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July 30 - August 19, 2020
The newsletter is starting to look a little more normal - still mostly virtual performances, but local theatres are starting to present - take a look and support them! If you are craving an in-person performance - check out the show Eggtooth is presenting this weekend listed below. And this Friday, K and E Theater Group is hosting a conversation about the local theatre community's response to COVID-19.
The next issue will include events through August 26. 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
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YOUR EVENT HERE
$5 per week for your poster and ticket link in top billing!
Email me to reserve your dates.
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THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS:
from Howlround
We Commit to Anti-Racist Stage Management Education
by Narda E Alcorn and Lisa Porter
From the article:
From tragedy to uproar, America is being held to account. There is much work to do during this pause. We are two educators and stage managers who lead the MFA programs at Yale School of Drama and the University of California, San Diego. We identify as women—one Black, and one White—who share an intentional commitment to practicing and teaching anti-racist stage management. We are engaged in inquiry and self-assessment, as well as conversation about how the production of live performance will be transformed and how we can prepare stage managers to lead an authentically equitable theatrical process.
Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com
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PERFORMANCES and COVID-19 RESOURCES
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Eggtooth and Jack Golden Productions are proud to present Under the Stars, a Covid-friendly outdoor performance for two shows a night (at 8 pm and 9 pm) on July 30, 31 and August 1 and on August 13, 14, 15 to take place at top floor of the Greenfield Parking Garage. With one of the most beautiful views in the Valley eight cars per performance will be welcomed to enjoy an original performance by the movement artist, Jack Golden commissioned by Eggtooth Productions. Tickets are available here.
Under the Stars is a tale of three journeys. It captures the struggles and possibilities of our unusual times through a triptych of unlikely stories: epic, improvisational, and comic. Created by Jack Golden and produced by Eggtooth Productions, this performance is set, as the title suggests, in the fresh evening air, reminiscent of drive in theaters of days gone by, except the show is live. Audience members remain in their cars, provide stage lighting with their headlights, and watch this 25 minute one man show from behind the safety of their windshields.
Jack Golden starts with “Just in Case”, the story of an archetypal journey told by a lost traveler and inspired by the prologue from Dante’s Inferno.
From there he drops his script and opens his mind to whatever comes to him in the moment. This improvisation is impossible to describe ahead of time, but it’s sure to be a delightful surprise for all, including Jack. “The Big Sweep” is the final piece, a shadow play filled with hilarious banter and acted out by a troupe of cleaning closet characters.
Where else can you get Shakespearean drama, celestial guidance, and bathroom humor kicking it together on the same stage?
Jack states that his is a “performance that respects all “social distancing” standards while allowing for an intimate theatrical experience in a time when online-virtual artistic expression carries the day. I welcome participants to Under the Stars! This performance takes place in a parking garage on the top floor where the audience drives in their cars and watches the show from inside their vehicles.
The piece utilizes shadow play, improvisation and text, and presents three separate journeys that reflect the uncertainty of our times in an upbeat and uplifting way. Heart leads to humor and returns to the heart.”
Jack Golden began his career as an actor-mime-juggler-movement artist, improvisor and clown in 1983. He has been the featured clown with the Pickle Family Circus of San Francisco and a founding member of The Wright Brothers, a new vaudeville touring company that was voted “Best of Fest” at the 1987 International Clown and Mime Festival.
In 1989 he embarked on a solo career that has led him to create and perform several nationally touring shows for schools and family audiences including the award winning Garbage Is My Bag. He studied physical theater and improvisation extensively with the world-renowned director and performer, Tony Montanaro. Additionally he trained with the San Francisco School of Dramatic Arts. He has taught physical theater and improvisation at Savannah College of Arts and Design, New England Center for Circus Arts, the University of Massachusetts and Boston University.
More recently, he created the one person performance “You Don’t Know Jack”, which debuted at the Shea Theater and Art Center and went on to Baltimore’s Charm City Fringe Festival. In addition he played Atigonus in John Bechtold’s “A Winters Tale”, Night Custodian in “Deus ex Machina” as well as roles in Gem of the Valley and Sam’s Place.
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K and E Theater Group Local Spotlight Series Episode 20 - The COVID Response from Our Local Theater Companies
July 31 at 7:00 PM
As our community's stages went silent these past few months to the pandemic, we shine the spotlight on our local theater companies in this episode. Collectively, we discuss our thoughts about reopening and what performers, technical crew, creatives, volunteers, and audiences may come to expect during auditions, rehearsals, and future performances to keep everyone safe when we're able to welcome everyone back.
