For eight years, Open Art Studios has given Madison area artists the opportunity to  share their work with the public.  Open Art Studios is an annual arts event which includes: open art studio tour weekend, group exhibit at Overture Center, opening reception for the exhibit, artist demonstrations at libraries and other public locations, and a silent auction. The entire event is run by volunteers, and Overture is proud to be the site of the group exhibit.

Last year, Overture staffers interviewed several artists about their experience at the event.  To hear more, check out the video below.

Does this sound like you, or an artist you know? Now is the time to get involved with the 2010 event, to be held on October 2 and 3.  It’s easy to register – just read the information below.  Registration has been extended through June 30, so hurry!

We are happy to post the following information from our friends at OAS. If you have specific questions about the event, please email the OAS team at art@maoas.com.

Who:

Madison-area artists of all abilities and disciplines are invited to participate. OAS is about showcasing the depth and breadth of our community’s artists from emerging to established, hobbyist to professional, and academically trained to self-taught. This is not a juried event.

What:

Now in its eighth year, the goal of OAS is to demystify the process of art-making by engaging the community in the work of its local artists. Artists open their studios and invite the public to come and see how, where and why they create their work. This is a “hands-on” event: artist demonstration is the focus and key to its success. OAS is a unique event much different than an art fair or exhibition – a chance for the public to connect with and understand artists and the artistic process.

When:

Open Art Studios 2010 will be October 2-3.  Registration has been extended through June 30, 2010.

Where:

OAS happens in artists’ studio spaces all over the greater Madison area and in locations such as homes, stores, galleries, cafes and more.  For artists who don’t wish to or can’t open their studios to the public, we recommend grouping together at someone else’s studio or creating a group studio at a public location. Over the years, artists have banded together to create working studio sites at locations such as the Children’s Museum, zoo, community centers, country clubs, stores, condos, etc.  Wherever you choose to demonstrate your art-making, we’ll get it on the tour map!

If you would like to organize a group site, please let us know at art@maoas.com.

How:

Go to http://maoas.com to register. The cost for participation is $75. This fee includes opportunities for participating in public demonstrations plus your listing in, and copies of, the following promotional materials: OAS tour map, OAS brochures, Madison area Artists Directory, and listing with image on the OAS website. Your fee also supports OAS event advertising and other costs of running and promoting the event.

Important Dates:

June 23                     First all-artist meeting, 6 PM, Lussier Community Education Center (55 S. Gammon)

June 30                     Registration ends (extended from June 15 deadline)

Sept.27-Oct. 15        Overture Center exhibition

October 1                   Exhibition opening reception

October 2-3               Open Studios weekend

Once upon a time, Capitol Theater was a hot spot for music and movies in Madison. From the early 60s until it became part of the Madison Civic Center in 1980, Herb Frank kept the joint rockin’ with touring acts like the Beach Boys as well as contemporary films. Now the head of Frank Productions, a national concert promoter still based in Madison, Herb and his company are enjoying a homecoming of sorts.

Frank Productions and True Endeavors (aka local promoter Tag Evers) have struck a partnership with Overture Center for the Arts to produce and promote “Bud Light Capitol Concerts.”  Three concerts have already been announced with more announcements planned for the coming weeks.  American Idol winner Kris Allen will appear at the Capitol on Tuesday, June 1; blues prodigy Jonny Lang will appear Sunday, July 11l; and the piano playing singer/songwriter Marc Cohn will appear Saturday, August 7. Tickets for all three are on sale now.

“I moved to Madison in the early ’60s to manage the Capitol Theater when it was a movie house,” says Herb. “I brought some great concerts to its stage through the ’60s and ’70s. It’s great to be working in the building again, bringing music to Madison, and maybe breathing some of that rock’n'roll life back into the Capitol.”  Frank Productions will team up with True Endeavors to program the room, marking the first time that the two companies have directly partnered on concerts together. This new initiative will bring artists and performers from all genres, through series and stand alone concerts, to the venue.

“Capitol Theater is an amazing venue, and it deserves more music,” says Overture Center President and CEO Tom Carto. “These promoters have access to and relationships with a whole spectrum of artists that have eluded us in the past. This will be an important source of revenue for Overture, as well as a real boost to the downtown music scene. We are thrilled to welcome such top-notch local promoters to the Overture family.”

