7 Days of Opening Nights is a performing art series that showcases acts in music, theatre, dance, visual art, film, and creative writing. The festival began in 1999 and lasted just 7 days with 5 performers, but now lasts over 20 days with more than 18 performers. The festival is quite large, spanning across ten different venues around Tallahassee. Performances will occur on FSU’s campus in the Ruby Diamond Concert Hall, the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre, Opperman Music Hall, the Museum of Fine Art, the Alumni Center Ballroom, and the Fallon Theatre. Other off campus venues include Tallahassee Community College’s Turner Auditorium, the Tallahassee Museum, Pebble Hill Plantation, and Goodwood Museum and Gardens.
The closest upcoming performance is by the world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman on January 29th and has been sold out for quite a while now. However, don’t let this deter you, as most other performances which soon follow Mr. Perlman are not sold out and the average ticket price for students comes in at the pretty affordable price of just $10. Tickets can be purchased online at tickets.fsu.edu (with a $2.00 Ticket Office processing fee per ticket), by phone at 850.644.6500 (with a $1.50 Ticket Office processing fee per ticket), or in person at the Fine Arts Ticket Office located in the lobby of the FSU Fine Arts Buildings. If you order in person, those pesky processing fees are nonexistent. For those of us that are not familiar with that side of campus, the Fine Arts Building is located on the corner of Call and Copeland. Remember to mention that you are an FSU student! Theatre doors will open about 30 minutes before each performance, and they would like for guests to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the performance. They don’t refund tickets, so remember to check your calendar twice!
Below are highlights of some notable performances:
Tuesday 2/4/14 — L.A. Theatre Works Presents: The Graduate
Location: Fred Turner Auditorium at TCC
Time: 8:00pm
Category: Theatre
Saturday 2/8/14 — Jack Dejohnette, Joe Lovano, Esperanza Spalding & Leo Genovese
Location: Ruby Diamond Concert Hall
Time: 7:30pm
Category: Music
Tuesday 2/11/14 & 2/12/14 — Urban Bush Women: 30th Anniversary Celebration
Location: Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre
Time: 8:00pm
Category: Dance
Thursday 2/13/14 — Nicola Benedetti
Location: Ruby Diamond Concert Hall
Time: 7:30pm
Category: Music
Friday 2/14/14 – 3/30/14 — Making Now: Open For Exchange
Location: FSU Museum of Fine Arts
Time: Museum Hours
Category: Art
Saturday 2/15/14 — Geoffrey Gilmore: A Movie You Haven’t Seen VII
Location: Ruby Diamond Concert Hall
Time: 7:30pm
Category: Film
For a complete list of this year’s performances as well as those held in the past head on over to http://www.sevendaysfestival.org.
For those of us who think this festival is pretty amazing, you can even volunteer to help! They are holding a volunteer information meeting on January 30th from 5:30 to 6:30pm at the FSU Alumni Center Conference Room. Just send a quick email over to sevendays@fsu.edu to RSVP for a volunteer meeting. Positions are available in set-up/preparations, entryway ushers, and ushers.