Pioneer Valley Theatre News November 17, 2016

Pioneer Valley Theatre Newsletter View this email in your browser  November 17 - December 7, 2016 This Saturday is Bag Day in Northampton. New Century Theatre will be in Thornes Marketplace selling single tickets for 2017 at 20% off. And many of your other favorite local shops have sales as well!  Giving Tuesday is scheduled for November 29th this year, and some of your favorite local theatre companies may be participating. I know Serious Play Ensemble is. It's a great time of year to send a few extra dollars to your favorite arts organizations and non-profits.  The next issue will include events through December 14. 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 THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS: from Howlround Making Theatre in the Season of Trump by Marshall Botvinick From the article:  There is a distinct possibility that in less than ten months Donald J. Trump will place his left hand on a Bible, raise his right hand, and take the President’s oath of office. Even as someone who deplores today’s hyperbolic discourse, I believe no characterization of such a catastrophe would be too overblown. I am constantly preoccupied by thoughts of what it would mean for myself, my family, my country, and my planet if the American people were to elect a white supremacist autocrat. Apocalyptic visions distract me throughout the day, and I fear that I will soon reach the point where images of Trump in the Oval Office occupy at least 75 percent of my brain space. Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com PERFORMANCES Easthampton High School presents The Wizard of Oz Nov 17 @ 6pm, Nov 18 & 19 @ 7pm,  Nov 20 @ 2 pm 70 Williston Avenue, Easthampton, MA For reservations call: 413-527-1163. Tickets are $12 for Adults and $8 for Students/Seniors Black Cat Theater is delighted to present: Oliver! directed by Emily MacLeod, with musical direction by Dick Matteson. Come to South Hadley High School, November 17th through 20th, and get to know sweet Oliver, clever Artful Dodger, courageous Nancy, frightening Bill Sikes, itchy fingered Fagin, and more! Showtimes: Thursday, November 17 at 7:00pm Friday, November 18 at 7:00pm Saturday, November 19 at 7:00pm  Sunday, November 20 at 2:00pm Admission: General Admission - $15 Seniors/Students - $12 Military / Veterans / First Responders (with ID) - Free Girl/Boy scouts who come in uniform (with an adult) - Free with the donation of a non-perishable food item for the local food pantry You can reserve tickets to any of the performances by emailing blackcattheater@gmail.com or by calling (413) 563-6023. Facebook event here. St. Michael's Players presents Beauty and the Beast Nov. 17-19 @ 7 p.m. and Nov. 20 @ 2 p.m. St. Michael's Community Center 53 Somers Rd. E. Longmeadow, MA St. Michael's Players is a Community Theater group committed to providing quality theater with a family atmosphere!  Come "Be Our Guest" at our performances of "Beauty and the Beast"!  Fun for all ages! More information.  The Majestic Theater presents Love, Loss, & What I Wore by Nora and Delia Ephron West Springfield November 17 through December 11 Winner of a Drama Desk Award, “Love, Loss, & What I Wore” features female characters, some in multiple roles, who tell stories about what certain clothes really mean to them, and those moments when they have tried to find their identity through them. There are tales of wardrobe malfunctions, first date outfits, lucky underwear, prom dresses, favorite boots, irreplaceable shirts, dressing room experiences and the occasional disorganized purse. Behind these stories are also memories of mothers, boyfriends, husbands, ex-husbands, sisters and grandchildren, and matters of the heart. Cast members include Jarice Hanson (Gingy), Cate Damon (Gingy's mother, Holly, Liz, Eve, Geralyn), Alexandra O'Halloran (Nancy, Stephanie, Liz's older sister, Mary's mother, Lisa), Kyle Boatright (Alex, Merrill, Liz's younger sister, Heather), Susanna Apgar (Rosie, Lynne, Dora, Doctor), Kait Rankins (Nancy's mother, Pam, Mary, Amanda), Jen Wall (Nora, Woman) and Katie Sloan (Nancy, Alex's mother, Annie, Eve's shrink). The play is directed by Sue Dziura, set design is by Greg Trochlil, and costume design is by Dawn McKay. Dan Rist is lighting designer, Stephen Petit is production stage manager and the associate production stage manager is Aurora Ferraro. Danny Eaton is producing director. Ticket for the play range from $25-$33 and are available by calling or visiting the box office during its hours of operation, which are Monday through Friday 10am – 5pm and Saturday 10am – 1pm. Springfield Commonwealth Academy Theater Program Presents:  Student Experimental Theater Project Witness the amazing stories from our students and learn how the school rose up from the rubber after the tornado of June 2011. