write an interesting and objective news story out of this material from Theatre Americana as well as the City of Pasadena. It's important to use some of the direct quotes from the interview and to highlight this as a Pasadena event: Theatre Americana, one of California’s oldest independent production companies, will be hosting a Halloween-themed musical and dance concert as part of ArtNight Pasadena on Friday, Oct. 13. The event promises an evening filled with spooky entertainment, including live performances and Halloween-themed music and dance routines.
Theatre Americana's musical and dance concert will be held on the steps of Pasadena City Hall, providing a picturesque backdrop for the evening's festivities.
Why: The purpose of Theatre Americana's involvement in ArtNight Pasadena is to offer the community a unique and entertaining experience. The Halloween-themed musical and dance concert aims to celebrate the spirit of the holiday and provide an opportunity for residents and visitors to enjoy a night of artistic performances and entertainment.
How: Attendees can enjoy the Halloween-themed musical and dance concert by gathering at the steps of Pasadena City Hall. The event will feature live performances that capture the essence of Halloween, creating a spooky and festive atmosphere. It's a chance for the community to come together and celebrate the arts in a fun and unique way.
In addition to the concert, ArtNight Pasadena offers various other activities for attendees to enjoy. These include a spooky succulent workshop where participants can plant their tiny gardens, as well as the opportunity to grab a snack from the Pie ‘N Burger food truck. Afterward, attendees can catch a free shuttle, walk, or drive to their next chosen venue, allowing them to explore and experience a diverse range of artistic offerings throughout the night.
The City-funded MiniGrant awarded to Theatre Americana is an acknowledgment of their contribution to the cultural enrichment of Pasadena through this exciting and Halloween-themed musical and dance concert.
ArtNight Pasadena on October 13, 2023, promises to be a memorable evening of art, entertainment, and community celebration, with Theatre Americana's involvement adding a special Halloween twist to the festivities.

From the city website:

ArtNight Pasadena • Fall 2023
ArtNight is an ongoing partnership among many cultural institutions and the Cultural Affairs Division of the City of Pasadena. Enjoy a free evening of art, music and entertainment as twenty (20) of Pasadena’s most prominent arts and cultural institutions open their doors from 6-10pm on Friday, October 13, 2023


Interview with Donna Scarantino, artistic director, Theatre Americana
Donna Scarantino:
I'm <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PERSON>. I'm president and artistic director for Theater Americana.
Therese:
Thank you so much, Ms. Scarantino. So we understand that your organization, theater, Americana, we'll be participating in ArtNight this year. We do have a few questions in here. Our first question is, can you tell us more about Theater Americana's role in promoting local arts and culture through this event?
Donna Scarantino:
Well, because Theatre Americana is one of the oldest theater companies in Southern California, we have quite a bit of experience under our belt. So ArtNight performance is a combination of several dances, line dancing. We're dancing to Ghostbusters and we're dancing to Thriller. Also we have a variety of music from Country Western to pop to some of the iconic songs of the sixties. So we're very active in the community and we've contributed quite a bit to the arts and culture of the past new community because I believe this will be our sixth or seventh recipient of the Art Night grant.
Therese:
What inspired the Hollywood theme concept for your musical and dance concert? And a follow up question would be how long did you geist prepared for this event or for this presentation?
Donna Scarantino:
When I spoke with the City of Pasadena regarding the mini grant, and we were selected to be on the stairs of the city hall, I asked them, what theme would you like us to do? And they said they would like a Halloween theme. So that's why we're doing it because of their suggestion. It was their suggestion.
Therese:
how long did you plan and prepare for this presentation?
Speaker 1:
Well, the pre-production process is months ahead. So when I found out we were going to be the recipient of the Art Night grant, that's two or three months. The pre-production process is the hardest. We begin rehearsals, a full day rehearsals from 11:00 AM Saturday to 9:30. So we're doing all of our rehearsals in one day to prepare, because we have done all of these numbers, but we want to just review 'em and so forth, and polish them.
Therese:
How has the city funded mini grant impacted your ability to contribute to the Pasadena community? You mentioned earlier that this is the sixth or seventh time that you received the mini grant.
Donna Scarantino:
we don't have our own venues, so we have to rent space to perform it, and that becomes very costly. And with the grants specifically from the city of Pasadena, it helps with our operating costs to support production costs so we can put on these performances for the community. So that's a great help to us because we have to perform somewhere. It helps to offset our costs if we have grants to help with our arts projects.

The most important thing it helps us with is to pay for rehearsal space so we could ready ourselves for these productions. 

