Think of it as a buffet, where you can bypass the maître d’ and go straight to the feed bag, helping yourself to as little or as much as you please.
Only in this case, you’re not lining up for broccoli beef or gooey mac ’n’ cheese but song, dance, comedy and drama. And it’s free.
Nearly 20 performing arts groups — from an orchestra to a children’s theater company — will entertain during the Tribune’s 11th annual Get Out Performing Arts Expo, kicking off at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Mesa Arts Center.
Performances will start every 15 minutes on stage in the Ikeda Theater and include sneak peeks of coming shows by the likes of Copperstar Repertory Company, Theatre Artists Studio, National Comedy Theatre and the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre. Attendees can watch them all or pick and choose, ducking out to peruse the expo in the theater’s lobby. There, more groups — including Arizona Opera, ASU Gammage, Ballet Arizona and Tempe Center for the Arts — will present information on their upcoming seasons and offer single tickets and subscription packages. Nearly 40 groups will participate.
There are also raffles for show tickets and other prizes.
The Get Out Performing Arts Expo is a fall tradition in the East Valley. The show was held for eight years at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts before moving the past two years to the Chandler Center for the Performing Arts and Mesa Arts Center, respectively.
Get Out Performing Arts Expo
What: A variety of Valley theater and dance troupes give live sneak peeks of their coming seasons and provide information on show schedules and tickets.
When: 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday; doors open at 10 a.m.
Where: Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St.
Cost: Free
Information: (480) 644-6500 or getoutaz.com
ON STAGE
Dance and theatre companies will stage shows every 15 minutes on Saturday. Stay for them all, or drop in and out. Here’s the lineup:
10:30 a.m. - Movement Source Dance Company
10:45 a.m. - Chandler Symphony Orchestra
11 a.m. - Theatre Artists Studio
11:15 a.m. - Valley Youth Theatre
11:35 a.m. - Premiere Performing Arts
11:50 a.m. - Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre
12:05 p.m. - Mesa Encore Theatre
12:45 p.m. - Studio 3 Performing Arts Academy
1 p.m. - National Comedy Theatre
1:15 p.m. - Copperstar Repertory Company
1:30 p.m. - Jeanne’s School of Dance
1:45 p.m. - AZ Dance Group
2 p.m. - Jester’Z Improv
2:15 p.m. - Dulce Dance Company
2:30 p.m. - Experience Arts School
2:45 p.m. - Dance Express
3 p.m. - Mesa High School Performing Arts
