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October 29 - November 18, 2020
Spooky season is here - check out Coven-19 through the Fine Arts Center, K and E's Whispers from the Wings, or She Kills Monsters from the Drama Studio. More details about each of those in the newsletter below.
Hey - something even more important this week - make sure you go vote. If you haven't already sent in or dropped off your mail-in ballot, make a plan to vote in person. Look up your polling place, make a plan for when and how you will get there. Elections are Tuesday, November 3. Please make sure your voice is part of this election.
The next issue will include events through November 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
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presented by The Drama Studio
October 30 and 31 at 7:30 PM, November 1 at 6:30 PM
More information.
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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
Towards a Fat Theatre
by Jeff Bouthiette
From the article:
As artists and as human beings, we are called to work towards equity and diversity for people living in marginalized bodies, both onstage and backstage. Over the last months, we’ve seen an intensification of the calls to end systemic injustice in our theatrical institutions. The pandemic has provided an opportunity to reevaluate and rethink everything about the way we create theatre in America.
This work has to include fat people.
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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Join our theater witches
in COVEN-19 |
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Presented Oct. 29 & 31 at 7:30, Oct. 30 at Midnight
Free.
Visit the Fine Arts Center Box Office to register.
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When hard times hit, find your people and build a community to create joyful, resilient, magical art to share with the world.
That's what COVEN-19, Or, Magicks for Unprecedented Times aims to do, and its company of theater witches hopes community members join them in creating warmth and light in dark times. Led by dramaturgy MFA students Maegan Clearwood and Percival Hornak, and undergrad Helen Rahman, an online coven of 13 performers and creators are fusing witchcraft traditions, feminism, and theater into an online, immersive format.
"For me personally, magic is a source of healing and introspection," Clearwood says, and she wants to use it "to be with other like-minded people and figure out how to make the world a better place."
In keeping with that ethos, this will be a devised piece, meaning that rather than working from a script, the company builds the work by exploring questions and themes together. "It's a really nice opportunity just for us to experiment with ways of making theatre that are egalitarian and collaborative," says Hornak.
The finished piece will develop over the course of rehearsals, culminating in an interactive experience for the audience. After gathering to begin the performance, audience members will be led into separate break-out rooms via Zoom, where they'll find company members who will invite the audience to make magick with then, with experiences curated for the specific people present in the room with te performers.
While Clearwood reads tarot and has used her practice to help her puzzle out the answers to knotty problems on theater productions in the past, others in the coven/company are newer to witchcraft and theater and discovering how they interpret that connection. The coven is exploring a variety of types of magick, like sigil drawing, candle magic, kitchen witchcraft, and divination tools like tarot cards or rune stones.
Rahman expects skeptics in the audience, and welcomes people of all different belief systems. One of the things she's hoping to come out of this production is an opportunity to see where different religions and rituals intersect and to find commonality of belief. Developing confidence in one's own intuitions, for example, is an important life skill regardless of belief status, she points out.
COVEN-19 will perform around Samhain — the ancient holiday that predates and in some ways influenced our concept of Halloween — when the veil between our world and the other is at its thinnest. The time is ripe for magick-making: join us!
Presented live online Oct. 29 and 31 at 7:30 pm and Oct. 30 at Midnight.
This event is free. Visit the Fine Arts Center Box Office to claim your spot in the virtual audience now. |
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Kand E Theater Group
"Whispers From the Wings" Spooky Storytelling Series
K and E Theater Group's Facebook page, IGTV and YouTube Channel
Friday 10/30 at 8:00 PM
After a successful, all-virtual Local Spotlight Series featuring over fifty theater personalities this summer and an ongoing virtual class series School’s In Session, K and E Theater Group is excited to produce online programming with an October-long presentation of Whispers from the Wings, a series of short terrifying stories presented by fifteen local storytellers.
These horrifying tales premiere every Friday night this October to set the mood and get our audiences psyched for Halloween. K and E Theater Group will present five original short stories that have been written and performed by fifteen local storytellers. Every storyteller will perform their written part of an original scary story without knowing what the preceding or next storyteller wrote or performed.
The local storytellers that are featured in this series include Ryan Bird, Emily Bloch, Stephanie Carlson, Cate Damon, Joe Dulude II, Lindel Hart, Peter Kennedy, Josh Mason, Howard Odentz, Lisa Parker, Josh Prouser, Konrad Rogowski, Kevin Tracy, Seana Walsh, and Christine Zdebski.
