The sixth annual UCF Celebrates the Arts returns to the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts April 7 – 19. The 10-day art event features work from UCF students, staff and faculty from the School of Visual Arts and Design, School of Performing Arts and Nicholson School of Communication and Media, as well as collaborations with community partners.

Many events throughout this year’s showcase are inspired by Dorothy Gillespie, a well-known New York artist who helped blaze a path for women artists during the feminist art movement in the ’70s. She developed a trademark style of painting colorful abstract forms on metal that was then cut and shaped into willowy ribbon-like works that are both painting and sculpture, five of which she donated to the UCF Art Gallery in 1995. For UCF Celebrates the Arts 2020, UCF will exhibit sculptures by Gillespie alongside student-created sculptures inspired by her work.

Gillespie lived in Florida for a period of time and has several sculptures installed in Central Florida, including the Administration Center Garage on 300 Liberty Avenue in Orlando. 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of her birth.

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at arts.ucf.edu or by calling the UCF box office at 407-823-1500.

Keep scrolling for a list of events at this year’s showcase.

Ongoing Exhibitions

Throughout the festival, patrons can explore ongoing exhibitions around the Della Phillips Grand Lobby.

Artwork by Dorothy Gillespie

Enjoy the colorful metal sculptures by Dorothy Gillespie on view to support national programming for the Dorothy Gillespie Centennial Celebration. While at Dr. Phillips Center, patrons can also step across the street to view her large-scale installation in the Administration Center Garage on 300 Liberty Ave.

Student Sculptures

Enjoy compositions created by School of Visual Arts and Design students, inspired by artist Dorothy Gillespie as part of the centennial celebration of the artist’s life and work.

Artwork Inspired by The Things They Carried

Art students respond visually to the topics within the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien as part of the NEA Big Read: Central Florida programming.

Women First at UCF Exhibit

Immerse yourself in the history—or should we say “her”story—of UCF, with this exhibit detailing some of the pioneering efforts made by women at the university. To accompany the historical exhibit, Theatre UCF displays costumes that show what these women might have been wearing throughout the decades.

Scheduled Events

Tuesday, April 7

 

  • Percussion Invitational (Event closed to the public)

Percussion students from regional high schools share the stage with UCF students and faculty for a day-long workshop.

  • UCF Percussion with Ivan Trevino

         7:30 p.m. | Walt Disney Theater
         $5, Free for 18 & under or with UCF ID if reserved by April 6 at 5 p.m.

The UCF Percussion Ensembles are joined by special guest artist, composer and percussionist Ivan Trevino. The concert features standard repertoire for percussion followed by works composed by Trevino, including a piece where the composer will perform with UCF percussionists.

Wednesday, April 8

 

  • All-Band Invitational (Event open to families/friends of participants)

UCF faculty and students host workshops for band students from regional high schools. The bands present concerts throughout the day to showcase their work. Ticketing information for families to come.

  • Games and Interactive Media Showcase

         6:30 p.m. | DeVos Family Room
         Free, ticket required

One night of exhibitions showcasing work that weaves together arts and technology, featuring interactive displays, demonstrations of digital storytelling and tools for videogaming.

  • Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band

         7:30 p.m. | Walt Disney Theater
         $5, Free for 18 & under or with UCF ID if reserved by April 6 at 5 p.m.

The Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band are comprised of some of UCF’s finest musicians, playing a mix of new and standard pieces.

Thursday, April 9

No events are scheduled at this time. Please check arts.ucf.edu for updates.

Friday, April 10

 

  • Women First at UCF: Panel Discussion and Display

        6:30 p.m. | DeVos Family Room
        Free, ticket required

This interdisciplinary presentation documents the legacy of women at UCF, celebrating individuals who broke barriers and made Central Florida what it is today. Students in women’s and gender studies and graphic design collaborated in oral history interviews, research, design and installation of a series of banners highlighting women through the decades of UCF’s history. Join us for a panel discussion on Friday, April 10 and view the displays in the Della Phillips Grand Lobby throughout the festival. Theatre UCF will also be exhibiting clothing designs from the decades of UCF’s existence.

The Women First at UCF Project is a collaboration between Robert Cassanello (History), M. C. Santana (Women’s and Gender Studies) and Mary Rubin, Christopher Saclolo and Eli Jimenez (Special Collections & University Archives).

