Note to editors and news directors: For schedule of upcoming events, go to www.calstatela.edu/academic/al/seasonbrochure2007-2008.pdf.
‘A Magical Season’ conjures music, dance,
theater, art at Cal State L.A.
Los Angeles, CA -- Offering at least 30 performances and several free events, the College of Arts and Letters at California State University, Los Angeles will present “A Magical Season” for its 2007-2008 season of dance and theatre productions, musical concerts and art exhibitions.
Scheduled for the opening month will be “Musical Alliances Musicales,” the premieres of contemporary music by Antoine Bonnet and John Kennedy in a Sat., Nov. 10, concert at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex; a Cal State L.A. collaboration with Heidi Duckler and Collage Dance Theatre of My Beowulf on Nov. 16-18 at the State Playhouse; and four fantastic concerts featuring Cal State L.A.’s Chamber Music (Nov. 20), New Music Ensemble (Nov. 26), Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble (Nov. 27), and the Universal Choral (Nov. 28). Wrapping up a fall of French music, students will perform L’enfant et les sortilèges (The Child and the Spells: A Lyric Fantasy in Two Parts) in the Music Hall Nov. 29-Dec. 1.
Appearing on the Cal State L.A. stage this season will be theatre productions of The Cloud Gatherer, a children’s play written by award-winning playwright—and Cal State L.A. professor—José Cruz González; The Cave Dwellers, which kicks off the William Saroyan’s centennial celebration; The John Lion New Plays Festival, featuring four news plays by Cal State L.A. student playwrights; and The Magic Flute, a classic opera highlighting Mozart’s 1791 masterpiece Die Zaoberflote.
Casting its dance spell, the season will also bring the Winter Dance Concert to the Intimate Theatre at the Luckman Complex; and Jan Day New Works Dance Festival to the State Playhouse. (See events listings on the season brochure for specific dates and times.)
Among the artistic visions coming to the campus’s Fine Arts Gallery will be the Graduate Thesis Exhibition, Nov. 17-Dec. 4, the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA/LA) Student Exhibit, Jan. 12-Feb. 6; the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Region 8 Festival Theatrical Design Exhibition, Feb. 12-15; and more. The season concludes with “15 Seconds of Fame: An Online Exhibition of Cell Phone Art,” a Luckman Gallery exhibition set for June 7-28. All art exhibitions are free to the public.
Terry Allison, dean of the College of Arts and Letters at Cal State L.A., says, “Our productions, performances, and exhibition are an integral part of the College’s teaching and often serve as a capstone experience for the students, one that integrates their learning from a number of courses, workshops, lectures, and other activities. This year we are pleased to collaborate with a number of world class artists, such as Antoine Bonnet, Rachel Rosenthal, Nicholas Isherwood, and Hong Mei Xiao to produce our season of magic.”
“And, the audience is a critical part of our students’ learning experience,” adds Allison.
For more details on the performances, concerts and exhibits, refer to the 2007-2008 season brochure.
Depending on the venue, tickets are available through the Cal State L.A. box office at (323) 343-4118 or the Luckman Complex box office at (323) 343-6600.
Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 200,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu