Pioneer Valley Theatre News January 4, 2018

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Pioneer Valley Theatre Newsletter View this email in your browser  January 4 - 24, 2018 Happy New Year! I hope you are all staying warm and safe in the snow.  The next issue will include events through January 31. 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 Fighting for Gender, Race, and Motherhood in Theatre by Carmelita Becnel From the article:  As women, in general, we are discriminated against. On top of that, to be a mother is to be discriminated against further, since women and parents of all genders face major disadvantages in our society. As women, we struggle with the ludicrous notion that to be successful in this man's world is to embrace the valuable qualities of men: strength, loyalty, toughness, stamina. Why are we shocked and horrified when Lady M pleads “unsex me”—when most of us do this on a daily basis? We hold our tongues, or stop short of rocking the boat, or carefully, thoughtfully exert our authority, pull punches, or do what is not in our better nature, when we actually wish we were on even ground. Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com PERFORMANCES The Majestic Theater presents Alabama Story by Kenneth Jones January 4 through February 11 Majestic Theater, West Springfield The play tells the true story of the State Librarian of Alabama, Emily Wheelock Reed, who was persecuted for protecting books in the south during the days of the Jim Crow laws. In 1959, Garth Williams, a well-known writer and illustrator, has just published a children's book entitled The Rabbit's Wedding, in which a black rabbit marries a white rabbit. State Senator E. W. Higgins is outraged, certain that the book promotes race-mixing, and mounts a crusade to have it removed from the shelves and banned. Alabama Story has been hailed as a social justice drama that's “a vest-pocket cousin” to To Kill a Mockingbird. It has been described as a “love letter to reading,” and productions have garnered both critical praise and standing ovations wherever it's been produced. Cast members include Cate Damon, Jack Grigoli, Rand Foerster, Melenie Flynn, Silk Johnson and Mark Dean. The play is directed by Sheila Siragusa and producing director is Danny Eaton. Set and lighting designer is Dan Rist and Dawn McKay is costume designer. Stephen Petit is production stage manager, and assistant production manager is Aurora Ferraro. Ticket for the play range from $23-$30 and are now available by calling or visiting the box office during its hours of operation, which are Monday through Friday10am – 5pm and Saturday 10am – 1pm. Happier Valley Comedy presents We Made a Thing, a tiny audience show January 8 and 15 at 9:00 PM  Northampton Senior Center Everyone is invited to this weekly intimate,  super casual, and free "tiny audience" improv show featuring Pam Victor and Scott Braidman in their new improv duo "We Made a Thing," where Scott and Pam live two other people's lives, occupying spaces between time ... until the the show is over and they have to stop. If you like patient, character-based, discovery-rich improvlusciousness, "We Made a Thing" is just the thing. These shows are free of charge and open to the public in a handicap-accessible space.  Each show is about 35-40 minutes long.  Audiences are welcome to stick around afterwards to hang out and discuss the show with Scott and Pam, if that's of interest. More information.    Smith College Department of Theatre presents a New Play Development Residency - Daniel Talbott and Lucy Thurber 122 Green Street, Smith College, Northampton, MA Welcome and Information Session January 5 at 11:00 AM in Mendenhall Green Room Playwrights Daniel Talbott and Lucy Thurber will be in residency at Smith College January 3-10. Daniel and Lucy will talk about their work in theater and television and will then elaborate on the shape of their project for this week's residency. Public Reading January 9 at 7:30 PM in Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre Smith College Department of Theatre presents the final reading of the play written by Daniel Talbott and Lucy Thurber during their residency. Free and open to the public. Happier Valley Comedy presents the Happier Valley Comedy Show January 13 at 8:00 PM Northampton Center for the Arts in the Arts Trust Building (33 Hawley St., Northampton, downstairs entrance) This month features The Ha-Ha's and SeaTea Improv Touring Company! The Ha-Ha's perform an "Armando," where a guest monologist graces us with their life experiences and anecdotes which The Ha-Ha's use as inspiration for a slew of silly, imaginative improvised scenes.  Internationally acclaimed musician Peter Blanchette is our story teller this month! More information. Happier Valley Comedy presents More Improv, More Better Improv Jam & Showcase (Happier Valley Comedy) January 13 at 10:00 PM Northampton Center for the Arts in the Arts Trust Building (33 Hawley St., Northampton, downstairs entrance) Open improv jam for everyone and anyone to play and watch improv games, plus a showcase set featuring up-and-coming improv team. More information.  