  • The Flying Horse Big Band Enters the Zone

         7:30 p.m. | Walt Disney Theater
        $5-50

“You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Your next stop…the Twilight Zone.” — Rod Serling

The chart-topping Flying Horse Big Band plays music inspired by the classic midcentury horror show. While “Talky Tina” may have kept viewers awake at night, the surreal music of the show was the one character that set fans on edge in every episode. The performance will feature special guests DaVonda Simmons, Jeff “T-Bone” Gerard, Christian Dentley and more.

  • A Knight to Shine: Musical Theatre Showcase
    8:00 p.m. | Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater
    $10-20

The UCF Musical Theatre Class of 2020 takes on iconic Broadway roles in a cabaret-style performance. (Also on Saturday, April 11 at 2 pm.)

Saturday, April 11

 

  • Musical Theatre Senior Showcase
    2:00 p.m. | Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater
    $10-20

The UCF Musical Theatre Class of 2020 takes on iconic Broadway roles in a cabaret-style performance. (Also on Friday, April 10 at 8 p.m.)

  • New Music Ensemble: SEA
    3:00 p.m. | DeVos Family Room
    $5, Free for 18 & under or with UCF ID if reserved by April 6 at 5 p.m.

SEA is a series of short works by UCF composers addressing various aspects of this issue: the mystery and wonder of oceanic ecosystems, the crisis wrought by the ongoing changes to climate and the hope and fear with which one might reasonably consider the future of life near the sea, in Florida and beyond.

  • Chamber Music Showcase
    5:30 p.m. | Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater
    $5, Free for 18 & under or with UCF ID if reserved by April 6 at 5 p.m.

This concert is for lovers of chamber music! A mix of woodwind and brass ensembles perform music from across the spectrum of time and genre.

  • Choral Invitational (Event closed to public)

Singers from regional high schools share the stage with UCF students and faculty for a day-long workshop.

  • Vision: A Choral Prism Concert
    7:30 p.m. | Walt Disney Theater
    $5, Free for 18 & under or with UCF ID if reserved by April 6 at 5 p.m.

The UCF choral ensembles perform pieces inspired by causes they are passionate about. The concert features a special performance by UCF alumni.

  • Pegasus String Quartet
    8:30 p.m. | Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater
    $10-20

The Pegasus String Quartet makes its UCF Celebrates the Arts debut. The new graduate string quartet celebrates Beethoven’s 250th birthday with his String Quartet No. 2 in G major, op.18 and will partner with Winter Park High School’s Sprezzature String Quartet for the famous Mendelssohn Octet. The program also includes Puccini’s Crisantemi and Dvořák’s “American” String Quartet.

Sunday, April 12

No events are scheduled at this time. Please check arts.ucf.edu for updates.

Monday, April 13

 

  • Henry V: Staged Reading by Orlando Shakes
    7:30 p.m. | Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater
    $10-20

 “Once more unto the breach…” Orlando Shakes’ Fire and Reign series continues as our courageous hero, Henry V, confronts the trials of kingship and become the inspirational leader his nation needs in a one-night-only staged reading. Patrons who see Orlando Shakes’ Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2—as well as this spectacular experience of Henry V—will earn a limited edition “I saw the Rise of Henry V” dog tag.

  • Improv Night
    7:30 p.m. | DeVos Family Room
    Free, ticket required

Three groups perform different forms of improv in this evening full of surprises, stories and laughs. Playback UCF devises scenes using stories from the audience, Murphy Bed Surprise creates original musicals on the spot, and Quadruple Stuffed Oreos delivers hilarious short skits.

Tuesday, April 14

 

  • Architecture Presentation and Showcase
    6:00 p.m. showcase, 6:30 p.m. celebration | DeVos Family Room
    Free, ticket required

Join us for a showcase and speaker presentation about the latest trends in architecture. The showcase features students from UCF, Valencia and UF with a presentation and speaker by Lawrence Scarpa, Principal of Brooks + Scarpa Architects.

  • Celebrating Beethoven at 250: Beethoven Septet
    8:00 p.m. | Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater
    $10-20

UCF faculty musicians celebrate the 250th birthday of Beethoven with a performance of his famous Septet. The concert also a features a performance of a piece by Strauss. Performers include Keith Koons, clarinet, Joon Yoon Hwang, bassoon, Ben Leiser, horn, Ayako Yonetani, violin, Ross Winter, violin, Chung Park, viola, David Bjella, cello, and Don Michael Hill, bass. 

