Pioneer Valley Theatre News February 29, 2024

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

Pioneer Valley Theatre Newsletter View this email in your browser February 29 - March 20, 2024 Happy Leap Year! March is a busy month - better plan your theatre going soon! Kick off the month with Theatre Between Addresses' production of To Serve the Hive or at Smith with You on the Moors Now. Next weekend you can catch The Harlot Queens in Westfield.  The next issue will include events from March 7-27. 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 Human Agenda Theater presents Gorgons March 8-10, 15-17 at Hawks and Reed in Greenfield More Information and Tickets Theatre Between Addresses presents To Serve the Hive March 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 at Pine Box Studios Tickets and More Information The Harlot Queens present The 'Does A Bawdy Good' EP Release Party March 9 at 7:30 PM in Westfield More Information.  Devereux Productions & Pauline Productions present The Cemetary Club March 15-17, 22-24 at Ashfield Congregational Church Tickets and More Information YOUR EVENT HERE $5 per week for your poster and ticket link in top billing! Email me to reserve your dates. Click to Access: Pioneer Valley Theatre Google Calendar Click to Access: Pioneer Valley Theatre Personnel Spreadsheet THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS: Towards a Sustainable Theatre Model by Scott Walters and Munroe Shearer From the article:  Scott Walters is an author, professor, and theatre historian whose new book, Building a Sustainable Theater: How to Remove Gatekeepers and Take Control of Your Artistic Career,  outlines a fresh new take on how small theatre companies can reestablish their footholds within an industry that increasingly sees them as expendable. Earlier this year, Scott sat down with HowlRound fellow Munroe Shearer to discuss the book, this history of centralized theatre, and how we can return power to artist-owned theatres that best serve local communities. Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com PERFORMANCES Smith College Department of Theatre  You on the Moors Now by Jaclyn Backhaus directed by Monica Lopez Orozco February 29, March 1, 2 at 7:30 PM  Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre  Four literary heroines of the nineteenth century set conventionalism ablaze when they turn down marriage proposals from their equally famous gentlemen callers. What results is a confluence of love, anger, grief, and bloodshed, as the ensemble struggles to reconcile romantic ideologies of the past with their modern ideas of courtship. Everything you’ve learned about love from the pages of Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and Little Women is turned upside down in this grand theatrical battle royale. $10 Adult, $5 Students/Seniors  smitharts.booktix.com Silverthorne Theater Company Tight Pants Feb 29, 2024 at 7:00 PM Holyoke Media, 1 Court Plaza, Holyoke, MA 01040 Silverthorne Theater Company presents a staged reading of playwright Betel Arnold’s Tight Pants. Directed by Pedro Eiras, the reading will take place at 7:00pm on Thursday, February 29th, 2024 at the Holyoke Media as the first event of Silverthorne’s 2024 Theater Thursdays reading series, with a talkback to follow. Starring Malory Rojas Grillo, Ami Saar, Maryliz Guzman, Nathalie Vicencio, Michael Garcia, Michael Morales, and Julio Varella. Tickets are free, and Silverthorne welcomes donations so that we can continue making our work accessible to all. Betel Arnold is a Dominican playwright and advocate for people with disabilities. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing at Western New England University. Her plays include It Is Finished, The Building and El Colmado. Arnold was also the longtime host and director-producer of Simply Talking, a cable access program which ran on over a dozen Western MA channels from 2009-2014. Her passion lies in advocating for the rights of people with physical and intellectual disabilities, which inspired her to create the Arts Project. As co-founder of the Arts Project, she has produced and directed various works in Western Massachusetts, including “Extraordinary People with Extraordinary Talents” at the Basketball Hall of Fame and “A Night to Believe” to sell-out audiences in Massachusetts. Arnold is the recipient of the 2004 Citation of Recognition from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts House of Representatives, as well as the 2005 Citation of Recognition from Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Senate. Founded in 2014, Silverthorne Theater Company’s mission is to engage Valley artists and audiences in the conversations of our time with bold, intimate, professional theater. The Company’s Theater Thursdays reading series primarily supports playwrights in the development of new works, with a focus on writers whose voices have historically been underrepresented in the industry. This reading is made possible by the generous support of the Holyoke Cultural Council and the West Springfield Arts Council, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Tickets. THE LADYSLIPPER UP NEXT ON MAJESTIC THEATER STAGE IN WEST SPRINGFIELD FEBRUARY 29 – MARCH 24 Debut of Producing Director Danny Eaton’s Newest Contemporary Drama The Ladyslipper, described as a “heartfelt exploration of family, friendship and finding love in the least likely of places, will be presented at West Springfield’s Majestic Theater February 15 through March 24. Written by the Majestic’s Producing Director Danny Eaton, the play follows the chain of events following the death of a local watering hole proprietor.  Her long-lost daughter is discovered and arrives from England to make decisions about the future of the restaurant.  She is invited into the lives of a cast of local folks who each have their own ties to the place, and to the woman who founded it.  The Ladyslipper focuses on everyday people living ordinary lives, and the joy and simplicity of community that become family. Eaton is producing director, Sue Dziura is associate producing director, and James Warwick will direct the play.  Cast members include Madeleine Maggio, Jay Sefton, Chelsie Nectow, Mark Dean, Jay Torres, and Linda Storms.  Stephen Petit is production stage manager, and associate production manager is Aurora Ferraro.  Dan Rist is set and lighting designer, and costumer designer is Dawn McKay.  Tickets are now being sold for The Ladyslipper, as well as The Play that Goes Wrong, which is the final show in the Majestic’s current season, and runs April 18 – June 2.  Tickets range from $31 - $37 and are available either in-person at the box office or by calling (413) 747-7797.  Box office hours are Monday - Friday 10am - 5pm, and Saturday 10am-1pm.   The wearing of face masks in the theater is optional. Doors to the theater will open one hour before the start of a show, which is also when the café opens.  For more information, visit www.majestictheater.com Theatre Between Addresses presents To Serve the Hive March 1 at 7pm, March 2nd at 2pm & 7pm, March 3rd at 2pm, March 7th and 8th at 7pm, and March 9th at 2pm & 7pm Pine Box Studios, 221 Pine Street, Northampton, MA 01062 The world is no longer plentiful, and the hive is growing restless. If the divine right of queens is no longer enough to keep the hive secure, how do they survive starvation? How does a vain, aging queen accept the need for a successor? How far can a subservient go outside her bounds? To Serve The Hive is a queer political thriller and a climate crisis drama set in a beehive (all the characters are bees). Performances will take place on March 1st at 7pm, March 2nd at 2pm & 7pm, March 3rd at 2pm, March 7th and 8th at 7pm, and March 9th at 2pm & 7pm. The 2pm performance on March 2nd and the 7pm performance on March 8th will be mask-required; as of now, masks will be optional but encouraged at all other performances! Written by Julia Byrne Directed by Ezekiel Baskin Starring Hia Ghosh, Jeannine Haas, Aracelli Sierra, Syl Simmons, Francesca Hansen-DiBello, and Sophia Defayette Sound Design by Wynn MacKenzie Costume Design by Julia Vincenza Whalen Lighting Design by Cal Doerner Stage Management by Madison VanDeurzen Dramaturgy by Micki Kleinman Intimacy Choreography by Fig Lefevre Fight Choreography by A.C. Weaver Tickets are $20 for students, seniors, and those age 25 and under, and $25 general admission. The cost of your ticket will go directly to compensating the artists involved in the production. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds - if you cannot afford the ticket prices but want to see the production, please reach out to us at theaterbetweenaddresses (at) gmail (dot) com and we will connect you with subsidized free or reduced price tickets. If you're able to donate above the cost of your ticket, we encourage you to do so, to help us compensate our artists fairly while making sure we can provide free and reduced price tickets to everyone who needs them. This production is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Hampshire College Dance Program, Pine Box Studios, the Northampton Arts Council, and the Local Cultural Councils of Williamsburg, Hadley, and South Hadley, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. tinyurl.com/HivePlay EMILIE: LA MARQUISE DU CHÂTELET DEFENDS HER LIFE TONIGHT by Lauren Gunderson directed by Iris Sowlat The Curtain Theater, Bromery Center for the Arts March 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 & 9 at 7:30 p.m. Matinee March 9 at 2 p.m. What makes a life well-lived? Lauren Gunderson's Emilie weighs her choices at UMass Theater If you looked back at your life, would you feel like you made the right choices about your career? What about your relationships? Those are the stakes in UMass Theater's upcoming production, Emilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends her Life Tonight. Set to run in the Curtain Theater March 1-9, Lauren Gunderson's emotionally rich, poignant play is about a woman in the 1700s who pursued both scientific knowledge and romance throughout her life. In the play, she ponders the question of whether she can have it all, a struggle that likely resonates with many —  particularly women — who come see the play. "I think that modern culture still has a hard time really knowing that a woman can be all the things; she can look like Barbie AND be a physicist," says director Iris Sowlat. Gunderson's play is based on a real person. Emilie was an accomplished scientist and mathematician in the 1700s, known for writing the first mainstream physics textbook in French, as well as translating Newton and Leibniz’s work into French, and then building on those works with her own contributions to the field. Emilie was also fearless in love — although married, she followed her heart and took several lovers throughout her life, including the man she’s most famously associated with, writer and philosopher Voltaire. The play takes place as she is dying after giving birth to a lover's child. "I tend to be drawn to pieces that say something about feminism, and that also say something about relationships ... and all of the intersections of feminism, femininity, popular culture, and interpersonal relationships within history and over time," says Sowlat. Sowlat noted that she's been fortunate to be joined by Nathaniel Akingbemi as the show's dramaturg and Elliott Robin Ball as the assistant director. In addition to their research and theatrical eyes on the material, Akingbemi and Ball have STEM backgrounds that help to ground the science and medical elements of the play. Setting the production in the time period will be costumes by Emily Irene Peck — working in period silhouettes including corsetting, the cast, under Sowlat's direction, are finding the characters' unique ways of moving through the space. Gunderson's clever script has Emilie "staging" scenes from her own life to examine her choices; the set by Calypso Michelet, paired with lighting by Taylor Jaskula, allows the action to flip smartly among these moments. Join UMass Theater for a play that examines the big questions that lie at the heart of what it means to be alive. *** Recommended for audiences age 16 and up; discussion and depiction of death in childbirth, romantic relationships. *** Tickets: $17 — general admission $5 — for students, youth, and senior patrons, as well as Card to Culture patrons Tickets on sale through the UMass Fine Arts Center Box Office (call 1-800-999-UMAS or visit the box office website) as well as at the door on the night of the show. The UMass Department of Theater is pleased to participate in the Card to Culture program. For details, please visit our Card to Culture page. The Academy of Music presents Your Sexts Are Sh*!: Older Better Letters Saturday March 2nd at 7:30 pm Written and Performed by Rachel Mars Award-winning theatre maker Rachel Mars performs a gloriously rude new solo show that unearths the hot-as-hell letters from the past that make sexts blush. Before sexts, there were hand-written letters ---- and loads of them were properly filthy. The show is hilarious, tender and a surprising hour that asks: how do we write ourselves, and for whom? Come! Take pleasure in James Joyce’s passion for bum; find out who sneaked her gay lover into the White House; hear from Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Mozart; and bear witness to the best/worst sexts ever sent. This delightfully intimate, very funny, and surprisingly moving show is an erotic archive shot