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated. November 18th at 7pm November 19th at 2pm and 7pm Springfield Commonwealth Academy Auditorium 1 Ames Hill Drive Springfield, MA 01105 Valley Light Opera presents Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore Academy of Music in Northampton, MA Friday and Saturday nights November 18 & 19th at 7:30PM and Sunday November 20th at 2:00PM. There is a pre-show talk and discussion at 1PM before the matinee featuring VLO co-founder Michael Greenebaum. While not always among the best known of the Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas, Ruddigore is considered a favorite of many G&S aficionados and novices alike due to its beautiful score, macabre plot, arguably the best patter song in the canon and its lively, creative staging, period costumes and high melodrama. Ruddigore also features the often imitated, show-stopping chorus of ghostly ancestors emerging from their portraits as the original walking dead! A classic story of curses, crime, flirtation, and madness, Ruddigore is a parody of Melodrama and Horror - two of the major literary and theatrical movements of their time. As always, Valley Light Opera productions feature a large cast, full orchestra, elaborate sets, lavish period costumes, and lots of fun and humor!  Facebook event here. Tickets here. Happier FAMILY Comedy Show: Monthly improv comedy show for the whole family. Best for 5-12 year olds and their adults.  Saturday, November 19th at 4pm.  Located at Eastworks' Community Room (Suite 160) 116 Pleasant Street, Easthampton. Tickets at the door: $10/Adults, $5/Kids (3 yrs and under free), $30/Family Max. Purchase tickets online or at the door (*cash or check only at the door please*) For more info visit www.happiervalley.com. Facebook event here. Academy of Music History Tour WHERE’S HARRY? Did you know that a trap door was once cut into the stage at the Academy of Music in Northampton for Harry Houdini’s disappearing act? Or that Frankenstein’s monster himself, Boris Karloff, appeared at the 123-year-old theater? And, come see the recently discovered and conserved 1913 Tuttle scenic curtain to learn more during a history tour led by Academy Board Member Gail Yacuzzo. November 29, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. Free; reservations required. 584-9032, ext. 105. UMass Amherst Department of Theatre presents REFUGEE Written by Milan Dragicevich With music by Tim Eriksen Directed by Nikita Milivojević Curtain Theater Wednesday, November 30, 2016, Half-Price Preview at 7:30 pm Friday, December 2, 2016, Opening Night at 7:30 pm Saturday, December 3, 2016, Performance at 7:30 pm Wednesday, December 7, 2016, Performance at 7:30 pm Thursday, December 8, 2016, Performance at 7:30 pm Friday, December 9, 2016, Performance at 7:30 pm Saturday, December 10, 2016, Performance at 2 pm Saturday, December 10, 2016, Performance at 7:30 pm Buy tickets Two sisters gaze across an endless stretch of barren desert at the El Shatt refugee camp, while a war rages across Europe.  In the hollows of southern Appalachia, an idealistic guitar-strumming activist fights to preserve a way of life. On the streets of embattled Belgrade, a hustler struggles to survive in the underground markets of a desperate people.  What binds them together?  Where is home?  When we cross borders, what do we become?  This new play with music jumps across time and place, with a multigenerational story of displacement, capricious destiny, and the search for identity. Website.  Smith College Department of Theatre New Playreading Series presents MERIT written and directed by Lenelle Moise Thursday, December 1 at 7:30 PM in Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre Mona is the only black student and Southerner in a prestigious graduate fiction program in rural Vermont. When she befriends her divorced literary hero, sexy secrets, betrayal and ferocity ensue. Classmate rivalries and parental concerns round out this incisive comedy about academia, sexuality and artistic integrity. Merit won the Ruby Prize for women of color playwrights and was featured on the 2016 Kilroys List. Written and directed by Lenelle Moïse (MFA, 2004). Lenelle is the 2017 Lucille Geier Lakes Writer-in-Residence at Smith College. Free and open to the public. AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES Sinai Temple performance of Children of Eden - Still Casting 1100 Dickinson St., Springfield, MA Still casting a few parts for our February production of Children of Eden.  