September 13 - October 3, 2018

Auditions for PETER PAN at Amherst Leisure Services start tomorrow! Do you have your slot yet? It's not too late to sign up for an audition - just call 413-259-3065.

Also tomorrow: Panopera's La Traviata opens at the Academy of Music. Professional opera produced by the valley's own artist-led opera company.

The next issue will include events through October 10. 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

Audition Appointments Now Open: Call 413-259-3065

Tickets Available Now!

THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS:

from The New York Times
Broadway's Biggest Debut
by Michael Paulson

From the article:

He’s 20 feet tall and weighs 2,000 pounds. He’s monstrous, but, his creators hope, also moving. And he’s coming to Broadway this fall.

King Kong arrives next month as the title character, and the one constant, in a $35 million musical which has been in development for nearly a decade, churning through scripts, songs and creative teams as the producers try to shape a show worthy of their title character.

Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com

Want to know even more about events in the Pioneer Valley and beyond,
including reviews, interviews, and previews?
In the Spotlight, Inc.
Berkshire on Stage

Click to Access: Pioneer Valley Theatre Personnel Spreadsheet

PERFORMANCES

The quintessential New England play -- "Our Town" -- is coming to the quintessential New England Town Hall in Shelburne in mid-September..
The Thornton Wilder play about life in a small town in 1904 will be performed at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 14, 15, 21, and 22 and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16 at Memorial Hall Theater, above Town Hall.
Tickets are $12 matinee tickets are $6.
About 2/3 of the cast and crew are from Shelburne or Shelburne Falls. Jackie Walsh at Footlights at the Falls chose the show in celebration of Shelburne's 250th anniversary of its founding.
"I wanted to have lots of people from town in it, and I am thrilled with how many people from town came to auditions and were cast," said Jackie Walsh, founder of Footlights and "Our Town" producer. "It's a really talented cast."
Thornton Wilder wrote the play about a small, New Hampshire town. It features two families, the Gibbs and the Webbs. Three acts focus on day-to-day life, marriage and death.
Grovers Corners, very much like Shelburne in 1904, has a milkman delivering milk by horse, a constable walking the streets, a pharmacy with a soda fountain, lots of churches and houses with lots of flowers and vegetable gardens.
Like Shelburne then, people in the play tend to stay put after high school and get married.
Nicole LaRoche of Shelburne is enjoying directing.
"The opportunity to direct this quintessential American play has been such a blessing. Wilder’s words resonate as deeply today as when written and together the cast and I have been discovering what they mean to us in our own town. I am so pleased to be able to share our emotional journey with the community we all love," LaRoche said.

Shelburne residents will see plenty of familiar people in the play, whether its a barista from Mocha Maya's coffee shop, a clerk at the post office, the woman who drives a school bus in the Shelburne hills, a girl who rides the bus, or a runner they see in Shelburne Falls. Nicole LaRoche of Bridge Street in Shelburne Falls is the director.
Walsh began Footlights at the Falls two years ago to bring theater back to Shelburne Falls, which has had little theater since West County Players closed its doors nearly 20 years ago.
So far, the group has put on "Later Life" and "Dixie Swim Club." This is its first show with a big cast (20 people).
"I'm so happy we can give all these actors an opportunity to do theater right down the street!" Walsh said.
Anyone interested in ushering or joining the Footlights board of directors, please contact Walsh at 413-625-9413 or shelburnejackieb@gmail.com.
Cultural council grants help fund this production. They are from Ashfield, Buckland, Colrain, Cummington, Charlemont-Hawley, Heath, Rowe, Goshen, Plainfield and Shelburne.

Springfield College presents
Avner the Eccentric in Exceptions to Gravity

Friday, September 14, 7:30 pm
Appleton Auditorium, Fuller Arts Center

I laughed for two solid hours. The show only lasted an hour and a half.
—Joel Siegel, ABC-TV
Avner Eisenberg in Exceptions to Gravity is a reminder of the theatrical power that can reside in a single charismatic performer who touches the heart.
—Patriot Ledger

Our scheduled presentation of Avner last March was cancelled due to a snow storm, so he’s back to perform for us this fall by meteorological demand!