Our scary stories can be found on the K and E Theater Group Facebook page, IGTV or their YouTube channel at 8:00 PM every Friday in October.
Our production is in part supported by Easthampton City Arts through the Easthampton Artist Grants Initiative. K and E Theater Group welcomes and appreciates any donations throughout the series and future programming that will help us fund our 2021 season, By Invitation Only. To learn how to help, please visit www.KETG.org.
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kandetheatergroup
IGTV https://www.instagram.com/kandetheatergroup/channel/
YouTube www.youtube.com/channel/UCjboOVgFra2Ef1DL0X6PXPA
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The FEAR Project
Written and Directed by Jessica Litwak
Based on interviews conducted by the actors: Amir Levi, Fiona Rene, Mariana ČÞková, Evangelos Lalos, Joan Lipkin, Zach Rothman-Hicks, Fiona Rene, Amir Levi, Elishka Soukupova and Jessica Litwak.
www.theheatcollective.org/thefearproject
The FEAR Project is a theatrical action based on interviews about fear. The experience includes pre-show interviews, the viewing of a play, and a post- show discussion with the artists about the 14 FEAR questions. The FEAR Project aspires to create an atmosphere of restoration by giving people a chance to communicate about fear in a safe and creative space. It has been produced in The Czech Republic, India, and the U.S. This time it is being performed virtually and internationally.
THREE CHANCES TO SEE AND EXPERIENCE THE FEAR PROJECT:
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OCTOBER 30th, 2020 California 07:00 PM Pacific Time (10:00 NY Time)
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The Drama Studio
She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms
10/30 at 7:30 pm, 10/31 @ 7:30pm, 11/1 @6:30pm
She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms tells the story of Agnes Evans following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, she stumbles into a virtual journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was Tilly’s refuge. In this new adaptation of his critically acclaimed, high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies and nasty ogres, writer Qui Nguyen embraces the idea of digital storytelling to further blur the lines between ghosts and memories, fantasy and reality, and chaos and stability.
Directed by Dan Morbyrne
Designed by Austin Yelinek
More information
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The Fever by Wallace Shawn
October 31-November 1, 2020 at 33 Hawley
Performed by Peter B. Schmitz & Directed by John Hellweg.
10/31 & 11/1, 2pm sharp—no late seating will be permitted.
This is an in-person, limited capacity, socially distant performance. Attendees are required to wear masks, though the performer will not be masked. Seating will be 6 feet apart and attendance will be capped at 15 people. Show run-time is 1 hour, 45 minutes, no intermission.
RSVP is required to attend! Please email meredithbove@apearts.org to reserve your spot no later than Wednesday, 10/28, while space remains.
$10-15 suggested donation. Payable online via PayPal in advance (preferred) or at the door.
The Fever was awarded an Obie for Best New American Play in 1991.
From The New York Times: “Mr. Shawn exposes the contradictions and compromises of the urban liberal mind with a mercilessness that is sly and at times hilarious.”
We hope you can attend this sharing of Schmitz's and Hellweg's most recent investigation of The Fever.
Photo by Joey T. Schmitz.
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From the New England New Play Alliance:
Virtual Theatre and Podcasts
Firehouse Center for the Arts presents
Fright Night Festival
October 28
The First Annual Firehouse Fright Night Festival will boast virtual performances of six new shorts by New England playwrights, staged and presented to you in the comfort of your homes and sure to leave you chilled—and not just because of the weather. The evening's program includes:
Delicious
by James Wilkinson
directed by Sally Nutt
The Resurrectionists
by Robert J. LeBlanc
directed by Jim Manclark
Camp Lumberjack
by Deirdre Girard
directed by Abby Seabrook
Circus Train Wreck
by Andrea Fleck Cardy
directed by Tim Diering
Whispering to the Dead
by Deirdre Girard
directed by Steve Faria
Meeting Kyle
by Lawrence Kessenich
directed by John Budzyna
Tickets: $5
Abingdon Theatre Company presents
a virtual reading of
A Picture of Two Boys
by Nick Malakhow
directed by Justin Lucero
October 30 and after
Markey and Pete are unlikely friends, the studious Markey with dreams of college and a life beyond the Pennsylvania countryside, and the volatile Pete with drunkenly crafted fantasies about being the next Kurt Cobain. Brought together by their shared feelings of alienation in their mostly white and more than vaguely racist little town, the boys’ relationship fractures when Markey announces that he’s hoping to graduate early and get out of the styx ASAP. We see these two boys first at that critical juncture, and then almost ten years later after they are reunited in the wake of a startling event that dredges up a connected trauma from their past. Streaming here.