The Sinai Temple is looking for 1 women and 1 man who are strong singers, ages 17-25, and more singers for storytellers (any age or gender). For more information, contact the director Sheri at levsong@comcast.net or come to the rehearsal on 11/20 at 12:45pm. The New England New Play Alliance publishes a free weekly online newsletter with information about readings and full performances of new plays throughout New England. You can keep up to date with the latest shows and trends by subscribing. Looking for a actress, actor  and/or  comedian to co host a podcast focusing on a satirical look at entertainment and pop culture.  Must be comfortable on a microphone. Up on and interested in entertainment and pop culture. Have a good sense of humor with the right amount of sarcasm and snark.  If you think think this may be perfect for you, email Lorraine.  J-ART at the JCC presents Auditions: The Lion King, Jr.  Springfield Jewish Community Center 1160 Dickinson Street; Springfield Auditions:  Tuesday, November 22nd 3:00 - 8:30PM Callbacks: Tuesday, November 29th 3:30 - 7:00PM Rehearsals (Sundays (2:30 - 5:00PM) and Tuesdays (3:30 - 6:00PM) Dec 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, Jan 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24, 29, 31 Tech: Feb 5-9, 12-15, 27-Mar 1 (Mandatory) Performances: Mar 2, 4 (two shows), 5 More information on Facebook.  J-ART Youth Theatre at the JCC  Search for Stage Manager & Assistant Stage Manager Seeking experienced candidates for SM and ASM positions for the youth theater production of The Lion King, Jr. Must available for most rehearsals and all performances. Tuesday rehearsals are from 3:30 - 6:00PM and Sunday rehearsals are 2:30 - 5:00PM.    The ASM will assist the stage manager and director with all aspects of the planning, coordination, and running of meetings, rehearsals, and performances. They will attend all rehearsals as needed. The ASM will help to set the stage for rehearsals, follow along with the script while taking line notes, stand in for missing actors, and essentially act as the stage manager's right hand. Additionally, the ASM will learn how to call the cues for a show and will be given the opportunity to call tech rehearsals and potentially one or more of the productions. This position requires attention to detail, punctuality, and the ability to work under pressure. Please email Director, Tony Jones tonyjonesdrama@gmail.com AND Peter Scibak, Stage Manager at peterscibak@gmail.com a resume or letter of interest. Auditions:  Tuesday, November 22nd 3:00 - 8:30PM Callbacks: Tuesday, November 29th 3:30 - 7:00PM Rehearsals (Sundays (2:30 - 5:00PM) and Tuesdays (3:30 - 6:00PM) Dec 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, Jan 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24, 29, 31 Tech: Feb 5-9, 12-15, 27-Mar 1 (Mandatory) Performances: Mar 2, 4 (two shows), 5 Audition announcement for Ghost Light Theater  Venus in Fur  by David Ives Directed by Erin Fitzgerald Auditions will be held 12/4 & 5 at 7pm with callbacks on 12/7 at 7pm Performance dates are 3/3,4,5 and 3/9,10,11 Roles are non-paid. Rehearsal schedule will be made upon casting. 2-3 dates of read/table work in December, proper rehearsals begin in January with 2-3 rehearsals per week. Mandatory attendance for tech week, 2/28 through opening. Gateway City Arts Center 92-114 Race St Holyoke, MA 01040 Thomas, a beleaguered playwright/director, is desperate to find an actress to play Vanda, the female lead in his adaptation of the classic sadomasochistic tale Venus in Fur. Into his empty audition room walks a vulgar and equally desperate actress-oddly enough, named Vanda. Though utterly wrong for the sophisticated part, Vanda exhibits a strange command of the material, piquing Thomas' interest with her seductive talents and secretive manner. As the two work through the script, they blur the line between play and reality, entering into an increasingly serious game of submission and domination that only one of them can win.  Vanda: (20-29) a young, struggling, non-equity actress fighting for her career. Her scattered demeanor obscures an inner strength. May or may not be a goddess. Should have experience with movement and heightened language. Actor must be comfortable in limited clothing. NOTE: Actors of color are especially encouraged to audition Thomas: (30-49) an exasperated writer-director, searching for an actress for his new production on the origins of masochism. Should also have experience with movement and heightened language.  