Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia will spotlight its arts programs and venues during a nine-day festival in November that includes concerts, theater and dance performances, art exhibitions, poetry readings, film festivals, discussions on the arts and creativity, and more.
The 2013 Spotlight on the Arts festival, to be held Nov. 7-15, will follow the pattern of the inaugural Spotlight festival that attracted some 15,000 attendees to more than 50 events scheduled over a similar period last year.
“UGA is home to exceptional programs in the performing, visual and literary arts,” said Vice Provost Libby Morris, who is coordinating planning for the festival. “The purpose of the festival is to spotlight the many opportunities for members of the university community and audiences from throughout the area to participate in and enjoy the arts.”
The festival will kick off on Nov. 7 with several evening events including a University Theatre production of “Pride and Prejudice” at the Fine Arts Theatre, a Senior Dance Concert showcasing student choreography at the New Dance Theatre, and Student Night at the Georgia Museum of Art. In addition, UGA’s Performing Arts Center will partner with The Classic Center in downtown Athens to present “Two Man Group,” an evening of improvisational comedy with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood, stars of the TV show “Whose Line It is Anyway?”
Also on Nov. 7, the UGA Press will hold a “dirty book” sale of slightly damaged merchandise at the Tate Student Center Plaza, and the Jane and Harry Willson Center for Humanities and Arts will host a discussion among Willson Center Fellows doing arts-based research projects.
Other highlights of the nine-day festival include a production of “Carmen” by the UGA Opera Theatre on Nov. 14 (with an open dress rehearsal the night before), several events to be held in conjunction with the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Nov. 11 at the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries, and a Museum Mix evening Nov. 14 at the Georgia Museum of Art, which will stay open until midnight for dancing and tours of the exhibitions.
The Willson Center, in conjunction with the community organization Whatever It Takes, will present a film festival Nov. 9-10 featuring the work of writer-director Jim McKay, whose credits include “Everyday People” and “Angel Rodriguez.” Another film festival Nov. 12-15 will focus on movies tied to books published by the UGA Press.
A signature event on the closing evening of the festival will be a performance by Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain at the Performing Arts Center on Nov. 15. The Oscar-nominated actor has been portraying Twain on the stage for nearly 50 years.
“Thanks to the hard work of the member units of the UGA Arts Council, we feel there will be something to appeal to every interest,” said Morris, who convened the council in the fall of 2011.
The UGA Arts Council includes representatives from these campus units: The Performing Arts Center, the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, the Lamar Dodd School of Art, the department of dance, the department of theatre and film studies, the Georgia Museum of Art, The Georgia Review, the UGA Press, the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the special collections libraries and the Office of the Provost.
A schedule of events will be posted on the Arts at UGA website (arts.uga.edu) as details are confirmed. Tickets for festival events presented by the Performing Arts Center will be available for purchase online at pac.uga.edu, at the box office, or by phone at 706-542-4400 (toll free at 888-289-8497) at the end of August. Tickets for events presented by the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, University Theatre and department of dance also may be purchased through the Performing Arts Center. UGA students receive discounts for most ticketed events, and many free events and activities will be offered throughout the festival.