To Our Distinguished Patrons,
The first time I saw "Something Rotten" I immediately went home and bought tickets to see it again. Unfortunatly, the weekend I booked was canceld due to COVID. Since then it has been on my radar to do someday. I truly felt like we had a group of students who would love to do this show - and I was so right! It has been a joyus few months getting this show together. We take a yearly trip up to the Utah Shakespeare Festival each Labor Day weekend and watch 7 performances and start each year diving into Shakespeare. To take his characters, his works, and this show and bring it to life has been an amazing experience and educational tool as well. Teaching students who Portia is, who Falstaff is, even Nick Bottom himself! What a wonderful way to get our students and community interested in the brilliant characters that Shakespeare wrote.
While I am the one who writes this note in the program, it truly takes a small army to mount a production like this. This year we had Holly Behlow work tirelessly with our students in creating costumes. The amount of pattterns, material, alterations, and creativity they did to make the Renaissance come to life was truly remarkable. Adding on, the work of Kate Hall and Caleb Wright in the Stagecraft classes truly made the 1595's pop off the stage. The final element was the choreography by Carla Renard and Angelica Alcala. From Tap Dancing Eggs, to creating a satire of musicals that pays homage to all the shows quoted, their work is truly remarkable.
While the adults are in the room where it happens, the students are truly what make this program shine. Students do it all, creating hair and make-up styles, sound, set, props, backdrops, and even custom tote-bags and coffee mugs. These students are so creative, dedicated, and leave me in awe everyday. I truly hope our audience realizes that even though they only see 30 students on stage, we have so many more behind the stage. They are truly making every aspect of this show come to life.
Lastly, I'd like to thank those who have given us your tax credits! These allow us to keep presenting these shows. Married couples can donate up to $400 and single people can donate up to $200. You receive every dollar back on your taxes. In the end it costs you $0 and allows us to keep presenting quality theatre to the Verde Valley community.
Welcome to the Renaissance!
James Ball
ATORT Theatre and Choir Director
