Pioneer Valley Theatre News August 29, 2019

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Pioneer Valley Theatre Newsletter View this email in your browser   August 29 - September 18, 2019 Fall events are popping up, including quite a few new theatre classes. Check out Real Live Theatre's October classes on Foundational Acting Techniques in the listing below or on their website (linked in their ad right in the next box). I'm considering adding a list of rentable spaces for performance, rehearsal, workshops, etc as a resource in this newsletter - if you have thoughts on that or have one that you would like listed, let me know. Our other resources include a Google Calendar with events, a spreadsheet full of people in the valley who more theatre (see them via the blue buttons below), and a list of producing companies (at the bottom of the email). Is there another resource that would be useful to you? Let me know. The next issue will include events through September 25. 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 More Information: Acting Technique Classes with Real Live Theatre in October YOUR EVENT HERE $5 per week for your poster and ticket link in top billing! Email me to reserve your dates. THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS: from Howlround On Forgetting and Theatre's Impermanence by Eric Marlin From the article:  I have already forgotten almost every play I’ve ever seen. I had this realization the other day while scrolling through Twitter. I came across an old post from a friend reflecting on The House That Will Not Stand by Marcus Gardley at New York Theatre Workshop, which ran in 2018. Oh yeah, I thought, I forgot about that production. That was a really good show. Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com Click to Access: Pioneer Valley Theatre Personnel Spreadsheet Click to Access: Pioneer Valley Theatre Google Calendar PERFORMANCES Happier Valley Comedy presents SCRIPTED/UNSCRIPTED August 31 at 7:00 PM Happier Valley Comedy Theater, 1 Mill Rd, Hadley, MA An audience favorite featuring local actors performing with real scripts alongside plucky improvisers doing their best to play along! All proceeds for this show will be donated to Center For New Americans. Saturday, August 31st at 7pm at the Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, on rte.9). Tickets: $13 online and at the door. For more info: www.happiervalley.com. “THE TUNA GODDESS” LAUNCHES MAJESTIC'S 23rd SEASON SEPTEMBER 5 - OCTOBER 13 Season Subscriptions, Single Tickets Available for Mix of Musicals, Comedy, Thrills and Drama The Majestic Theater's 23rd Season will kick off with “The Tuna Goddess,” which will run September 5 through October 13, according to Producing Director Danny Eaton. The comedy/drama by Jade Schuyler tells the story of Alexandra Durning who grew up in Chatham, MA on her father Norman's fishing boat, the Harley X, but left years ago for an advertising career in Boston. She returns to settle her father's estate only to discover that he left his boat to both her and his first mate, Pete, her childhood best friend. Alex isn't interested in the boat and wants to return to Boston and her fiance, but Pete can't afford to buy her out. Alex decides to stay for one fishing season and signs on as Pete's first mate, confronting both her past and future. The play has been described as a “soaring, gritty and emotional play that will have you laughing uncontrollably one minute and then crying with heartbreak the next.” The cast includes Lexi Langs (Alexandra), Erick Kastel (Pete), Cate Damon (Deb), Tom Dahl (Sully), Rob Clark (Norman), Liam Toner (Shawn), Larkin Fox (young Alex) and Noah Tuleta (Richard). Danny Eaton will direct with set design by Greg Trochlil. Gary LaMagna is stage manager, Dawn McKay is costume designer and Dan Rist is lighting designer. Production manager is Stephen Petit and Aurora Ferraro is associate production manager. Single tickets are now available and range from $26 to $34. They can be purchased over the phone by calling (413) 747-7797 or visiting the box office. The Firefly Creative presents Shadowlands Sept. 6 @ 7 PM, Sept. 7 @ 2 PM and 7 PM. Sept. 8 @ 6 PM Evangel Assembly of God. 348 Stony Hill Road, Wilbraham, MA Join us September 6 @ 7 PM, September 7 @ 2 PM and 7PM and September 8 @ 6 PM for a powerful journey into Shadowlands, the true to life tale of C.S. Lewis' love and loss. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12 and seniors over 65. 348 Stony Hill Road, Wilbraham, MA.  The Firefly Creative presents the former West End and Broadway hit, which tells the true, love story of C.S. Lewis - Oxford don and author of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters - and American poet Joy Davidman. Jack Lewis is smug in his convictions about God and His plan for the world until Joy and her young son enter his life and the bewildered theoretician of love in the abstract finally confronts its direct presence. A beautiful story of both love, loss and faith. It is a story for the ages and one that you won't certainly forget. Tickets. High Note presents Cabaret Dinner Theatre September 6 and 7 at 7:00 PM Brewmaster's Tavern Musical comedy variety revue. Dinner and show $24.99 Happier Valley Comedy presents The Understudies: An Improvised Musical September 7 at 7:00 PM Happier Valley Comedy Theater, 1 Mill Rd, Hadley, MA Be part of the fun as four improvisers create an entire musical from scratch. Saturday, September 7th at 7pm at the Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, on rte.9). Tickets: $13 online and at the door. For more info: www.happiervalley.com.   “CAMPUS UNREST” NEXT UP IN SILVERTHORNE THEATER NEW PLAY READING SERIES   Local author Talya Kingston’s powerful play, Campus Unrest, kicks off Silverthorne’s  fall rehearsed play reading series, Theater Thursdays . It will be read at 7 pm on Thursday, September 12 in the Franklin County Coop meeting space at 170 Main Street, Greenfield. The reading is free and open to the public.   The playwright and director describe the action of the play in the following manner: "Tensions are high nationwide and violence on the streets too abundant. The ripple effects of this are felt on a small New England college campus, where a British academic couple and a first generation student each attempt to find their own voice, escape ghosts of the past and move the conversations around injustice one step forward."    Under the direction of Trenda Loftin, the cast of six readers includes Rachel Braidman as newly-arrived history and gender studies professor Mia, Silk Johnson as Mia’s partner Kwame, and Terna Tilley as fellow faculty member Angela."  Steve Folmar will read the role of student activist Darren Williams, while Julissa Rodriguez reads Jo Milner whose classes Mia has taken over; Joan Sartori reads the roles of both a faculty wife, Sue Spencer and a colleague, Professor Cellino.   Playwright Talya Kingston is a dramaturg, playwright and educator with a particular investment in new play development and theatre for social change.  She is the Associate Artistic Director at WAM Theatre (Where Arts and Activism Meet), a Lecturer in Dramaturgy at UMass, Amherst, and the North-East Region VP for the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA).  Talya is also a proud member of the Northampton Playwrights Lab, where CAMPUS UNREST was developed.  An earlier version of this script was a finalist in the 2019 Bechtel Test Fest   An integral part of Silverthorne Theater Company’s mission is to promote the development of new work, especially by Western Massachusetts and New England playwrights. In 2018, we staged the world premieres of three new works, two of which were from such writers.   In 2019 we offer Theater Thursdays, a series of free rehearsed readings of new or new to us plays, followed by audience discussions. The purpose of the readings is to give a platform for new work to be heard, and when possible, to be able to give playwrights direct audience feedback.  It also gives Silverthorne a look at plays that we might consider fully producing in future seasons. These will be held in different locations in the region. Complete information for each reading may be found at https://silverthornetheater.org. "Ropes" by Mexican playwright Barbara Colio will be performed at Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls on Sept. 13, 14, 15, 20 and 21. The play is about three brothers making their way through airports to their estranged father's last tightrope walk. "I saw it in with my mother at the Two River Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 2016, and I just belly laughed and sobbed my way through it," said director Jackie Walsh, founder of Footlights at the Falls of Shelburne Falls, which is putting on the play. In the play, the brothers, Presley, Paul and Prince (named, of course, after the musicians) haven't seen their dad since they were little kids.  He ditched them to become the world's most famous tightrope walker. The play totally gets siblings: the shared history, the knowledge about each other's quirks, the love, the anger, the annoying things we do, Walsh said. "I have three brothers myself (and four sisters), so it's all really, really familiar and interesting -- I think for anyone who has siblings!" The brothers are played by Marc Kaufmann of Shelburne Falls, William Spademan of Ashfield and Chip Roughton of Florence. "They are a joy to work with," Walsh said. "All are talented actors and really nice guys." The production still needs ushers and ticket sellers. Tickets are $12 for all shows except the matinee, which is $6. All shows start at 7, except Sunday, Sept. 15, which is a 2 p.m. matinee.  Cultural council grants helped pay for the show, including grants from Shelburne, Ashfield, Colrain, Buckland, Charlemont-Hawley, Conway, Rowe, Heath, and Plainfield. There are plenty of seats. Cash/check at the door.  