Pioneer Valley Theatre News March 10, 2016

Pioneer Valley Theatre Newsletter View this email in your browser   March 10-30, 2016 The 24-Hour Theater Project performs in Theatre 14 on Saturday at 7 and 9 PM. Get your tickets today!  I hope you are all enjoying the sunshine! Don't forget about daylight savings time on Sunday morning. The next issue will include events through April 6. Submit upcoming events via the link below or by emailing me before next Tuesday at midnight. Any questions, comments or feedback? Email me at pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com Submit Your Theatre Event THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS: from Howlround Artist as Game Changer: The End of the Information Age by Jess Pillmore From the article:  Artists reflect our times, but in a more complex way than mere mirroring. We are in the moment while holding the past as a reference point and the future as a vast What If… horizon. In each moment, we choose how to balance or topple those three points depending on our message. This is powerful stuff. Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com PERFORMANCES The Academy of Music Theatre presents THE MUSIC MAN JR. Thursday and Friday, March 10 and 11 at 6:30 PM Academy of Music Theatre, 274 Main St., Northampton, MA 01060 Master showman Harold Hill is in town, and he’s got “seventy-six trombones” in tow. Can upright, uptight Marian, the town librarian, resist his powerful allure? Based on the timeless Broadway classic, The Music Man Jr. adapts this masterful musical for young performers. The result is family entertainment at its best – a bold, brassy show that will have the whole town atwitter! The story follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band he vows to organize. The catch? He doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef. His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian, whose belief in Harold’s powers just might help him succeed in the end in spite of himself. This is the sixth annual Academy Youth Production show. Past shows include: Fame Jr., Willie Wonka Jr., Camp Rock, The Phantom Tollbooth Jr., and last year’s Into the Woods Jr. Academy Youth Productions are performed by area youth ages 9-15, with full staging, professional lighting and sound, costumes and sets. More information and tickets online. J-ART at the JCC presents Shrek the Musical March 10 at 7:00, March 12 at 8:30, March 13 at 3:00 PM Herbert M. Goldstein Auditorium, 1160 Dickinson Street, Springfield, MA Book & Lyrics By: David Lindsay-Abaire Music By: Jeanine Tesori Directed by: Jasmine Joy Kearse Originally produced on Broadway by DreamWorks Theatrical and Neal Street Productions. J-ART returns for a thrilling, hilarious musical adventure in a land far, far away. Based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation film, Shrek The Musical brings all the beloved characters you know from the film to life on stage, and proves there's more to the story than meets the ears. More information on Facebook. Alt Shakespeare Company presents  Shakespeare: After Dark March 10, 11, 12 at 7:00 PM Studio Seven, Greenfield Who wants to see KINKY SHAKESPEARE?! Come see our inaugural production, Shakespeare: After Dark! It's an uncensored romp through Shakespeare's raunchier scenes. We'll be exploring various types of relationships through the medium of Shakespeare's text, ranging from a gentle rub on the back to a full-on sexcapade. We'll be serving light refreshments in our gorgeous gallery space beginning at 7, where you can rub elbows with members of our company and get in on the action before it begins. Tickets are $10. Email altshakespeare@gmail.com to reserve yours today! **18+ ONLY. This show is not suitable for children.** Facebook event here. Valley Light Opera presents Iolanthe Pub Sing Thursday, March 10 at 7:30 PM Mi Tierra, 48 Russell Street, Hadley For the last few years the Valley Light Opera has mounted community sings in a local pub.  What are we singing? One of our all time favorites, Iolanthe. This is the one with the peers and the peris, the nobles and the fairies, great music and one of the best first act finales in the whole canon. We last did Iolanthe as our fall show in 2010.   We'll have food and drink service throughout the sing. Mi Tierra serves Mexican food and has a full bar.  