Directors offer behind-the-scenes look at "The Gondoliers" operetta during Afternoon Sabbatical

Event: Goshen College Afternoon Sabbatical – "A peek behind the scenes"
Date and time: Tuesday, March 10 at 1 p.m.
Location: Sauder Concert Hall, Goshen College Music Center
Cost: free and open to the public

GOSHEN, Ind. – The directors of Goshen College's spring mainstage production of the operetta "The Gondoliers," by Gilbert and Sullivan, are offering a chance for the general public to get a look at what goes on behind the scenes during the musical production process. During the March 10 Afternoon Sabbatical, Professor of Theater Doug Liechty Caskey and Professor of Music Debra Brubaker will offer insights into the production from their respective fields at 1 p.m. in the college Music Center's Sauder Concert Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

Caskey will discuss the theatrical aspects of the performance, including different types of rehearsals, set construction, poster and program design, and ways of working with the students acting in the show. He also will introduce theater personnel involved in the process.

Brubaker will introduce music personnel, including the two rehearsal accompanists and the orchestra director. She also will discuss how the rehearsal of music is organized throughout the process.

The crew is in their fifth week of an eight-week rehearsal schedule, and audience members will get the first glimpse of the performance, with two scenes being performed.

"We hope that people gain a knowledge of how many people are involved in a process like this as well as learn more about the musical itself," said Brubaker.

"The Gondoliers" will be performed at Goshen College in Umble Center on March 27, 28 and April 4 at 8 p.m., and March 29 and April 5 at 3 p.m. Cost: $12 general, $8 for students and seniors.

Future programs in the Afternoon Sabbatical series:

• April 14, noon – International meal featuring Egypt, Church Fellowship Hall. Cost: $20
• May 6 – Spring bus trip: Holland Tulip Festival. Cost: $95. To register, call (574) 535-7565.

For Afternoon Sabbaticals, acommittee of area representatives and college personnel consider the knowledge and talent at Goshen College and among Elkhart County citizens and aim to select programs that will appeal to a wide variety of interests. The program began and continues from the idea that people can use a sabbatical from their daily lives to refresh their minds and spirits.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.