Dear Faculty,
Please let your students know that today begins the sign-up period for the college’s annual ASF trip (and consider offering them a little extra credit). Also, I hope some of you will want to come along this year.
Sign up will begin Monday, February 5, for GHC’s 33rd annual trip to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery Alabama, set for the weekend of April 28-29. As usual, the trip is open to GHC employees and students and their guests.
The fee for the trip ranges from $115-$150 per person and covers tour bus transportation; hotel lodging for one night; tickets to 2 plays at the ASF; ticket to Montgomery Biscuits baseball game; and two meals (dinner Saturday & lunch Sunday).
A special blend of comedy and drama makes this year’s play line-up one of the best ever. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night offers love, music, mistaken identity, and plot twists to entertain and amuse the audience. The Miracle Worker by William Gibson is an intense but ultimately triumphant drama that tells the true story of an Alabama child named Helen Keller and how a special young teacher helped Helen find herself again after the illness that left her blind and deaf. Both plays will be performed on the Festival Stage by the professional acting company at ASF. A brief “Stage Side Chat” with one or more of the actors or ASF production staff members is expected to follow each play, and trip participants may choose to attend a “Bard Talk” before one of the performances.
Saturday will feature a stop for lunch (and maybe a little shopping) at a Montgomery Mall, followed by a matinée performance of The Miracle Worker. Then after checking in at the hotel, the group will attend the Montgomery Biscuits versus Mobile BayBears baseball game. A buffet dinner is included with the ticket to the game.
Sunday’s itinerary includes a boxed lunch on the beautifully landscaped ASF theater grounds and time to explore the grounds, visit the gift shop, etc., before the afternoon performance of Twelfth Night.
It is estimated that approximately $25-$35 will be needed to pay for the one meal not included in the trip fee and any snacks or souvenirs.
One of the nice things about this trip sponsored by Student Life and the Humanities Division is that it gives employees and students from all the college’s locations a chance to share a really great experience.
Sign-up will be in the Office of Student Life at all GHC locations. At $50 deposit is required at sign-up with the balance due March 20. Technically, sign-up runs through March 5, but the trip is often full before then. The deposit is refundable until March 5, and the balance is refundable until March 20.
The performances by ASF’s professional acting company are consistently superb, and the beauty of the 300-acre landscaped park that houses the theater building is almost worth the trip by itself. So think about spending a spring weekend in Montgomery with other GHCers.
The trip flyer will be posted online at http://www.highlands.edu/site/asf by Feb. 5 . (For your convenience, trip sign-up forms and travel waivers will also be posted at that site.) You may print out the sign-up form and waivers and bring then with you when you come to sign-up for the trip, but paper copies of the forms should also be available from Student Life at all campuses.
Let me or any of the Student Life personnel know if you have questions. Also, an email about the trip has been sent to students in case you want to tell them to watch for it.
Thanks!
John
John S. Spranza III, Ed.S
Director of Student Life
Georgia Highlands College
3175 Cedartown Hwy. SE
Rome, GA 30161
706-368-7721