Wednesday, April 15

 

  • Women in Art: Panel Discussion
    7:30 p.m. | DeVos Family Room
    Free, ticket required

In support of the centennial celebration of artist Dorothy Gillespie, a panel of experts discuss women in visual arts today and look toward the future. Artists, art students, enthusiasts and professionals will have the opportunity to engage with panelists and learn about their personal professional experiences. Sponsored by the School of Visual Arts and Design, the UCF Art Gallery, and the College of Arts and Humanities Alumni Chapter.

  • Project Spotlight presents The Ultimate Field Trip
    7:30 p.m. | Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater
    $10-20

The Ultimate Field Trip explores the triumph as well as the tragedy that accompanies the human race’s quest for progress. In 1986, Christa McAuliffe, a school teacher from New Hampshire, was chosen among thousands of applicants to become the first private citizen to travel into space on board the doomed Space Shuttle Challenger. This new original play by Theatre UCF graduate student John Norton explores the circumstances that allowed this disaster to occur and the nationwide reaction to our loss, as seen from the eyes of Christa’s students who witnessed the launch from the bleachers at Cape Canaveral. Capturing a pivotal moment in America’s space program, The Ultimate Field Trip pays tribute to McAuliffe and the entire Challenger crew’s legacy, which continues to inspire all those captivated not only by space travel, but any quest that brings humanity a little bit closer to the unknown.

Project Spotlight is a student group that writes, produces, directs, and performs in their own productions.

Thursday, April 16

No events are scheduled at this time. Please check arts.ucf.edu for updates.

Friday, April 17

 

  • The Middle Passage: Virtual Reality Experience
    5:30-8:30 p.m. | Della Phillips Grand Lobby
    Free, no ticket required. Sign up at exhibit. Experience is approximately 15 minutes.

This virtual experience immersion project on African Captivity in Brazil from 1750-1850 lets patrons live the journey from Elmina Castle in Ghana to Salvador, Bahia (Brazil). This six-to-seven week period was essential in transforming the captive’s body and mind from free to newly-enslaved person. The stories are based on research obtained from visual and archival materials, the database slavevoyages.org and the numerous primary accounts from African captives, creoles, elites, ship captains and ship legs. This exhibit returns to UCF Celebrates the Arts 2020 after high demand last year.

  • UCF Symphony Orchestra – Featuring “Oceana” by Stella Sung and Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony
    7:30 p.m. | Walt Disney Theater
    $5-50

Explore our oceans with the UCF Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Chung Park in the Florida premiere of Stella Sung’s Oceana, a piece that lets patrons swim with whales and explore new depths to learn about marine conservancy and ocean noise pollution. Accompanying the music is a film by underwater filmmaker and photographer, Annie Crawley. (In order to join in the participatory piece of Oceana, it is recommended that patrons download the “Oceana Music and Sounds” app on their phone in advance of the concert from the Apple App Store or Google Play.) Before the piece, ocean and coastal conservation experts will have a conversation about what we can do to protect our most valuable resource: water.

The concert is also part of the celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday with a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral.” A special animated story created by UCF graduate students from the Animation and Visual Effects program will accompany the piece.

  • UCF Opera presents Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri
    8:00 p.m. | Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater
    $10-20

In classic Rossini style, this high energy and melodic opera turns the familiar “rescue story” on its head, with our confident and strong-willed heroines setting the men straight. Full of adventure, love and trickery, this opera was written when the composer was just 21 years of age—around the same age as many of our UCF performers! Sung in Italian with English supertitles. (Also on Sunday, April 19 at 1 p.m.)

Saturday, April 18

 

  • Character Animation and Animation/Visual Effects Premieres

    5:00 p.m. | Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater
    $5, Free for 18 & under or with UCF ID if reserved by April 6 at 5 p.m.

See all of the new shorts from students in the undergraduate character animation and graduate animation programs. Undergraduate short films include Stick to Manual (2020), Delivery (2020), Tiffany (2019) and Serendipity (2019); MFA titles to be announced. The screenings will be followed by a short talk.

  • NEA Big Read: Central Florida featuring The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
    3:00-6:00 p.m. | DeVos Family Room
    $5, Free for 18 & under or with UCF ID if reserved by April 6 at 5 p.m.

The NEA Big Read: Central Florida, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, broadens our understanding of our world, our communities and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. This year the NEA Big Read: Central Florida is partnering with UCF’s Veterans Legacy Program to celebrate The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien.