Reservations aren't necessary but are taken at ropesatthefalls@gmail.com. More information at shelburnejackeb@gmail.com or 413-625-9413. Fair warning: the show includes some cursing. Happier Valley Comedy presents The Ha-Ha's & Friends September 14 at 7:00 PM Happier Valley Comedy Theater, 1 Mill Rd, Hadley, MA Local favorites since 2003, The Ha-Ha's perform alongside special guests each month. Saturday, September 14th at 7pm at the Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, on rte.9). Tickets: $13 online and at the door. For more info: www.happiervalley.com. CitySpace presents Tours of the Second Floor of Easthampton's Old Town Hall September 14 at 6:00 PM September 29 at 7:00 PM October 5 at 7:00 PM October 12 at 6:00 PM and possibly other additional dates  Join us on a tour of the second floor of Old Town Hall. Whether you're headed to Art Walk Easthampton or off to one Easthampton's fine restaurants like Galaxy or Coco & The Cellar Bar, join us for a guided walk through of the second floor of Old Town Hall. Tour is free and open to the public. Learn more about the project cityspaceeasthampton.org/transformation Free - no reservations necessary, but you can RSVP to a Facebook event. Sunderland Public Library presents Sunderland Short Stories September 17 at 6:30 PM Sunderland Public Library, 20 School Street, Sunderland, MA 01375 Actors Kermit Dunkelberg and Linda Tardif will perform dramatic readings of two adult fairy tales: "The Troll Bridge, by Neil Gaiman, and "The Princess Who Stood On Her Own Two Feet," by Jeanne Desy.  The event is free and open to the public.   Sunderland Short Stories engages professional actors who use their theatrical skills to bring to life some of the best short stories from contemporary and classical literature.   This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Sunderland Public Library.  Contact 413-665-2642 for more information. AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES Deadline to Apply for First Night 2020 is this Saturday August 31st.  Apply Here We look forward to receiving your proposal and to creating a diverse, exciting, family-friendly production. Complete and submit the application no later than August 31, 2019. Please submit separate applications for each proposal. Proposals without support materials will not be reviewed. We will be notifying applicants at the end of September. On Tuesday December 31, 2019 the Northampton Arts Council presents the 35th community New Year’s Eve celebration and festival of performing arts. Since 1985, First Night Northampton has filled the Paradise City with a 12-hour, family-friendly festival of the arts culminating in a traditional ball-raising from the roof of the Hotel Northampton. One hundred percent of the proceeds from First Night will benefit local artists and community arts activities.  Springfield JCC presents Frozen Jr. Auditions September 3 at 2:30 PM Springfield JCC: 1160 Dickinson St, Our shows are open to youth grades 1-10. If you are interested in joining us for our production of Frozen Jr., please call or email Sonia Wilk at the Springfield JCC: 413-739-4715, swilk@springfieldjcc.org Facebook event Smith College Department of Theatre AUDITIONS The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time based on the novel by Mark Haddon adapted by Simon Stephens directed by Ellen W. Kaplan Christopher Boone is an autistic teen with remarkable curiosity, great courage, and an intense desire to solve a mystery. One night, Christopher discovers his neighbor’s dog, Wellington murdered with a garden rake, and Christopher is determined to find the culprit; his “detective” work leads him to even deeper mysteries, and to a thrilling journey to where he has never been before. We are putting together a team of people who have the knowledge and lived experience to enable us to stage this amazing show. We want to engage neuro-diverse people who will be involved in every aspect of the show, to be part of the conversations and ask tough questions about what it means to explore neuro-diversity on stage. Auditions: Sunday, September 8, 7:00-9:00 PM, Acting Studio 1 Monday, September 9, 7:00-9:00 PM, Acting Studio 1 Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts, Smith College Performances: October 25, 26, 31, November 1, 2 at 7:30 PM; Theatre 14, Mendenhall Center, Smith College. Casting Breakdown: OPEN TO ALL - NEURO-DIVERSE ACTORS WELCOMED. 8-10 Women, 1-2 Men Audition Prep: Sides will be provided from the script. No monologues or appointments necessary. Contact/Questions: Production Manager, Nikki Beck, ncbeck@smith.edu or 585-3222 Scripts: Perusal scripts available in Josten Library, Mendenhall Center, Smith College All actors are encouraged to audition. We are looking for a truly diverse group of students, community members, and everyone excited to perform this award-winning play. www.smith.edu/theatre | www.facebook.com/smithcollegetheatre Hampshire College Theatre Program Manager SEARCH: #779 DATE POSTED: 07/30/2019 TYPE/DEPARTMENT: Administrator in Interdisciplinary Arts SEARCH STATUS: Searching for Candidates - Accepting Applications APPLY NOW: Would you like to apply for this position? Hampshire College, an independent, innovative liberal arts institution and member of the Five College consortium, is accepting applications for a theatre program manager. The Theatre Program celebrates the voices of students who are POC, queer, from diverse