“Our goal is to introduce this amazing venue and its incredible acoustics to music fans who may not even know it exists, and reintroduce it to the generations of Madisonians who have fond memories of attending events there,” says Herb. “We won’t get in the way of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, CTM and their great tradition of A Christmas Carol, or the other resident arts groups who perform at the Capitol. But we know it’s a very versatile space, and we hope this new and additional programming will enhance and build a reputation for the venue as the place to see and hear live music.”

About Capitol Theater

The Capitol Theater was built in 1928 and served as a movie theater for many years before becoming the centerpiece of the Madison Civic Center and being renamed the Oscar Mayer Theatre. When Overture Center was built, the venue went through major renovations that improved the seats, sightlines and acoustics, and built a more intimate feel with a smaller capacity.  The venue holds 1,089 patrons when in a reserved configuration, and 1,200 patrons in a general admission format with the orchestra pit becoming standing room in front of the stage.  The theater continues to house the original Grand Barton Theatre Organ built in 1927.

About Overture Center for the Arts

Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and five galleries where national and international touring artists, ten resident companies, and hundreds of local artists engage nearly half a million people in educational and artistic experiences each year.

About Frank Productions

Frank Productions is one of the top independent concert promoters in the country consistently ranking in the top 50 promoters in the world in Pollstar (the concert industry’s trade publication).  In addition to presenting quality concerts in a variety of Madison venues, the company also produces national concert tours and events in major markets as well as being responsible for two of Madison’s larger festivals – Freakfest and 94 1 JJO Band Camp.

About True Endeavors

True Endeavors is one of the premier independent promoters in the United States, presenting live music in clubs and theaters around Madison as well as managing private events and conferences locally and nationally.  Additionally, the company does several benefits per year for non-profits and is continuously looking to expand its outreach efforts. Their philosophy is that music can and does matter.

Bud Light (brewed by Anheuser-Busch and distributed in Madison by Wisconsin Distributors) has agreed to sponsor the venture as the official beer of Capitol Concerts.

Three members of the cast of The Lion King were good enough to get up early on Tuesday, May 4 for a live broadcast of The Eight O’Clock Buzz from Overture Center’s Rotunda Studio. Host Stan Woodard brought 15 or so young people and adults from the Lussier Community Education Center to meet with Tyler Murree, who plays Timon, and ensemble members Rhea Roderick and Selena Moshell. The kids had some great questions about the show and how it works, as well as the profession of the theater and life in general.

Click here to listen … the top-of-the-hour news comes first, and the real show starts about five minutes in:

WORT 8 O’clock Buzz, Tues, May 4

And here are a few photos …

Rhea Roderick, Selena Mochell and Tyler Murree chat with Madison youth.

8'Oclock Buzz host Stan Woodard with one of Madison's great young people

The whole gang!

NBC15’s Dana Brueck went to Philadelphia to get a backstage look at how The Lion King makes it to the stage every night. Here are all three of her reports.

Part 1, Monday, April 26:

Part 2, Tuesday, April 27:

Part 3, Wednesday, April 28:

We want your visit to Overture for The Lion King to be a perfect, magical, unforgettable experience. Here are a few tips and ideas that’ll help …

The excitement for Disney’s The Lion King is getting almost palpable. Here are a few samples from what the local press has to say …

From The Badger Herald …

“When we went to Ohio, the opening number ended to a sound almost like an explosion as the lights blacked out and the audience went crazy. Then it got quiet and a little girl turns to her father and she said, ‘Is there more?’” Klaisner laughed. “I thought that was pretty cool because apparently that was enough for her. It’s pretty amazing.”

From 77 Square …

“It’s an amazing show for families,” said Amyia Burrell, an ensemble member who has been with the show for three years. “It is a great story … about life, and a father teaching his son a lesson about life and death and how the ones who have passed on never leave us.”

Burrell has played several roles in the show since she started, including a hyena, a lioness and a wildebeest.

“The puppet becomes a part of you,” she said, more so when the actor plays only one main role.

On Channel 3:

From Isthmus …

Crofton first saw The Lion King onstage in Toronto circa 1999. “It was transporting,” she says, “a visual extravaganza.” She remembers feeling swooped up by the emotional power of the experience.