Dr. Bruno Cabanes, Director of the War and Society Program at the Ohio State University, will deliver a keynote address entitled “Back to the Future: Rethinking Veteran Homecomings in the Twentieth Century.” Theatre UCF students will perform staged readings based on the themes of The Things They Carried. The event also includes a showcase of projects created by the Veterans Legacy Program and UCF Community Veterans History Project and an exhibition of artwork made by students from the School of Visual Arts and Design.

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. .

  • Creative Clash
    6:00 p.m. | Della Phillips Grand Lobby
    Free, no ticket required

Teams of artists armed with markers race against the clock to create large-format artwork. The theme will be announced seconds before the start of the event.

  • Creative Flash: Creative Writing Readings
    6:00 p.m. | Della Phillips Grand Lobby
    Free, no ticket required

Students from the MFA Creative Writing program read selections of their work.

  • Marching Forward Film Screening
    8:00 p.m. | Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater
    Free, ticket required

This film, born out of a UCF honors public history and documentary class, details the history of two local high school band directors—one black, one white—inspired by music to cross color lines in the Deep South and work together for the sake of their students. This courageous cooperation resulted in the experience of a lifetime for Orlando’s black and white students at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Since its release in early 2019, the film has screened in 14 festivals from Florida to Los Angeles. It won the prestigious “Best of Show – Long Form Documentary” at the Festival of Media Arts in Las Vegas, held by the Broadcast Educators Association. A panel discussion will follow the screening.

  • Graphic Design and Experimental Animation Showcase
    7:00 p.m. | DeVos Family Room
    Free, ticket required

One night of exhibitions showcasing the culmination of work from graduating seniors in the graphic design and experimental animation emerging media programs. The showcase will feature myriad student projects and the Graphic Design Student Association (GDSA) will host a speaker presentation during the event.

  • A Knight of Dance
    7:30 p.m. | Walt Disney Theater
    $5-50

This evening of dance showcases the incredible talents of student, alumni and faculty choreographers and dancers. Pulling from across genres and eras, the concert features 15 original dances, including a grand romantic ballet, a Fosse-inspired 1960s jazz piece, a tap number performed on percussive wooden boxes, a Spanish-inspired contemporary work and a swing piece set to the music of UCF alumnus, Yanniv Zarif. Five of the dances were choreographed by UCF faculty members, five by UCF alumni and five by current UCF students.

Sunday, April 19

 

  • Lost and Found: Orlando REP’s Theatre for the Very Young
    12:00 p.m.| DeVos Family Room
    $5

Bring the very littlest audience members to this new play, written especially for children ages 0-5 and their grown-ups.

  • National Young Composers Challenge Composium
    12:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. | Walt Disney Theater
    Free, ticket required

Experience the music of the next generation! Composers ages 13-18 selected from a national competition have their original pieces performed, discussed, rehearsed and recorded by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra in this concert meets master class event. Doors will remain open throughout the event so patrons can come to be inspired by your favorite young composer or stay for this entire amazing event. After the performance, everyone is invited to share refreshments and mingle with musicians, judges, the composers and of course, Maestro Christopher Wilkins.

Schedule:

12:30-2:10 p.m.        Chamber groups
2:10-2:30 p.m.          Intermission
2:30-4:00 p.m.        Orchestra
4:00-4:15 p.m.         Intermission
4:15-5:00 p.m.         Final performance
5:00-5:10 p.m.         Awards
5:15 p.m.                  Reception

  • UCF Opera presents Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri
    1:00 p.m. | Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater
    $10-20

In classic Rossini style, this high energy and melodic opera turns the familiar “rescue story” on its head, with our confident and strong-willed heroines setting the men straight. Full of adventure, love and trickery, this opera was written when the composer was just 21 years of age—around the same age as many of our UCF performers! Sung in Italian with English supertitles. (Also on Friday, April 17 at 8 p.m.)

  • Prince(cess): Theatre for Young Audiences
    3:00 p.m.| DeVos Family Room
    $5

When the king dies unexpectedly, the throne to his kingdom is suddenly vacant—and in high demand. His children, Prince Wesley and Princess Ophelia, don’t exactly meet the expectations of a royal leader, and his power-hungry sister, aided by her faithful minion, is determined to steal the title for herself. This family-friendly musical challenges audiences to explore the social boundaries of identity and what it means to embrace your unique self. Best for ages 6 to 106.

 

For more the most current list of events and more information, visit arts.ucf.edu