"Dreamcoat" fills (literally) the Courthouse Center for the Arts

March 26, 2012 - PRLog -- The Courthouse Center for the Arts’ production of Andrew Lloyd Webber “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”  features a dream of a dreamcoat created by local designer Sarah Campbell.  Having travelled the continental United States, designing costumes for various theatre productions and events, she is happy to be doing something in her hometown of South Kingstown.  

Some of her previous work is also be on display and for sale in the galleries of the Courthouse during the run of “Joseph.”

Her work with the dreamcoat started with the Courthouse Center’s Artistic and Executive Director Richard Ericson approaching her after her involvement in Artcraft, the annual art show that displays and sells fine crafts from local artisans each December.  

According to Campbell, the overarching idea is “to make the coat fill the room, and have people leave speechless, astonished, dazzled, awed,” and she is happy with the result.  One of the greatest designing aspects of this coat for Campbell is “the sculptural, architectural effect that it requires to be the main centerpiece for the show. It’s a costume, but beyond a costume.”  

Campbell’s designer mind kicked in as she researched the story and the symbolism behind it.  She decided to go with a circle for the full shape, saying “one of the most profound symbols is the circle.  It’s the most basic mark, showing up everywhere in astronomy and cellular forms.”  With her imagination running wild, with ideas coming from science to Marc Chagall’s stained glass windows, Campbell realized there needed to be a compromise between her ideas and the logistics of working with it.  “You can have all the dreams you want,” she says, “but it needs to function, and work with the actors operating it.  Good effects need to seem simple and painless and easy.  In the end, it’s all about the people on the other side watching it all happen.”  

Performances will be March 22 – April 15 (Thurs-Sun) at the Courthouse Center for the Arts (3481 Kingstown Road, West Kingston, RI 02892), Thursday and Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 2pm and 7pm, and Sunday at 2pm.  There will be special Easter Sunday performances on April 8th at 2pm and 6pm.  

Preceding those performances will be a public Easter Egg Hunt on the Courthouse Center’s lawn at noon hosted by Billy Steeves (Joseph) and Lizzy Palmer (The Narrator).  

Tickets for the show are $15-$25, and are on sale now.  Please contact the Box Office for tickets and information (401-782-1018 ext.3).  Group Sales may be arranged by contacting Martha Stamp (groupsales@courthousearts.org; 401-782-1018 ext.8).

For more information on the Courthouse Center for the Arts and its programs, please call 401-782-1018 or visit http://www.courthousearts.org.

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The Courthouse Center for the Arts has provided education and entertainment in a multitude of art forms since 1988. Since its opening, the staff has kept a busy schedule ranging from art galleries to live theatrical performances to concerts.