Fresh Ink Theatre Company presents
Scriptpocalypse
by Marge Buckley, Francisca Da Silveira, Walt McGough, and Cecelia Raker
October 30
Fresh Ink is taking this year’s Scriptpocalypse digital. All month long, members of the Fresh Ink community have been bidding on auction items like character backstories, plot twists and more. Their selections will be mixed into a spooky potion—i.e., a new short play—that will be performed digitally on one night only. Tune in to support new-play development at Fresh Ink, and to see what what sort of Franken-script these whacky ingredients produces. Reserve tickets here.
Stockbridge Theatre presents
Rhapsody in Black
by Leland Gantt
October 30
Rhapsody in Black is a one man show that explores LeLand’s personal journey to understand and eventually transcend racism in America. Tickets: free, $10 suggested donation.
New World Theatre presents
8:46 - A Time to Listen
Online readings of monologues
November 1
If we are ever going to fully dismantle the institutions of systemic racism, we need to stop... and listen to those who continue to suffer simply because they are black. We can no longer afford to ignore what is happening to our fellow human beings, which is why we are creating a collection of monologues that will give voice to those who can no longer remain silent. We have been overwhelmed by the strong voices and stories we have received, and while we are accepting submissions until the end of the year, we wanted to take this moment to share some of the incredible works we have received so far. The link to stream will be live the day of streaming here.
Huntington Theatre Company presents
Dream Boston
now-October 28
Dream Boston is a series of short audio plays that asks local playwrights to imagine favorite locations, landmarks, and their friends in a future Boston, when we can once again meet and connect in our city. New performances are released each Wednesday.
The Moment Before the Lights Went Out on the Rothkos
by John Kuntz
directed by Rebecca Bradshaw
Museum visitors encounter two Rothko paintings and discover the mystery of each other at the Harvard Art Museums. Streaming from October 28.
To watch previous episodes, click here.
Boston Podcast Players pres ents
Octavia and Kleopatra
by Mara Elissa Palma
Mara Elissa Palma's Octavia and Kleopatra imagines what would have happened if these two legendary women had clashed. Stream the podcast.
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SHELBURNE FALLS PITI THEATRE AND THE ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM PRESENT HINDSIGHT IS PODCAST SERIES
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and Piti Theatre Company are pleased to announce Hindsight is a three-episode podcast series created on the occasion of the exhibition Twenty Twenty, a group show of drawings in which seven artists respond to the lived experience of this historic year, on view October 12, 2020, to March 14, 2021. Podcast episodes will be released weekly on October 19, October 26, and November 2 and will be available to stream for free on the Museum’s website, www.aldrichart.org.
The podcast, created in the radio play genre, will focus on vignette scenes with a range of local and regional historical figures in Connecticut. Actors from Piti Theatre Company will portray these historical figures dramatizing social and political issues intensified this year such as
voting rights, racism, and fascism through their unique perspectives as citizens from the past.
In the October 19 episode, suffragist Alice Paul and Woodrow Wilson will debate women’s right to vote and whether the Equal Rights Amendment should have been passed with the clarity afforded by looking back from the year 2020. In the episode released on October 26, William Webb, an African-American Civil War soldier from Connecticut, will have a conversation with Ridgefield’s William Webb, who started the Ridgefield Chapter of the NAACP and later became the Connecticut president of the organization, discussing questions about civil rights, racism, and the voice of African-Americans from two distinct worldviews and historical moments. The November 2 episode will recreate Ridgefield High School’s 1934 mock trial of Adolf Hitler, which echoed a similar event organized at Madison Square Garden by the World Jewish Congress, offering a snapshot of teenage and educational life in Ridgefield in the 1930s, lending itself to questions about how we respond to emerging fascism and our responsibility today.
