An acclaimed Russian orchestra, a renowned Moscow ballet and a feisty nun all await performing arts lovers in a busy 2011-2012 season of touring productions at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus.

But filling out the touring schedule is becoming more complicated with the growth and success of the university's visual and performing arts programs.

Bob Cerchio, assistant director of the River Campus, said several shows are now under contract for next season and more are being added.

The program includes "Tchaikovsky: St. Petersburg Orchestra," scheduled to perform Feb. 28 at the Bedell Performance Hall. The Moscow Festival Ballet, a full-length ballet, is slated to take the stage April 27, 2012. Golden Dragon Acrobats, billed as the premiere Chinese acrobatic touring company, is booked for March 23, 2012.

A night of "Hi De Ho" is planned for Oct. 7 when the Cab Calloway Orchestra takes the Bedell stage.

The Christmas season should see the return of Sister in "Sister's Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi's Gold," the latest installment of the popular "Late Nite Catechism" series. The performance, tentatively slated for Dec. 11, employs the audience in a live Nativity scene turned crime scene.

The River Campus will announce its full schedule, including ticket information, to its season ticket-holders via letter in late April or early May. Brochures go out June 8, and patrons will then have until July 8 to purchase season tickets. Single tickets are expected to go on sale July 13.

Cerchio said he's close to landing a couple of other big productions, including a high-energy national touring show. It's been no easy feat, he said, finding open dates that work with touring acts.

"This has been the hardest season to book here," Cerchio said. "Our academic calendar has filled up. There are more concerts, more plays, more shows done in academic circles, and we only have one performance hall."

It's a good problem, he said. Southeast's job is to teach and produce shows. And the shows have been going on at a continuous pace since the River Campus opened in 2007. The number of arts majors has swelled with the university's push to expand its creative offerings.

The Department of Theatre and Dance has seen its average number of majors climb from about 30 to around 140 over the past six years, according to Beth Scherer, administrative assistant for the department. Scherer said the River Campus has helped draw interest and has generated a renewed creative energy at Southeast.

"It makes recruitment so much easier," she said. "But I think it became so important to the entire faculty and staff. We knew our department had to grow to survive.

"But it definitely makes everything easier when you have a beautiful facility."

Sara Edgerton has watched an explosion of growth in the university's music program over the past five years. Thanks to the River Campus, Southeast is putting on two fully staged musicals a year and one full opera, productions it once could only schedule every other year.

"I think it's just phenomenal the amount of growth," said Edgerton, artistic director of the Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra. "Every large ensemble, the symphony I represent, jazz, all have developed very active performing schedules.

"There are an incredible amount of cultural and artistic events going on here on a daily basis."

All that activity is good for the River Campus and the community, Cerchio said, but it has made scheduling touring acts a complicated proposition. He said he's lost shows like the musical "South Pacific" because the Bedell Performance Hall was booked.

With all of its success, Cerchio said, there's been talk about expanding performance facilities at the River Campus. That remains talk, he said, noting departments with more pressing needs.

Despite the scheduling difficulties, River Campus residents say they make it all work, to the benefit of the university and the community.

"We are all very aware of everybody else's schedule, and we all work together to figure it out," Scherer said. "This is a very active place, and I love it."

mkittle@semissourian.com

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