TheatreTruck in Residence, Greenfield MA, January 2018 TheatreTruck is thrilled to announce we have been awarded a grant from the Greenfield Local Cultural Council for a developmental incubation of The Mill Project while in Residence at 12Federal in Greenfield, MA this month. We are so excited to embark! We will be bringing our devising ensemble together again to revisit and refine The Mill Project, an original devised performance which premiered in Leeds, MA last summer (over 300 people attended!). The Mill Project is an exploration of women's bodies in labor & resistance in the age of industrialization. You can learn more about it here.   On Sunday January 14, 2018 at 6:30pm Join the creators of The Mill Project for a peek into our process! Following a week-long Residency in Greenfield, MA*, TheatreTruck invites you to join us at 12 Federal St., Greenfield MA The evening includes discussion of our process with the artists, performances of selected new scenes and music from The Mill Project.   ​This event is FREE. Space is limited. Please RSVP Happier Valley Comedy presents the Happier FAMILY Comedy Show January 20 at 3:00 PM  The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (125 W Bay Rd., Amherst) Monthly family-friendly improv comedy show, best for 5-12 year olds and their adults. Tickets at the door: $10/Adults, $5/Kids, Free/4 yrs and under (Reduced admission for museum members). More information. Smith College Department of Theatre presents Tudor Tailor: As I Lie Dying Sunday, January 21 at 3:00 PM Theatre 14, Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts See inside the wardrobes of two Elizabethan women living in England in the 1570s and go through their garments to discover how very differently they live their lives. Barbara Bundock, a much-married merchant’s widow, and Margery Trollope, a soap and candlemaker, meet for a gossip and to enjoy their favorite conversation – the ailments they suffer and their imminent gathering to heaven, which they have discussed weekly for more years than either can remember. Each is blessed with clothes that represent their wealth and standing among their neighbors. They are competitively well-informed as to the relative value of their dress: the raw materials, where they come from, who made them and how they rival each other in quality and cost. But their clothes also carry a heavy burden of responsibility as tokens to be passed on to friends and family. Not only must they decide who is most deserving of their own garments, there are many items of their husbands’, which demonstrate their doings in more detail than is necessarily comfortable. Barbara and Margery assess which of their grasping friends and family may benefit from the best rather than the worst items on offer. Join Jane and Ninya for this lively presentation and dressing demonstration which draws on the wealth of material gathered by The Tudor Tailor team since the publication of The Tudor Tailor ten years ago, and gives enjoyable insights into the exciting new content of their forthcoming book The Typical Tudor. Free and open to the public. AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES Pioneer Valley Theatre Companies Is your theatre company missing? Email me! Academy of Music Theatre Arena Civic Theatre Black Cat Theater Chester Theatre Company The Country Players Eggtooth Productions Exit 7 Players Ghost Light Theater Hampshire Shakespeare Company Happier Valley Comedy Ko Theater Works/Ko Festival of Performance Majestic Theater New Century Theatre PaintBox Theatre Pauline Productions Real Live Theatre Red Thread Theater Serious Play Theatre Ensemble Silverthorne Theater Smith College Department of Theatre St. Michael's Players TheatreTruck Westfield Theatre Group Wilbraham United Players Hampshire Shakespeare Company is currently seeking 2 Directors and a Fundraising Director for the 2018 Summer season of “Shakespeare Under the Stars,” which will include the adult productions of Othello and Twelfth Night and the Young Company production to follow. Please see the website for more information on how to apply! St. Michael's Youth Players---an A.C.T.(All Inclusive Community Theater) production presents Auditions for "The Wizard of Oz" Young Performer's edition January 9 and 10 at 6:00 PM St. Michael's Community Center 53 Somers Rd. E. Longmeadow, MA All youth ages 7-21 are welcome to audition for our new initiative that partners youth with and without disabilities!!  All ability levels are welcome to audition.  We ask that those who wish to have a lead role, be prepared to sing a bit of a song from the show. Actions/feelings and scenes will be acted out based on abilities. Feel free to call Rose at 413-525-0371 with questions/concerns or email stmikeact@gmail.com See you in January!   