Thursday, July 30, 2020

Pioneer Valley Theatre News July 30, 2020

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Pioneer Valley Theatre Newsletter
View this email in your browser

July 30 - August 19, 2020


The newsletter is starting to look a little more normal - still mostly virtual performances, but local theatres are starting to present - take a look and support them! If you are craving an in-person performance - check out the show Eggtooth is presenting this weekend listed below. And this Friday, K and E Theater Group is hosting a conversation about the local theatre community's response to COVID-19. 

The next issue will include events through August 26. 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

Submit Your Theatre Event
YOUR EVENT HERE
$5 per week for your poster and ticket link in top billing!
Email me to reserve your dates.
THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS:
from Howlround

We Commit to Anti-Racist Stage Management Education
by Narda E Alcorn and Lisa Porter

From the article: 

From tragedy to uproar, America is being held to account. There is much work to do during this pause. We are two educators and stage managers who lead the MFA programs at Yale School of Drama and the University of California, San Diego. We identify as women—one Black, and one White—who share an intentional commitment to practicing and teaching anti-racist stage management. We are engaged in inquiry and self-assessment, as well as conversation about how the production of live performance will be transformed and how we can prepare stage managers to lead an authentically equitable theatrical process.

Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com
Click to Access: Pioneer Valley Theatre Google Calendar
Click to Access: Pioneer Valley Theatre Personnel Spreadsheet
PERFORMANCES and COVID-19 RESOURCES
Eggtooth and Jack Golden Productions are proud to present Under the Stars, a Covid-friendly outdoor performance for two shows a night (at 8 pm and 9 pm) on July 30, 31 and August 1 and on August 13, 14, 15 to take place at top floor of the Greenfield Parking Garage. With one of the most beautiful views in the Valley eight cars per performance will be welcomed to enjoy an original performance by the movement artist, Jack Golden commissioned by Eggtooth Productions. Tickets are available here.

Under the Stars is a tale of three journeys. It captures the struggles and possibilities of our unusual times through a triptych of unlikely stories: epic, improvisational, and comic. Created by Jack Golden and produced by Eggtooth Productions, this performance is set, as the title suggests, in the fresh evening air, reminiscent of drive in theaters of days gone by, except the show is live. Audience members remain in their cars, provide stage lighting with their headlights, and watch this 25 minute one man show from behind the safety of their windshields.

Jack Golden starts with “Just in Case”, the story of an archetypal journey told by a lost traveler and inspired by the prologue from Dante’s Inferno.

From there he drops his script and opens his mind to whatever comes to him in the moment. This improvisation is impossible to describe ahead of time, but it’s sure to be a delightful surprise for all, including Jack. “The Big Sweep” is the final piece, a shadow play filled with hilarious banter and acted out by a troupe of cleaning closet characters.

Where else can you get Shakespearean drama, celestial guidance, and bathroom humor kicking it together on the same stage?

Jack states that his is a “performance that respects all “social distancing” standards while allowing for an intimate theatrical experience in a time when online-virtual artistic expression carries the day. I welcome participants to Under the Stars! This performance takes place in a parking garage on the top floor where the audience drives in their cars and watches the show from inside their vehicles.

The piece utilizes shadow play, improvisation and text, and presents three separate journeys that reflect the uncertainty of our times in an upbeat and uplifting way. Heart leads to humor and returns to the heart.”
 
Jack Golden began his career as an actor-mime-juggler-movement artist, improvisor and clown in 1983. He has been the featured clown with the Pickle Family Circus of San Francisco and a founding member of The Wright Brothers, a new vaudeville touring company that was voted “Best of Fest” at the 1987 International Clown and Mime Festival.

In 1989 he embarked on a solo career that has led him to create and perform  several nationally touring shows for schools and family audiences including the award winning Garbage Is My Bag. He studied physical theater and improvisation extensively with the world-renowned director and performer, Tony Montanaro. Additionally he trained with the San Francisco School of Dramatic Arts. He has taught physical theater and improvisation at Savannah College of Arts and Design, New England Center for Circus Arts, the University of Massachusetts and Boston University.