K and E Theater Group's Local Spotlight Series welcomes the artistic directors, presidents and representatives from Exit 7 Players Theater, Ghost Light Theater, Greene Room Productions, Opera House Players, Rise Up Productions, Strident Theatre, Silverthorne Theater Company, The Suffield Players, Theatre Guild of Hampden, Unity House Players, Westfield Theatre Group, and Wilbraham United Players! This episode is moderated by KETG Artistic Director Eddie Zitka.
Check out the LOCAL SPOTLIGHT SERIES on Tuesdays and Fridays at 7:00 PM all summer long, hosted by KETG Artistic Director Eddie Zitka, on our Facebook page, YouTube channel, or on IGTV. See KETG.org for more information.
See you in the spotlight!
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube Channel
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MAJESTIC THEATER OFFERING ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT; INTERVIEW SHOWS AND CHILDREN'S THEATER PRODUCTIONS
West Springfield's Majestic Theater, which closed to the public in March due to COVID-19, is offering weekly online programs that feature popular Majestic entertainers being interviewed, as well as videos of favorite plays from previous seasons of the Majestic Children's Theater program, and an online talkback session about those plays.
Stephen Petit, director of the Majestic Children's Theater program, hosts “Majestic Children's Theater Online.” Each Wednesday, a video of a past performance is uploaded to majestictheater.com, and the following Sunday, Petit and cast members from that play host a live talkback and Q & A session with viewers online. Here is a listing of upcoming shows:
- Sunday, August 2 – “Through the Looking Glass...and What Alice Found There”
- Sunday, August 9 – “Aesop's (Oh So Slightly Updated) Fables”
All “Behind the Curtain” and “Majestic Children's Theater Online” episodes are archived and available for viewing anytime at majestictheater.com. There is no cost to view these shows, but donations are encouraged.
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On August 2nd at 1pm, The Ohketeau Cultural Council and Double Edge Theatre will present a talk and workshop on the history and presence of the Nipmuc and other Tribes in Ashfield and the surrounding areas. The conversation will be moderated by Rhonda Anderson and will feature Larry Spotted Crow Mann and Lisa Brooks.
This event will be live streaming via HowlRound and will be announced soon on the website here. It will also be recorded and accessible through both the Ohketeau and Double Edge website after the event.
The events of the day will include:
- An introduction of the event by Stacy Klein, Founder and Artistic Director of Double Edge Theatre
- A conversation moderated by Rhonda Anderson with Larry Spotted Crow Mann and Lisa Brooks, followed by a discussion
- A presentation by Larry Spotted Crow Mann: Keeping Traditions Alive in a COVID-19 World. The presentation by Mann will be centered around how Ohketeau will be a place, and a space, of cultural preservation. Nipmuc culture and tradition is all about relationship, communication and a Oneness of the universe. In this challenging time of separation, the Ohketeau Cultural Center looks to meet that challenge with dynamic and new ways to keep our community together.
Double Edge is proud to welcome Ohketeau, a space for Indigenous Cultural Practice, to our town and to our space.
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On August 15th, 2020, Real Live Theatre presents a live “Zoom-staged” reading of our original feminist epic The Life & Death of Queen Margaret.
A patchwork of text written mostly by William Shakespeare, as deconstructed and augmented by Toby Vera Bercovici and Dan Morbyrne.
Directed by Toby Vera Bercovici
With Choreography by Annelise Nielsen
Stage Management by Ezekiel Baskin
Sound Design by Catherine McCurry
Featuring an original song by Cynthia Zaitz, Ph.D
Featuring a reunion of our 2017 cast: Myka Plunkett, Linda Tardif, Kate Hare, Annelise Nielsen, Ellen Morbyrne, Emily Tanch, Jeannine Haas (AEA), and Lisa Abend (AEA).
Saturday, August 15th, 7pm.
Mature content.
www.RealLiveTheatre.net for all the info.
Email reallivetheatre@gmail.com with any questions.
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SILVERTHORNE THEATER ANNOUNCES
2020 THEATER THURSDAY PLAY READING SERIES
Following up on its highly successful Theater Thursday play reading series last year, Silverthorne Theater Company will take advantage of the use of online streaming to bring three new plays to the Valley and beyond this summer through the 2020 Theater Thursday Play Reading Series. All three plays in this year’s series will be streamed free to Silverthorne’s Facebook page and will feature live discussions with the playwrights following the readings. The series is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council through the generous support of the Greenfield, Hadley and Buckland Cultural Councils.
The final 2020 Theater Thursday play, which streams on Thursday, August 20, is written by Northampton playwright, James McLindon – Distant Music. Penney Hulten directs this complex piece set in January 2000. On a snowy night in an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Connor, Maeve and Dev meet, each agonizing over an irrevocably life-changing decision. The three fight over religion and beer, whether truth exists at all, the differences between the Irish and Irish-Americans, the many failings (according to Dev) of the latter, and, finally, the capacity of stout to explain, metaphorically and metaphysically, most of life. The play, winner of numerous awards, has been produced across the country and is published by Dramatic Publishing. The playwright will join in for a live post-show talk about the play.