If you'd like to order dinner, come before 7 o'clock. We'll start singing at about 7:30. You are the chorus singing all this wonderful music! We'll have a few scores available, but if you can bring your own or extras, please do.  And who's singing the leads? First of all, the Lord Chancellor - Steve Morgan. Then the two lords who were boys together (at least one of them was) - Lord Mountararat will be sung by Robin Parsons, Lord Tolloller by Steven Williams. Private Willis, who opens the second act, will be sung by Michael Budnick. Finally, the last male lead, Strephon, in love with Phyllis, will be Stephen Atkinson. The mighty Fairy Queen will be sung by Donna Griffin. Lorie Healy will be our Phyllis and the opera's namesake, Iolanthe, will be sung by Nina Pollard.  The singing will be accompanied on the piano by Glen Gordon, one of the original members of the VLO.  Our pub sings are music only - no dialogue, so things move right along. Come on along for a fun evening of Gilbert and Sullivan! More information online.  The Majestic Theater presents BUTLER  by Richard Strand The Majestic Theater, West Springfield March 10-April 3 Major-General Benjamin Franklin Butler was a successful Massachusetts lawyer in civilian life. Now, at the start of the Civil War, he is given command of Fort Monroe, a Union outpost in Virginia, which has just seceded from the United States. besides the threat of an attack, Butler has another problem — three escaped slaves have appeared at the fort seeking sanctuary. The law at the time requires him to return the slaves to their "rightful owner", a Confederate colonel who is soon to arrive. Shepard Mallory is one of these slaves. Both educated and defiant, he challenges the general to find a loophole in the law that will set him free. Butler is at once a comedy, a historical drama, and a biography — or, as one New York Times reviewer said, "Just call it 'splendid'."  More information and tickets online. 24 Hour Theatre Project Saturday, March 12 at 7:00 and 9:00 PM Theatre 14, Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts at Smith College Six original ten-minute plays written, rehearsed, directed, produced, and staged within 24 hours. Northampton's critically acclaimed theatrical high-wire act takes this stage at the Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts at Smith College to benefit New Century Theatre's 2016 summer season.  Tickets available online. Facebook event here. Happier Valley Comedy presents the Happier Valley Comedy Show Saturday, March 12 at 8:00 PM The Arts Block Cafe, Greenfield This completely improvised show is an hour of non-stop fun. Every month is an all-new show, made up on the spot and inspired by you! Calendar Information here. Serious Play! Theatre Ensemble presents ENDGAME PROJECT March 17, 18, 19 at 7:30  Academy of Music Theatre March 31, April 1, 2 at 7:30  Gateway City Arts Serious Play!’s ENDGAME PROJECT, directed by Sheryl Stoodley, has been two years in development and incorporates the fusion of puppetry and theatre. With Kermit Dunkelberg, Rand Foerster, and puppeteer David Regan, we jump headfirst into Beckett’s “play world” in which games are saturated with the searing texture of adult experience. Facebook event here. Email with any questions. Valley Light Opera presents The Messiah Sunday, March 20 at 2:00 PM Wesley United Methodist Church, 98 North Maple Street, Hadley Join Valley Light Opera to sing the Resurrection portions of The Messiah by Georg Friedrich Händel, one of the best-known choral works ever composed.  Palm Sunday, March 20th at 2:00 in the afternoon, in the sanctuary of Wesley United Methodist Church at 98 North Maple Street in Hadley. VLO soloists will be Elaine Crane, soprano; Kathy Blaisdell, alto; Ted Blaisdell, tenor; Ramsey Kurdi, baritone; with the audience singing as chorus and a full orchestra.  Some scores will be available, but please bring your own if possible.  Donations will be gratefully accepted. Information available online. New Century Theatre presents a reading of LEFTOVERS by Ellen Wittlinger Thursday, March 24 at 7:00 PM Cup and Top Cafe Florence Edie's been talking to her dead husband for thirty years, and now, to the frustration of her two grown daughters, she's moved into the basement of her house where he apparently lives. This Thanksgiving they've all gathered there, including Edie's two grandchildren. Digging through the accumulated rubbish of Edie's life dredges up old secrets, and it appears as if the grandchildren have been more affected by the family mysteries than anyone realized. Send Him Home Written by Daphne Thompson ‘16 Directed by Ron Bashford March 24-26, 8PM, Holden Theater Admission is free Reservations recommended  (413) 542-2277 Pitcher Robin Fulton is down in the minor leagues, leading the Chattanooga Lookouts to victory in spite of the unpredictable actions of his teammates and their low-down manager.  