Check out Theatre Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s annual costume sale Friday, Oct. 21, to find what you need to create your new look.

The department will offer a variety of costumes and accessories such as hats, shoes and other items that were created or purchased for past productions. Most items are $1 to $10.

“The exact costumes vary every year, depending on recent shows we’ve done,� said Heather Gibson, marketing director for the School of Performing Arts. “This summer our costume shop manager had time to sort through a lot of back stock, so the sale is bigger than usual.�

Costume shop manager Dan Jones said this is the most items up for grabs in the eight years of the sale.

Some of the items this year are from Kiss of the Spider Woman, about the relationship between two prisoners; Spunk and the Harlem Literati, an adaptation of the play Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston about a 1920s love triangle; and The Most Happy Fella, about an immigrant vineyard owner.

The sale will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center’s Room T-244.

All the proceeds help fund the theatre department’s costume shop and provide a budget for new productions, especially those with students learning to be designers.

The sale is also open to the public. Cash is preferred, but checks will be accepted. No credit cards can be accepted.

Jeffrey Kimpton, president of Michigan’s Interlochen Center for the Arts, will discuss how such a center at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ can be a community hub for the arts. His talk, “Temple, Forum or Innovation Zone?â€� will be presented at 7 p.m. in the Orlando Repertory Theatre at Loch Haven Park, 1001 E. Princeton St.

Kimpton leads the Interlochen Center’s internationally distinguished programs in arts education, public broadcasting and presentations. He has a 36-year record of leadership as a teacher and administrator in K-12 schools, director of education for Yamaha Corporation of America, director of public engagement at Brown University’s Annenberg Institute, and director and professor of the School of Music at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

The Performing Arts Center is a fund-raising priority for the university and is one of President John C. Hitt’s top initiatives. The center’s second phase will feature a 600-seat Concert Hall, 520-seat Proscenium Theatre and two additional performance spaces with 263 and 225 seats

The lecture series is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, however, so reservations can be arranged by contacting kara.steiner@ucf.edu or 407-823-1194.

This event is hosted by the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Arts & Humanities and sponsored by the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Foundation Inc. in partnership with the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Education.

For more information about the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Performing Arts Center and how to contribute to Phase II, visit http://foundation.cah.ucf.edu/pac.php.

Working with composer Zack Browning of the University of Illinois, Anderson and a group of percussion majors premiered the unique piece that then became part of a compilation on a CD titled Secret Pulse. Other artists joining the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Percussion Ensemble include well-known groups such as the Cadillac Moon Ensemble and the JACK Quartet.

Secret Pulse was recently released by Innova Recordings, an independent music label. Some of the label’s previous artists and albums have gone on to be nominated for and win Pulitzer Prizes, as well as GRAMMY and Emmy awards.

Once the piece was composed, Browning came to campus to work with the ensemble on tweaking the music and preparing for the premiere and recording.

“Zach came in a few days before the event and we got to workshop the piece,� Anderson says. “We made specific instrument choices—for instance, he asked for metal sounds, so we would try different metallic objects like brake drums, pots, and bell plates.�

Thad especially enjoys this pre-performance collaboration. “Once the composer creates a new piece, it is the performers job to interpret the music and present it to an audience, he says. “Having the opportunity to work closely with a composer prior to the initial performance is where the real collaboration happens. It’s an opportunity to put yourself into a piece a music before anyone else gets a chance to.â€�

Want to hear the piece?

Visit the SoundCloud link for “Flying Tones�.

Want to watch the original performance?

You can see the entire concert on Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s YouTube site at this –“Flying Tones” starts at about 14:25.

Or, you could always just go see it live.

Go visit the “Florida Day of Percussion’ in Tampa on March 24th and watch the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Percussion Ensemble perform the piece live.

Collectively, there are nearly 500 donors in these societies, representing more than $80 million in past and future support to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½.

Featured speakers at the event included Dr. John Hitt, founding Board of Trustee member Phyllis Klock, and College of Sciences’ student Catherine Davies.

Dr. Hitt presented the President’s Award to Judy and David Albertson for their exceptional 30-year relationship with Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½.

Judy Albertson, a charter member of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Board of Trustees and current member of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Foundation Board, has been a leader in fundraising efforts for the Performing Arts Center and Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s fine arts press, Flying Horse Editions. Together, the Albertsons established The Judith and David Albertson Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in the Department of Visual Arts. They are also avid supporters of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Athletics programs. David Albertson is president of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Athletics Board. The Albertsons played a key role in helping to build Bright House Networks Stadium.

The President’s Trust recognizes contributors with cumulative giving of $100,000-$999,999, President’s Medallion recognizes donors who contribute $25,000 or more in a fiscal year, and The Charles Millican Society honors individuals who make a planned or deferred gift commitment to the future of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ and its students.

The center’s first phase, which opened this fall, enhances the academic experience for students in the performing arts with multiple teaching studios and voice rooms, an electro-acoustic music lab, percussion ensemble rooms and a recording studio.

Its second phase, which will be funded by private donations, will host first-class theatre and music performances for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ and the surrounding communities to enjoy.

“We have been an excellent partner to arts organizations throughout the area,â€� Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ President John C. Hitt told guests at the Ballroom at Church Street. “Now it is time for that commitment to the performing arts to be expressed on our own great campus.â€�

The new space will not only help with recruiting future artists, but also will drive Central Florida’s economy. Recent estimates report that Florida’s nonprofit arts and cultural organizations generated about $2.8 billion in direct spending in 2007 and another $3.4 billion from indirect spending, which translated into about 73,000 jobs statewide.

