Third Anniversary Celebration
Release Date: 7/24/2002. Expired: 8/3/2002
The Renaissance Center will celebrate its 3rd anniversary Aug. 3 with a day of open house activities that includes the world premiere of a concert video, the debut of a new laser show and ribbon cuttings for two new facilities as well as demonstrations, workshops and registration for Fall semester classes.
“We are excited to be celebrating the third anniversary of The Renaissance Center and, as has become our tradition, we want to invite everyone to come by to see what we are all about,” said Doug Jackson, executive director. “We have a wonderful day of activities planned that we believe will demonstrate exactly what we mean when we say The Renaissance Center has something for everyone.”
The day includes the world premiere of the video from the June 2000 concerts by legendary rock group Three Dog Night. More than a year in the making, the two concerts featuring the band and the Tennessee Symphony Orchestra live on The Renaissance Center stage is now a VHS and DVD released by Image Entertainment in May. The two Dickson concerts marked the first live performance by Three Dog Night with a symphony to coincide with its new CD featuring the London Symphony Orchestra.
“This concert was a huge project for The Renaissance Center and we are extremely proud of the finished product,” said Steve Hall, senior director of the Multimedia Department at the center. “It was extremely exciting to have been chosen as the site of the band’s first live show with a symphony and the video and DVD show exactly what kind of quality product we are capable of producing right here in Dickson.”
Three Dog Night, the top rock group in the world from 1969 to 1974 with more than 90 million records sold, released its new album with the London Symphony Orchestra May 21 in conjunction with the VHS and DVD versions of the concerts at The Renaissance Center. Not only does the DVD include the concert footage but also interviews with original band members Danny Hutton and Cory Wells as well as behind the scenes pictures. The concert includes many of their greatest hits including “Joy to the World,” “Liar,” “One,” “Old-Fashioned Love Song,” “Eli’s Coming,” “Celebrate,” “Out in the Country,” “Shambala,” “Mama Told Me Not to Come” and many more, as well as “Sault Ste. Marie,” a new song on the recently released album.
The concert will be shown free at noon in the CyberSphere, utilizing the 60-foot domed screen and 14,000 watts of digital surround sound. There will only be one showing with seating limited to the first 140 people.
Also debuting in the CyberSphere during the anniversary is the new Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera laser show. The show features 11 hits from the two pop stars, including “Oops! I Did It Again” and “Genie in a Bottle,” accompanied by spectacular laser and virtual reality effects.
“Britney and Christina are two of the hottest stars in the pop market right now,” said CyberSphere Director Ron Stinson. “With some of their top hits cranked up in our 14,000-watt sound system synchronized with a full-dome laser experience, including 3D animation, video, and digital effects; I am sure this will quickly become one of our most popular shows.”
The Britney and Christina Laser Show will join the CyberSphere’s weekend schedule in September, but there will be a special debut at 4:30 p.m. during the 3rd Anniversary Celebration on Aug. 3. Tickets will be $6 for all seats.
The anniversary celebration also will mark the grand opening of two new facilities at The Renaissance Center.
A ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremony is set for 9 a.m. for the new Raku Hut, located at the back of the building outside the lower level pottery lab.
“Raku, meaning 'enjoyment' or 'pleasure,' was developed in Japan toward the end of the 16th century and is a procedure for firing pottery. Simple raku pots and bowls were created primarily for use in Zen tea ceremonies,” said pottery instructor Kathy Carter. “Raku uses a method of fast firing clay with near instant results, making the process a lot of fun for those artists who want to see their finished work sooner rather than later.”
A shelter designed and built by the center’s Emmy-winning Toy Shop covers the new gas kiln.
After the ceremony to open the new facility, Carter will hold a sagger firing session. A limit of 10 students can enroll to bring their bisqued raku or stoneware pieces to glaze in the morning and fire in the afternoon. Tuition is $40.
A ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremony is set for 1 p.m. for The Renaissance Center’s new darkroom, located in the large rehearsal/lunch room at the end of the hall on the lower level.
The darkroom will have four enlarger stations and will be the site of new classes in developing black and white photographs this Fall.
“Our photography classes for both children and adults have proven to be quite popular and this darkroom is the next step in that progression of instruction,” said Bob Kucher, senior director of Visual Arts. “We not only will have 7-week darkroom classes, but also offer darkroom rental time to our students.”
The anniversary celebration also will include a special one-time performance of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten at 2 p.m. in the Performance Hall. Based on the best-selling book by Robert Fulghum, the show is currently being presented Friday nights in the Gaslight Dinner Theatre and is sponsored by Tennsco Corp. For the anniversary, it will be presented in the Performance Hall with tickets $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for children under 13.
“This show is a wonderful program of theatrical storytelling in a revue format, with monologues, dialogues, narration and songs based on Fulghum’s stories that show how much life would be better if we all remembered the basic lessons we learned in kindergarten,” said Pacer Harp, managing director of the Gaslight Dinner Theatre. “But not everybody can get to one of the $25 Friday night shows, so we thought this would be a good opportunity to present a charming and heart-warming play where more people can see it. We had great success at last year’s anniversary when we moved Forever Plaid! from the dinner theatre to the Performance Hall stage and we hope to do the same thing with Kindergarten.”
The Theatre Department also will host an information session on the new Renaissance Players, the troupe that will present the center’s community theatre season in roles both on the stage and behind the scenes.
The 3rd Anniversary Celebration also will feature class demonstrations, information sessions, door prizes throughout the day, art workshops, story time in the Virtually Unlimited Bookstore, CyberSphere shows, registration for Fall semester classes, an exhibit in the Visual Arts Gallery and much, much more. The Faraday Café will be open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. for lunches and snacks on the lower level.
For more information on 3rd Anniversary Celebration activities, call (615)740-5600.