KU Theatre plans Sept. 20 garage and costume sales during Open House

LAWRENCE -- The University Theatre at the University of Kansas has been doing some fall cleaning. The fruits of its labor will be offered to the public during a garage sale and Halloween costume sale Saturday, Sept. 20, at Murphy Hall.

The garage sale, a benefit for the Stage Too! project, will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the circle drive in front of Murphy Hall, 15th and Naismith Drive. The theatre's second Halloween costume sale will be from 8 a.m. to noon in the Inge Theatre in Murphy Hall, with proceeds going for costume shop special projects.

The sales coincide with the KU Open House, which is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"We've cleaned out the costume and scene shops and prop storage and had some donations from our friends," said John Staniunas, artistic director of the University Theatre. "We'll have lots of merchandise for very cheap prices."

Stage Too!, which will benefit from the garage sale, is what Staniunas describes as a "new theatre" inside the Crafton-Preyer Theatre.

He said Stage Too! will include risers and platforms that fit right on top of the stage of the Crafton-Preyer Theatre, creating a semi-intimate theatre space seating about 350 patrons. The new space will be used for the first time this fall for the November production of "Cabaret," which Staniunas is directing.

"The University Theatre program needs a theatre seating about 350 patrons," he said. "The Crafton-Preyer Theatre, which seats 1,181, is too large for some of the needs of our academic training program. The William Inge Theatre, a black-box seating 100, is way too small for some of the important academic training we need to accomplish."

Donations are still being accepted for the garage sale. People with items to donate should bring them to the University Theatre, 317 Murphy Hall, by Thursday, Sept. 18. Large-item donations will be picked up between 8 and 10 a.m. Sept. 15 through 18. To arrange a pickup, call Jim Peterson, technical director, at (785) 864-3944.

For both sales, only cash and checks will be accepted. For more information, call (785) 864-3982.