As he struggles to find his place on the team, adversity threatens his pursuit of a dream and his love of the game.  Written by Daphne Thompson ’16, this dramatic comedy draws inspiration from real-life diaries that chronicle a fifteen-year professional baseball career.    Send Him Home is directed by Ron Bashford, who also directed Pericles and The Cherry Orchard earlier this academic year.  Scenic design by Emily Goore ‘17, costume design by Theater and Dance Costumer Emily Hoem and Mercedes MacAlpine ‘16, sound design by Jim Busker, and lighting design by Theater and Dance Graduate Assistant Madison Cortez.   For more information about Send Him Home and other arts events on the Amherst College campus, go to amherst.edu/arts, and facebook.com/AmherstArts Smith College Department of Theatre New Playreading Series presents SPARE RIB written by Winter Miller '95, directed by Ann Grilli '16 Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 PM in Acting Studio 1 (T100) Free Spare Rib is a conversation starter. It is a comedic, fantastical, bold and semi-true journey of women who knew the secrets of plants and herbs and provided abortions before women’s bodies were medicalized and made government property. The story jumps from the distant past to today’s providers, who despite stigma and threats on their lives to make that choice possible. Expect a time-traveling odyssey, that feels one part Coney Island, one part happening, and one part theater. UMass New Play Lab What Actually Happened Was  by Stephanie Swirsky Performing 3/24/16, 3/31/16 at 7:30 and 4/2 at 2:00 The Dance  by Kim Euell Performing 3/25/16, 4/1/16,4/2/16 at 7:30 Both plays perform in the Curtain Theater, UMass Fine Arts Center $8 general, $4 students/seniors Buy tickets More about the plays The Department of Theater at UMass is excited to announce the two plays that will be part of the 2016 UMass New Play Lab this March: Kim Euell's The Danceand Stephanie Swirsky's What Actually Happened Was. Euell is currently the UMass Amherst Department of Theater's Playwright in Residence, and we are thrilled to offer our students the opportunity to work with her on this new piece.   What Actually Happened Was contains some sensitive scenes surrounding rape and violence, and The Dance is not recommended for audiences under 16.  M3 Productions presents ORDINARY DAYS Composed by Adam Gwon Directed by Meghan Lynn Allen March 25 and 26 at 7:30 PM Wilbraham Monson Academy - Founders Theater, located in Fisk Hall From one of musical theatre's most exciting new composers comes ORDINARY DAYS, a refreshingly honest and funny musical about making real connections in the city that never sleeps (but probably should at some point.) ORDINARY DAYS tells the story of four New Yorkers whose lives intersect as they search for fulfillment, happiness, love and cabs. Through a score of vibrant and memorable songs, their experiences ring startlingly true to life. ORDINARY DAYS is an original musical for anyone who's ever struggled to appreciate the simple things in a complex place. With equal doses of humor and poignancy, it celebrates how 8.3 million individual stories combine in unexpected ways to make New York City such a unique and extraordinary home. Featuring: Sue Boyle Dziura, Nick Gilfor, Lyndsay Hart, Luis Manzi Accompanist: Timothy Chávez Stage Manager: Zach Gray Buy Tickets. $15 per person. Free to students with valid student ID. Open seating, first come first serve. Doors open at 7. ANNOUNCING a very special PARTY! for the benefit of her majesty QUEEN MARGARET and REAL LIVE THEATRE Saturday March 26, 5-7:30pm 121 Club, Eastworks (116 Pleasant Street), Easthampton (the old Apollo Grill space) Tickets in advance: http://margaretparty.brownpapertickets.com/ or at the door, sliding scale, $20-$40. Featuring: Live Entertainment! including Music, Monologues, & Comedy appearances from cast and RLT members! Live Auction! of