Pioneer Valley Theatre News August 5, 2021

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Pioneer Valley Theatre Newsletter View this email in your browser August 5 - 25, 2021 There's a really good stretch of live shows coming up: Broadway Cabaret at Silverthorne this weekend, and a whole group of shows next weekend: My Evil Twin, Piedmont Plays Project, An Intervention, Young Frankenstein, and probably more! If you aren't feeling safe enough to go in public yet - or even if you just need another show to round out your weekend - check out one of the virtual shows listed below! The next issue will include events from August 12 - September 1. 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 Starlight's Youth Theatre's fall classes will start September 4th.   All classes will be held at Maple Ridge Community Center, Sunderland.  To register please go to https://www.starlights-youth-theatre.com/register-portal/      YOUR EVENT HERE $5 per week for your poster and ticket link in top billing! Email me to reserve your dates. Click to Access: Pioneer Valley Theatre Google Calendar Click to Access: Pioneer Valley Theatre Personnel Spreadsheet THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS: from Howlround Peacemaking Theatre by Yura Sapi From the article:  Yura Sapi: Imanalla mashikuna. Imanallatak kanki. Hello, friends. How are you? Welcome to another episode of the Building Our Own Tables podcast, season two. I’m your host, Yura Sapi, recording from Emberá Native lands on the Afro-Indigenous coast of Colombia in Nuquí, Chocó, and the Gulf of Tribugá. The Building Our Own Tables podcast is produced for HowlRound Theatre Commons, a free and open platform for theatremakers worldwide, and by Advancing Arts Forward, a movement to advance equity, inclusion, and justice through the arts by creating liberated spaces that uplift, heal, and encourage us to change the world. I’m interviewing Black, Native, Asian, and other founders of color to find transformative solutions and ways of working together that are not replicating the same white supremacy culture we wanted to get away from. Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com LIVE PERFORMANCES Silverthorne Theater Company presents A Broadway Cabaret August 6 & 7 at 7:30 p.m. August 8 at 3:00 p.m.   What better way to celebrate the return of live theater than with music? In our first major post-pandemic production, Silverthorne Theater Company presents A Broadway Cabaret, onstage August 6-8 in The Perch at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in downtown Greenfield. Nine singer/actors will perform tunes from Broadway’s Golden Age shows - solos and ensemble numbers presented for audiences seated at cabaret tables arranged for maximum comfort and following whatever state guidelines for indoor performance are in place at that time. A Broadway Cabaret is a fundraiser for Silverthorne which, like all other live theaters, saw drastically reduced revenues during the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020.  In recognition of their extraordinary service provided to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, a portion of tickets for each performance have been donated to local health care workers. Join us as we celebrate how far we have come as a community and the return of live theater! Tickets available via Eventbrite. https://silverthornetheater.org/special-events/ MY EVIL TWIN The Workroom at APE@Hawley August 13-14, 8pm, August 15, 2pm A genre-bending new theater work comes to the stage at A.P.E.@33 Hawley this August. My Evil Twin is an intimate musical starring identical twin opera singers Jim and John Demler – as Jim and John Demler. Funny, poignant, and adventurous, My Evil Twin exposes tenderness and vulnerability beneath masculine bravado as the twins tell the story of their lives in words and song. It is a tribute to sibling love. The gorgeous songs are by Eric Sawyer. They span styles from pop to Broadway to art song to opera, and give the twins the chance to unleash their virtuosic basso voices with madcap energy and deep emotion. The witty, fast-moving book, by Harley Erdman, was developed in rehearsal with the twins themselves and with director Ron Bashford. The show was developed at KO Festival of Theater in 2019 and is now presented in a newly revised version. The result is a polished, exquisite, entertaining, and totally out-of-the-box new kind of musical.  