“At Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, we understand the contribution that our great state university can make to the economic well-being of our Central Florida city-state,â€� President Hitt said.

In addition to adding economic value, the arts contribute to Central Florida’s cultural vitality and help communities better understand the human experience.

During Wednesday’s breakfast, Board of Trustees Chair Rick Walsh also paid tribute to the university’s founding president, Charles Millican, who died Dec. 1.

“Charlie loved the theatre and musical performances,â€� he said. “In fact, one of his and Frances’ favorite nights of the year was a special performance by the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ orchestra alongside the fountain behind Millican Hall.â€�

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is one of only a few universities in the country to have a theatre lighting lab where students can learn the skills necessary to light everything from a theatrical production to a rock ‘n’ roll show.

The second phase of the Performing Arts Center will feature a 600-seat concert hall and two theaters with 520 and 225 seats respectively, as well as costume, scene and prop shops.

“The Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Performing Arts Center will help students in Music and Theatre achieve their dreams by learning, rehearsing and performing on stages equal to all the great stages where their dreams take place,â€� Walsh said.

Walsh also praised the new center’s customized spaces for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Music and Theatre students.

“Each room is built differently based on its acoustic needs, and indeed the building itself is tuned to allow those who come through it to experience the life and energy within,� he said. “Everything from the floor to angles of the walls is constructed for the artists who will use them.�

The Performing Arts Center is designed to have a small carbon footprint with abundant natural lighting. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is seeking silver-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the widely accepted benchmark for buildings that are environmentally friendly and healthy for occupants.

For more information on the center and how to donate to its second phase, visit http://foundation.cah.ucf.edu/pac.php.

“It was tight,â€� said Paul Lartonoix, assistant dean of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s College of Arts and Humanities.

In fact, the building still smells new — and some rooms are awaiting finishing touches.

But the offices and classrooms are complete, and on a recent weekday students were tap dancing to “All That Jazz� in a new studio, while down the hall a professor lectured a costume-design class on Elizabethan-era menswear.

The 75,000-square-foot building has a working theater-lighting lab so students can gain practical experience. And there’s a music-instruction lab with music and computer keyboards at each student’s desk that are all hooked into a sound system controlled by the instructor.

Studio floors are low-impact for dancers’ and actors’ feet, but sturdy enough to support scenery and props.

The floors and air ducts are constructed so sound cannot vibrate into adjoining spaces. Extra-thick walls and doors complete the soundproofing.

“If you’re trying to do a percussion rehearsal in one room and a string quartet in the next room, it will work,� said Christopher Niess, chairman and artistic director of the theater department.

A theatrical design classroom, in which accurately seeing colors is key, received an exemption from Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s requirement of using energy-efficient, compact fluorescent light bulbs, which distort colors.

As a whole, however, the building was constructed to be eco-conscious and is certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, an international evaluator of Earth-friendly buildings.

Just as important as the technical specifications is the sense of purpose and collaboration forged by uniting the performing-arts disciplines in one structure, Niess said.

Previously, classrooms and faculty offices were scattered across Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s sprawling campus.

“Just being there in the same location, we already have several projects using people from both music and theater,� Niess said. For example, the upcoming play “Vinegar Tom� will use some musicians as actors.

The next phase of the project calls for adding a 520-seat theater, a smaller theater, a 600-seat concert hall and a smaller recital hall.

Because the emphasis is on performance space instead of academic use, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is turning to private donations rather than state money. The Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Foundation, which raises funds for the university, has set a target of $65 million.

Though there’s no firm timetable for construction — it all depends on when the money is raised — Lartonoix said three years was “optimistic but not out of the question.�

In the meantime, Niess is focused on future students and what Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ can now offer them. The music and theater programs have been attracting more interest each year; about 550 are now in the theater program and 260 are music majors.

In the past, Niess said, students would become interested in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ at recruitment fairs and conferences, but then lose their interest when they saw the school’s scattered, cramped classrooms.

He likes the message he’ll be able to give the potential students at Saturday’s recruitment event: “We have the faculty to make your experience wonderful, but now we have the facilities, too, to give you a competitive edge.�

Source: OrlandoSentinel.com, Orlando Arts Blog, Nov. 19, 2010, Matt Palm, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s new recruitment tool: $25 million School of Performing Arts

Featuring one-of-a-kind gowns, cloaks, capes and costumes from productions such as “West Side Story” and the swashbuckling musical “Pirates,” the sale will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 26, and Wednesday, Oct. 27.

The annual costume sale is open to the public. It will be held in room T244 of the new Theatre Building — part of the first phase of the Performing Arts Center on Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s main campus.

Most items are priced at less than $10, so cash is preferred, but checks also will be accepted. Credit cards can’t be used.

For directions to the Theatre Building, visit the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Conservatory Theatre website at .

It’s only phase one of what will become an arts complex. Phase one includes classrooms, rehearsal spaces, specialized production areas, as well as faculty and administrative offices for the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Arts and Humanities (CAH) departments of music and theater. Once the privately funded phase two is completed, the complex will include:

For more information about the center, visit the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Arts & Humanities and Foundation Web site.