Kaledoscope Series Sells Close to 5,700 Low-Cost Tickets to Schools in 2009-10

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford closed out its Kaleidoscope school matinee series with two sold-out performances of “Junie B. Jones” Monday.

The stage version of the popular easy reader was one of eight matinees put on for elementary, middle and high school students at a low cost to schools. Tickets for the shows ranged from $4 to $8.

Kaleidoscope sold close to 5,700 tickets during its 2009-10 season, which included selections for every age range, according to Patty Colosimo, assistant director of arts programming and coordinator of the series.

Elementary and middle school-age children enjoyed a musical version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”; another storybook musical, “If You Give a Pig a Pancake”; “CSI: Live,” a CSI-based science show that was so popular a third matinee was scheduled; and “Harriet Tubman,” about the hero of the Underground Railroad.

French students from around the region attended a performance by the Canadian French musical group Grand Dérangement and high school students took in matinee performances of the Division of Communication and the Arts plays, “Eurydice” and “Macbeth.”

“Every show has information for teachers to prepare students,” explained Colosimo, who said that the French classes, in particular, came well prepared.

For many of the children in attendance, it is the first quality live show they’ve had a chance to see, Colosimo said.

“‘If You Give a Pig a Pancake’ was for pretty small children, and I was really amazed at how engaged the children were,” Colosimo said. “That’s the power of live theater.”

And a balcony. Colosimo said one group was simply so taken by the balcony in the 500-seat Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall, that they were thrilled before the show even started.

Colosimo related the story of a Kaleidoscope Committee volunteer who was sitting in the balcony watching a show with the children. A little girl next to the volunteer was quivering, and finally the volunteer asked her if she was OK. The little girl answered, “This is the best day of my life.”

Colosimo said that because she introduces each show, she is now recognized in Bradford by children as “the matinee lady.”

The matinee lady has been busy, along with her committee of ten or so dedicated volunteers, organizing next year’s Kaleidoscope series, which will include “The Diary of Anne Frank,” Oct. 14; “Butterfly: The Story of a Life Cycle,” which will be performed with giant, colorful puppets, Oct. 18; Division of Communication and the Arts plays on Nov. 17 and April 6, 2011; “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Other Story Books,” Dec. 1; “Seussical,” a musical based on the works of Dr. Seuss, Jan. 14, 2011; “Star Trek,” another science-based show, Jan. 26, 2011; and “Click Clack Moo,” another storybook musical, Feb. 25, 2011.

For the first time, Colosimo said, the series will also include an evening performance. “Seussical” will have a 7 p.m. show as well as two matinees.

“We’ve had a lot of people who’ve called and wanted to bring their own children,” Colosimo said.

Kaleidoscope was started two years ago as the New Horizons School Matinee Series. The name of the series changed at the beginning of this year.

Randy L. Mayes, director of arts programming, initiated the New Horizons series and continues to negotiate with the companies and execute contracts.

To choose Kaleidoscope’s offerings, Colosimo said she studied the websites of other colleges and universities that provide school matinees to see what seemed to be popular productions. She also works with agents and surveys teachers about what they would like to see on stage.

After a pilot year that included two storybook presentations and a Division of Communication and the Arts play, the number of offerings was doubled, and the schools kept coming.

“We’ve had a great response,” Colosimo said. “I had waiting lists for ‘A Christmas Carol,’ and ‘CSI’ sold out so quickly that we asked the company to come back and do a third show.”

Kaleidoscope is made possible in part by the Pitt-Bradford Arts Endowment. The major fundraiser for the endowment it the Pitt-Bradford Auction for the Arts, which will be held this year on Sept. 18 in Blaisdell Hall.

Gail McDonough, chairwoman of the Auction for the Arts Committee, said that “the community is responsible for these children coming to these performances that they wouldn’t have had a chance to see.”

Last year’s auction raised nearly $25,000 for arts programming at Pitt-Bradford, including the Kaleidoscope series.

For more information on Kaleidoscope or the Auction for the Arts, contact Colosimo at (814)362-5155 or colosimo@pitt.edu.

Photos courtesy of Pitt-Bradford