University offers free children’s drama classes

Kansas University’s theatre and film department will offer free after-school drama classes this spring in Murphy Hall.

Classes will be taught by Jeanne Klein, director of KU’s Theatre for Young People, and college students enrolled in her “Children and Drama” class.

Parents may register their children in the Murphy Hall lobby on the following dates:

• Grades 1-3, register from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday. Classes will be from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 28, Feb. 4, 11, 18, April 22, 29 and May 6.
• Grades 4-6, register from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 25. Classes will be from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 27, March 6, 13, 27, April 3, 10 and 17.

For more information, call Amber McIntosh at 864-5576.

Community Theatre issues call for auditions

Auditions for a Lawrence Community Theatre production of an interactive murder mystery will be 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the theatre, 1501 N.H.

Those auditioning should be comfortable working closely with an audience or be willing to learn.

The show is under the direction of Dann Hurlbert.

One performance is scheduled for Feb. 25 at the Kansas Union.

For more information, call the theatre at 843-SHOW.

Deadline extended for outdoor sculpture show

Overland Park — The City of Overland Park has extended its deadline for submissions to its outdoor sculpture project to Feb. 28.

The sculptures will occupy a 34-foot-by-46-foot circle drive at the new Overland Park Convention Center at the southwest corner of College Boulevard and Lamar Avenue.

The work must be monumental in size or, if a series of works, must create a monumental impression. The minimum height of the overall work must be 15 feet.

Artists who live in Kansas or Missouri, natives of one of those states currently living elsewhere, or artists who were educated at an institution of higher learning in Kansas or Missouri will be considered.

Artists must submit between eight and 12 slides or photos, and include a resume or artist’s biography.

Mail submissions to: O.P. Convention Center, Outdoor Sculpture Project, 6300 W. 87th St., Room 202, Overland Park 66212. Submissions must be postmarked by Feb. 28.

Folly Theater stages family-oriented play

Kansas City, Mo. — The Folly Theater will stage a new musical adaptation of Scott O’Dell’s Newbery Medal-winning novel “Island of the Blue Dolphins” by Theatreworks USA.

The family-oriented play will be at 7 p.m. Friday at the theater, 12th Street and Central Avenue.

The play follows Karana, the daughter of the Chief of an Indian tribe on a Pacific island. At 12, her life is altered forever when a Russian sea captain and his crew arrive and demand hunting rights in the waters around the island. After a bitter battle, the tribe is forced to move, and Karana is left behind.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for children. Group rates are available.

For tickets or more information, call (816) 474-4444.

Production revisits life of Harriet Tubman

Mission — Theatre for Young America will present a biographical memory play on the life of Underground Railroad pioneer Harriet Tubman from Wednesday-Feb. 14 at its home theatre on the second level of Mission Center Mall.

“In the Footsteps of Freedom with Harriet Tubman” was written by Gene Mackey, resident playwright and artistic director, and is directed by Karen Cline-Wright.

The play follows Tubman’s adventures as a young slave learning to weave and continues through her leading more than 300 slaves safely to freedom on the Underground Railroad prior to the Civil War.

Lynn King plays the older Tubman, Angela Polk the younger Tubman.

Tickets are $6.50. Group rates are available.

For more information, call (913) 831-2131.

KC Symphony to play concert for all ages

Kansas City, Mo. — Timothy Hankewich, interim director of orchestral studies at Kansas University and associate conductor of the Kansas City Symphony, will lead the orchestra today in a concert geared toward children and families.

The orchestra will play Prokofiev’s music for “Peter and the Wolf” and music from Disney’s “Fantasia” movies, including Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals” during a 2 p.m. concert at the Lyric Theatre, 11th Street and Central Avenue.

The hour-long concert will feature Paul Mesner Puppets and will be narrated by local celebrity Walter Coppage.

Tickets are available online at www.kcsymphony.org or by calling the Symphony ticket office at (816) 471-0400.

Museum exhibition explores new media

Kansas City, Mo. — This winter’s “Electromediascope” series at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art will confront changes in information technology during the past decade and their implications for film lovers.

“Electromediascope” is an international survey of contemporary, experimental work in independent film, video, new media and performance. This is the series’ 10th anniversary.

The retrospective winter program “REPLAY: Selected Works 1993-2003” will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7 in Atkins Auditorium.

Selections for this winter — the first half of the anniversary celebration — represent the variety of films and videos presented during the past decade of “Electromediascope” programming. The spring series in March and April will explore the collaborative and interactive experiences of new media and Web-based artworks.

For more details, call (816) 751-1278, ext. 3.

Photographer’s work taps historical process

Kansas City, Mo. — “Masque,” an exhibition of work by photographer Len Fohn, will open at Rockhurst University’s Greenlease Gallery with a reception from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday.

Fohn creates images called ambrotypes, silver emulsion on glass, which were popular from the 1840s through the Civil War. The process is now obsolete, but it is in the midst of a revival by photographers who appreciate the aesthetic qualities of the silver emulsion.

Fohn will give a gallery talk and a demonstration of the technique at 6 p.m. Feb. 5 in the Greenlease Gallery.

“Masque” will continue through Feb. 22.

Greenlease Gallery is located between Van Ackeren and Sedgwick halls on the Rockhurst campus, 54th Street and Troost Avenue. Admission is free noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. For more information, call (816) 501-4607.

Mini museum mounts tiny tractor exhibition

Kansas City, Mo. — The man best known as Tractor Don will bring his pristine collection of pedal tractors to the Toy and Miniature Museum this spring.

Don Hrabik has been collecting and restoring pedal tractors since his retirement in 1993. He also restores full-sized tractors to mint condition and frequently drives them in local parades.

An exhibition of the best 20 tractors from his 46-tractor collection will be on display from Saturday through April 26 at the museum, 5235 Oak St.

The museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, and 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $4 for adults, $3.50 for students and seniors, $2 for children ages 3-12.

For more information, call (816) 333-2055 or visit the museum’s Web site at www.umkc.edu/tmm.