More recently, he created the one person performance “You Don’t Know Jack”, which debuted at the Shea Theater and Art Center and went on to Baltimore’s Charm City Fringe Festival. In addition he played Atigonus in John Bechtold’s “A Winters Tale”, Night Custodian in “Deus ex Machina” as well as roles in Gem of the Valley and Sam’s Place.
K and E Theater Group Local Spotlight Series Episode 20 - The COVID Response from Our Local Theater Companies
July 31 at 7:00 PM

As our community's stages went silent these past few months to the pandemic, we shine the spotlight on our local theater companies in this episode. Collectively, we discuss our thoughts about reopening and what performers, technical crew, creatives, volunteers, and audiences may come to expect during auditions, rehearsals, and future performances to keep everyone safe when we're able to welcome everyone back.

K and E Theater Group's Local Spotlight Series welcomes the artistic directors, presidents and representatives from Exit 7 Players Theater, Ghost Light Theater, Greene Room Productions, Opera House Players, Rise Up Productions, Strident Theatre, Silverthorne Theater Company, The Suffield Players, Theatre Guild of Hampden, Unity House Players, Westfield Theatre Group, and Wilbraham United Players! This episode is moderated by KETG Artistic Director Eddie Zitka.

Check out the LOCAL SPOTLIGHT SERIES on Tuesdays and Fridays at 7:00 PM all summer long, hosted by KETG Artistic Director Eddie Zitka, on our Facebook page, YouTube channel, or on IGTV. See KETG.org for more information.

See you in the spotlight!

Facebook
Instagram
YouTube Channel
MAJESTIC THEATER OFFERING ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT; INTERVIEW SHOWS AND CHILDREN'S THEATER PRODUCTIONS

West Springfield's Majestic Theater, which closed to the public in March due to COVID-19, is offering weekly online programs that feature popular Majestic entertainers being interviewed, as well as videos of favorite plays from previous seasons of the Majestic Children's Theater program, and an online talkback session about those plays.

Stephen Petit, director of the Majestic Children's Theater program, hosts “Majestic Children's Theater Online.” Each Wednesday, a video of a past performance is uploaded to majestictheater.com, and the following Sunday, Petit and cast members from that play host a live talkback and Q & A session with viewers online. Here is a listing of upcoming shows:
  • Sunday, August 2 – “Through the Looking Glass...and What Alice Found There”
  • Sunday, August 9 – “Aesop's (Oh So Slightly Updated) Fables”
All “Behind the Curtain” and “Majestic Children's Theater Online” episodes are archived and available for viewing anytime at majestictheater.com.  There is no cost to view these shows, but donations are encouraged.

On August 2nd at 1pm, The Ohketeau Cultural Council and Double Edge Theatre will present a talk and workshop on the history and presence of the Nipmuc and other Tribes in Ashfield and the surrounding areas. The conversation will be moderated by Rhonda Anderson and will feature Larry Spotted Crow Mann and Lisa Brooks. 

This event will be live streaming via HowlRound and will be announced soon on the website here. It will also be recorded and accessible through both the Ohketeau and Double Edge website after the event.

The events of the day will include: 

  • An introduction of the event by Stacy Klein, Founder and Artistic Director of Double Edge Theatre
  • A conversation moderated by Rhonda Anderson with Larry Spotted Crow Mann and Lisa Brooks, followed by a discussion 
  • A presentation by Larry Spotted Crow Mann: Keeping Traditions Alive in a COVID-19 World. The presentation by Mann will be centered around how Ohketeau will be a place, and a space, of cultural preservation. Nipmuc culture and tradition is all about relationship, communication and a Oneness of the universe. In this challenging time of separation, the Ohketeau Cultural Center looks to meet that challenge with dynamic and new ways to keep our community together. 

Double Edge is proud to welcome Ohketeau, a space for Indigenous Cultural Practice, to our town and to our space. 