A master of the art of physical comedy, Avner the Eccentric weaves a spell of poetic simplicity in a show of hilarious predicaments. Avner has appeared on and off Broadway, and he played the endearing Holy Man, The Jewel, in the Michael Douglas film, The Jewel of the Nile. Avner’s show defies the barriers of language and culture and has toured extensively in the US and abroad.

“If laughter really is the best medicine, Avner Eisenberg could easily cure everything that ails you. He’s a clown in the truest sense of the word...You’ve got to see it to believe it can be this much fun.”
Boston Metro
“Here is what Avner the Eccentric does best: he reduces his audience to laughter and giggles and applause.” New York Times
Suggested Donation: General Audience - $5.00 Students/Seniors/Children - FREE

Workshop in Eccentric Performing and Audience Rapport
Sept. 13 from 12:30 - 2:30
contact Martin Shell, mshell@springfieldcollege.edu

Panopera presents LA TRAVIATA
Friday, September 14 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, September 16 at 2:00 PM
Academy of Music Theatre, Northampton

Panopera, Western Massachusetts artist-led regional opera company, presents Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata, one of his most beloved and enduring works: the story of a powerful and successful woman facing her mortality and struggling to live out her days as she wishes, not as her past and her society dictate.

Ticket Prices:
$15-49 (plus applicable fees)

Where/ How Tickets Can be Purchased:
Academy of Music Box Office Open Tuesday- Friday 3:00PM-6:00PM
Call: 413-584-9032 ext.105 (Service fees will apply with purchase)

Online Tickets

Happier Valley Comedy Presents: Not In Charge
September 15 at 7:00 PM
Happier Valley Comedy Theater, 1 Mill Rd, Hadley, MA

Join the talented new group Not In Charge for a fast-paced, high-energy short form improv show! For a limited run on the third Saturday of each month. Saturday, September 15th at 7pm at the new Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, on rte.9). And stick around after for the 9pm showcase and open improv jam! Tickets: $13 online and at the door. For more info: www.happiervalley.com.

Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center presents Gypsy Layne Cabaret & Co.
September 15 at 9:00 PM
Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center, 289 Main St, Greenfield, MA 01301

Gypsy Layne Cabaret & Co. has been hailed by Take magazine as making “burlesque cool again," but this tantalizing crew of saucy ladies and jaunty gents is also red-hot! Gypsy Layne Cabaret & Co. is a coed troupe that has been captivating audiences for the past seven years with a unique blend of playful sexiness, cheeky comedy, live singing and dynamic dance routines. Gypsy Layne debuts at Hawks & Reed Perfoming Arts Center to tease their way into your hearts with their vivacious artistry and outrageous charmsin an unabashed celebration of inclusivity and body-positivity. Get ready for a breathless journey filled with sexy moves, hilarious hi-jinks, sultry surprises, and more glamour than you can shake a tassel at!

Tickets

“JOHNNY GUITAR” TO RING IN MAJESTIC THEATER'S 22nd EASON
Musical To Run September 6 Through October 21

The Majestic Theater celebrates the launch of its 22nd Season with the opening of “Johnny Guitar” on September 6. The madcap musical, by Nicholas Van Hoogstraten, Martin Silvestri and Joel Higgins, is based on the legendary Joan Crawford cult Western from the 1950s. The play is a send-up of fifties-style acting, melodramatic romance, and rough and tumble cowboy action, set to a doo-wop/country ballad musical score. The story follows what happens to a sultry saloon keeper and her jealous nemesis when a handsome stranger rides into town. Screwball comedy reminiscent of a Mel Brooks spoof is the result.