Sawyer, Erdman, and Bashford got the idea for the piece working while on The Scarlet Professor (2017), which won the America Prize for opera. John played the villainous Detective Reagan in the workshop version of the show, while Jim played the same role in the final production.  Jim, who has sung many roles around the world and teaches at Boston University, says he is grateful for “the opportunity of a lifetime to perform alongside my talented yet somewhat less attractive identical twin.” Pittsfield-based John, who has sung many roles around the world and will be familiar to Berkshire audiences, says he is grateful for “the opportunity of a lifetime to perform alongside my talented yet somewhat less attractive identical twin.” If you have ever experienced sibling rivalry, or meditated on sibling love, come see My Evil Twin. It is a joyous and thrilling 75 minutes. You can also decide for yourself who is the less attractive of the twins. Masks required. Theater has a new air-filtering HVAC system. TICKETS ON SALE HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/my-evil-twin-tickets-161654098761 Play Incubation Collective presents  Piedmont Plays Project August 14 and 15 at 5:00 PM Northampton Arts Trust Parking Lot @ 33 Hawley Street The Play Incubation Collective is pleased to share our first live and in-person presentation of a script-in-progress: excerpts of Darcy Parker Bruce’s “Piedmont Plays," a 4-play-cycle that PIC has been developing since our inception. Our two presentations on August 14th and 15th will each be followed by a community dialogue with local non-profit organizations (Community Action’s Generation Q on 8/14 and Jewish Family Service’ New Americans Program on 8/15). For those who can’t attend in person, a recorded performance will be available online the week of Aug 16th. As Darcy describes them, “the Piedmont Plays are an exploration of what it means to be queer in a small town, and what it means to trade everything you have for a nation’s promise. The Piedmont Cycle is intended as a gift for every queer heart searching for somewhere to call home.” Join us for this very exciting premiere! Tickets and more information.    MAD House, a new theatre collective dedicated to making theatre that is adventurous in style and subject matter, partners with Eggtooth Productions to produce An Intervention Mike Bartlett’s fast-paced and funny two-hander which examines the limits of friendship and responsibility and asks us to consider how and when to intervene in both personal and political matters.  Directed by Gabby Farrah, the show will reopen The Shea Theater in Turners Falls, MA where it will be performed live and in person on August 14th and 15th at 8pm with COVID safety measures in place. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased online at sheatheater.org<http://sheatheater.org/> or by phone at (413) 648-7432. Farrah writes, “During the past year and a half of relative isolation, I found myself craving connection in theatre and life. Bartlett’s script is nuanced and complex, never trite or moralizing. I am eager for audiences to wrestle with the questions it poses. As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, I’m thrilled to bring this play—a battle cry for connection against all odds—to life in an intimate production showcasing the work of our artists at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls.” Linda McInerney, Artistic Director of Eggtooth said, "It's such a pleasure to provide opportunities for young creators, particularly since they have been so waylaid by the pandemic and finding work in the theater has not been possible. I love Gabby and June and their work is superlative. I'm certain that this production of An Intervention will give them the showcase in our community that they so deserve and will launch them and their collective to find an audience here in the Valley. Ja'Duke presents Young Frankenstein Saturday, August 14 at 7:00 PM, Sunday, Aug 15, 2021 at 2:00 PM Friday, Aug 20, 2021 at 7:00  PM  Saturday, Aug 21, 2021 at 7:00 PM Sunday, Aug 22 2021 at 2:00 PM Ja'Duke Theater, 110 Industrial Blvd., Turners Falls, MA 01376 Ja'Duke is Puttin’ On The Ritz at the Ja’Duke Theater On August 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 2021 Ja’Duke will present its production of the Mel Brooks musical Young Frankenstein, the horror-comedy tunefest based on the uproariously funny 1974 Mel Brooks film Young Frankenstein. This hilarious adaptation features the music and lyrics of Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan. Young Frankenstein tells the story of Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (played by Justin Begin), a