On August 15th, 2020, Real Live Theatre presents a live “Zoom-staged” reading of our original feminist epic The Life & Death of Queen Margaret.

A patchwork of text written mostly by William Shakespeare, as deconstructed and augmented by Toby Vera Bercovici and Dan Morbyrne.

Directed by Toby Vera Bercovici 
With Choreography by Annelise Nielsen  
Stage Management by Ezekiel Baskin 
Sound Design by Catherine McCurry 
Featuring an original song by Cynthia Zaitz, Ph.D

Featuring a reunion of our 2017 cast: Myka Plunkett, Linda Tardif, Kate Hare, Annelise Nielsen, Ellen Morbyrne, Emily Tanch, Jeannine Haas (AEA), and Lisa Abend (AEA).

Saturday, August 15th, 7pm.
Mature content.
www.RealLiveTheatre.net for all the info.
Email reallivetheatre@gmail.com with any questions.
SILVERTHORNE THEATER ANNOUNCES
2020 THEATER THURSDAY PLAY READING SERIES
 
Following up on its highly successful Theater Thursday play reading series last year, Silverthorne Theater Company will take advantage of the use of online streaming to bring three new plays to the Valley and beyond this summer through the 2020 Theater Thursday Play Reading Series. All three plays in this year’s series will be streamed free to Silverthorne’s Facebook page and will feature live discussions with the playwrights following the readings. The series is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council through the generous support of the Greenfield, Hadley and Buckland Cultural Councils.

The final 2020 Theater Thursday play, which streams on Thursday, August 20, is written by Northampton playwright, James McLindon – Distant Music.  Penney Hulten directs this complex piece set in January 2000. On a snowy night in an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Connor, Maeve and Dev meet, each agonizing over an irrevocably life-changing decision. The three fight over religion and beer, whether truth exists at all, the differences between the Irish and Irish-Americans, the many failings (according to Dev) of the latter, and, finally, the capacity of stout to explain, metaphorically and metaphysically, most of life. The play, winner of numerous awards, has been produced across the country and is published by Dramatic Publishing. The playwright will join in for a live post-show talk about the play.
K and E Theater Group Presents Local Spotlight Series this Summer!

K and E Theater Group is excited to present its LOCAL SPOTLIGHT SERIES on Facebook, IGTV and YouTube celebrating Pioneer Valley’s theater artists. KETG Artistic Director Eddie Zitka hosts the summer series streaming online every Tuesday and Friday starting on May 26th and through the rest of the summer!

Stay tuned and check out our lineup by liking us on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribing to our YouTube channel! See you in the spotlight!
From the New England New Play Alliance:

Virtual Performances & Theatre Discussions


Landing Theatre presents
Queen of Sad Mischance
by John Minigan

directed by Lily Wolff
July 31

Presented as part of the New American Voices Playwriting Festival. Intense, bi-racial college senior Kym thinks she’s lucked into the perfect resume-builder: a research assistantship helping feminist scholar Beverly Norden finish her ground-breaking book on Shakespeare’s Queen Margaret before Alzheimer’s makes the task impossible. As Kym learns that more than Beverly’s failing memory stands in the way of both the book and the carefully-planned trajectory of her own future career, she has to use her own understanding of the Margaret story to find a new path forward. Tickets: free ($10 suggested donation).


The Forge Theatre Lab presents
LifeBlood
an online reading
by Erik Nikander

directed by Jack Crory
August 5-12

A miracle medical device has the country abuzz about an exciting female entrepreneur. But when a young journalist begins to dig deeper, she finds out the shocking truth about the company and its founder. A drama inspired by the true events of the Theranos scandal. Link information here.
 

Apollinaire Theatre Company presents
Chelsea People
August 1, 8

Apollinaire Theatre has taken on the challenge of creating an original operetta every week. These devised works will be based on the lives of local Chelsea residents who have been nominated by Chelsea's leading community organizations. First-hand interviews with these intriguing individuals on Sundays will provide the basis for creating a multidisciplinary Zoom-play about their life and work, presented the following Saturday night. Tickets: free, registration required.
 

