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September 15 - October 5, 2016
The Northampton Playwrights Lab opens their two week long festival of playreadings at A.P.E. Gallery tonight! Local playwrights, directors and actors - for only one night each! Take a look at the listing below for more details about the schedule and a description of each play.
The next issue will include events through October 12. Submit upcoming events via the link below or by emailing me before Tuesday at midnight. Any questions, comments or feedback? Email me at pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com
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THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS:
from Howlround
Cellphones in Theatre May Offer More Than Just Unforgivable Disctraction
by Billy McEntee
From the article:
I fear my phone ringing in a theatre almost as much as I fear losing my Spanish. Both, in a way, deal with severed connections. When a phone goes off, and it will, there’s nothing to do but cringe. Will shushing the victim only add to the distracting volume? Or do we pray the actors don’t break the fourth wall to tell off the incendiary patron, inadvertently causing more glowing phones to surface and capture the show-within-a-show?
Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com
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Northampton Playwrights Lab presents PLAY BY PLAY
A.P.E. Gallery, 126 Main Street, Northampton
September 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25
Seating is very limited. Please arrive early! $10 Suggested Donation.
Thurs Sept. 15 at 7:30: Harley Erdman, CROWSNEST, directed by Sheila Siragusa
Fri Sept. 16 at 7:30: Mojie Crigler, THE WINKLEMEYERS BET IT ALL, directed by Jennifer Onopa
Sat Sept. 17 at 7:30: Eric Henry Sanders, WHERE’S ANNIE?, directed by Gina Kaufmann
Thurs Sept 22 at 7:30: Meryl Cohn, NAKED WITH FRUIT, directed by Melissa Redwin
Fri Sept. 23 at 7:30: Meryl Cohn, NAKED WITH FRUIT, directed by Melissa Redwin
Sat Sept. 24 at 7:30: Leanna James Blackwell, GRIMM WOMEN, directed by the playwright
Sunday, Sep. 25 at 4 p.m: Tanyss Rhea Martula, HOTPOT, directed by Becca Greene-Van Horn, and MY LIFE IN ROCK ’N ROLL
The Plays
CROWSNEST by Harley Erdman
In an ecovillage somewhere up in the hills, Danny, a newcomer, arrives at a utopian community divided over its future direction. His friendship with two residents, Sarah and Carl, embroils him in passion, jealousy, secrets, and conspiracy. CROWSNEST explores the meanings of love, family, and community, in a corner of contemporary America where people striving for utopia put these terms to the extreme test. This will be the first-ever public performance of this brand-new play by Harley Erdman, a UMass theater professor known locally for his librettos for the operas THE GARDEN OF MARTYRS and THE SCARLET PROFESSOR.
THE WINKLEMEYERS BET IT ALL by Mojie Crigler
THE WINKLEMEYERS BET IT ALL is the story of one man’s boom and bust during the first wave of big Internet money, and the price he pays for success that continues to elude him. This play, which was originally produced at an obscure, now-defunct theatre festival in New York City, is one of a number of works by Mojie Crigler, whose other plays have been seen at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Magic Theatre, New York Performance Works, and Carnegie Mellon University.
WHERE’S ANNIE? by Eric Henry Sanders
Where's Annie? Who's Annie? And what have Jack and Birdie done with her? In this dark comedy, Sarah Bitts returns home to confront her estranged grandparents, only to discover that the eccentric pair hides a past more frightening than she ever imagined. Caught in the couple’s alternately terrifying and bitterly humorous web of riddles, lies, and suspicion, Sarah fights her way to the truth and to her family’s redemption. Originally workshopped at the Lark Play Development Center in New York City, WHERE'S ANNIE? was developed in a reading with Frances Sternhagen at the Hudson Stage Company, where it also received its premiere production. This reading offers audiences a first glimpse at a substantially revised version of the play.