professor at a medical school who leaves behind his fiancée Elizabeth (Jessica Thompson) and travels to Transylvania to claim the estate of his grandfather – the creator of the famous Frankenstein monster. After years spent rejecting his family name, the doctor is helped by the castle’s current residents – Frau Blucher (Juniper Holmes), Igor (William LaPlante), and Inga (Samantha Myburgh) — in bringing his own monster (BJ Kulp) to life, with hilarious and unexpected results. This Ja’Duke production features a cast of 40 in singing, dancing, and acting roles. It is directed by Ja’Duke’s Founder Nick Waynelovich with Choreography by Eula Sagan and additional direction by Jessica Thompson. Director Nick Waynelovich thought it was very important that the first show opening at the the Ja’Duke Theater post Covid 19 be a funny, forget-your-troubles comedy. Proving to be not only funny but laugh-a-minute hilarious, Young Frankenstein will easily score a 10 plus on the laugh scale! Please join us at the Ja’Duke Theater for an evening of uproarious fun and frivolity. Young Frankenstein is rated PG13. Performance dates are: Saturday, Aug 14, 2021 at 7:00 PM Sunday, Aug 15, 2021 at 2:00 PM Friday, Aug 20, 2021 at 7:00 PM Saturday, Aug 21, 2021 at 7:00 PM Sunday, Aug 22 2021 at 2:00 PM Tickets are: Children 12 & under $12.00 Senior Citizen 65 and up $12.00 General Admission $16.00 To purchase tickets online please visit: www.jaduketheater.com https://www.eventtickets2u.com/jaduke-theater/young-frankenstein VIRTUAL PERFORMANCES Fourteen Wedding Dresses by Steve Henderson Directed by Keith Langsdale Jimmy and Vivian are frightened teenagers running away from their small town home in Kentucky to get married.  They fear not only for themselves but for their younger siblings Missy and Henry. They offer the best advice they can on how to stay safe and promise to return in a few years. But nothing goes as planned. Decades pass. Henry and Missy narrow their lives into a strange and heartbreaking cycle until the arrival of a young visitor exposes secrets and lies that rip their desperate routine to rags and tatters. Theater Thursdays is supported in part by a grant from the Greenfield, Bernardston, Buckland, Conway, Deerfield, Northfield, and Shelburne Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Watch now on the Silverthorne Theater Company YouTube Channel  https://silverthornetheater.org/event/fourteen-wedding-dresses/ From the New England New Play Alliance: Virtual Theatre and Audio Plays   The Depot for New Play Readings presents Invincible Summer by Kevin Brody August 8 directed by Anne Flammang Tom Hoffman is terrified. A young concert pianist, Tom has been running in fear since a diagnosis of Parkinson's effectively ended his performance career. His mentor, Colin, a cantankerous 92-year-old Irishman, has been coping with the disease for thirty years. Tom wants reassurance from Colin that he can have a good life in spite of the disease. Colin tells Tom there are no guarantees. The only option is to keep living. Stream: free. Flat Earth Theatre presents 7 Rooms: The Mask of the Red Death now-Aug. 15 An immersive virtual-theatre experience where audience members choose their own adventure as they navigate different rooms in Prospero’s decadent end-of-the-world party while a plague devastates the world outside. The Blue Room by Cliff Odle directed by Johnny Nichols, Jr. The Purple Room by MJ Halberstadt directed by Lee Mikeska Gardner The Green Room by Michael Lin directed by David R. Gammons The Orange Room by Hortense Gerardo directed by Jessica Ernst The Violet Room by Sari Boren directed by Shira Helena Gitlin The White Room by Kelly Smith directed by Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez The Black and Red Room by Gabriel Graetz directed by LaToya T. Robinson The Manor by A. Lehrmitt directed by Lindsay Eagle Tickets: pay what you can. AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES Silverthorne Theater Company, Greenfield, MA, is seeking a stage manager for their fall 2021 production, Charles Ludlam's The Mystery of Irma Vep - the classic quick-change parody of Gothic horror and monster movies, directed by Chris Rohmann. Rehearsals begin the last week of August - mostly three rehearsals per week until late September - opening on October 1st for three weekends at the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield.  