Urban Arts Productions Announces their Second Season

The artistic director, Pat Rundell, tells me they have built a season with something for everyone:  “A family show with The Secret Garden, a musical with Passion, and a creepy Psychological thriller with The Woman In Black, all while keeping loyal to the beautifully moody atmosphere of the courtroom at the Maritime Museum!”

I’m definitely adding these events to my arts calendar.

URBAN ARTS ANNOUNCES 2ND SEASON

VICTORIA, B.C. —(February 10th, 2012) Urban Arts and The Maritime Museum of British Columbia invite audiences to embark on a theatrical journey with their 2012 Mainstage theatre season in the hauntingly beautiful Vice Admiralty Courtroom.  Urban Arts and the Maritime Museum of British Columbia reunite to present a season of heart wrenching classics, all staged with their signature minimalistic theatre-in-the-round style where “No entrance or exit is off limits for the actors and no seat is privileged for the audience.” – Monday Magazine (October 2010).

Urban Arts is pleased to announce the 2012 Mainstage Season which includes: The Secret Garden, adapted from the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Passion: A Chamber Opera, with music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine,  and based on Ettora Scola’s film Passione D’Amore based on the 1869 novel, Fosca, and The Woman In Black, by Stephen Mallatratt based on the novel by Susan Hill.

The Secret Garden – May 23-June 3, 2012

A dark spell of sorrow and mystery hovers in the air as the young orphan, Mary Lennox, arrives at Misselthwaite Manor. Mary comes upon a secret walled garden, locked up and shut away from the outside world for over ten years. Inside the manor, another secret lurks. At night, strange, haunting sounds echo down the empty corridors – is it the wind howling or a child crying? This mystery is so deep that it will take all Mary’s determination and courage to solve it.

Passion – July 19-29, 2012

No less than the wondrously complex landscape of the human heart is the subject of this haunting, intensely emotional chamber opera by the uncompromising creators of Sunday In the Park with George and Into The Woods.  Bold, unexpected and thrilling, PASSION is one of Stephen Sondheim’s most emotional works. Intimate, raw, erotic and dark, it explores universal yet often unspoken truths. 

The Woman In Black – October 18-November 3, 2012

A shiver, a jump, a tingle up the spine. Eel Marsh House stands tall and gaunt on the bleak English seaside. A young lawyer is sent to this lonely place, unaware of the secrets that lie behind the house’s shuttered windows… or the identity of the mysterious woman in black. This old fashioned ghost story has played to sold out houses in London’s West End for over two decades! 

Urban Arts is excited to kick off their 2012 Season on May 4-5, 2012 with a Gala Fundraiser and Second Birthday Bash at the Maritime Museum. This evening of song and entertainment features some of Victoria’s favorite entertainers with all proceeds going to support Urban Art’s and The Maritime Museum of British Columbia.

Season subscriptions, for the three Mainstage shows, range from $50 – $70 and are set to go on sale March 28th, 2012. Single tickets for all productions are also available for $20.00. All tickets are available online through Urban Art’s online box office at www.urbanartsproductions.com

Auditions: Artists interested in auditioning for Urban Arts 2012 Season are asked to submit headshot and resume to info@urbanartsproductions.com. General Auditions will be held during the evening on Wednesday, February 29th, 2012 at The Maritime Museum of British Columbia. Artists are asked to prepare two contemporary monologues or one contemporary monologue and one 32 bar song selection of their choice in the style of Stephen Sondheim (songs to be sung acapella or with CD Tracks, no accompanist or piano will be provided). All artists will be seen. Casting roles of all ages. Please note that the role of Fosca in PASSION and the role of The Actor in The Woman in Black have already been cast. Urban Arts is an equal opportunity company. Decisions by Urban Arts concerning casting, employment and every aspect of the individual’s relationship and participation with Urban Arts are based on talent and qualifications without regard to race, color, sexual orientation, religion, sex, age, nationality or ethnic origin, disability, and/or other categories protected by law. Urban Arts is dedicated to reflecting Canada’s rich mosaic of cultural diversity, and encourages submissions from artists of all ethno-cultural backgrounds.

Located in the heart of Bastion Square, the Maritime Museum of BC has a wealth of artifacts and history and is a fantastic place to get a glimpse back into the nautical customs of the North Pacific. With exhibits ranging from pirates to heritage vessels and Victoria?s original 1889 Courtroom, the Maritime Museum of BC is always a fascinating visit.

 
Here are a few images from the first season.

[title of show]

Nevermore

Marie Antoinette: The Color of Flesh