genders, economic backgrounds, and abilities - and all young theatre makers whose work challenges cultural norms, engages with social change, crosses boundaries of form, and reaches for excellence in craft. The Hampshire theatre program manager (TPM) is a unique combination of technical director and production manager. The TPM is responsible for supervising and mentoring students, use of theatre spaces, and managing and advising the production portion of the theatre program. The TPM advises, instructs, and mentors students in theatre management and technical theatre practices; supervises and manages budgets; maintains equipment; and implements the program’s production policies. The TPM monitors the safe use of theatre facilities and equipment. This position hires and supervises work study students, and oversees the costume shop supervisor. A bachelor’s degree with five years of  related experience is required. Successful candidate must have in-depth knowledge of theatrical production and management procedures, and safe theatrical building practices. Applicants must possess an active commitment to mentoring undergraduate students while maintaining a positive and supportive educational environment. Particular emphasis is placed on working within a small, intensely collaborative program of faculty and students with a strong emphasis on student work. Occasionally the TMP will support faculty course related showcases, and guest artists presentations. Candidate must be able to lift up to 25 lbs. Work schedule may include evenings and weekends. A commitment to working with people from diverse backgrounds is essential. This is a full time, benefited position. We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits. Please submit your cover letter, resume and names/phone numbers of three professional references, and a link to a digital portfolio via our website at http://jobs.hampshire.edu/ www.hampshire.edu Hampshire College is an equal opportunity institution, committed to diversity and inclusion in education and employment. Hampshire College Technical Director for Music and Dance SEARCH: #784 DATE POSTED: 08/01/2019 TYPE/DEPARTMENT: Administrator in Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies SEARCH STATUS: Searching for Candidates - Accepting Applications APPLY NOW: Would you like to apply for this position? Hampshire College, an independent, innovative, liberal arts institution and member of the Five College consortium, is accepting applications for a technical director for music and dance. The technical director for music and dance (TD) provides technical and production support for Hampshire’s Music and Dance programs. Duties include maintaining and operating sound and lighting equipment in both the music and dance performance spaces; overseeing rehearsal and performance schedules as well as each program’s budgets, purchasing needs, and publicity; and collaborating with the Five College Dance Production Office and allied offices.  In addition to supervising work-study students in both programs, the technical director will oversee music and dance performances as well as technical and dress rehearsals including student productions; train student crews and stage managers; supervise video and/or audio documentation for events; maintain the regular operation of the building, facilities, equipment, and musical instruments; and provide technical support as needed for music and dance faculty. The TD will serve as liaison for special projects such as building renovation and maintenance, and will monitor the safe use of the Music and Dance facilities and equipment.  The TD will also advise, instruct, and mentor college age students in the field of sound/recording theory and practices. A bachelor’s degree (preferably in one or more of the performing arts) and three years of job-related experience is required. A qualified candidate must possess excellent organizational and relevant computer skills, initiative, flexibility, and willingness to learn. Also required is in-depth knowledge, training, and work experience of audio and lighting equipment, operations and procedures, including audio engineering, technical theater, theatrical lighting and recording technologies, as well as production management. The TD must have expertise in sound engineering;  an ability to offer instruction on recording and sound theory; and be able to effectively mentor students to carry out comprehensive projects. The TD must stay continually engaged with research and practice in all aspects of this field. Qualified candidates must be able to to troubleshoot, repair, and maintain lighting, sound systems, projection equipment and other production-related equipment; organize and communicate complex production details; direct and manage workers of various capacities and skill levels; possess professional ability as an audio engineer for live performance mixing and to operate theatrical equipment; and make necessary judgments to capture professional quality result. The TD candidate should be well versed in workplace and theatrical equipment safety. Candidate must be able to lift a minimum