Helen Murray was our speaker this week.  She has an impressive resume and infectious personality about the theatre arts in Aurora.  Little history about the Aurora Fox: 

History

The Aurora Fox Arts Center was originally built in 1946. The theatre was Aurora’s only “movie palace” serving the needs of a growing population, including the military personnel stationed at Fitzsimons Army Hospital and Lowry Air Force Base.

With its Art Moderne entrance and 61-foot neon sign, the Fox Theater was a popular destination for children and adults throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s . The 1970’s, however, witnessed a period of decline for the Fox as new commercial areas opened and people began flocking to these new shopping centers with acres of parking and improved movie houses.

The fate of the Fox as a movie theater was sealed in 1981 when a sudden inferno engulfed the theatre, causing extensive fire and water damage. The community was not ready to say goodbye to their theatre, however, and between 1983 and 1985, civic groups and private companies joined forces with the city of Aurora to fund a restoration and rehabilitation of the space. The building reopened on March 8, 1985 as the Aurora Fox Arts Center, and been the permanent home to the Aurora Fox Theater Company, as well as rental home to several local performing arts organizations, ever since.

Today, the the Aurora Fox Arts Center is recognized as an award winning professional theatre company operated by the city of Aurora’s Cultural Services Division. The Fox (which is the abbreviated named for both the building and the city-run theater company in residence there) is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, Small Professional Theater Tier 1. The theater employs five full time staff and includes two performance spaces: a 242-seat proscenium theater and a 72-seat corner thrust black box “studio” theater. Operations include a season of six fully produced shows, a summer children’s theater program, various classes and other special programming, and employs approximated 200 local theatre artists, each year. The Aurora Fox is committed to the celebration of diversity and authentic representation in our selection of plays, our casting process, and our pursuit of theatrical innovations.

Little Foxes is a children's casting opportunity for young people who want to try the theatre.  Auditions will be held on March 28th and 29th for Little Fox’s summer production of The Stinky Cheese Man and other fairly stupid tales. Audition slots will be available for sign up in January 2020.

Helen mentioned that they are in the middle of Season 35.  Many of the shows upcoming should be exciting opportunities for people to attend the Aurora Fox and enjoy a great show and cast.  Click on link below to get tickets and read about the current and upcoming shows.

Helen...Thanks for joining us today and providing information about the Aurora Fox.