MESA, Arizona – Jan. 16, 2019 – Mesa Community College announces its Spring 2019 Arts season. Exciting theatrical performances and exhibitions fill this season’s calendar with National Theatre Live film screenings, plays, musicals, band and orchestra concerts, an arts festival and a dance scholarship showcase.
Venues
The MCC Southern and Dobson Campus (1833 W. Southern Ave.) is home to three of the college’s venues. The Performing Arts Center (PAC) delivers exceptional acoustics and visibility for musical, instrumental and dance performances. The MCC Theatre has been entertaining the community as well as educating students since 1978. The Art Gallery embraces the dynamic and multidisciplinary nature of today’s visual culture. Located in the Saguaro building at the Red Mountain campus (7110 East McKellips Rd.), the Rehearsal and Performance (RAP) Centre has state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems and hosts several performances annually.
Patrons should use the Solar Way entrance from Dobson Road for the MCC Theatre and Art Gallery and the Longmore Way entrance west of Longmore Avenue for the Performing Arts Center. Parking is free.
Art
Continuing until Jan. 24, the Art Gallery exhibit ”Ceramic+” demonstrates concepts in contemporary ceramics with works from professional, local artists using clay alone or blended with other materials or mediums. Admission is free; open to the public during Art Gallery hours 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. On Feb. 7, the Art Gallery will host a free seminar, “Symbol, Myth, and Metaphor: Artist talk with Carrie Ann Baade” about research methods and the development of Baade’s narrative paintings.
The highly anticipated MCC 8thAnnual Festival of the Arts is 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. March 21. A creative space for students to share their works will be on the MCC Theater Lawn with two live stages for musical, dance and theater performances in addition to fine art displays, poetry readings, storytelling and art sales. This event is free with parking and popcorn available to the public at no charge.
"The Body Politic" opens at MCC Art Gallery February 11 and is on exhibit until March 28. In this exhibition, artists Caroline Estelle, Tyler Griese, Lisa Hoffner, Larry Madrigal, Papay Solomon, and Chris Vena expand and redefine the approaches of figurative painting through their exploration of materials, methods and subject matter.
Celebrate MCC's art students at the 2019 Annual Juried Art Student Show, on view April 15 through May 10. Works featured explore the mediums of ceramics, digital art and design, drawing, life drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, textiles, 2D and 3D.
Music
Band & Orchestra Concerts featuring MCC students, professionals and community members can be seen on Feb. 26 and April 23 at the PAC under the directionof Rob Hunter, Paul Brewer, Nick Manson and Brian Murphy. Tickets from $8. Fans of Big Band Jazz won’t want to miss the MPJE Jazz Concert featuring the MCC Jazz Ensemble on March 5, also at the PAC. Free concerts throughout the season including the MCC students Guitar Concert on April 29 and a Percussion Concert on May 1. Jazz Combo groups directed by MCC music instructors perform Feb. 28 and April 30.
PAC Choir Concerts on March 7 and May 2 feature a variety of secular, pop and spiritual music. Directed by Joseph Johnston and Grammy winner Dr. Craig Peterson. Prices are $8 or less. Rounding out the season’s music is the Desert Echoes Flute Project Concert (DEF project) on March 1 and May 10 in the PAC. This is a nationally recognized flute ensemble sponsored by the MCC Music Department. Members include professional flutists, music educators, college students and community musicians from the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Theatre/Musical Theatre
“Top Girls” kicks off the spring MCC Theater performances March 1-9. In a time warp, women of legend and history offer perspectives on maternity and ambition to protagonist Marlene, who has become, figuratively speaking, a male oppressor, and coaches female clients on adopting odious male traits. Tickets from $9.
The Cat in the Hat is back to tell the story of Horton, an elephant who faces challenges in “Seussical the Musical,” March 29-April 6 in the PAC. Tickets from $12.
The classic comic “Noises Off” is at the MCC Theatre Dec. 19-27. With doors slamming, on and offstage intrigue and a manic menagerie of itinerant actors comes “the funniest farce ever written” by Michael Frayne. Tickets from $9.
Reserve your seats for National Theatre Live Screenings. NT Live is Britain’s groundbreaking project to broadcast world-class theatre to cinemas in the UK and internationally. Shown in the MCC Theatre, tickets start at $9. Jan. 18 is the epic play “The Madness of King George,” which was written by one of Britain’s best-loved playwrights, Alan Bennet. “Hamlet” is on stage Jan. 24, starring Academy-Award nominee Benedict Cumberbatch in Shakespeare’s great tragedy of reflection and moral integrity. Jan. 25 brings ”Allelujah,” a sharp and hilarious new play full of sing-alongs and stinging wit. Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra” delivers audiences a great tragedy of politics, passion and power on March 22. The explosive new play, “I’m Not Running” by David Hare, wraps up the NT Live season on May 17. Hare’s play portrays personal choices and public consequences, through a 20-year intimate friendship.
Dance
Another performance to look forward to this spring is the MCC Dance Company’s Spring Dance Concert at 7:30 p.m., on April 11 and 12 in the PAC featuring a multitude of dance styles with guest choreographers OnTap and Propel. Tickets start at $10. The Spring Dance Scholarship Showcase in the PAC on April 13 features choreography from graduating students in the Associate of Arts in Dance program. Tickets start at $8.
Visit MCC’s Arts website mesacc.edu/arts to reserve seats and view details on these upcoming shows. Additional performances are added throughout the semester, so check the site regularly.
Catch a glimpse of behind the scenes during the development and rehearsals of productions on social media: MesaCC Facebook, MesaCC Twitter and MesaCC Instagram.
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Media contact: Dawn Zimmer, dawn.zimmer@mesacc.edu, 480-461-7892
Mesa Community College is nationally recognized by the Aspen Institute as one of the top 150 community colleges in the United States and is known for service learning, career and technical programs, civic engagement and innovative approaches to education. The college serves as a resource for career readiness, transfer education, workforce development and lifelong learning. Host to more than 30,000 students annually, MCC offers degree and certificate programs online and at its two campuses and additional locations. Through the implementation of Guided Pathways with Integrated Support Services, MCC is transforming ways it champions student success; college completion, university transfer and career attainment for all students. MCC is a Hispanic Serving Institution with a diverse student body, including more than 400 international students representing over 60 countries, who enrich campus learning experiences. Award-winning faculty are dedicated to student success, providing the education and training to empower MCC students to compete locally and globally. Located in the East Valley of Phoenix, Arizona, MCC is one of the 10 colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District. Learn more at mesacc.edu.
Mesa Community College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is an EEO/AA institution and an equal opportunity employer of protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or national origin. A lack of English language skills will not be a barrier to admission and participation in the career and technical education programs of the District. MCCCD does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age in its programs or activities. For Title IX/504 concerns, call the following number to reach the appointed coordinator: (480) 731-8499. For additional information, as well as a listing of all coordinators within the Maricopa College system, visit http://www.maricopa.edu/non-discrimination.