NAKED WITH FRUIT by Meryl Cohn
Can three people who share the loss of the same love come together to heal? NAKED WITH FRUIT is a comedy about grief and the quest for love and family. Isabel and Marilyn reconsider polyamory as they grieve the death of the secret third member of their intimate relationship. Isabel’s longing to connect inspires desperate measures, including befriending a Rabbi -- which leads to more secrets and betrayals. Through a tricky road to recovery, the loss of a shared love may turn out to be a powerful bond. An earlier version of Naked with Fruit was produced at the Provincetown Theater and was a Mass Cultural Council Finalist for playwriting.
GRIMM WOMEN by Leanna James Blackwell
A radical re-envisioning of three classic fairy tales, GRIMM WOMEN features a trio of women – a young runaway from a religious community, an adoptive mother living in urban public housing, and a globally successful business owner - telling their stories in a series of impassioned monologues. GRIMM WOMEN transforms the traditionally maligned witches, stepmothers, and spell-casting fairies of legend into living, breathing, 21st century women with a mission: to tell their side of the story for the first time. This will be the first-ever public performance of GRIMM WOMEN, the newest play by the director of Bay Path University’s MFA in Creative Nonfiction and the author of CURTAIN CALL, recently performed at the Berkshire Theatre Group; THE WENDY CHRONICLES; and NEW SOUL.
HOTPOT and MY LIFE IN ROCK ‘N’ ROLL Two pieces by Tanyss Rhea Martula
HOTPOT, a short play. Two mothers meet to talk about their teenage children and find themselves in a melange of tight spaces, awkwardness, and confusion as things heat up. An earlier version of the play was staged at Chicago Dramatists. MY LIFE IN ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, a solo performance piece in progress. A roller coaster ride through the highs of an unexpected late-in-life passion and the highs and lows of an unpredictable family. Performed by the playwright who will be showing the work she develops during the two-week PLAY BY PLAY residency at A.P.E. There will be a brief talk-back after ROCK ‘N’ ROLL.
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Dean Parker Productions presents
MR. MAMBO
October 15 at 8:00 PM
Academy of Music Theatre
A New Musical Comedy Inspired by the Music of Tiffany
Tickets available online and through the Academy of Music Box Office.
Cost $35
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The Majestic Theater presents MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott
September 15-October 23
West Springfield, MA
“Million Dollar Quartet” tells about the real-life events of Tuesday afternoon, December 4, 1956 at Sun Records' Memphis studio. Rockabilly star Carl Perkins was there working on a revamped version of the blues song “Matchbox,” when fellow Sun recording artists Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley drifted into the studio, and the quartet took part in a loose jam session that producer Sam Phillips had the foresight to record. A local reporter who was called and sat in headlined his newspaper article which ran the next day, “Million Dollar Quartet.”
Cast members include Jay Sefton (Sam Phillips), Colin Patrick Ryan (Elvis Presley), Corbin Mayer (Johnny Cash), Brian Michael Henry (Jerry Lee Lewis), Dan Whelton (Carl Perkins) and Kaytlyn Vandeloecht (Dyanne).
The play will be directed by the Majestic’s Producing Director Danny Eaton. Mitch Chakour is the music director, and set design is by Greg Trochlil. Stephen Petit is production stage manager, and associate stage manager is Aurora Ferraro.
For additional information, visit the website.
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Shelburne Falls Memorial Hall presents THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB
7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16, 17, 23, and 24
2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18.
Shelburne Falls Memorial Hall, 51 Bridge Street, Shelburne Falls, MA.
The Dixie Swim Club brings live theater back to historic Shelburne Falls Memorial Hall!
Written by Jesse Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten, The Dixie Swim Club celebrates with poignancy and a good deal of laughter the dynamics of women’s friendships -- college buddies, sisters, neighbors - and the long-lasting love, challenges and great girls’ weekends that are a part of those friendships. The five friends, former college swim team buddies, come together once a year at an Outer Banks beach cottage to talk, laugh, swim, relax, reminisce, comfort, confront, talk and laugh some more. Throughout the 50-some years they have been meeting at the cottage, they have been the glue for each other through all of life’s happiness and crises.
Reserve tickets by emailing or purchase at the door (cash/checks only).