SpeakEasy Stage presents
Celebrating the Black Narrative
a discussion series

moderated by Crystin Gilmore
now-August 20

“Celebrating the Black Narrative” is the theme for the third installment of SpeakEasy’s Play Discussion Group, a series of free virtual events which returns on Thursday, July 30. Actress Crystin Gilmore will moderate the conversations, which focus each week on various plays by contemporary Black female playwrights.

WEEK TWO: Nollywood Dreams
by Jocelyn Bioh
July 30 5:30 pm
Sign up here.

It’s the nineties and in Lagos, Nigeria, the “Nollywood” film industry is exploding. Ayamma dreams of leaving her job at her parents’ travel agency and becoming a star. When she auditions for a new film by Nigeria’s hottest director, tension flares with his former leading lady—as sparks fly with Nollywood’s biggest heartthrob.

Purchase Nollywood Dreams here.
 

The Wilbury Theatre Group and WaterFire Providence present
FRINGEPVD

now-August 1

The 2020 Festival will feature performances streamed through the Wilbury Group and FRINGEPVD social media channels: thirty-nine performances, as well as the first-ever digital Family Fringe Day, hosted by the Providence Community Library, which will feature games, stories, and crafts. Audiences may view the performances for free as they happen live, or purchase a 2020 Fringe Access Pass for $20 to view performances at their convenience on the FRINGEPVD website. Stream or buy a pass.
 

Sparkhaven Theatre presents
Tales from Camp Strangewood

Tales from Camp Strangewood is an anthology, with every episode helmed by a new playwright, director, and team of actors. These chilling tales follow the eclectic inhabitants of Camp Strangewood as they encounter circumstances on the very edge of reality on the same particularly strange night. Over the course of six Sundays, audiences will follow campers and counselors coping with fear and isolation while the rules of the world they once knew fall apart around them.

August 2
The Legend of Ghost Girl
by Hayley Spivey
directed by Andrew Child
music by Alissa Voth

A cabin of musical campers goes in search of Ghost Girl and her legendary song. Will they make it out of the woods alive? And more importantly, will they have the chops to win the camp talent show? Stream here.

August 5
Double Trouble (the minisode)
by Alexis Scheer
directed by M Sloth Levine

Follow us @CampStrangewood on Instagram Live to catch an emergency broadcast from camper Frankie, as they realize their Parent Trap fantasy isn't quite what they expected.

 

Boston Podcast Players presents
Nightfall

by Livian Yeh

We are now in a post Crazy Rich Asians world, people. On this episode we have not one but two but THREE Asian-American playwrights living in Boston between the host, featured playwright Livian Yeh, and co-host Christina Chan.

We talk about Nightfall (Yeh’s examination of Maoist China), acupuncture, the architect Maya Lin, superheroes and/or romance novels, translating plays into Chinese, and the Asian-American Playwright Collective, which was co-founded by the three of us (and others). Stream the podcast.

Links from last few weeks:
More excellent resources for freelance artists

This article has links to great free online trainings for theatre technology

More Digital Arts and Culture Resources


List of Arts Resources During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Stay At Home Fest: Online Entertainment Calendar

Join the New Performing Artists Network, created by Seth Lepore

UMass Arts Extension Services List of Resources

Live Puppet Theatre Online - from the Jim Henson Foundation


Even More Things to Stream While Broadway Is Shut Down

So many free online theatre streaming listings here.

Playwrights' Center offering classes and online events. 

AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES
OFFICE ASSISTANT POSITION
 
Silverthorne Theater Company is seeking part-time temporary assistance in its downtown Greenfield office. beginning August 17, 2020, starting at 10 hours a week, for a maximum of three months.  As the activities of the theater increase with the resumption of live productions these hours may be expanded, especially if the successful candidate shows aptitude for a wider range of duties.
 
We are a small professional company dedicated to serving the community of Greenfield and greater Franklin County with high-quality, challenging and thought-provoking theatrical experiences. We value creativity, enthusiasm, collaboration, and consideration of others in the work we present and in the people we work with. 
 