A Shot of Theater is back and currently seeking WRITERS and DIRECTORS for our first set of revival performances taking place in our new Easthampton venue in March 2018. Scripts should be no longer than 15 minutes in performance length, written for 2-5 actors, have minimal set/costume/tech requirements, and relate to the theme of “THE RETURN.” Scripts are due on January 27th, sent to ashotoftheater@gmail.com. Interested directors should send an e-mail with basic contact information, availability, and experience to the same address. Rehearsals will run independently through the month of February and will be performed every Thursday in March, with a tech/dress on the first Wednesday.  A Shot of Theater is a low commitment theater opportunity for writers, local directors, and actors. We perform bare-bone style, original one-act plays within a cabaret setting every Thursday for a month, every three months. Previously performed at The Elevens in Northampton, we are excited to have found a new venue at 121 Club in Easthampton! Silverthorne Theatre Company seeks a set/lights designer for a spring production of Athol Fugard’s The Road to Mecca. Production dates are June 21-23 and 28-30, 2018. Silverthorne is the resident theatre company in the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield. The performance space on the 4th floor is relatively small [capacity approximately 100], and it has a nice, intimate feeling about it. Stipend involved. For further information or to express interest in the position, please contact Lucinda Kidder, producer, at silverthornetheater@gmail.com, or Rebecca Daniels, director, at rdaniels2525@gmail.com. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES Happier Valley Comedy presents Improv for Scaredy Cats (and Non-Scaredy Cats Too!) January 13 at 3:00-5:00 PM 33 Hawley Street, Northampton (NCA Downstairs Studio) Have you ever watched improv and thought, "I could never do that!"?  Have you ever watched improv and thought, "Hell, I could definitely do that!"? Do you not give a flying fig about improv comedy but want to learn a new technique that will improve your theater training? Are you curious about improv but you don't consider yourself a scaredy cat?     If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, "Improv for Scaredy Cats (And Non-Scaredy Cats Too!)" is the workshop for you. It's designed especially for folks who want to try something that might scare them. (It's cheaper than sky-diving and less likely for you to end up as road-pizza!)  You'll learn a very gentle, very easy approach to improv comedy in an incredibly positive and accepting atmosphere in which the only way you can fail is by by failing to learn something new. We'll practice the vital improvisation skills, like:  * listening carefully * accepting other people's ideas  * redefining and disempowering failure  * staying in the moment * reacting honestly to the reality of the here and now. No experience necessary. Being funny is NOT required.  Go ahead, register now before you chicken out or get distracted by a cute kitten video. (Kittens!) This workshop will be a wadzillion times less scary than you think. The only thing you have to lose is your opinion that you can't improvise... More information. New Century Theatre Producing Director Sam Rush will offer two courses beginning in early 2018. Classes will be held at the Northampton Senior Center, 67 Conz Street in Northampton, MA. To register, send an email to Sam Rush (srush@newcenturytheatre.org) or call 413-587-3933 to hold a spot. You can click on this link to download a registration form. Acting for Non-Actors Instructor, Sam Rush   Ages 18 and up (or by instructor permission)   Tuesdays, 5:15-7:15 p.m.   Northampton Senior Center, 67 Conz Street  February 13 through April 10  (no class on March 13)  Course Description: The perfect course if you have never taken an acting class before but have always wanted to try or had a class once way back when and want to try again. With NCT Producing Director Sam Rush, you'll have a chance to explore your inner ham in a fun, relaxed and supportive environment. Using improvisation, text and original source material, you'll learn fundamental acting techniques that may just serve you the rest of your life - on stage or off.   Scene Study Intensive Instructor, Sam Rush Ages 18 and up (or by instructor permission)  Wednesdays, 5:15-7:15 p.m.  Northampton Senior Center, 67 Conz Street   January 24 through April 4 (no class on February 21)    Course Description:  This class is for actors with previous experience and for students who have taken the Acting for Non-Actors course and wish to continue their study of the actor's craft. We'll start right away with scene study work and exercises that support the rehearsal process. Submit your workshop or class here! 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