The cast includes Billy Clark Taylor (Johnny), Myka Plunkett (Vienna), Bethany Fitzgerald (Emma), Michael Morales (Dancin' Kid), Walter Mantani (McIvers), Joe Duda (Turkey), Michael King (Bart), Steven Sands (Eddie) and Michael Garcia (Sam). The play is being directed by Producing Director Danny Eaton, and Mitch Chakour is the music director. Greg Trochlil is set designer, Dawn McKay is costume designer and stage manager is Gary Lamagna.

Tickets for these shows range from $24-$33 and are now available by calling or visiting the box office during its hours of operation, which are Monday through Friday 10am – 5pm and Saturday 10am – 1pm. Subscriptions are still being accepted for the five Season shows.For additional information, visit www.majestictheater.com.

Real Live Theatre presents She Kills Monsters
written by Qui Nguyen
directed by Dan Morbyrne
presented by Real Live Theatre and Pauline Productions

Gateway City Arts, Holyoke: Thursday-Saturday, 9/20-22 @ 8pm & Sunday 9/23 @7pm
First Congregational Church, Ashfield: Thursday, 9/27 @ 7:30pm, Friday-Saturday 9/28-29 @8pm & Sunday 9/30 @4pm

TIX: $25 tickets (with $10-$25 sliding scale available as needed), www.reallivetheatre.net

SHE KILLS MONSTERS is a funny, irreverent, gory, sexy, and surprisingly touching journey into the world of Dungeons & Dragons and the fraught relationship between two sisters. When Agnes finds her dead sister's Dungeon Master notebook, she must join the campaign to save her sister's soul from Tiamat, and kill a ton of monsters along the way. Bugbears, Dark Elves, Demon Queens, Quantum Leap-obsessed devils, and cheerleading succubi, SHE KILLS MONSTERS has something for everyone!

Arena Civic Theatre presents Annie
9/20 at 7:00pm 9/21 7:00pm, 9/22 2:00pm & 7:00pm, 9/23 2:00pm
Shea Theater Arts Center, Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA

Arena Civic Theatre is pleased to present the Tony Award winning best musical, ANNIE, as its Fall production. Under the Direction of Megan Healey, Music Direction of Anthony Ferreira, Choreography by Sue Dresser and Costumes by Maggie Duprey, this popular children’s musical based on the Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, runs September 20th through 23rd with evening performances Thursday through Saturday at 7pm and matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm.
After premiering at the Goodspeed Opera House in 1976, Annie became an instant family classic. Depicting real-life situations of the Great Depression, Annie is the story of a lovable little red-haired orphan who outsmarts her greedy orphanage matron, Miss Hannigan, and wins an invitation to stay at billionaire business mogul, Oliver Warbucks’ mansion for Christmas.
Including all the hits you know and love; “Tomorrow,” “Hard Knock Life,” “Fully Dressed” – ANNIE is the premier fall musical event!

OPENING NIGHT ONLY(Thursday 9/20) - ALL TICKETS JUST $12!

Ticket prices for all other performances are:
General Admission $18
Senior/Student(pre K-college) $15

Reserve tickets by calling 413-233-4368

Limited tickets available on WHAI's 30% Off Store while supplies last @whai.com.

Tickets

The Northampton Playwrights Lab and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, in association with the Northampton Center for the Arts and A.P.E. Gallery Ltd. present:

PLAY BY PLAY 2018

Third festival of readings of new plays performed by local professional actors with INAUGURAL performances in the Arts Trust Building FlexSpace Theatre!