through with Rachel’s personal ventures in contemporary Queer kink. A Q&A with the artist after the performance. Adult Content show: All Attendees must be 18 and up. You may be asked to show ID upon entering the venue. Tickets Happier Valley Comedy The Understudies Improvised Musical Mar 2, 2024 at 7:00 PM The 1st Saturday of every month Happier Valley Comedy, 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley It's the opening night of a brand new musical! Unfortunately, the show was never written or rehearsed. This is the moment we've been training for. Be part of the fun as the determined Understudies create an entire musical from scratch, with a little help from the audience. The Understudies are Scott Braidman, Kelsey Flynn, Paul McNeil, Mosie Senn-McNally, and Maile Shoul. With music by the amazing Jeff Kimball! NEXT SHOW: Saturday, March 2nd at 7pm HVC Theater, 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, MA Tickets and info. Join us for round two of PIC PIPS this Sunday at 7:30 pm at The Workroom. Mox Nox features local theater artists Kyle Boatwright, Tracy Einstein, Linda Tardif, and Gabe Levey. Stage directions read by Gabriel CiFuentes. Direction and discussion moderation by Brianna Sloane with playwright Patrick Gabridge.   Please use the downstairs doors, nearest to the courtyard. Outside doors will be open at 7:15 and will be locked at 7:45 so please arrive promptly.   Smith College Department of Theatre New Play Reading Series presents  How to Radicalize Your Peers by James Echols, MFA ’24 Thursday, March 7 at 7:30 PM in Acting Studio 1 The author of this play would like to most emphatically assure you that the news you may have already heard is true. The Men are Not Okay. Free and open to the public. Mount Holyoke College Department of Film Media Theatre Presents: “Marisol” by Jose Rivera March 7th, 8th, 9th at 7:30pm, and March 10th at 2pm Mount Holyoke College- Rooke Theater The Mount Holyoke College Department of Film Media Theater invites you to experience the disintegration of urban society in America with José Rivera’s Obie Award-winning dark fairytale, “Marisol.” In a dystopian world where apples are extinct and people turn into mounds of salt, the angels plot an epic battle to save the human race. Marisol, a Puerto Rican woman from the Bronx, embarks on a journey through the apocalypse to survive on her own, facing the possibility of her death amongst chaos and crisis. The two-act play provides an atmosphere of human vulnerability that raises the existential questions of homelessness, ecological disaster, paranoia, mental illness, theology, sexuality and civil disorder. Mount Holyoke’s production is directed by Liz Almonte ‘24, featuring Set Design by Lee Heintzelman ‘24, Costume Design by Jensen Glick, and Lighting & Sound Design by Lara Dubin. "Author Franny Choi says, ‘By the time the apocalypse began, the world had already ended.. This play makes me envision tomorrow even when my eyes are clouded by fear. Fear and destruction seep into every crevice and corner of our lives. Hope is not a feeling, but a state of being that fuels revolution. Marisol forces us to embellish destruction with hope. To fuel our pain with as much hope as possible so as to relinquish it. What is pain without hope and vice versa? How do we begin again if hope is lost?” - Director Liz Almonte ‘24 Performance Dates and Times: Thursday, March 7, 7:30 pm Friday, March 8, 7:30 pm Saturday, March 9, 7:30 pm Sunday, March 10, 2:00 pm Tickets: $10 general | $8 students and senior citizens For more information or to reserve tickets, please visit https://mhc.ludus.com/index.php or contact our box office at MHCRookeTheatre@gmail.com Tickets. Human Agenda Theater Gorgons by Megan E. Tripaldi March 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th at 7 p.m. and March 10th and 17th at 2 p.m. The Perch at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center - 289 Main St 4th Floor Greenfield, MA 01301 Medusa is dead; Stheno and Euryale, her two sisters, remain. As a century passes they are left behind to process their own grief over her demise and their own grief over being trapped in the shadows by the gods and to figure out who they are without her. We hope you will join us for the first fully staged production of this incredible original play. https://linktr.ee/HumanAgendaTheater Production possible due to the support Scarlet Sock Foundation and Massachusetts Local Cultural Councils. Content Warning: suicide/self-harm, discussion of death and sexual