LITTLE ROCK — The Friends of the Rep will take Arkansas Repertory Theatre patrons "Behind the Curtain" at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, backstage at the Rep, 601 Main St., Little Rock.
The fundraiser, tied to the Rep's season opener, Always ... Patsy Cline, will start with cocktails at 6:30, followed by a sitdown dinner at 7 (food provided by Mark Abernathy of Loca Luna and Bene Vita) with director Robert Hupp and the cast.
Tickets are $50. Call (501) 378-0445, Extension 203, or e-mail Bethany Hilkert at bhilkert@therep.org.
Moving Ragtime
The Rep has changed the last show of its 2009-10 season, June 4-27, substituting Smokey Joe's Cafe, a revue of hit songs by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, for Ragtime.
Ragtime will open on Broadway in October, restricting access to the rights by regional theaters such as the Rep. A spokesman says the Rep will instead make Ragtime the opening show of its 2010-11 season.
Improv in Fayetteville
Chicago-based improvisational troupe The Second City, on its 50th anniversary tour, will put on two performances, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville.
Both shows will feature sketch comedy and improvisation based on suggestions from the audience.
Tickets are $20.50-$32.50 plus handling charges, $10 for students with ID. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit the Web site, waltonartscenter.org.
Arsenic auditions
Conway Community Arts will hold auditions for its production of Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring at 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at the Faulkner County Library, 1900 Tyler St., Conway.
Roles are available for three women and 11 men, ages 20 through 75. Auditions will consist of readings from the script and no previous experience is necessary. Auditioners should plan to attend both nights if they can.
Production dates are Oct. 14-18. Call director Lillian Petrucelli at (501) 327-1148, e-mail her at lpetru@cyberback.com or visit the Web site, conwayarts.org.
Kidstage workshop
Center on the Square, 111 W. Arch St., Searcy, and arts partner Land O'Frost are registering youngsters for the fall session of Land O'Frost KidStage, an after-school theater workshop, through the first day of workshops Sept. 8.
The workshop, which runs through November, will feature sessions on developing skills in stage movement, characterization, voice, theater terminology, improvisation and pantomime. All students will be involved in a public production at the end of the session.
Cost is $60 per child.
Additional sponsors are Beth Patterson Pediatric Dentistry, Searcy Children's Clinic and Families Inc.
Call (501) 368-0111 or visit the Web site, centeronthesquare. org.
High school musicals
Memphis' Orpheum Theatre is accepting applications from high school theater programs within 35 miles of downtown Memphis, including eastern Arkansas, this fall as part of a new competition to recognize the best of area musical theater.
For its first High School Musical Theatre Awards, anonymous adjudicators will attend and evaluate musicals at each participating school, and willchoose four nominees in several categories, including Best Actor and Actress, Best Set Design, Best Chorus, Best Choreography and Best Overall Production.
Students and supporters from all participating schools will gather May 27 at the Orpheum, 203 S. Main St., for a black-tie, Tony Awards-style ceremony.
Winners of the Best Actor and Best Actress awards will advance to the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York, where they will compete with other regional winners for full scholarships to New York University's Tisch School for the Arts, worth more than $200,000.
Applications for fall musicals are due Oct. 1; for spring musicals, Jan. 15.
Sponsors are the Memphis Development Foundation and Sedgwick, CMS.
Call (901) 529-4244 or visit the Web site, orpheum-mem phis.com.
Style, Pages 49 on 08/23/2009