential tale of star-crossed lovers, West Side Story isn't performed often for a very good reason.

According to Director Patricia Helsel, "It's simply a very difficult play to perform. The show requires many different dance styles ranging from jazz, to 50s 'hipster beat,' to Latino and ballet. The music is also challenging with complex rhythms and styles for the ensemble, matched with a call for operatic technique for the young lovers. Overall, this is not your typical, run-of-the-mill golden era musical comedy."

The subject matter is highly charged with racial tension, fear, hate, and LOVE -- some pretty intense emotion that is intricately woven in textures throughout the play, taking the audience on a meaningful journey. Comedy plays a matching role in the show, with memorable numbers like "Officer Krupke" and "America."

Tickets are on sale now: $19 for adults, $6 for youth, and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at (906) 487-2073, online at Rozsa.mtu.edu, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or the night of the event, one hour before show time, at the McArdle Theatre Box Office.

Calumet Theatre to present "Red Jacket 1913 -- One Family's Story" Aug. 14, 15

CALUMET -- Red Jacket 1913 -- One Family's Story, directed by Patricia Helsel, Michigan Tech associate professor in Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 14 and 15, at the Calumet Theatre.

This play tells the story of the problems and challenges faced by one Slovenian family during the miners' strike of 1913. While fictional, Red Jacket 1913 is based entirely on historic events.

Dennis Kerwin, former VPA faculty, heads the cast, comprised mostly of community members, while Jonah Mueller, a Michigan Tech sound design major, and Dollcie Webb, Michigan Tech student majoring in theatre and electronic media performance, are both involved in the play's production.

The play is adapted by James B. Harris from No More Games, a play by Charles Solomon.

Tickets are $16 for adults and $11 for children and students (ages 3-18). Contact the Calumet Theatre box office for tickets at 337-2610.

The play is part of this week's 2014 Calumet Heritage Celebration. Click here for information about other events.