The program comprises two pieces, Delibes’ CoppĂ©lia Suite and Franck’s Symphony in D-Minor, played without intermission. Dancers from Theatre Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ will join for the first piece. They will perform a movement piece with kites in the Reflecting Pond.

A team of creative directors from the Theatre Department has been working with community professionals, graduate students, alumni, dancers, and designers to create what they call a “Site-Specific Theatrical Event: Chance Choreography with Performance Objects.”

The choreography includes 20 performers including professionals and students who will incorporate dance puppetry and objects in their performance. Vandy Wood and Julia Listengarten, theatre faculty and members of the creative team, are thrilled to collaborate across the disciplines on many production levels. “We are excited about the opportunity to integrate a visual performance in the live symphony concert. This creative process challenged us in many unexpected ways, but, most specifically, in how we develop a shared vocabulary across disciplinary boundaries and between different communities.”

Marosi, director of Instrumental Ensembles, said he is excited to be partnering with the Theatre Department. “I try to come up with different ideas for the event. And this year, I conducted Theatre’s production of The Music Man, and now they are participating in our event.”

The annual concert occurs outside for two reasons. The first, Marosi said, is lack of an on-campus performance hall big enough to accommodate the symphony and patrons. The second is that “this symphony exists for the community. We provide a break at the end of the semester for all Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ students. The students in the orchestra get to play beautiful music for all of their classmates and friends, and everyone walking by can see, and hear, that Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ has a symphony orchestra.”

“It’s a very challenging program,” says Marosi, “and not all the performers are music majors. There is a wide range of majors represented in the orchestra.”

Guests are invited to bring chairs, blankets, and picnic baskets. In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be held in the Pegasus Ballroom in the Student Union. Parking on the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ campus will be free for patrons from 7-10 p.m. (Visitors parking in 24-hour reserved spots will be ticketed.)

This event is sponsored by the Campus Activities Board. For more information, contact cabarts@ucf.edu or call 407-823-3294.

“When I put on my three silver bracelets, I am transported back in time…into the world of my grandmother…”

“When I put on my swimsuit and goggles and start swimming, my Mom and Dad say I look like a fish…”

Young authors’ imaginations can be endless when they’re given the opportunity to create.

And a contest involving Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝’s Theatre for Young Audiences gives those budding writers the chance to see their stories come to life.

The project, called Writes of Spring, is a collaboration of graduate students in the Theatre Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ master’s program, the Orlando Repertory Theatre and students from the community in kindergarten through 12th grade.

This year’s assignment to the writers was to compose a short story, essay or poem finishing this intro: “When I put on _______.”

Out of about 1,300 entries submitted last fall, 114 winners were chosen in four different age groups to be woven into a story by student and already-veteran-scriptwriter Amanda Hill.

Performances will be May 1-2 at the Orlando Repertory Theatre, 1001 E. Princeton St., Orlando, with student Courtney Grile as director. This year’s production titled “if not now, when?” will include graduate and undergraduate theatre students as the actors. Others that have been key to the production are faculty adviser Vandy Wood; Gary Cadwallader, education director at Orlando Repertory Theatre; and sponsor Fifth Third Bank.

“The project strives to support literacy, critical thinking, and creative expression by transforming students’ words into a fully produced show,” Hill said. “Each poem, essay, and story is a piece of a huge jigsaw puzzle, which the creative team works to piece together.”

Joan Roxbury, a third-grade teacher at Lake Eola Charter School in downtown Orlando, said topics that deal with animals, friends, fantasy and adventure appeal to her young writers.

“The students often write about their own personal experiences that are important to them,” said Roxbury, who had compositions by nine of her students chosen this year for Writes of Spring. She said she also uses the project as an assignment to encourage her struggling writers to participate because they don’t see the one-page length as an overwhelming task.

“Writes of Spring gave them a chance to write about their dreams and wishes, and they loved that,” she said.

Hill said there were so many well-composed entries that it was hard to pick winners for the script.

“There was so much good material to choose from,” she said. “We can’t choose it all or the play would never end.”

Roxbury said she is grateful for the opportunity for her students’ works to be acted out on stage by the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ theatre team.

“The Writes of Spring contest connected the theme of writing and acting together for my students, which was really great,” she said.

“I think celebrating their writing is a key motivational factor. When Writes of Spring indicated that they were going to use the stories in our class, the students were thrilled at the prospect of seeing their pieces come to life.”

Tickets for “if not now, when” are complimentary, but reservations for the May 1-2 productions are recommended by calling 407-896-7365, ext. 1 at the Orlando Repertory Theatre, 1001 E. Princeton St., Orlando. Both nights will have a kickoff celebration at 6:30 p.m., followed by the 7 p.m. performance and a reception.