For questions/audition sides contact director Erin Fitzgerald or producer Kevin Tracy. UMass Amherst Department of Theatre presents Auditions for THE HAPPIEST SONG PLAYS LAST Written by Quiara Alegría Hudes Director Jennifer Onopa running April 5-15 AUDITIONS Dec. 5 & 6, 6:30-10:30pm Fine Arts Center 204/206 Callbacks Dec. 12 & 13 OPEN to theater majors & community members of all ages, race, ethnic origin, ability, sexual orientation or gender identification. We specifically welcome Latinx and Arab-American actors to attend. Please prepare a short contemporary monologue. There’s power in traditions, in the songs sung and the food served at gatherings and the way they can bind families and communities together across time and distance. Iraq war veteran Elliott is in Jordan to film a war movie and finds himself connecting with his costar Shar, against the backdrop of the Arab Spring. When he calls home, he speaks to his cousin Yaz, a music professor, who has opened her new home in Philadelphia to feed neighbors in need and struggles against a system that neglects the poor and the sick. Hudes’s play is a complex mixture, balancing epic historical events with intimate life moments, all of them connected through the wonders of modern technology and the richness of Puerto Rican cuatro music. For complete casting breakdown and a link to the script, please click here. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES Smith College presents Daniel Talbott, Guest Artist in Len Berkman's Writing for Theatre class Thursday December 1, 1:00-3:00 PM in the Medenhall Center for the Performing Arts Green Room Daniel Talbott is currently a staff writer for the Weinstein Company and Spike TV on The Mist, based on the Stephen King novella, and in development with Jim Parsons’ company That’s Wonderful Productions for a feature film, Tuolumne. His hour-long drama pilot Summer has been optioned and is in development with Sonar Entertainment and Killer Films. He is a writer, director, and actor, as well as an artistic associate of Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, associate artistic director of {Your Name Here}, and artistic director of the Lucille Lortel and NYIT Award-winning Rising Phoenix Rep. His plays include Slipping (Rattlestick, The Side Project), Yosemite (Rattlestick), Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, America, Kuwait (Rattlestick/piece by piece, Encore), What Happened When (Rattlestick, Your Name Here, Rising Phoenix Rep/HERE), Someone Brought Me (Quince Productions), Mike and Seth (Quince, Encore, The Side Project), Extraordinary Things (RPR), and Gray (Your Name Here). Recent directing work includes Ugly Little Sister (NYU/Strasberg), First Born (The Actors Studio), Selkie (RPR/Weathervane), Thieves (Weathervane/RPR/ Rattlestick), F**king Immaculate (RPR), A Fable (piece by piece/RPR/Rattlestick), Gin Baby (IRT), Scarcity (Rattlestick/Hill Town Plays – OBIE Award), Lake Water (Neighborhood Productions), Eightythree Down (Hard Sparks), Much Ado About Nothing (Boomerang), Squealer (Lesser America), and The Umbrella Plays (the teacup company/FringeNYC – Overall Excellence Award: Outstanding Play). He received a 2011 Theater Hall of Fame Fellowship, a 2007 New York Innovative Theatre Award for directing, a Drama-Logue Award, two Dean Goodman Choice Awards and a Judy Award for acting, and was also named one of the 15 People of the Year by nytheatre.com. He is a graduate of Juilliard and teaches at NYU/Strasberg and Primary Stages/ESPA. He is a proud member of Lesser America and a member of the Actors Studio. Free and open to all.  Heidi Haas presents IMPROV WORKSHOPS in December: Florence Civic Center All Kids, All Ages   On Weds Dec 7th  from 3-5:30 knowing the younger students won't get there until after 3:00.  Adults and Kids!   On Thursday Dec 15th from 3:30-5:30  Come and play with your child(ren) our favorite improv games!!  The cost for each workshop will be $20 and $30 for each parent/child. Space will be limited to 16 participants per workshop.  AND of course it is NOT too early to register for the Winter session which will begin the week of Jan 5th. People are already signing up, so don't lose your spot!! Email for more information or to register or call 413-584-5562. Playwriting & Screenwriting Consulting Individual consulting with playwright & screenwriter ROSE MARTULA to provide feedback or assist in editing scripts: PLAYS, FULL-LENGTH FEATURES, SHORTS, TV PILOTS or WEB SERIES. In whatever stage. I'm here to honor your vision, not alter. Let's do this! Contact Rose. Double Edge Theatre presents The Winter Intensive January 1-7, 2017 The Winter Intensive is an explosive dive into Double Edge's training process. We’ll work daily from morning until night, both in Double Edge's indoor training spaces and outside in the fields. Layering our physical training practice with music, design, dramaturgy, large object work and individual and group research, intensives are a full-body experience of our multidisciplinary creative process. We explore the dialogue between individual process and group training and creation. The intensives are open to participants of all levels of experience and are ideal for pushing the boundaries of your physicality, creativity, and imagination! For more information, call Travis: 413.628.0277 or email training@doubleedgetheatre.org More information online. 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