The ideal candidate will have experience in the following areas:
·      office file maintenance
·      database entry and management, including report production
·      calendar maintenance
 
Additional desirable skills include:
·      familiarity with theater or other performing arts organizations
·      ability to maintain online presence -web page updates; e-newsletters
·      familiarity with Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
·      proficiency in MS Word, Excel, Google business applications
·      familiarity with Apple computer systems
 
Please submit a resume and the names and contact information of three professional references with whom you have worked by August 1, 2020.  Send to silverthornetheater@gmail.com. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and committed to our Valley community. Information about Silverthorne Theater Company at https://silverthornetheater.org
Casting:
VoteSafe
PSA
Non-Union
Producers: Already Alive, Inc.
Director: Michael Marantz
Casting Director: Charlotte Arnoux
Shoot Dates: August 11th and/or 12th
Rate of Pay: $300/day + $150 travel stipend
Location: Northampton, MA

Must be a Western Massachusetts LOCAL HIRE (no lodging provided)

SEEKING:

WOMAN: 65-80 years old. Any ethnicity. Female. Has the gravitas of a long life lived fully — challenges overcome, hardships weathered. No nonsense, strong-willed, natural sense of humor. 

VETERAN: 30-50 years old. Any ethnicity. Male. He speaks with authority as a veteran who feels perfectly safe voting by mail — as he’s done any time he’s served overseas. He speaks to our collective common sense, cuts through the bullshit, someone you’d come to for advice. Please note if you have served in the military. 

NURSE: 30s-50s. Any ethnicity. Any gender. An essential worker during these tough times, who wants to make sure their voice is heard in this election. Please note if you own your own scrubs.

PERSON WITH HEALTH ISSUE: 30s-50s. Any ethnicity. Any gender. Come hell or high water, they will express their voice in this election, but they face deadly serious consequences if they were to get COVID. 

LOGLINE: We are shooting a series of PSAs. The goal is to advocate for everyone to have accessible, secure mail-in ballots, regardless of party or state.

Director’s Bio: Michael Marantz has directed projects for brands including Facebook, Google, Porsche, Verizon, Walmart, Dove, Gillette, and many more. His films have 100s of millions of views online and over 10 Vimeo Staff Picks.
AUDITIONS: ACTORS WANTED FOR A NEW PLAY
Western Mass playwright seeks experienced actors for dynamic new, four character, one act play. Audition/meet by zoom. Safe rehearsals, leading to an off book performance safely shot by zoom/iphone video for eventual public broadcast on line or on TV. Non-union. Paid. Immediate.
Roles:
Dramatic; Female; Age 55+, African-American
Dramatic; Female; Age 50+, African-American
Dramatic; Female; Age 35+, African- American
Fast Talking Comic; Male or Female; 25-45, any ethnicity.
If you’re  interested, would love to connect with you and share details. Thank you!
Contact: laura@laurawetzler.com 413.320.5553
New Play Cinematographer/Editor Wanted

Western Mass writer/director seeks filmmakers/Iphone cinematographers, and video editors for a three camera, safe, low budget shoot of a dynamic new play for broadcast. Great lighting and sound design skills, and fast editing a must. All ethnicities urged to apply. To be shot in Western Mass. Non-union. Paid. If interested, send me a link to your work and let’s talk! Contact: laura@laurawetzler.com 4133205553
The Play Reading Co-op is currently seeking submissions of full length plays from New England writers for a monthly, ongoing reading series. The mission of the co-op is simply for local theater makers to have a chance to get in a room together to work on high quality material for our own learning, enjoyment, and camaraderie. It's also a great way to learn about new works and writers. The reading is intended to be informal and without an audience other than other co-op “members” and potentially a friend or colleague(s) of the writer. If the writer is looking for a discussion or feedback afterward, we are happy to make space for that as well. We are ideally looking for plays with at least 2 female identifying roles. 

http://www.rachelfhirsch.com/play-reading-co-op
As part of "How We Are Responding" to the current health pandemic and the impact it's having on our beloved theatre community, we at TCG are extending complimentary postings of temporary / flexible / tele-commuting positions (artistic AND non-artistic) on ARTSEARCH®. 

