Opens January 10 until February 2, 2003

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The Hippodrome has one of the most respected education programs in the nation.  The HITT program has received national and international recognition.  This is due to the incredible work of the HITT team: Bonnie Harrison, Sandra Dietle, Marcia Brown and Gabrielle Byam.  Because of their work, HITT has developed into a world class program and the honors and awards keep coming in.

The most recent honor is a very significant one for the program.  Three years ago, HITT was selected as one of seven validation programs in the state as part of the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Initiative (FYI). FYI is a program of the Florida Department of Children and Family Services, Substance Abuse Program.  FYI projects included 16 replication projects that have already been scientifically validated and seven validation projects.  HITT was one of two arts projects and 23 prevention projects in the state selected to participate in the FYI program. All projects were selected on the basis of merit from hundreds of competing applications statewide.  Through the FYI program, the University of Miami Comprehensive Drug Research Center and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health collected and evaluated the process and outcome of HITT’s prevention strategies over a three year period to determine if the program was obtaining measurable results in the reduction of drug use among participants.  To date, the HITT program is recognized as the top validation program in the State.

In recognition of this achievement the HITT program was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for “outstanding contribution to the Florida substance abuse reduction effort and service to the State of Florida” by James McDonough, Director of the Office of Drug Control.

The HITT program began working with teens in 1984 to address critical teen issues.  HITT provides prevention in a very unique format.  Participants explore their lives and relationships using improvisational techniques to analyze their problems and to find alternatives to at-risk behavior.   The program integrates prevention through arts with video and computer technology.  Each session culminates in a peer education tour and the development of on-line materials including stories, songs, and games for inclusion on the HITT web site.  HITT’s web site is Florida’s only arts-based interactive prevention resource center on the World Wide Web.
 
 

The children of the Hippodrome's Production of A Christmas Carol. The Hippodrome celebrates its 30th Anniversary and 25 Years of A Christams Carol.
 
 
 
 

January 2003

For the second time, the Hippodrome brings one of the works of America’s premiere playwright to Gainesville!  At 74, Edward Albee has made a career of writing innovative, provocative plays that reexamine the way Americans think, respond to others, and live their lives. He has won the Pulitzer Prize three times (for A Delicate Balance, Seascape, and Three Tall Women), three Tony Awards, and the National Medal of Arts, to name just a few of the awards he has received throughout his career.  Albee’s latest critically acclaimed play, The Goat or Who is Sylvia recently won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2002.

Albee, along with playwrights like Tony Kushner and Wendy Wasserstein, maintains tight control over his productions.  Before any of his plays can be produced he must first approve of the director and the actors.  When asked by TheatreMania why he insists on this control, he replied, “Well, they’re my plays…Of course you have to trust people.  But every once in a while you need to check that they’re doing what they should be doing.”  Don’t worry, Albee has already approved Sara Morsey, David Shelton, Niall McGinty, and Marguerite Stimpson to play his characters and Lauren Caldwell to direct The Play About the Baby at the Hippodrome!

Albee’s rigid control of his productions and his eccentric sense of humor, and his controversial messages don’t prevent his plays from being produced in theatres all over  the world.  His continued popularity after nearly fifty years proves that Edward Albee and his plays will both entertain and challenge the American public for years to come.

What if an entire community read the same story at the same time, again? Last year, the Hippodrome State Theatre and the city of Gainesville showed off its community spirit and diverse talents through a literary project entitled One City One Story. Thousands of people read The Diary of Anne Frank and participated in dozens of creative events surrounding the reading. (onecityonestory.html).

With the tremendous encouragement of the Gainesville community, One City One Story will make a return appearance with Romeo and Juliet. Join the Hippodrome State Theatre and the Gainesville community to explore the popular tale of star-crossed lovers caught in a bitter family feud.

For more information or to learn how you can get involved, contact One City One Story Project Director Tamerin Dygert at 373-5968.
 
 

Eden Interrupted

Vaudeville! Drama! Comedy! Mystery! Enter the multi-dimensional world of Edward Albee and his play about…well… a baby.

Boy and Girl are newlyweds frolicking in their own Eden somewhere between innocence and experience. Despite the occasional interruption of their newborn’s cries, they are living a blissful existence peppered with lustful outbursts--an Adam and Eve of the 21st Century.

Enter the serpents: Man and Woman. Where Boy and Girl have nibbled on the apple, Man and Woman have feasted. Adept at witty repartee and biting comedy reminiscent of Vaudeville, these intruders suggest alternative truths to the reality in which Boy and Girl have lived. Soon, doubt begins to wash over Boy and Girl and they begin to question everything… including the existence of their baby.

Is the baby real or imaginary? Decide for yourself in this mysterious, intriguing and darkly comic play by America’s most celebrated living playwrights.