valuable services including Acting Workshops, Coaching, Private Yoga Sessions, Performance, and much more! Delicious Food! Cash Bar! RLT will use funds raised to put Margaret center stage in her own story, which is otherwise hidden and intertwined within Shakespeare's four plays: Henry VI Parts One, Two, and Three and Richard III. RLT brought Margaret to the forefront in our staged reading of THE LIFE & DEATH OF QUEEN MARGARET last September, and now we're gearing up to do the revised and fully staged version at the Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre at Smith College, July 29-31and August 5-6! JOIN US! Smith College Department of Theatre New Playreading Series presents KRASA written and directed by Hannah Sachs Tuesday, March 29 at 7:30 PM in Acting Studio 1 (T100) Free AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES The Academy of Music Theatre seeks a part-time House Manager to join its Front of House team. The House Manager will work an events-based schedule, with cross-training in multiple positions. The House Manager has the responsibility of preparing the theater for an event, supervising paid staff and volunteers working for the Academy, ensuring that the conditions of the rental agreement are met throughout the event, guaranteeing the satisfaction and the safety of patrons, assisting concessionaires as needed, monitoring proper cash handling procedures for concessions/bar, communicating with stage management, overseeing the theater during an event, and ensuring that the theater is cleaned and secured when the event is finished. The House Manager will be required to become ServSafe certified for alcohol handling and will be cross-trained in the concessions stand and box office, giving him/her full knowledge of all front of house event operations and providing shift opportunities in all positions. The successful candidate will have experience working in a live events setting, demonstrate leadership and a commitment to customer service, be comfortable upholding organizational policies with renters and patrons, and be able to calmly and discretely troubleshoot challenges in a busy, public environment. Cash handling and basic math and computer skills are required. Training shifts will begin soon after hiring, working up to full house management responsibilities in the spring.  Full job description here. To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume to Alison Klejna, the Academy’s Theater Manager, at aklejna@aomtheatre.com or 274 Main St., Northampton, MA 01060. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until a candidate is selected. No phone calls, please. Black Cat Theater is preparing for their Spring comedy “Moon Over Buffalo” written by Ken Ludwig, directed by Donald Beach. Auditions for this show will be held on Friday, March 11th at 6:00pm in the South Hadley Public Library, 2 Canal St, South Hadley. Rehearsals will be held on Monday and Thursday evenings. The show is scheduled to run June 2nd - June 5th. For synopsis and character details, please visit www.facebook.com/BlackCatTheater. Performers of all ethnicities are encouraged to attend. Candidates will be asked to read from the script.  If unavailable to be seen in person please call 413-563-6023 or emailblackcattheater@gmail.com. Hampshire Shakespeare Company is holding auditions! This local Amherst-based nonprofit theater has an annual summer season of "Shakespeare Under the Stars." The two shows are A Midsummer Night's Dream (performing June 29- July 3 and July 6-10) and Macbeth (performing July 20-24 and 27-31). Auditions will be Friday, March 11th and Monday, March 14th from 5 to 8 pm in Emily Dickinson Hall, Hampshire College, in Amherst. Please email to sign up and visit our website or our Facebook page for more information! AUDITIONS for Six Flags New England Summer Shows & Entertainment March 12th, 2-6PM Six Flags New England Human Resource Center, 1756 Main Street, Agawam MA Six Flags is hiring over 75 people to join their Entertainment Team- Actors, Dancers, Tech, Drummers Seamstress, Variety Performers, and Ushers!  