This opportunity is open to ALL, in support of theatre-makers looking for immediate temporary work to alleviate the financial crisis that has resulted from the spread of the virus. 

http://artsearch.tcg.org/home
WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
Being Self
with Joe Dulude II - email joe@joedulude2.com  to register
Being self is a unique online camp experience for LGBTQ+ kids ages 15-18 that runs from August 10-14, 2020 from 1:00-4:00 pm at a cost of $100.
 
Each day will be a 2-3 hour session involving theatre, self-discovery and artistic activities.  The goal of the camp is to help young people discover who they are in this moment and who they would like to become.
 
All activities lead to a final video project where campers will record a documentary of who they are.  These videos will be edited together into a short film which will be shown on Eggtooth Productions website.
 
The camp will be led by Joe Dulude II, himself a member of the LGBTQ+ community.  Joe has worked the last 8 years as a Program Director for Camp Highlight and has developed several workshops on identity.
 
Joe Dulude II is probably best known for his Broadway, Off-Broadway and West End makeup designs on such productions as Wicked, Beetlejuice, Spongebob Squarepants the Musical, Torch Song, Sunday in the Park with George, Anastasia, Sweet Charity, Holiday Inn, Allegiance, Dr. Zhivago, On the Town, If/Then, Beautiful, The Wedding Singer, Grease!, Follies, Jekyll & Hyde and many more.
 
Joe is also a fine artist, showing work in NYC and his current home in western MA, performing artist  and drag queen, having created the  character of Mr Drag with his good friend Kat playing his associate, Karl.

 
Playwriting Classes with Darcy Parker Bruce

Playwriting 101: An Introduction to Playwriting

The basics you need surrounded by conversation tailored specifically to your goals. Enter a novice, exit with a first draft.

Number of Sessions: at least 5

Playwriting 201: A More Advanced Exploration
In this course we will discuss what to do once you're a little more comfortable with the world of theater and playwriting. For this course, you should have written at least one play with a beginning, middle, and end. Goals and outcomes of this course include learning how to rewrite and redraft, scene breakdown and examination, and contextually relevant information on the theater industry as it exists currently.

Sessions may be tailored to an individual's needs.

Number of Sessions: Recommended minimum of 3.


Staging the Impossible: Theater as a Tool for Social Engagement
How can theatricality push social boundaries? How do fantastical moments onstage translate to moments of action offstage? How can we continue to imagine theater in a way that speaks to all communities, and responds with urgency to the world within which we live?

Session length: tailored to individual needs.


Liminal Spaces and Rites of Passage: World-Building and Guiding Characters Through the Unknown
What makes a play distinctly a play? How do the characters that populate plays differ from the characters that populate films or books? In this class we will discuss how to break with traditional realism and imagine spaces that exist between the known and the unknown.

Session length tailored to individual needs.


If you are interested in any of these classes, please contact Darcy directly at darcypbruce@gmail.com.

Phantom Sheep Productions, in partnership with Unity House Players
LaughCrafters: Connections

Meets every Monday online

Join us for our weekly jam to play short form improv games together! Keep your brains in shape, meet new people, laugh, and stay connected!

Recommended for adults and teens 15+  All levels welcome!

Facebook event

The event is free. Donations are accepted.
Registration is required.
 

September 6 - November 25

Double Edge Theatre's 100-acre rural Farm Center is the perfect setting to take a gap semester from virtual University.

Our Fall Artist Immersion program is for anyone looking for an in-depth experience of our training as the springboard for developing their own creative path of artistic inquiry and work creation. During a three-month residency at Double Edge's International Center of Art, Living Culture and Art Justice, participants identify their research and develop the first stages of original material. The program fosters an intimate and experiential connection to the larger fabric of the ensemble through work on our Farm.