Responsibilities include facilitating rehearsals and production meetings; keeping book; maintaining schedules, contact lists & other materials; maintaining communications among cast and crew; and overseeing tech rehearsals and performances. There is a stipend of $750 for the position. Contact Chris with interest and/or questions: Skyscraper@crocker.com or 413-532-5321. Model Needed for Children's Book Two Views Kids is a new book publishing venture concentrating on philosophy for children. The book we’re currently working on is called Mattie and Rabbit and we’re looking for a Mattie character to use as a model. Here is the website, it’s not yet live: http://twoviewskids.joannepinatel.com/   Mattie is a gardener and needs to be about 7 and willing to pose in the garden, digging, pruning, etc. We need an image of her happy and jumping, funny pictures of her bored and waiting for spring, hanging upside-down on the couch, maybe drooping over the arm in a funny way, maybe cross-legged reading a book. We will need her shoe size so we can provide pink boots. She will need a winter/spring coat for some shots and a wide brimmed hat for others. If she doesn’t have a hat we can supply it. Some pictures will be in front of a green screen some outside or with props like a wheelbarrow, rake, etc.   We are looking for a budding young actress that would be interested in this project. She can be of any ethnicity but not much older than 7 or a petite 8 or 9 that could pass for 7. The photographs will be processed in photoshop to look like illustrations.   Philip Doyle is the photographer. Mattie’s parent(s) will be required on site to sign a release and the shoot shouldn’t take longer than 2 hours.   Among other things, Phil takes pictures for Mass Audubon, Arcadia Day Camp at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary and Jericho in Holyoke. They will be happy to supply a reference. If you’d like to see some of his work go here: https://www.thelazyexplorer.com/   The model and parents can keep any pictures from the shoot and we can also provide family or individual portraits at a time/place that is convenient for them if interested. We’re all fully vaccinated but will wear masks. We are based out of Easthampton and have lived here for 20 years. If you are interested, email a picture of ‘Mattie’ to joanne@joannepinatel.com and she will get back to you. Thank you. Academy of Music Theatre is hiring a Technical Director Description: The Technical Director (TD) has the daily responsibility for the theatrical technical operations of the Academy, including lighting, sound, set design and construction, and coordinating necessary theatrical maintenance. The Technical Director will act as crew chief, determining number of stagehands and scheduling staff for all productions. The TD will act as liaison with the steward of I.A.T.S.E. Local 232, communicating the number of stagehands required and will oversee union crew during production. The TD is responsible for all technical operations during all shows. Duties and responsibilities include: · Determines the necessary technical supports, such as lighting, sound, staging, and special needs, necessary for events and performances presented at the facility in advance of production dates. · Engineers and provides for set ups, maintains and operates all house systems including but not limited to rigging, lighting, projections and sound systems for theater, dance, music, and other productions and projects; assists guest designers and artists with technical matters. · Engineers, supervises and assists with set and stage construction, installation and management. · Oversees stage crews and back stage staff; responsible for hiring and firing non-I.A.T.S.E stagehands and for maintaining records of job performance for all stage hands. Makes recommendations for training. · Orients Academy renters and visiting productions to safety, technical characteristics and other areas of facility operations; facilitates the use of the technical facilities by the resident company and others engaged by or renting the Academy. · Monitors the condition of and maintains all Academy theatrical equipment including lighting, sound, projection and rigging equipment; arranges for the repair and replacement within budget; performs preventive maintenance on equipment; prepares annual budget for equipment purchases and maintenance. · Assists with the preparation and control of Academy production budgets; maintains inventory and orders specialized supplies. · Provides estimate for production costs prior to rental contract execution and for Academy productions; provides invoice for work performed to Executive Director. · Assists Front of House Manager