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Happier Valley Comedy presents the Happier Valley Comedy Show
September 17 at 4:00 PM
Eastworks Community Room
Happier FAMILY Comedy Show Monthly improv comedy show for the whole family. Best for 5-12 year olds and their adults. Saturday September 17th at 4pm. Located at Eastworks' Community Room (Suite 160) 116 Pleasant Street, Easthampton. Tickets at the door or online: $10/Adults, $5/Kids (4 yrs and under free), $30/Family Max. For more info visit www.happiervalley.com.
Facebook event here. Buy your ticket(s) online here.
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TheatreTruck presents THE WATER PROJECT (IMMERSIVE)
a site-specific theatrical journey with live music
9/22 @ 8:30PM, 9/23 @ 6:30 and 8:30PM; 9/24 @ 6:30 & 8:30pm
Swift River Valley Historical Society, 40 Elm Street in the village of North New Salem, just west of Rt. 202.
Live theater joins forces with the Pioneer Valley’s thriving independent music scene in this original immersive production, created by TheatreTruck Collaborator Emma Ayres. Immerse yourself in the currents of time in this story of the flooding of the Quabbin Reservoir. The water is rising.
Directed by Emma Ayres and Brianna Sloane with design by John Bechtold, Emily Taradash, C. Webster Marsh and Austin Federa.
TICKETS available at Brown Paper Tickets.
$20 in advance ($15 students/seniors in advance)
OR $25 cash only at the door if available ($20 students/seniors).
“Newspaper headlines read: 4 towns flooded, 2,500 people relocated, houses moved on the backs of trucks, 7,500 graves dug up and reburied on higher ground, memories drowned, and little know…”
THE WATER PROJECT (IMMERSIVE) submerges the audience in a dreamscape evoking the final week of the decision making-process: to flood or not to flood the Swift River Valley in service of providing clean water to rapidly growing Boston. The audience is invited to explore the story unfolding around them in this theatrical journey. Faced with imminent flooding, the Doubleday family confronts the end of life and home as they know it, while anxiety rises and rumors walk the halls.
On Facebook. This event involves going up and down stairs, and much of the performance is not wheelchair accessible. We wish it was.
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Serious Play Theatre Ensemble presents The Red Guitar
Return from the Edinbugh Fringe
September 23 at 8:00 pm
Shea Theatre, Turner's Falls
Just returning from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with a five star review from the well respected Herald Scotland newspaper, and sold out audiences every night of the two and a half weeks the show premiered there, Serious Play Theatre presents John Sheldon's The Red Guitar: Return From The Fringe. John uses his virtuosity as a guitarist and storyteller to go beyond genres and styles, into the beating heart of music-the power of sound to transport and transform. Sharing the sounds that shaped a life.
Tickets online or call 800-838-3006.
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Arena Civic Theatre Presents
Disney’s Beauty & the Beast
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice
Book by Linda Woolverton
Directed by Dawn Mayo
Musical Direction by Ted Trobaugh
Choreography by Sue Dresser
Presented 9/23, 24, 30 & 10/1 at 7:30 PM and 9/25** & 10/2 at 2:00 PM
**Please note that the 9/25 matinee is a SENSORY FRIENDLY PERFORMANCE – this means that the lighting will not be as dark, the sound will not be as loud, and audience members are invited to meet the principal characters before the show to get to know them ahead of time. Audience movement and voices are understood and welcome**
The Ruth B. Smith Auditorium at the Orange Town Hall
6 Prospect Street
Orange, MA 01364
Tickets $16 General Admission, $13 Seniors/Students, $10 Children and are available at the door or by calling to reserve at (413) 233-4368 or online. Opening night all tickets are $8 and audiences members are invited to dress as their favorite Disney character.
Step into the enchanted world of Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, an international sensation that has played to over 35 million people worldwide in 13 countries. Based on the Academy-Award winning animated feature, this spectacular musical tells the story of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed to his former self. But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity. Be Arena Civic Theatre’s guest for this beloved musical!
Facebook Event.
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Eggtooth Productions, The Arts Block &
Franklin Community Co-op offer
A new immersive adaptation of Shakespeare’s
The Winter’s Tale
Directed & Designed by John Bechtold with Music by John Sheldon
Sept. 28-Oct. 1, 2016 at 7:30 pm with a 2 pm matinee on Oct. 2.
