Dance Fusion
Laurie Farquhar
The Best of the Best: That is what PebbleCreek audiences will enjoy during this fall’s spectacular variety show being produced by the four performing arts clubs. A Night at the Renaissance, which is a fundraiser for the Build the Backstage campaign, will showcase highlights from productions by PC Players, ShowTime, PC Singers and PC Musicians over the past 15 years. But how do you take that much material and pick out only the best? A small group of dedicated directors and writers has been working on this question all summer.
Going through scrapbooks and videos of past productions was just the start of the process of putting together a script for the show. Producer Kathy Mitchell says the team also talked with performers and directors to get ideas. All of their research produced enough material for several shows, so trying to keep this production to two hours required some tough decisions. “We’d like to say we’ve put together the best of the best, but that would not be fair to all the material that did not make the show. We had to consider timing and staging and continuity in our final selections.”
Chanca Morrell, who is the Director of the ShowTime segments, says with so much good material and so many talented individuals “it was very difficult choosing the music and acts to present” and “to make cast decisions.”
But not all of the material for A Night at the Renaissance will be old. Writer Carrie Mataraza has spent countless hours and many sleepless nights researching and writing segments for the Laugh In theme which will be carried throughout the show. PC Players Director Laurie Farquhar says this hilarious new material, as well as some comedy highlights from previous productions, is sure to have the audience laughing out loud.
In addition to the music and comedy, PC Musician’s newest Latin combo, Silk, will present an encore performance following their successful debut during last spring’s Burst of Music VIII. And no variety show would be complete without PebbleCreek’s favorite dancers. Dance Fusion is reviving two of their most popular numbers, plus they are working on an amazing new tap piece that will wow the audience.
A Night at the Renaissance will run six nights from Monday, November 16 to Saturday, November 21. Tickets go on sale Saturday, October 17 from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. in the Renaissance Theatre. See Save the Date for Eagle’s Nest Kiosk sales days and times. Kathy says they are committed to “making this show fun, nostalgic, memorable and meeting the high standard of top-quality performance that our PebbleCreek community has come to expect.” And it is all for a good cause.