September 21 – 30, 2018
FlexSpace Theatre, Northampton Community Arts Trust Building, 33 Hawley Street, Downtown Northampton

Featuring new plays by playwrights Leanna James Blackwell, Stephanie Carlson, Meryl Cohn, Harley Erdman, Peter Kennedy, Talya Kingston, and Tanyss Rhea Martula

All Friday and Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday Sept. 23^rdperformances at 2 p.m and 3:30 p.m.
Sunday Sept. 30^that 7:30 p.m
Suggested donation at the door: $10

Schedule

Week One:
Friday, Sept. 21: Leanna James Blackwell, NEW SOUL,directed by the playwright
Saturday, Sept. 22: Tanyss Rhea Martula, FRESH AIR, directed by Sam Rush
Sunday, Sept. 23: Stephanie Carlson, SEA MONSTER, directed by John Bruner
Sunday, Sept. 23: Talya Kingston, CAMPUS UNREST, directed by Trenda Loftin
There will be a half-hour reception between performances on 9/23

Week Two:
Friday, Sept. 28: Harley Erdman, INSTITUTION, directed by Talya Kingston
Saturday, Sept. 29: Meryl Cohn, ALMOST HOME, directed by Will MacAdams
Sunday, Sept. 30: Peter Kennedy, FAMILY GAME NIGHT, directed by the playwright

The Plays

NEW SOUL by Leanna James Blackwell
A young, mixed-race couple in love in France in the early 1960s. A married couple in urban America at the dawn of the new millennium. Long-buried secrets and a search for a stranger. New Soul is a full-length drama about race, family, religion, love, and the eternal question: what makes us who we are?

FRESH AIR, a letter play by Tanyss Rhea Martula
Two very different families in the 80's participate in a summer program that sends inner city children to the country. What happens? Who benefits? What happens when relationships develop long-term? What happens to the children?

SEAMONSTER by Stephanie Carlson
Jane and Kim are at an awkward stage in their relationship: They're not sure when they're getting in each other's way or getting in their own way. Internal conflicts come to the fore in this offbeat one-act comedy, as Jane and Kim's inner voices take the stage to banter and bitch. A funny, honest story about creativity, trust, communication ... and seamonsters.

CAMPUS UNREST by Talya Kingston
Mia arrives full of excitement and hope for her Professorship at a prestigious New England College. She soon discovers that while in Britain it was enough for her to lecture about identity politics, in America she is expected to embody her politics. Her partner Kwame finds his place in the burgeoning campus Black Liberation Collective, but Mia is increasingly intimidated by the spectre of the beloved gender studies professor that she is replacing.

INSTITUTION by Harley Erdman
An academic search committee. A professor who refuses to retire. A case of champagne, and four colleagues with vastly different ideas for the future of their institution. These are the ingredients for a fast-moving, madcap 90-minute play that is a mirror of our times – and full of surprises.

ALMOST HOME by Meryl Cohn
When Phoebe’s poet partner, Amanda, takes off with a young fan, Phoebe is left with Amanda’s teenaged daughter Jody. Both Phoebe and Jody are outraged at being dumped by Amanda, but is that enough to keep them together as a pseudo-family? Phoebe confronts her past and tries to launch her photography show, while Jody pushes against every boundary she can find. Will the two succeed in their struggle to recreate their relationship without Amanda? Almost Homeis a drama/comedy about the search for a place to belong.

FAMILY GAME NIGHT by Peter Kennedy
On the third Saturday evening of every month, the Mortons gather together for their traditional board game night at Mom and Dad's house. Tonight, however, will be a little different than the usual round of Monopoly or Clue. What begins with a mildly irritating board game featuring glitter and Grim Reaper hand puppets suddenly turns darker as three generations of the Morton family struggle with articulating wildly different views about their individual end of life (and afterlife) choices.

Silverthorne Theater Company presents DELECTABLE DURANG A Collection of Six Unruly Comedies

September 27, 28, 29 and October 4, 5, 6 at 7:30 PM, September 30 at 2:00 PM
Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center, 289 Main St, Greenfield

This production will be an ‘homage to the theater‘ featuring Durang’s most pungent satirical takes on the world of the stage. The six plays are The Actor’s Nightmare, Women in a Play Ground, Nina in the Morning, For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, One Minute Play & Medea. Every theatrical element will be in full view of the audience throughout, as the actors function as a mini-repertory company, portraying a variety of multi-dimensional characters with serious personal issues who fearlessly leap into Durang’s world of comic mayhem with emotional abandon and a bountiful sense of play.