assault. The Westfield Woman's Club The Harlot Queens present: The 'Does A Bawdy Good' EP Release Party, Part Deux! March 9 at 7:30 PM Westfield Woman's Club  28 Court Street, Westfield MA 01085 The Harlot Queens released their first EP, "Does A Bawdy Good" on June 9, 2023. To celebrate, we are throwing a Renaissance Faire themed event filled with music, interactive games, merriment and more! Come enjoy this adult-themed musical comedy troupe as they sing about a variety of subjects from failed romances to criminal enterprises and more! Renaissance Faire themed attire is encouraged, but not required. More info. The Harlot Queens are a touring comedic musical troupe that formed in 2017. They are composed of several trained Renaissance Faire performers playing colorful characters with nefarious backstories and they perform throughout New England at faires and festivals. Their music offerings consist of original music, comedic parodies, traditional Irish/Scottish songs, and "nerd culture" favorites. The members of the group come from a variety of backgrounds including an award winning country music artist, an opera singer, musical theatre actors, fight choreographers, voice over artists, instrumentalists, and improv actors. In their daily lives they are parents, administrative assistants, tour guides, librarians, polyglots, and retail workers. The Harlot Queens are recent recipients of the Pay It Forward  grant through CitySpace in Easthampton, and they were awarded Best EP of 2023 by nationally known Scoundrel’s Inn, a pirate themed podcast and internet radio show. Most recently, The Harlot Queens were nominated for two awards in the 19th Annual Renaissance Festival Awards, which recognizes groups across the country and is sponsored by the Renaissance Festival Podcast, a renaissance faire-themed radio show with a decades-long history. Tickets are on sale now through the WWC website.  General admission tickets are $20 ahead and $25 at the door. Saturday, March 9th, 2024 at 7:30pm.  Doors will open at 7pm. The event is 16+; those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. http://www.westfieldwomansclub.com and The Harlot Queens The Big Broadcast Returns for 19th Year Mount Holyoke College Students Recreate 1940s Radio Show   If it’s March, it must be time for The Big Broadcast, the popular annual event that, this year, will be held Saturday, March 9 in Chapin Auditorium on the campus of Mount Holyoke College. There will be two performances - at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The Big Broadcast is a unique recreation of a 1940s-style radio show, complete with news, commercials, popular songs, and a radio play in the detective serial style. Mount Holyoke has designated the yearly concert as a Signature Event. Sponsors are Mount Holyoke College, 22News, Loomis Communities, NEPM, PRIME magazine, NEPM 88.5, and The Republican  22News meteorologist Brian Lapis returns to The Big Broadcast in his role as the show’s emcee "Fred Kelley.” Mark Gionfriddo, director of the Jazz Ensembles of MHC, is the show’s creative director. Gionfriddo noted that this year marks the 25th anniversary season of the jazz program at Mount Holyoke. The Big Broadcast is a production of the college’s Big Band, Jazz Vocal, and Chamber Jazz ensembles.  “There’s really nothing else like it,” Gionfriddo said about The Big Broadcast. Part concert, part theater, the show is produced by students with Gionfriddo playing the role of "Matt Morgan,” who conducts the fictional WJAZ Big Band and is Fred Kelley's musical sidekick. This year’s selections include "The American Patrol" from the Glenn Miller Orchestra; Rodgers & Hart's "This Can't Be Love”; “Romberg & Hammerstein's "Lover, Come Back to Me”; the iconic Gene Krupa drum feature "Sing Sing Sing;” and Cole Porter's "Don't Fence Me In" as popularized by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. Tickets are available locally at the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley and online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-big-broadcast-2024-2pm-show-tickets-800425964607.  