Learn more about our Fall Immersion

Amidst the deeply painful issues of our time, we at Double Edge believe that our mission and values of Art plus Living Culture plus Art Justice are even more vital to creating the future in which we want to live. We offer a sanctuary of the imagination for all. In 2016, in a spirit of support and solidarity and to take action to more directly impact Black
and Native Lives, and particularly Black and Native Artists, Double Edge established the Supporting Black & Native Lives scholarship to provide tuition-free and partial tuition scholarships, which in some cases will include housing and food, depending on the program, in each one of our Intensive and Immersion programs.

For our upcoming Fall Immersion program, we will be providing 2 tuition-free scholarships to Black and Native Artists.

Very limited space due to COVID-19, so apply soon!

THE PIONEER VALLEY LAUGHING CLUB

Saturdays from 1-2pm, starting May 9th

Completely Ridiculous Productions and The Northampton Center for the Arts would like to welcome you to the Pioneer Valley’s one and only Laughing Club!

In this weekly meetup we will gather together for an hour on zoom, introduce ourselves, warm up our bodies, have some fun and laugh ‘til it hurts.

Why? 

Because we believe it is important to remind ourselves that it's ok to live in a happy body and laugh uproariously, especially in such crazy and chaotic times.

But seriously, Why?

Because laughter is a necessary survival skill, that's why.  Also, super serious people like Doctors, Ministers and Therapists all around the world say that laughter strengthens the immune system, purges toxins, burns calories, works as a natural anti-depressant and keeps us resilient, happy and healthy! Laughter is the Best Medicine after all - and it's FREE!! 

The PVLC is open to any and everyone, and just like going to the gym or taking a yoga class, there is nothing performative about it. However, a sense of humor will most certainly help - so be sure to bring yours along!

Each session is $15 suggested donation benefitting both the NCFA and Completely Ridiculous Productions. To sign up, please email

What in the what is Completely Ridiculous Productions?

CRP is a performance laboratory/training center dedicated to professional actor training, developing and producing new works of physical comedy, and strengthening each individual’s Empathic Vulnerability - the willingness to fully see and be seen by an other, while staying open to the possibility of being changed. For more information visit the website.

And who the heck is running this thing anyway?

Professional Laugher since birth, Gabe Levey is an actor/theatre maker who recently moved back to Northampton. In addition to running workshops and producing shows in the valley, Gabe teaches Physical Acting, Clown, Clown to Text and Shakespeare Performance at NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. Founding Artistic Director, Completely Ridiculous Productions. MFA, Yale School of Drama.

Pioneer Valley Theatre Companies
Is your theatre company missing? Email me!
Academy of Music Theatre

Arena Civic Theatre

Black Cat Theater

Chester Theatre Company

CitySpace

Cold Spring Community Theatre

Completely Ridiculous Productions

Drama Studio

Double Edge Theatre

Eggtooth Productions

Exit 7 Players

Franklin County Youth Theater

Ghost Light Theater

Greenfield Community College's Theater Department

Hampshire Shakespeare Company

Happier Valley Comedy

Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center

Ja'Duke Center for the Performing Arts

K and E Theater Group

Ko Theater Works/Ko Festival of Performance

Majestic Theater

New Century Theatre

No Theater
Northampton Community Arts Trust

Northampton Playwrights Lab


PaintBox Theatre

Panopera

Pauline Productions

Real Live Theatre

Red Thread Theater

Royal Frog Ballet

Serious Play Theatre Ensemble

Shakespeare Stage

Shea Theater Arts Center

Silverthorne Theater

Smith College Department of Theatre

St. Michael's Players

Starlight's Youth Theatre, Inc.

Strident Theatre

TheatreTruck

Turbulent Times Theater

UMass Department of Theater

UMass Theatre Guild

Valley Light Opera

Westfield Theatre Group

Wilbraham United Players
Want to know even more about events in the Pioneer Valley and beyond,
including reviews, interviews, and previews?
Pioneer Valley Theatre Google Calendar
In the Spotlight, Inc.

Berkshire on Stage
Stagestruck
ArtsBeat Radio and News Column
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