The Hindsight is podcast episodes will be accompanied by two virtual public programs, a talk on October 22 with writer Tina Cassidy and Jonathan Mirin of Piti Theatre Company which will delve into the themes and history behind the first episode featuring Alice Paul and Woodrow Wilson, and an anti-racism workshop which will take place on October 29 with Kristen Ivey-Colson and Lynn Turner of The AntiRacist Table, sharing core principles they have developed to fight racism working on themes from the second episode featuring the Webbs. To register for these events, visit www.aldrichart.org/events.
The Hindsight is podcast series is produced by Piti Theatre Company. Their mission is to create original performances and community-building events that accelerate local transformation towards joy, sustainability, and justice. Additionally, the Piti Theatre Company will work with the Aldrich Teen Fellows, the Museum’s teen engagement program, and collaborate with Aldrich educators on developing digital resources for youth and family engagement with the topics presented in this podcast series.
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Visionary Futures: Science Fiction Theater for Social Justice Movements
Performances (live on Zoom):
Play 1, by Phaedra Scott, on Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Play 2, by Jaymes Sanchez, on Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Play 3, by M. Sloth Levine, on Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Free
Visit the Fine Arts Center Box Office to register.
Building a better world: UMass Theater presents Visionary Futures
What kind of future are you hoping to see? Coming to UMass Theater in November, Visionary Futures: Science Fiction Theater for Social Justice Movements invites you to join us in envisioning the intersection of science fiction and activism. Creator Josh Glenn-Kayden, a third-year MFA directing candidate, encourages his audience's predictions of the future with this new form of collaboration.
Inspired by “Octavia’s Brood,” a short story anthology named for writer Octavia Butler that explores the connection between radical speculative fiction and movements for social change, this project sits at the intersection of theater and activism. Three professional playwrights — Phaedra Scott (Good Hair), M. Sloth Levine (whose Interrobangers was a popular Play Lab entry last spring), and Jaymes Sanchez (The Cucuy Will Find You), — have been commissioned to write a 30-minute play and will each be paired with activists (TreaAndrea Russworm, Finn Lefevre, and a third to be announced) whose work intersects with the content of the play. These teams will meet regularly throughout the writing process to create plays that speculate on how societies may reimagine concepts like gender, justice, and identity in the future.
“I think there's something inherently hopeful about Visionary Futures,” says Tatiana Godfrey, dramaturg for the project. “Both the activist and the playwright are asking the same question, 'What does a more just world look like?'”
Glenn-Kayden and Godfrey are also asking these questions, building a new, inclusive process of play creation. This integrative experience allows the activists to be involved in the writing process and trajectory of the play, rather than being brought in to consult afterward.
“We're creating a new model of collaboration that includes more voices in the generative process and are excited to develop plays that are imaginative and forward thinking while still having roots in the activism work of our present moment,” says Glenn-Kayden.
Each performance in November will consist of a virtual reading of an in-process draft of the play, along with a post-show discussion where the playwright and activist will talk about their collaborative process. Full digital productions of each play are planned for the spring.
Visionary Futures: Science Fiction Theater for Social Justice Movements will be performed over Zoom. Join us as we embark on this imaginative journey into envisioning a new world.
This event is free. Visit the Fine Arts Center Box Office to claim your spot in the virtual audience now.
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Silverthorne Theater Company
The Tattooed Man Tells All
November 13 at 7:30, and November 14, 2020 @ 7:30 p.m.
Silverthorne Theater is honored to once again bring to audiences an important piece of dramatic writing, The Tattooed Man Tells All - a vital voice in the telling of the stories of the Holocaust. Peter Wortsman's gripping solo piece, was woven from a series of interviews conducted, on a fellowship from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, in Vienna in 1975 with witnesses to and survivors of the Holocaust, the scene of Western Civilization's worst excesses. By condensing these accounts into that of a survivor who is committed to a no-holds-barred retelling, Wortsman gives us a fully fleshed out dramatic character, the Old Man, warts and all, for the audience to come to know.
Silverthorne's filmed version of the play will be broadcast online on November 13-14, 2020 at 7:30 pm.
Tickets are available at https://stc.booktix.com/.
This production is a fundraiser for Silverthorne Theater Company. There will be a free live Zoom discussion with the playwright immediately following the viewing on Friday, November 13th. The Zoom link will be made available closer to the show.
Silverthorne’s original live world premiere performance of this play in 2018, starring Keith Langsdale, was directed by Ellen Kaplan. The play will be performed in Germany at the Deutsches Theater in Göttingen this coming December.