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K and E Theater Group Presents Local Spotlight Series this Summer!
K and E Theater Group is excited to present its LOCAL SPOTLIGHT SERIES on Facebook, IGTV and YouTube celebrating Pioneer Valley’s theater artists. KETG Artistic Director Eddie Zitka hosts the summer series streaming online every Tuesday and Friday starting on May 26th and through the rest of the summer!
Stay tuned and check out our lineup by liking us on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribing to our YouTube channel! See you in the spotlight!
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From the New England New Play Alliance:
Virtual Performances & Theatre Discussions
directed by Lily Wolff
July 31
Presented as part of the New American Voices Playwriting Festival. Intense, bi-racial college senior Kym thinks she’s lucked into the perfect resume-builder: a research assistantship helping feminist scholar Beverly Norden finish her ground-breaking book on Shakespeare’s Queen Margaret before Alzheimer’s makes the task impossible. As Kym learns that more than Beverly’s failing memory stands in the way of both the book and the carefully-planned trajectory of her own future career, she has to use her own understanding of the Margaret story to find a new path forward. Tickets: free ($10 suggested donation).
The Forge Theatre Lab presents
LifeBlood
an online reading
by Erik Nikander
directed by Jack Crory
August 5-12
A miracle medical device has the country abuzz about an exciting female entrepreneur. But when a young journalist begins to dig deeper, she finds out the shocking truth about the company and its founder. A drama inspired by the true events of the Theranos scandal. Link information here.
Apollinaire Theatre Company presents
Chelsea People
August 1, 8
Apollinaire Theatre has taken on the challenge of creating an original operetta every week. These devised works will be based on the lives of local Chelsea residents who have been nominated by Chelsea's leading community organizations. First-hand interviews with these intriguing individuals on Sundays will provide the basis for creating a multidisciplinary Zoom-play about their life and work, presented the following Saturday night. Tickets: free, registration required.
moderated by Crystin Gilmore
now-August 20
“Celebrating the Black Narrative” is the theme for the third installment of SpeakEasy’s Play Discussion Group, a series of free virtual events which returns on Thursday, July 30. Actress Crystin Gilmore will moderate the conversations, which focus each week on various plays by contemporary Black female playwrights.
WEEK TWO: Nollywood Dreams
by Jocelyn Bioh
July 30 5:30 pm
Sign up here.
It’s the nineties and in Lagos, Nigeria, the “Nollywood” film industry is exploding. Ayamma dreams of leaving her job at her parents’ travel agency and becoming a star. When she auditions for a new film by Nigeria’s hottest director, tension flares with his former leading lady—as sparks fly with Nollywood’s biggest heartthrob.
Purchase Nollywood Dreams here.
The Wilbury Theatre Group and WaterFire Providence present
FRINGEPVD
now-August 1
The 2020 Festival will feature performances streamed through the Wilbury Group and FRINGEPVD social media channels: thirty-nine performances, as well as the first-ever digital Family Fringe Day, hosted by the Providence Community Library, which will feature games, stories, and crafts. Audiences may view the performances for free as they happen live, or purchase a 2020 Fringe Access Pass for $20 to view performances at their convenience on the FRINGEPVD website. Stream or buy a pass.
Tales from Camp Strangewood is an anthology, with every episode helmed by a new playwright, director, and team of actors. These chilling tales follow the eclectic inhabitants of Camp Strangewood as they encounter circumstances on the very edge of reality on the same particularly strange night. Over the course of six Sundays, audiences will follow campers and counselors coping with fear and isolation while the rules of the world they once knew fall apart around them.
August 2
The Legend of Ghost Girl
by Hayley Spivey
directed by Andrew Child
music by Alissa Voth
A cabin of musical campers goes in search of Ghost Girl and her legendary song. Will they make it out of the woods alive? And more importantly, will they have the chops to win the camp talent show? Stream here.
August 5
Double Trouble (the minisode)
by Alexis Scheer
directed by M Sloth Levine
Follow us @CampStrangewood on Instagram Live to catch an emergency broadcast from camper Frankie, as they realize their Parent Trap fantasy isn't quite what they expected.
Boston Podcast Players presents
Nightfall
by Livian Yeh
We are now in a post Crazy Rich Asians world, people. On this episode we have not one but two but THREE Asian-American playwrights living in Boston between the host, featured playwright Livian Yeh, and co-host Christina Chan.
We talk about Nightfall (Yeh’s examination of Maoist China), acupuncture, the architect Maya Lin, superheroes and/or romance novels, translating plays into Chinese, and the Asian-American Playwright Collective, which was co-founded by the three of us (and others). Stream the podcast.
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