Asolo Rep Presents Its Annual KALEIDOSCOPE Performance May 13

Asolo Rep's Education department proudly presents Kaleidoscope - Calicope: Things Are Not What They Seem on Monday, May 13 at 6pm in the Mertz Theatre. The performance is the culmination of this season's Kaleidoscope, an award-winning annual program founded by Broadway veteran Ann Morrison in 1995, which serves individuals with special needs from local community organizations and schools to discover creative and personal expression through performance.

Calicope: Things Are Not What They Seem is an original musical created by the 2002 Kaleidoscope participants. This fairy tale tells the story of the fierce King and Queen of the Kingdom of Calicope and their daughter, Princess Hope, who, along with the family's fortune, goes missing. This innovative musical features a fairy god mother, a good knight, a wicked witch, a goblin king, a dragon guarding treasure and more!

This year's Kaleidoscope participants come from three partner organizations and schools: Bayshore High School, Easterseals Southwest Florida, and Oak Park School. Easterseals and Oak Park participants will make up the cast of Calicope and the Bayshore students will have their own performance at their school on May 1. Throughout the months of each residency, participants explore movement, music and acting, led by Asolo Rep teaching artists, including Ann Morrison (acting), Judi Glover (music) and Sarasota Contemporary Dance Teaching Artist Rick Levine (dance).

Asolo Rep is proud to partner with Sarasota Contemporary Dance (SCD) for the second year in a row on the Kaleidoscope program. SCD provided comprehensive movement and dance instruction throughout the Kaleidoscope participants' residency, deeply enriching their experience.

"This year's Kaleidoscope program brings together schools to put on a musical written by past participants of Kaleidoscope. These students had the opportunity this year not to work with just one teaching artist, but three in rotation to get to work on all their acting, singing, and dance skills," said Ann Morrison. "It's a thrill to have Oak Park High School students coming together with the students from Easterseals of Southwest Florida to share their story of Calicope: Things are Not What they Seem. This collaboration promises to be an energizing evening for family, friends, and our community."

Tickets are free but reservations are required. To reserve tickets, please call the box office at 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388 or visit http://asolorep.org/Kaleidoscope.

Kaleidoscope is made possible, in part, with support from: The Joy McCann Foundation, The Eluned and Edward Russell Foundation, The Z Foundation, Tegna Foundation, The Fine Arts Society of Sarasota.