Therese:
We understand that you will be presenting the dance and everything at the steps of the city hall. What are the challenges of performing in open space compared to usually, I know you guys perform on stage indoors. Are there any challenges or are there any adjustments that you had to make in order for the presentation to have the same impact as when it is presented indoors?
Donna Scarantino:
Right. Well, we have to consider the safety because we are on the stairs of City Hall. So when I choreograph the pieces that we're doing, they have to be, I take into consideration the safety of the dancers and also the logistics and the mobility. How can we move about the staging area to make it effective, which we will, there's no doubt. But you have to take all of that in consideration when you're in an outdoor venue and you're performing on stairs. But I can guarantee you it's going to be just as impactful if we were in a theater,
Therese:
I believe since this is the case you're performing outdoors, there will be a rundown or run through before the actual event in terms of blocking and all that and spacing and all that.
Donna Scarantino:
Well, not necessarily, because let me tell you about our troop, especially our dance troop. They're young and a lot of them work, so they can't get there too early. And for us to have to block them ahead of time may not be an option. But these dancers, this cast is so versatile and so adaptable because we've had so many different venues that we've performed at, and we have performed on the steps of Pasadena City Hall. So what we're going to do tomorrow is choreograph the dance pieces, thriller and Ghostbusters to be done in place and then move about the stairs. That's what we'll have to do because we don't have the luxury of bringing everybody there ahead of time because of their time, their jobs, and so forth.
Therese:
And what time does your presentation or the show start on Friday?
Donna Scarantino:
Yeah, it's supposed to start at six. Sometimes. We don't go on until about six 15, but our time slot is from 6 to 10. So we're probably starting the performance at 6:15 and going to 9:45.
Therese:
Wow. That's very nice. It's a long presentation. Yes. And Ms. Scarantino, could you highlight, aside from Thriller and Ghostbusters, you mentioned earlier, could you highlight some other key performances and activities that attendees can expect on Art Night from, of course, Theatre, Americana?
Donna Scarantino:
We are going to do some numbers from Chicago. We're going to be doing Earth, wind and Fire. We're going to be doing some country songs. We have a country line dance to Footloose. We're doing a lot of pop music, some Motown. So it's a mixture of a lot of genres of music that we've done in the past. And we kind of, just because it's a three hour slot, we want to cover. And we do have a live performance. We have a guitarist that will play some of the sixties songs from the sixties. So yeah, I mean, we have 42 songs.
Therese:
Oh, that's a lot. It's going to be a concert. Really?
Donna Scarantino:
Yes. And we have to repeat our show, but that's why I'm artistic director. I have to look at the lineup and figure out what works best when and where to put that. But for sure, Ghostbusters and thrillers and probably the country Western Line dance would get repeated every hour.
Therese:
And Ms. Scarantino, aside from being one of the oldest theater groups or organizations in Southern California, what do you think sets Theatre Americana's contribution apart from other art night participants this year?
Donna Scarantino:
Well, because we raised money for other nonprofits, we just finished our season. We raised money for four other nonprofits. Do you want those names or?
Therese:
Just a few examples. Ms. Scarantino will do
Donna Scarantino:
Well, like the Bloom Again Foundation and the Zonta Foundation- Burbank Chapter, Monrovia Chapter, Monrovia Guild, children's Hospitals, Los Angeles, and the Shakespeare Club of Pasadena. So we just finished our, and that's what makes us very unique and very different. We raise money for other nonprofits. We are a non profit but we do love the philanthropic work that we do. And they're all volunteers in the show. All of our shows are all volunteer cast.
Therese:
And you mentioned earlier that just ended the season. When will you open or when will you be back?
Donna Scarantino:
Well, we still have a few more things to do. This year. We have a holiday show for the Women's Club of Eagle Rock, and we may be Okay. So then next year I'm waiting for dates from venues, but we're looking at maybe doing Shakespeare, possibly Camelot. We will do our sixties revisited concert. We may be doing Steel Magnolias. I'm pretty sure we are. Then I think we have some other gigs plan for next year. So we're already getting busy.
Therese:
And Ms. Scarantino, would it be okay if you do have a few photos during rehearsal or as a group? Would it be possible for you to send it to us so that we can publish it alongside our story?
Donna Scarantino:
Right. I could take some photos at rehearsals. I also have some photos from our last Broadway show. Would you like those or would you rather have 'em from our rehearsal?
Therese:
Oh, that would be fine. If you have photos from that one, it's fine.
Donna Scarantino:
That would be great. Yeah, I think I'd like to send you those in costume in those as rehearse. We won't be in costume.
Therese:
Yes, that would be great.
Donna Scarantino:
We'll be fully costumed for this show on Art Night following Costumed.

To learn more about Theatre Americana, visit http://theatreamericana.com.