This is the perfect opportunity to get paid doing what you love- performing in a creative fast paced thrilling environment for an audience of thousands daily! Roles include licensed character portrayal (WB & DC Comics), street comedy teams, magic show, Fairy Tale parody interactive show ("StoryTale"), and much more for spring and summer shows with opportunity for more shows in fall Frightfest season! More on Facebook. Must be at least 16 years old to apply. This is a paid position, including for rehearsals. Part time work also available. Great perks such as free park tickets, employee exclusive events, skill workshops for further development, and more! Please contact 413-786-9300 ext.3320 or eboucher@sftp.com for more information. Opportunity to join a new teen vocal ensemble! Tom Kopyto Music Lessons in East Longmeadow is forming a new vocal ensemble, inspired by TV shows like “Glee”, for highly skilled high school aged singers! This ensemble will be focused on performance and advanced vocal training. Singers will work collaboratively to draw from a variety of contemporary genres including: pop, R&B, Rock and others, to create original arrangements. They will then form setlists for the purpose of performing at different community events. Coaching will be provided in technique related to singing multi-part harmonies (with both instrumental accompaniment and a capella), song arrangement, style, and stage presence as well as other performance skills. For more information and to schedule a short assessment, call 413-563-9809 or email kacie@tomkopyto.com. About the instructor: Kate Saik holds a Master’s Degree in Voice Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. She is an accomplished and versatile performer who has sung in a wide array of genres including pop and jazz bands, musical theater and opera. Kate has worked around the country as a voice and piano instructor, and as a director, producer and drama coach. Hampshire Shakespeare Company is hiring for our upcoming 2016 summer season of Shakespeare Under the Stars. Looking for a publicist, technical director, and associate producer. More information is available on our website and interested applicants can address inquiries to hampshireshakespeare.com. Join us for the chance to put Shakespeare in the great outdoors and be part of a talented community that will innovate and enchant as we breathe new life into old words. Piti Theatre Company seeks actors for Olde Coleraine: A Musical Hilltown History Memorial Hall, Shelburne Falls Piti Theatre Company is seeking two adult male actors, 1 female adult actor and boys ages 7 - 13 to join in the last two rehearsals (3/12 and 3/19 in the afternoon) before the premiere of our original musical "Olde Coleraine" at our 7th annual SYRUP: One Sweet Performing Arts Festival at Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls on March 20th at 2 pm. Interviews will be set up on a first contacted/first seen basis. Small stipend available for the adults. For young people there will be no audition. Families can simply contact us with questions or to sign up. (413) 625-6569 Information available online or send an email. Arena Civic Theatre is pleased to announce auditons for  YANKEE TAVERN by Steven Dietz Directed by Jennifer Coliskey Sunday, March 13th at 6:00 PM Karen's Dance Studio 49 Bank Row, Greenfield, MA 01301 Monday, March 14th at 6:00 PM Bangs Community Center 70 Boltwood Walk, Amherst, MA 01002 "Stories are bigger at the bar.  Just when you thought you heard every crazy 9/11 conspiracy theory, a stranger walks into the Yankee Tavern. There, inside the walls of this crumbling New York bar, a young couple finds themselves caught up in what might be the biggest conspiracy of all. Steven Dietz's acclaimed dramatic thriller is a fierce, funny, and ultimately mind-bending work that grips you until the final word." Production dates: July 22 - 24, 29 - 31 at the White Church Community Center, Old Deerfield, MA. SILVERTHORNE THEATER COMPANY ANNOUNCES 2016 SUMMER SEASON OPEN AUDITIONS Open auditions for the three shows in Silverthorne Theater Company’s 2016 Summer season will be held Friday and Saturday, March 18 and 19, with call-backs on Sunday, March 20.   