‘The Secret Garden’ Blooms at UVU’s Noorda Theatre Learning Process

‘The Secret Garden’ Blooms at UVU’s Noorda Theatre

Written on January 19, 2012 – 7:41 am | by Matthew Hovell

The Utah Valley University Theatrical Arts Department brings “The Secret Garden: A Play for Young Audiences” to the UVU Noorda Theatre stage Jan. 26 -Feb. 18. Performances of this beloved piece of literature are presented every Monday, Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday matinees at 2 p.m.

This is a non-musical adaptation of “The Secret Garden,” which focuses on the child characters using pantomime, projections, puppets and even a live flute to help tell the tale. It incorporates a “story-theatre” style that includes narrative as well as dialogue and is performed in a “tennis court” performance area (with the audience on either side of the artists.)

“The Secret Garden” presents UVU theatrical arts students Heather Ashton in the role of Mary Lennnox and Jordan Kramer as Colin Craven. The production is directed by John Newman, a UVU assistant professor of theatrical arts.

This is the third season for which the Noorda Theatre has created high quality productions for younger audiences. Previous main stage plays include “Charlottes Web” and “Wiley and the Hairy Man,” both of which included puppetry in combination with live actors.

In addition to pubic performances, six school matinee performances have been made available. Schools and home-school groups interested in attending these performances are asked to contact Eileen Nagle at Eileen.Nagle@uvu.edu or 801-863-KIDS (5437).

Utah Valley University is located in Orem, Utah, and is home to nearly 33,000 students. UVU began as a vocational school during World War II, and in the seven decades since has evolved into a technical school, community college, state college and, finally, a comprehensive regional teaching university. UVU is one of Utahís largest institutions of higher learning and offers programs ranging from career training to high-demand master degrees, with emphasis on undergraduate education.

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