Explore the rich stories of The Winter’s Talethrough intuitive, instinctual, & imaginative ways, as we break the boundaries between the real & the imaginary across 5 floors of Arts Block in Greenfield, MA where the physical space is metamorphosed to transfix, transform, & transport audience members through their senses as they experience the action & environment.
The Winter’s Tale is one of jealousy, redemption, reunification, and the healing power of Time. Audience members enjoy a uniquely personal experience, with a cast of fine local actors including dancers, singers and guitar music by John Sheldon.
Costumes & Production co-design by Julia V. Whalen; Stage manager, Deb Banks McIntosh, Lights by Downright Productions with Troy David Mercier, Linda Tardif, Reynolds Whalen, Stephen Eldredge, Jack Golden, Atticus, Monte, & Enzo Belmonte, Marina Goldman, Richard Skoler, Andrew Plimpton, Ian Emerson, Fiona Herter, Lindel Hart, Katie Spurgin, Katherine Adler, Michayla Robertson-Pine, Emma Ayres, and John Sheldon.
Tickets online.
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The Academy of Music Theatre presents
Best of Valley Voices Story Slam
Saturday, October 1 at 7:30 PM
Academy of Music Theatre
he Academy of Music Theatre and New England Public Radio are teaming up to present their second Best of Valley Voices. Four Valley Voices Story Slams were held at the Northampton Brewery during the winter and spring of 2016, where the audience selected the top three stories. These top stories by twelve local storytellers will be shared on the Academy stage to compete for the top prize – Best of Valley Voices.
A story slam is a competition based on the art of first person narrative storytelling. It puts emphasis on content and performance, encouraging storytellers to focus on what they’re saying and how they’re saying it. It’s an exercise in crafting stories within a set time limit, without notes or props, and it’s great entertainment. Best of Valley Voices will feature the top winners of each story slam, a seasoned raconteur, and two local emerging musicians.
Wishbone Zoe will appear as featured musician, the avant-indie project of artist Saera K, who specializes in areas of junkyard rock, crashitybishbash, and the distracted storytelling of important things. She has played regionally and nationally at rooms such as Club Passim, Signature Sounds’ Parlor Room and Melodica Fest and has shared the bill with such artists as The Suitcase Junket, And The Kids, Bella’s Bartok, and Heather Maloney.
The 2015 Best of Valley Voices Story Slam winner, Susanne Schmidt, will return to share a new story on stage during the tabulation of ballots.
Tickets and more information online.
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The Seth Show presents
TRUMP CARD
Adapted from the monologue by Mike Daisey, Performed by Seth Lepore
Directed by Linda McInerney of Eggtooth Productions
Tuesday October 4th
and November 1st
THE WEST END (across from Riff's)
EASTWORKS
116 Pleasant St Suite 160
Easthampton, MA based humorist and performing artist Seth Lepore will be taking a short break from the current theme-less series of The Seth Show, Season 3. When he found out that Mike Daisey made the script for his new standing room only show, TRUMP CARD, open-source and adaptable, he knew he had to jump at the chance.
MORE ABOUT TRUMP CARD
Mike Daisey is hailed as “the master storyteller” and “one of the finest solo performers of his generation” by The New York Times. His new tour-de-force on the Republican Presidential Nominee “is about how we build our individual realities and how an artful lie illuminates what we believe to be the truth more than any actual accounting of objective reality.”, says the Guardian. “In fact he’s as forgivable to his liberal audience as Trump’s are to his supporters and you see a bit of Trump in Daisey and, ultimately, a bit of Trump in yourself.”
Daisey made his controversial script for THE AGONY AND ECSTASY of STEVE JOBS available in the same way, which prompted 200 unique productions across the world.
Lepore will be performing an adapted version of TRUMP CARD for hisTuesday, October 4th and November 1st Seth Shows in Easthampton, MA just in time for election season, and is planning to tour it throughout various parts of New England. Linda McInerney of Eggtooth Productions will direct this adapted version.
Buy Tickets
Tickets start at $8. Once those limited tickets go, the price keeps increasing so get tickets now!
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