The 2016 season will open with Molière’s The Miser, adapted by Miles Malleson, June 23-July 2. The classic French farce is rendered supremely hilarious in a contemporary (but respectful) translation! Ten actors will be needed for this production and casting will be gender/age/race/ ethnicity blind. Julian Findlay of Warwick directs. Rebecca Daniels, a Turners Falls resident, will direct Lee Blessing’s drama, Two Rooms. This searing depiction of the physical and emotional imprisonment of hostage-taking in the 1980s is startlingly immediate today. The play requires two men and two women, and runs July 14-23. Jeffrey Hatcher’s two-actor adaptation of the classic horror story, The Turn of the Screw, will be directed by Ellen Kaplan of Springfield. This is a tour-de-force piece based on Henry James’ masterfully creepy Victorian tale of two decidedly scary children and the adults in their lives. The play will run July 28 through August 6. Silverthorne Theater Company is a professional summer theater organization performing in Greenfield MA. We are seeking actors for our third season, and give preference to Valley theater artists. All personnel are paid; we hire two Equity actors per season on a Special Appearance basis.   All auditions by appointment only.  For full audition information, visit our website.  For questions, or to reserve an audition time, call 413-768-7514, or e-mail silverthornetheater@gmail.com.  All audition activities held in the Art Building at Stoneleigh-Burnham School, 574 Bernardston Road, Greenfield MA.   Announcing the Silverthorne Theater New Play Competition: Call for Plays by Playwrights of Color   Silverthorne Theater Company is sponsoring a competition to select a new play by a local playwright of color for possible production during the 2017 season.  The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2016.  Complete information about the contest may be found on their website.   A reading committee of five members, headed by veteran Montague writer/actor Kent Alexander, will review all submissions. Three finalists will be selected for public staged readings in November and December, with the final competition winner announced on December 30, 2016.   Play submissions must be full length  (90 minutes to 2 hours running time); they must not have been previously fully produced. Playwrights of color (defined as non-white) who live or study in the Connecticut Valley/Western Massachusetts region are solely eligible to submit plays. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES Double Edge Theatre's Open Training  March 13 from 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Photo by Maria Baranova   Join Double Edge Theatre for a two-hour training session, tour of Double Edge Theatre's Farm in Ashfield, and a home-cooked meal with the Double Edge ensemble. All levels - even the simply curious - are welcome to attend!    For more information or to sign up, visit the website. Happier Valley Comedy Show presents Mindfulness Through Laughter Six Wednesdays 6:30-8:30pm, beginning March 16 Holyoke Community College Mindfulness and improv each promote significant personal and professional growth - and this class combines them both. As enlightening as it is irreverent. As funny as it is thoughtful. But YOU don’t need to be funny! Just a willingness to play and live in the moment in an extremely supportive, positive, and affirming environment, where we laugh and learn through easy, relevant theatrical exercises and improv games that get us up on our feet, out of our heads, and into the moment. Would you like to reap the many benefits of mindfulness while having a ton of fun? The first step is saying “Yes, and... Instructor Pam Victor. More information online. Double Edge Theatre's Spring Training Intensive March 18 - 20, 2016   Photo by Maria Baranova   Ideal for artists from any discipline, the Spring Intensive engages participants in Double Edge's physical training methodology and techniques for ensemble collaboration. Participants will experience 3-4 training sessions daily in and out of doors at Double Edge Theatre's Farm, located at 948 Conway Road in Ashfield. For more information, visit the website. Happier Valley Comedy Show presents Mindfulness Through Laughter Six Thursdays 2:30-4:30 beginning April 7 Greenfield Community College How would you like to practice being more mindful, staying in the moment, and paying attention to the present while laughing all The Way? Join professional improv comedian, teacher, and author, Pam Victor, as we replace “Om” with “Ha!” in MINDFULNESS THROUGH LAUGHTER, where you’ll reap the rewards of mindfulness while playing easy improv games in an extremely supportive, affirming environment. It’s like yoga for your funnybone and soul (without the bendy stuff). More information online. 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|*