The weekly program keeping you up to date with Toowoomba Regional Council’s facilities, activities and services.
Council Connections with Darren Burton
This week Darren talks about November’s Mayor’s Over 80s Christmas Party, council meetings, the mobile library, a call for comment on waste issues, author Judy Nunn’s visit, libraries hosting mobile phone lessons and environmental grants.
Inclement weather has forced Shakespeare in the Park Festival organisers to move their season of A Midsummer Night’s Dream indoors. With forecasts for the weekend indicating showers and thunderstorms, organisers were not prepared to take another risk.
Up to this point, we have been incredibly lucky with the weather this year, said production Director, Scott Alderdice. We’ve already had four great shows in the Park and an amazing Glee night earlier in the week, but after last night’s wash-out, we want to ensure our audiences get the experience they deserve – so we have decided to go into a guaranteed no-rain venue.â€
The final two performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be presented in Rumours International (323 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba) tonight (Friday, 14th) and tomorrow (Saturday,15th).
The stunning production, melds old with new, retelling Shakespeare’s best-loved comedy with an exciting combination of memorable scenes, acrobatics and clowning, finely choreographed dance routines and some stand-out songs.
Doors open at 5.30pm and the show starts at 6.30pm – tonight (Friday, 14th) and tomorrow (Saturday, 15th).
Audiences are encouraged to bring a picnic and enjoy the unique opportunity to have their picnic dinner in Rumours! Vendors will also be selling an assortment of delicious goodies including noodle boxes of butter chicken, korma, fried rice; ploughman’s platters and cheese plates; delicious desserts and hot drinks. Rumours is fully licensed – so no BYO alcohol – drinks can be purchased at the bar.
Tickets for The Dream can be purchased through the Empire Theatre Box Office on 1300 655 299 or at Rumours from 5.30pm each night. For further details about the Festival, jump on-line and visit www.usq.edu.au/shakespeare
Michelle Fox
Marketing Manager
USQ Artsworx
University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba
Ph 07 4631 1114
Mungo will explore how political journalism is failing Australian democracy; the endless concentration on trivia, the subservience to polling and spin, the ruthless media management by the politicians and perhaps most importantly the new parliament house, with its delusions of grandeur and the decline of the brisk working lunch. They all add up to political coverage which avoids the big issues, worries more about missing out on a story than actually uncovering one and leads the hacks to think of themselves as players rather than observers.The talk will include a Q&A session at the end of the presentation, followed by light refreshments in the foyer. Hosted by USQ Faculty of Business and Law
Date: Wednesday 19 October 2011
Time: 6.00pm
Duration: 1 hour
Venue: USQ Arts Theatre, Toowoomba campus
Cost: $18.00 Adult, $15.00 Concession, $13.00 Student, $8.00 Child
Ticket price includes a post-show Meet-the-Artist Reception
Bookings: USQ Artsworx Box Office Phone 4631 1111
Contact Mark Munro
Toowoomba Hospice
Po Box 6463
Toowoomba West Qld 4350
Ph 07 4659 8500 Fax 07 4659 8511
email: admin.toowoombahospice@bigpond.com
Submitted by:
Tony Rehn
Crime Prevention Officer
Southern Region
Queensland Police Service
Ph 07 4631 6755 Fax 07 4615 3200
For all those Gleeks out there – and anyone who’s wondering what the fuss is all about – get on down to Queens Park tonight to see Toowoomba’s first official Glee-slam!
Part of the 2011 USQ Shakespeare in the Park Festival, To Glee or Not to Glee will see secondary schools from across the Darling Downs compete for the ultimate prize of ‘Glee Champion’.
Event co-ordinator, Carley Commens has been working with the schools to bring the individual performances together into a one-night extravaganza which will be presented to the public on Wednesday 12 October.
The teams have been asked to perform a six-minute song/dance presentation based on themes drawn from A Midsummer Night’s Dream; and each of the seven entries are very exciting and different,†said Carley.
Toowoomba State High at Mt Lofty has formed a Glee choir especially for the event, with over twenty students from year eight to twelve meeting once a week in the lead up to develop choreography and rehearse their six minute performance, while their Wilsonton campus will also join-in with the spirit of Glee with a smaller choral ensemble.
The Glennie School’s choir are hoping that a tried-and-true ABBA favourite in their mash-up will score points, while Toowoomba Grammar is sure to win favours when their Grammarphones present an A-Capella performance not unlike The Warblers from Glee.
Oakey and Dalby will be adding a touch of the dramatic to their pieces, incorporating music and drama students, and the Christian Outreach College choir will bring-it with their rendition of Fireflies.â€
The night will also include several special guest performances including the USQ Contemporary Singers; dancers from local hip hop and contemporary dance studio, The Grid; and an appearance by the cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The official part of the evening will see The Chronicle’s self-confessed Gleek, Merryl Miller; together with USQ Lecturer in Singing, Melissa Forbes and local choreographer and dance teacher, Alison Vallette charged with the task of judging.
Presented by the Toowoomba Chronicle, To Glee or Not to Glee will be performed on Wednesday 12 October on the Festival mainstage in Queens Park. Tickets are $5 and available at the gate on the night.
The weekly program keeping you up to date with Toowoomba Regional Council’s facilities, activities and services.
Council Connections with Darren Burton
This week Darren talks about the next council meetings, water restrictions, a seminar on mobile phone usage, a visit by author Judy Nunn, the mobile library and environmental grants closing soon.
The stage is set for USQ’s Shakespeare in the Park Festival to return to Toowoomba’s favourite park with a spectacular open-air season of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The quintessential ‘park’ play will be retold by an outstanding cast of professional and student actors on a star-lit stage in Queens Park.
The fantastic, multi-layered production will fuse ‘age old’ with ‘modern’ in an eclectic mix of styles reflecting Director Scott Alderdice and Designer Carolyn Taylor-Smith’s shared aesthetic for the dynamism created when fusing fashions and environments from different eras and cultures.
A six-metre-tall floral bloom created from over sixty donated and found wedding dresses will provide the stunning backdrop which reflects a 400 year history of love and lovers.
Shakespeare’s play is a fantastically funny mix of lamenting lovers, a mischievous sprite, feuding fairies, a wayward love potion and an unsuspecting troupe of amateur actors.
Scott Alderdice speaks with FM Radio’s Gordon Patterson about the production
Lead roles are taken by Sasha Janowicz (Oberon/Theseus), Lauren O’Rourke (Titania/Hippolyta), Christopher Hunter (Demetrius), Emily Curtin (Helena), Kate Murphy (Hermia), Mathew A Walsh ( Lysander) and Hannah Ellis (Puck).
A Midsummer Night’s Dream will run from 7-9 and 13-15 October, commencing at 6.30pm each night. Gates open from 5.30pm and audiences are encouraged to come along early and enjoy a twilight picnic dinner before the show. The site is licensed for BYO alcohol, with picnic dinners, hot drinks and treats available from the on-site vendors.
Tickets can be purchased through the Empire Theatre Box Office on 1300 655 299 or at the gate each night from 5.30pm.
For further information about this year’s Festival, visit www.usq.edu.au/shakespeare