Opera in Indian Head? That and more in June

Stageworks promises 17 days of performances

Friday, May 16, 2008

Stageworks, a new company headed by Lisa Kay Morton, is a program that serves as an incubator of sorts for performing artists in musical theater, jazz, opera and stagecraft.

As Morton, who is an opera singer herself, explains it, when performing arts students complete their undergraduate or graduate degrees, they might lack the stage experience that repertory theaters or other programs look for in a performer.

That’s where Stageworks comes in.

While there are fewer than a dozen young artists programs of its ilk in the nation, only Morton’s company offers a more extensive slate.

‘‘There are not a lot of programs in the United States that do what I want to do,” she said. ‘‘There are only about 10 and none that integrate musical theater, jazz and opera.

‘‘It’s an opportunity for the best of the best to get extensive stage experience,” said Morton, who has been a board member for similar programs operating nationally and internationally.

And while some might see Indian Head as just a dot on a map, Morton said it is the perfect location for such a festival.

She cites the locations of other successful festivals as being just outside of large metropolitan cities — Indian Head is 17 miles from Washington, D.C.

The preview gala, to be held at the Black Box Theatre will feature 12 jazz, musical theater and opera performances with maestro Bill Vendice of the Los Angeles Opera conducting and three local pianists providing accompaniment. Performers are flying in from New Mexico, New York, Texas, Delaware and Pennsylvania to provide entertainment for the gala.

Tickets are $100 per person with proceeds benefitting the scholarship program at Stageworks.

Morton, the mother of three — her son, Jarrett, 20, is a jazz pianist; daughter, Alanya, 18, is studying opera; and Tanner, 15, has no interest in music whatsoever — is married to Mitchell, a jazz pianist in the U.S. Air Force Band.

Stageworks is a virtual company which its artist director Morton can run from her computer. The board is all over the country and the faculty is all over the world.

But she’s happy to launch the festival in sleepy Indian Head, where next month a 60-foot stage will stand on the village green with tickets to each performance running $5 to $10 a person.

Among those performances is a jazz concert featuring highlights from ‘‘Porgy and Bess;” a cabaret night; a big band concert; Mozart’s opera ‘‘The Magic Flute;” ‘‘Ragtime,” a Broadway musical; and a mostly Mozart concert.

Bringing together the best in the field — whether it is guest conductors or other professionals — with those just starting out, Morton and the board at Stageworks play a sort of performance arts matchmaker.

Holding auditions coast to coast and everywhere in between looking for talent, Stageworks is three years in the making.

‘‘There are a lot more participants than programs out there,” she said.

Stageworks has about 78 singers representing seven countries, about 20 instrumental artists and a few who are in stagecraft. About 15 are from the Southern Maryland area, she said.

Morton added that typically a singer would have to go to Europe to get stage exposure.

‘‘In Italy, even the littlest counties have a program,” Morton said. ‘‘It’s because of their love of music.”

According to Morton, Stageworks is the largest program of its kind in the country, attracting professionals through professional relationships.

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Stage a gala

To find out more about the Stageworks Festival or to donate to the festival, go to www.stageworksfestival.org.

Tickets to the May 17 gala are still available. For ticket information, e-mail artisticdirector@stageworksfestival.org or call 800-918-0420.

The Stageworks serieswill include:

June 13 Jazz concert‘‘Porgy and Bess.”

June 14 Musical theater cabaret night.

June 15 ‘‘Carmina Burana.”

June 16 Big Band concert.

June 17 ‘‘Pagliacci” (Leoncavallo) and ‘‘Suor Angelica” (Puccini).

June 18 Dall’Italia ‘‘All Italian.”

June 19 Mostly Mozart Chamber Works.

June 20-22 ‘‘Ragtime.”

June 23‘‘16 going on 17”(16th-and 17th-century works).

June 24 ‘‘Pagliacci” (Leoncavallo) and ‘‘Suor Angelica” (Puccini).

June 25 Musical theater cabaret night ‘‘Laugh Out Loud.”

June 26-29 ‘‘The Magic Flute” (Mozart).

Concert times will be at 8 p.m. Events will be held rain or shine and there will be festival seating. Bring chairs and blankets to sit on. Food and beverages will be available for sale. Tickets to events held Monday through Friday will be $5, and tickets will be $10 for adults and $8 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID for Friday through Sunday events.

Call 800-918-0420.