Seminole State College announces 2019-20 cultural arts season

The Center for the Fine and Performing Arts at Seminole State College of Florida is planning a creative and unique season and taking some of its performances offstage and on the road. With a three-day Latinx Festival, a Fringe Fest appearance, and an outdoor performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the 2019-20 cultural arts season is poised to prove that art can be enjoyed outside the box. 

Art

The opening exhibit for the Fine Arts season is Cuba: Reconstructing Memories by Jose Betancourt. The show will feature a variety of photographs that are rooted deep in photographic methods with processes from digital to Cyanotype. Pulling from his personal experience of traveling from Havana, Cuba, to Miami, Florida, at the young age of five in the ’70s, Betancourt used his memories to create a visually stunning display of the nostalgia that is carried close to his heart. 

The season will also showcase works in oils on canvas and linen from German artist Beatrice Athenas in her show Adventurous Journey and an installation and performance with chalkboard images from Susan Hensel titled Eros and Thanatos. Season favorites, the Fine Arts Faculty Exhibit and the Juried Student Art Exhibit (now in its 51st year), aim to impress and inspire.  

The Fine Arts Gallery will house its exhibits in building J (J-109) on the Sanford/Lake Mary Campus for the 2019-20 season. The gallery will be open to the public Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during exhibit dates.

Theatre

With five theatrical productions on the 2019-20 schedule, the Center for Fine and Performing Arts Theatre is aiming to bring art alive to its patrons. Kicking off with a bit of flair, Fringe of the Fringe highlights three plays performed at the iconic Orlando Fringe festival. It is designed to intrigue, tickle your funny bone, and make you question the darkest corners of your mind. Shakespeare will make another showing this season with A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed under the stars on the Sanford/Lake Mary Campus, and dance troupe Flamenco del Sol will present Pasion Flamenca highlighting the work of poet and playwright Gabriel Garcia Lorca. The Victorian performance troupe Phantasmagoria will bring ghost stories to the holiday season, and the theatre performances will conclude with a special presentation of Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson at the Emil Buehler Perpetual Trust Planetarium at Seminole State.

With the exception of Silent Sky, tickets for Seminole State’s 2019-20 theatre season will be free, but reservations are recommended. Tickets can be reserved by contacting the box office at 407.708.2506. Tickets for Silent Sky are $10 for general admission, and $8 for seniors 60+ and for students of other schools. Tickets to all theatre productions are free for Seminole State students, faculty and staff. 

Music

The Seminole State Music Department has planned performances featuring students, faculty and guest artists. From concerts at Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center to recitals and a Yuletide Celebration at local churches, guests will be treated to sounds from different music genres. A highlight of the season is Collin Edouard’s Remembering: Identity, Representation and the Arts. With a passion for choral music, Edouard will offer patrons a sampling of music from other cultures. Latin sounds with the Orlando Symphony Orchestra, an evening of cool jazz, and a Messiah Sing-In round out the season. Concerts will be held at various locations and are free and open to the public.