More information is available on the Facebook page of the Jazz Ensembles of Mount Holyoke College and on their web page at www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/music/big-broadcast. Happier Valley Comedy Happier Valley Comedy 2nd Saturdays Presents... The Armando Mar 9, 2024 at 7:00 PM The 2nd Saturday of every month Happier Valley Comedy, 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley THE ARMANDO Join us in welcoming a special guest storyteller who will share some of their life experiences based on a suggestion from the audience. Those stories then inspire a series of improvised and intertwined scenes from the cast. This month's storyteller is Robby Weinstein from The Magnet Theater NYC! Robby is also teaching a storytelling workshop in the afternoon! Click here to learn more. 2nd Saturdays Presents... a dive into theatrical improv formats you'll love, from classics like Armando and Shrink to new creations like Theater On The Spot and Location, Location, Location! Featuring experienced improvisers Mandy Anderson, Maddy Benjamin, Scott Braidman, Moe McElligott, Laura Patrick, Pam Victor, and Kate Zak, with frequent special guests joining the fun! NEXT SHOW: Saturday, March 9th at 7pm Happier Valley Comedy Theater 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley Tickets are available online and at the door for $15 Tickets and info.  K and E Theater Group Presents Ride the Cyclone at  Northampton Center for the Arts, March 14-17, 2024, for 5 Performances Only!   K and E Theater Group presents the Pioneer Valley debut of Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell’s Ride the Cyclone, a “delightfully weird and just plain delightful show” (The New York Times) that will take the characters—and audience—on the ride of their lives. The company will present the cult hit at the Northampton Center for the Arts, March 14-17, 2024. This show marks the first production of their fourth season titled “Twists and Turns.”   In this hilarious and outlandish story, the lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell a story to win a prize like no other — the chance to return to life. Part comedy, part tragedy and wholly dazzling, Ride the Cyclone, celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and how great it is to be alive. K and E Theater Group's production of Ride the Cyclone features Kelly Gagner as Constance Blackwood, Caleb Koval as Noel Gruber, Emma Rucci as Jane Doe, Carina Savoie as Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg, Chris Webber as Ricky Potts, David Webber as Mischa Bachinski, and Joshua Aaron Mason as The Amazing Karnak. Eddie Zitka serves as director and choreographer. The band is led by musical director Bill Martin.   Performances are: Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 7:30 PM Friday, March 15, 2024 at 7:30 PM Saturday, March 16, 2024 at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM The closing performance is scheduled for Sunday, March 17, 2024 at 2:00 PM.   All performances are at Northampton Center for the Arts, located at 33 Hawley Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. Tickets are $27 and general admission.   This production contains  mature content, language and themes including discussion of untimely death and mature situations including references to sex, drugs and violence; recommended for ages 13+. Stage effects include strobes and bright moving lights.   Tickets and performance information for Ride the Cyclone are available at www.KETG.org. Pauline Productions & Devereux Productions The Cemetery Club Fri March 15 2pm*, Sat March 16, 7pm, Sun March 17 2pm , Fri March 22 7pm* , Sat March 23 2pm and 7pm Sun March 24 2pm Ashfield Congregational Church, 429 Main St, Ashfield Three Jewish women in Queens, NY—friends with deep bonds—meet monthly for tea and a visit to their deceased husbands' graves. The widows are at various stages of "moving on" in their romantic lives. When one of them meets a man she likes the women's friendship is put to the test. A poignant comedy featuring Jaris Hanson*, Louise Krieger and Jeannine Haas* as the widows and Frank Aronson,*as the love interest. (*member Actors Equity Assn. appearing under a Members' Project Code). https://theticketing.co/o/paulinelive Jeannine Haas of Pauline Productions, the resident theatre company at First Congregational Church of Ashfield, teams up with Jean Koester of Devereux Productions to mount this full production. Both Koester and Haas are attracted to projects featuring juicy roles for mature women, a population whose stories and presence are largely under-represented onstage. The play ran on Broadway in 1990 and was later made into a major motion picture. TICKETS: Advanced Tickets (recommended): at Ashfield Hardware (cash or check) and online at https://theticketing.co/o/paulinelive. or at Door: one hour before the show (cash or check). Adults $15, $25, $35, Children $10 (ages 