Garde Arts Center Introduces "Season: Impossible"

The Garde Arts Center has announced its latest season and is hoping the performances will allow local talent to be showcased alongside international acts.

Over 40 performances have been scheduled for the 2012-2013 season, which begins this week and runs through June. The theater has nicknamed the lineup “Season: Impossible” in tribute to one of the scheduled acts. Robert Irvine, the chef featured on Restaurant: Impossible, will give a multimedia cooking performance on Dec. 29.

Other acts range from comedy to ballet to psychics. These include one-man show John Waters on Nov. 9, psychic Lisa Williams on Feb. 10, and the Russian National Ballet’s Cinderella on March 9.

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Steve Sigel, executive director of the Garde Arts Center, said the theater tries to incorporate local organizations or talent into the shows. The John Waters event is being done in conjunction with Alliance For Living to raise awareness and funds for the organization. Williams’ performance will be prefaced by a lobby expo of local psychics. Culinary students from Grasso Tech will take part in Irvine’s show. And when the G.I.s of Comedy tour comes to the Garde on Nov. 18, a local comic chosen by a Foxwoods Resort Casino competition will open for the group.

“It’s a mix of bringing in some of the finest dance, theater, music, and touring kinds of spectacles that we can get with highlighting regional and local talent,” said Sigel. “Much of what we can do comes from what’s available in the national circuit in any given year.”

Sigel said planning for the season also takes into consideration the suggestions of patrons. The New London Latino Heritage Committee suggested Toby Love, who performs on Oct. 26, while Sigel’s own mother-in-law raised the possibility of bringing the G.I.s of Comedy to the Garde after seeing a news story on the military comics.

The season announced by the Garde is a baseline, as more performances are added as the year progresses. In addition to an October debate between Senate candidates Chris Murphy and Linda McMahon, the Garde is expected to host the Whaling City Film Project, route: {:controller=>"articles", :action=>"show", :id=>"when-the-bell-rings-takes-top-prize-in-film-competition"} --> as well as the