of 25 lbs. A commitment to working with people from diverse backgrounds is essential. This is a full time benefited position with a work schedule that is primarily during the afternoons, evenings, and occasional weekends. We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits program. Please submit your cover letter, resume and names/phone numbers of three professional references via our website at https://jobs.hampshire.edu/ Hampshire College is an equal opportunity institution, committed to diversity and inclusion in education and employment. SCARLET SOCK FOUNDATION BEGINS GRANT CYCLE Non-profit seeks to promote social-justice theater with $500 and $1,000 grants to qualifying theater companies and individuals The Scarlet Sock Foundation is currently accepting grant applications. Theater companies and individuals with a social-justice focus are encouraged to apply online at scarletsock.org. Social-justice theater is a tool for promoting awareness of socially relevant topics. It’s a platform for the expression of individual differences and a catalyst for discussion for community members who fee marginalized and/or stigmatized. Companies whose work will include this focus will be considered for grants in the amount of either $500 or $1,000. Children and/or young adults (ages 5-18) who are interested in attending theater arts camps, workshops, conferences, or other theater-related programs but are not able to attend because of financial need are encouraged to apply for individual grants. Theater companies who receive Scarlet Sock Foundation grants will be invited to share their projects at the foundation’s annual gala in 2020. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES Starlight’s Youth Theatre Fall 2019 Acting Classes Begin September 7 Maple Ridge Community Center Classes for All Ages!!! Here are a couple highlights!! Actor’s ToolBox – Grades 2-3: 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  “The Little Engine That Could.” Saturdays- 9:00-9:50 AM   Beginning Sept 7- till show Nov. 9 Directed by Cyn Strycharz Lights Up Grades – Grades 4-5: With a focus on the performance they will learn about timing, pace and finding moments within the play as they use these new skills to create their original adaption of  “Polar Express.” Saturdays-10:00-11:00 AM Beginning Sept. 7- till show Nov. 9 Directed by Cyn Strycharz More information.   Theater Improvisation Classes for Children and Teens Wednesdays for Middle Schoolers-3:00-5:00 Thursdays for Elementary ages-3:30-5:00 Starting the Week of September 11th at the Florence Civic Center(next to the Lilly Library) For more information: contact Heidi Haas at 413-584-5562 or Heidi_Haas@comcast.net We learn theater games like Stirring the Beans, Late for Work and What are you Doing? Plus many more. Kids will have opportunities to create original characters and develop skits with their scene partners. Improv is great for building social skills and self-confidence.  Real Live Theatre presents Foundational Acting Techniques Workshop October 7, 14, 21, 28 at 6:30 PM Real Live Theatre This four-week workshop series taught by RLT members Toby Vera Bercovici & Jeannine Haas will explore the use of the body, voice, emotion, and intellect to create theatrical moments. It is designed both for actors and non-actors, and will encourage creative agency, risk-taking, choice-making, and a new perspective on oneself, both alone and in relationship to others. It will utilize techniques from improvisation and clown, as well as from practitioners Konstantin Stanislavski, Anne Bogart, Michael Chekhov, and others. This workshop series is most powerful when all four parts are taken, but each part can be taken individually - sign up for one, two, three, or all four dates!  Mondays in October, 6:30pm-9:30pm. Cost is $400 for whole series, or $100 per class. Payment plans & scholarships available. Email reallivetheatre@gmail.com for more info and to register. More information. Submit your workshop or class or audition or performance or job or any other theatre opportunity here! Pioneer Valley Theatre Companies Is your theatre company missing? Email me! Academy of Music Theatre Arena Civic Theatre Black Cat Theater Chester Theatre Company CitySpace Cold Spring Community Theatre Drama Studio Double Edge Theatre Eggtooth Productions Exit 7 Players Franklin County Youth Theater Ghost Light Theater Greenfield Community College's Theater Department Hampshire Shakespeare Company Happier Valley Comedy Ja'Duke Center for the Performing Arts K and E Theater Group Ko Theater Works/Ko Festival of Performance Majestic Theater New Century Theatre No Theater Northampton Playwrights Lab PaintBox Theatre Panopera Pauline Productions Real Live Theatre Red Thread Theater Royal Frog Ballet Serious Play Theatre Ensemble Shakespeare Stage Silverthorne Theater Smith College Department of Theatre St. Michael's Players Starlight's Youth Theatre, Inc. Strident Theatre TheatreTruck Turbulent Times Theater UMass Theatre Guild Valley Light Opera 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 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|*