with facility maintenance. · Any other tasks assigned by Executive Director Qualifications: Qualifications: At least 3 years of relevant experience with a performing arts venue Working knowledge of current techniques, methods and procedures of theater, dance, and music productions and presentations including stage, set, sound and lighting design and implementation; stage management; computerized lighting systems; stage carpentry; appropriate safety precautions and procedures. Ability to lift and carry 50lbs Excellent communication and interpersonal skill Master Electrician BFA in Technical Theater or commensurate experience Experience working in a union house preferred How To Apply: Please send résumé, letter of interest and 3 letters of recommendation to Executive Director Debra J'Anthony at djanthony@aomtheatre.com. Apply by: August 20, 2021 Salary: $54,000 WORKSHOPS & CLASSES Hampshire Shakespeare Company presents Young Company Two Day Workshop August 12 and 13, 10 am - 4pm Williston Northampton School Two day theater lab exploring Shakespeare's Macbeth led by Hannah Simms and Adam Lee Secor. Ages 13-18, no experience needed. Performance for invited audience at end. This is an outdoor event. https://forms.gle/SQNKR4qLrikgTwXeA Contact person- Cynthia Strycharz    Company- Starlight's Youth Theatre Starlights.yt@gmail.com Starlight's Youth Theatre accepting registration for Fall Acting Classes  Intro to Theater – This class is for the first or second term student who loves to use their imagination creating their own plays. Working with the theme of being unique and special we will create different scenes which will come together in their original play “The Unicorns”. Grades 1-3     Saturdays 9:00-9:45   Sept. 4- Oct. 23 Show at Eric Carle   Fee- $125.00 Actor’s Toolbox-  Once the student actor has some experience on stage, they need to fill their tool box with skills such as: how to develop a character, how does that character walks, talks, thinks and feels. During classes students will use these tools to create and then perform in their original adaption of  “Alice In Wonderland”.Grades 3-5    Saturdays 10:00-10:45   Sept. 4-  Oct. 23  Show at Eric Carle    Fee- $125.00   Play Production–This class will focus on character development and the decisions the actor makes to bring their character to life.  The cast will be involved in multiple areas of the production such as costumes, props and set design and painting.  They will be presenting “Fight for the Right”, a play about Susan B. Anthony’s journey to achieve the vote for woman.Grades 6-8:  Saturday 11:00-12:00  Beginning Sept. 4- till show Nov. 6  at Northampton Center of the Arts Fee      $140.00  Lights Up   With a focus on the performance the students will learn about timing, pace and finding moments within the play as they use these new skills to present their original play “The Story of Dr. Dolittle”.  This play will be recreated by the students themselves as they work to develop the story in “you finish it scenes” during class.Grades 3-5th   Mondays 4:00-4:45  Beginning Sept. 13- till show Nov. 6 at Northampton Center of the Arts    Fee-  $140.00  Sherlock Holmes and Dr. WatsonSherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are looking for your help to solve their new mystery.  Come join the fun and cast while they not only rely on each other to help solve this mystery, but also the audience as they engage them in finding the clues to solve this very funny mystery.  Grades 6-8   Mondays 5:00-6:00   Beginning Sept 13 till show Nov. 1 at Maple Ridge                Fee $145.00 All classes will be held at Maple Ridge Community Center, Sunderland.  To register please go to https://www.starlights-youth-theatre.com/register-portal/    Submit your workshop, class, audition, performance, or any other theatre opportunity here! Pioneer Valley Theatre Companies Academy of Music Theatre Amherst Community Theater Arena Civic Theatre A.C.T. Youth 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 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 No Theater Northampton Community Arts Trust Northampton Playwrights Lab PaintBox Theatre Panopera Pauline Productions Performance Project Phantom Sheep Players Play Incubation Collective 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 Unity House Players Valley Light Opera Ware Community Theatre 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 TV/Radio and News Column Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences  *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*