Bringing the tour to Madison for a month means “about 70,000 people will come through the doors and into Overture Hall,” Crofton notes. That’s about 87.5% of capacity at Camp Randall Stadium — for a theatrical event. It also works out to the rough equivalent of almost one out of every three people in Madison, or 15% of all Dane County residents, carrying the shared experience of Lion King at Overture Hall.

Watch overturecenter.com for more updates!

It’s been busy behind-the-scenes as we prepare for opening night of The Lion King … and the Overture kitchen is no exception! Brand new for this show, Chef Paul of Catering a Fresco has created a delicious assortment of casual meals to enjoy at Overture. Lion King patrons can order meals in advance and enjoy them in our convenient “Jungle Café” on the third floor of Overture Hall Lobby. Each meal comes with delicious sides, a pawprint cookie, and a beverage.

All four adult meal options plus the two kids meal options

Someone had to do the hard work of taste-testing the new options … so a few Overture staffers volunteered for the job.

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich on Focaccia, with fresh mozzarella - Yum!

Kevin (Ticket Office) and Jenn (Administration) prepare for their task

Blackened Chicken Salad with fresh fruit

Josie (Graphic Design) hams it up with Kevin and Jenn.

What’s the verdict? Yum! Chef’s Paul’s seasoning on the Blackened Chicken Salad is excellent. The fruit salad and tortellini pasta salad are flavorful, substantial sides. And that Grilled Vegetable Focaccia sandwich? Delish!

It’s best to order in advance, so download the order form here and send it in or call us (608-258-4436) by the Monday before your show. A limited quantity of meals will be available for purchase on-the-spot. Bon Appetit!

Last night’s opening of “An Enemy of the People” brought an old play with a never-more-urgent message to our Playhouse. Aquila Theater’s modern adaptation of the Ibsen classic got three great reviews in the local press this morning, all paying special attention to the strength of the performance.

In 77 Square:

Damian Davis gives a gripping performance as the beleaguered doctor. He rages, pacing the stage, then stops to lock eyes with each challenger. Davis’ eyes flash as Stockmann hurls accusations, eventually making the truth sound crazy.

As Peter Stockmann, James Lavender is Davis’ equal in intensity. Peter is grating, flipping a superior glance to a reporter (Owen Young) as a cue to take notes and spitting his orders at his brother as the rift between the widens. Something in Lavender’s even tone as he negotiates corruption is horrifying. He sounds so … reasonable.

On The Daily Page:

In an attempt to connect the play’s themes with current concerns, the actors wear modern clothing and the minimal set includes Ikea-like furnishings. Stark lighting and occasional video projections also give a contemporary feel. And, in fact, it’s remarkable how relevant this 128-year-old script still is. While Dr. Stockmann has scientific proof of what’s actually happening, others choose not to accept it because it doesn’t suit their agendas (global warming, anyone?

And on Brava Magazine’s Culturosity blog:

Madison still has fine theater groups, both professional and not, but Aquila Theatre’s product of “An Enemy of the People” gives us a rare opportunity to see just how compelling theater can be when done by the right troupe for the right reasons.

This impressive show runs continues its run tonight through SUN, MAR 28. Tickets are $26 and $36, or $20 with any student ID.

Break out the banjo and washboard, cuz we’re dedicating a week to backporch bluegrass, the original all-American music!

First, on Wednesday, April 7, Overture After Work welcomes Madison’s own Cork ‘n’ Bottle String Band. These half-dozen dudes have been plucking their way all around Dane County for going on 15 years. Their show here at Overture — which is FREE, by the way — will culminate in a bluegrass jam free-for-all. So bring the banjo, guitar, washboard, jug and kazoo and get in on the act!

Here’s a bit of news video from 2007 on the release of the feature-length documentary about the band:

And then on April 9 at 6:45, Bill Malone, Madison’s encyclopedia of American music, will talk on the Rotunda Stage about the origins and meaning of bluegrass music along with special comments about the Osborne Brothers. A few recorded selections of songs will illustrate Malone’s main points. Comments and questions from the audience are welcome.

That’s sure to put you in the mood to head upstairs to Capitol Theater for the American Bluegrass Masters Tour, starring Bobby Osborne. In addition to leading a family steeped in musical legacy in its own right, Bobby is the last living person who actually performed alongside the great Bill Monroe. Come for the living history or just the foot-stompin’, knee-slappin’ rhythms.

Here’s a taste of what Bobby has to offer …