For questions and further information, please contact us at silverthornetheater@gmail.com, call 413-768-7514, or visit https://silverthornetheater.org/ .
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Journey down memory lane with us as we share filmed performances of all five past Naked I productions this fall, culminating with the world premiere virtual production of The Naked I: Revitalized!
TICKETS HERE
Screening Details
Register for a ticket for one or all six Naked I productions and you will have access to view the filmed performance on each weekend specified below for the entire weekend - from Friday night through Sunday! You can experience the show on your own schedule, any time you like, pausing as needed to refill the popcorn! We will also provide a link to a PDF playbill so that you can follow along and learn titles of the pieces and the artists involved.
Accessibility
Closed captions have been created by 20% Theatre are available and recommended for all to use. Additionally, our brand new production screening in mid-December, The Naked I: Revitalized, will offer ASL virtually as well.
Pay-What-You-Can
Registration for each production is pay-what-you-can, and no one will be turned away. Our plays & events have been $5-$25 Sliding Scale for many years, and we ask you to contribute what you can for yourself and any household viewers joining you.
Panel Discussions
Stay tuned for information about live panel discussions with some of the artists involved in these productions over the years - hosted by Artistic Director, Marcela Michelle.
Questions?
Email us anytime: info@tctwentypercent.org.
The Naked I
Insides Out
2014 Performance on Film
NOVEMBER 13-15, 2020
A world premiere production by 20% Theatre Company
Originally produced in February 2014 at Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis
Filmed by Ben McGinley
The 3rd in a series of Naked I plays, The Naked I: Insides Out explores queer and trans experiences through monologues, short scenes, and spoken word poems. This production features the work of nearly 100 LGBTQ artists and allies - including contributing writers, directors, performers, designers, technicians, and more!
Original 2014 production postcard artwork by Archie Bongiovanni.
The Naked I
Self-Defined
2016 Performance on Film
NOVEMBER 20-22, 2020
A world premiere production by 20% Theatre Company
Originally produced in February 2016 at Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis
Filmed by Ben McGinley
Building community both locally and nationally, The Naked I: Self-Defined aims to highlight the voices and experiences of trans/queer/otherwise non-cisgender and/or non-heterosexual people through the production of brand new, never before seen monologues, short scenes, movement pieces, spoken word poems, short film, and more - featuring the contributions of over 50 artists.
Original 2016 production postcard artwork designed by an amazing artist in the Mpls trans community who wishes to remain anonymous.
The Naked I
Recognize/d
2018 Performance on Film
DECEMBER 4-6, 2020
A world premiere production by 20% Theatre Company
Originally produced in February 2018 at Minnsky Theatre, Minneapolis
Filmed by Ben McGinley
The Naked I: Recognize/d is the 5th in a series of Naked I plays produced by 20% Theatre Company. Building community both locally and nationally, this production aims to highlight the voices and experiences of trans/queer/otherwise non-cisgender and/or non-heterosexual folks. Written, performed, and directed by LGBTQIAP+ people, this is a show for us, by us, and about us. The Naked I: Recognize/d features 20 brand new staged pieces including monologues, scenes, movement/performance pieces, music performance, and more, and includes the contributions of over 60 LGBTQIAP+ artists.
Original 2018 production postcard artwork by Joy Spika.
The Naked I
Revitalized
2020 World Premiere Production
DECEMBER 11-13, 2020
An original, virtual production by 20% Theatre Company
The Naked I: Revitalized explores queer and trans experience through brand new monologues, scenes, song, dance and movement, featuring the contributions of over a dozen local and national artists on topics including gender identity/ies, relationships, transgender/gender non-conforming experiences and all-around self-defined queerness.
This production was originally intended to be performed live back in April 2020 with many more actors and directors involved. Due to Covid-19, we postponed once, and then again, and then decided to go virtual, which meant shifting gears a bit. Some artists created and filmed their own solo work, and some were able to safely involve other artists. We took what was given to us and edited it all together to create this incredible virtual world premiere performance.
Featured writers/creators include Connie Chang, Sami Pfeffer, Forrest Mainville, Tobias K. Davis, Sea Thomas, Ayesha Adu, Hannah Stein, Rubin Hardin, Kitty Sipple, Nick Malakhow, and Johanna Keller Flores.
The Naked I: Revitalized is the 6th and final Naked I production to be produced by 20% Theatre Company.
Original production postcard artwork by Ethan O'Brien.
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