Next Week's Free Stage Tours Give Audiences A Glimpse Behind The Scenes Of GTA's February Festival

Next week's FREE Stage Tours give audiences a glimpse behind the scenes of GTA's February Festival's door-slamming and canyon-paddling comedies

For the 11th year, the Gainesville Theatre Alliance is preparing its February Festival of Theatre, when they serve up not one but two productions that offer audiences numerous good reasons to come in from the cold and enjoy the warm glow of the footlights. This year the warm allure is two comedies, Noises Off and Men On Boats, and this coming week the public is invited to two Stage Tours, one-hour tastes of each show, that are likely to bring hungry theatre-goers back to the theatre for the full meal in February.

The Gainesville Theater Alliance is an acclaimed collaboration between the University of North Georgia, Brenau University, theatre professionals, and the North Georgia community.

At the Noises Off Stage Tour, at 6pm, Tues., Jan 29, GTA Artistic Director and show director Jim Hammond will showcase the elaborate preparations for a revolving set on which sardines fly, pants drop and endless doors slam with abandon for the beloved British sex-farce. The event takes place at Brenau University's Hosch Theater, 429 Academy Street, Gainesville, GA 30501.

Costume designer Pamela Workman will be there to discuss her pants-dropping (literally) designs, as will lighting designer and GTA alum, Jennifer Trippe Nakahara. Patrons will be treated to a taste of the production in the form of one of its uproarious scenes.

For the free Men on Boats Stage Tour, GTA is partnering with the Lake Lanier Rowing Club and the event will be held at 6:00 pm, Thursday, Jan. 31, at the Lake Lanier Olympic Boat House, 3105 Clarks Bridge Road, Gainesville, GA.

Men on Boats is the true(ish) story of John Wesley Powell's 1869 expedition, when the one-armed captain and a crew of insane yet loyal volunteers set out to chart the course of the Colorado River. Ten men and four boats take on the Grand Canyon and the American wilderness in this witty, boldly written adventure. The catch? The cast is all female.

Visitors will be welcomed to the Boat House by the music of bluegrass composer and performer Kyle Cantrall, and GTA Resident Director Elisa Carlson will discuss the unusual casting choice of the playwright. Scenic Designer Larry Cook and (student) Lighting Designer Evan Freeman will talk about the theatre tricks involved in converting the small UNG-Gainesville theatre into the Grand Canyon with rushing water.

Noises Off opens on Feb. 12 and Men on Boats opens on February 15, both running through Feb. 23, with matinee performances on the 17th and 23rd. While the Stage Tours are free, tickets to performances range from $12 to $26, depending on patron age and seat location. Patrons can purchase tickets and select their own seats at the GTA website, www.gainesvilleTHEATREalliance.org, or by calling the GTA Box Office from 10am to 4pm on weekdays and 678.717.3624.

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