Tickets.

AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES

Auditions for Amherst Leisure Services Community Theater's upcoming production of Peter Pan are September 14-16! Audition appointments can be made via phone at 413-259-3065. Auditions are at the Bangs Community Center in Amherst.

The production will be an exciting and inclusive take on the classic story of Peter Pan. The show goes up in Bowker Auditorium at UMass Amherst in January 2019.

Cast size will be about 60. Auditions are open to anyone age 7-107 (no performing experience required). Folks of all genders, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and sexual orientations are encouraged to audition. Visit www.alsct.org/auditions for more information (including an audition FAQ) and email producer@alsct.org with any questions.

Western MA Playwright Meet & Greet & Tool Swap

Tuesday, September 18 at 7 PM – 9 PM

Emily Dickinson Hall, Room 2, 893 West St, Amherst, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA

Join other Dramatists Guild members and new Regional Rep for New England, Patrick Gabridge, to discuss new work in New England and Western Massachusetts. This will be a great chance to meet other writers, and to give input on possible Dramatists Guild events that you'd like to see in our region. We'll also do a Tool Swap session, in which we will talk about software, and other tools and methods that we find effective for writing and marketing our work-- so feel free to bring a laptop or your notebook system. (Look for more details on building and room number coming soon.) Open to members and non-members.

Facebook event.

Northampton 24 Hour Theater Project presents auditions for Northampton 24 Hour Theater Project
September 29 at 1:00 PM
33 Hawley St. Northampton MA

Announcing auditions for the Northampton 24-Hour Theater Project 2018!

We will perform five 10-minute plays written, directed, and produced within 24 hours. The focus in our projects is on the playwriting - the scripts are 10-minute plays, not skits, and are performed as written; they are not improvised.

We’re looking for actors to fill out our company. Actors in the Project work only one day, but it’s a long, arduous, albeit fun, day. You must be able to commit to the date of Saturday, November 3 from 8:00 am to the end of the second show, approx. 11 pm.

We are seeking actors of all types, teen and above.

Auditions will take place Saturday, September 29, 1-3pm in the Arts Trust Building at 33 Hawley St.

For questions or further information, please email s.apgar@gmail.com

Facebook.

Request for Proposals
Eggtooth Productions Radical Interconnectedness Festival
Turners Falls, MA
April 26, 27, 2019

We are seeking proposals from artists to address the concerns of marginalized communities.

We invite stories that engage issues of race, age, gender, religion, economic class, and those aspects of cultural identity that have been suppressed.

We seek a wide range of artistic expression: music, dance, theatrical, visual, immersive, installation.

Commission fee will be $500 and Eggtooth will provide the venue, the audience, and promotions for the work.

Email proposals to: lmciner@gmail.com
Deadline is October 31, 2018

WORKSHOPS & CLASSES

Acting is a creative discipline that can be a exciting journey of self-discovery. Through its practice we can gain tools and techniques that can be used to create truthful moments on the stage. These techniques are available to anyone at any time of life. It is separate from talent. Talent is simply one's innate gift and that is something out of your control. Technique is fully within your control.

Whether you have career aspirations on the stage or screen, seek to gain confidence speaking in public, or would just like to feel more present and connected to those around you, take action and register today for an acting class.

Acting For Non-Actors
Class begins Monday, September 17 [eight weekly sessions]

Enrollment is limited.

Acting for Non-Actors (18+ or instructor permission)

Classes are 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/text 413-626-3238 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)
Mondays, 5:15-7:15 p.m.
Northampton Senior Center, 67 Conz Street
September 17 - November 12 (no class October 8)

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 a solid base of fundamental acting techniques that may serve you the rest of your life - on stage or off.