12+). Less or more gladly accepted. For more info: Paulinelive.com Happier Valley Comedy Happier Valley Comedy Presents Not In Charge Mar 16, 2024 7:00 PM The 3rd Saturday of every month at 7pm Happier Valley Comedy, 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley Don't miss this talented group of friends in an improvised show inspired by true stories from the cast! Not In Charge is Mandy Anderson, Maddy Benjamin, Sally Ekus, Julie Waggoner, Jim Young, and Kate Zak. NEXT SHOW: Saturday, March 16th at 7pm Happier Valley Comedy Theater 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE AND AT THE DOOR FOR $15   AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES MAJESTIC CHILDREN’S THEATER ANNOUNCES AUDITIONS FOR SUMMER SHOWS The Majestic Children’s Theater will be holding auditions for its summer shows at West Springfield’s Majestic Theater.  Teen actors between the ages of 14-19 are being sought for roles in the plays Curious George: The Golden Meatball and The Secret Garden.  Performances will take place in July 2024.  Auditions will be held at the theater at the following dates/times:  Saturday, March 2 – 12:00pm – 5:00pm Sunday, March 10 – 5:00pm – 9:00pm Auditions are by appointment only.  To schedule an audition time, please contact the Majestic Theater at (413) 747-7797. Valley Light Opera Call for Stage Director Valley Light Opera is seeking a Stage Director for its Fall 2024 production of Orpheus in the Underworld.  The Stage Director creates the overall artistic concept of the show. S/he/they works closely with the Music Director as well as the set and costume designers, the choreographer, and technical staff to carry out the concept. The Stage Director also rehearses principals and chorus in dialogue, acting, blocking, and dancing (under guidance of the choreographer).  Rehearsals begin in early September and are typically three nights a week plus a full tech week prior to opening night. Rehearsals are typically in Hadley or Amherst. Performances will be at the Academy of Music in Northampton the first two weekends in November.  All participants in VLO are volunteers, including all producers, directors, performers, and crew. The Stage Director will be awarded a $500 honorarium at the conclusion of the show.  Here is the link to the link to the dialogue and lyrics. To receive a pdf of the vocal score or to apply, please email valleylightopera@gmail.com.  To apply, please include: 1. Letter of interest/artistic concept (under three pages, please) 2. Theatrical and/or music resume 3. References Applications/letters of interest will be accepted through March 8, 2024. Any applicants who are unfamiliar with the VLO are encouraged to explore our website at www.vlo.org.  Valley Light Opera valleylightopera@gmail.com www.vlo.org www.facebook.com/valleylightopera Holyoke Community College Theater seeks a director for its fall 2024 production. Auditions September 11th and 12th, Closing performance November 23rd. Title will be selected in consultation with the director. Fee $3000. Rehearsals tbd, primarily weekday afternoons. Local applicants only. HCC cannot provide travel or housing. Send resume and cover letter to mwhiton@hcc.edu The Drama Studio is looking for Teachers and Directors for the Summer and Fall! The Drama Studio is an exciting, challenging, and deeply enriching conservatory for young artists located in the Forest Park area of Springfield. Our teaching artists have the opportunity to work with passionate and dedicated youth at introductory through advanced levels. The work is creative, thought provoking, and rewarding. Join us, and help young actors find their voices and discover their passions! We are looking for Teachers and Directors for the Fall 24 program year and Teachers for our Summer Program.  These are paid positions.  For more information about these positions please see our postings.  A program designed for early-career directors has been launched in honor of Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer Shakespeare & Company of Lenox, Mass. has created the Tina Packer Women of Will Directing Fellowship, designed to further the development of early-career directors who identify as women and have a passion for Shakespeare. Created in Packer’s honor, the fellowship was conceived and funded by actor and Shakespeare & Company training alumnus John Douglas Thompson, with matching funds from an anonymous donor. Additional gifts were also made by a group of women directors whom Packer mentored at Shakespeare & Company. The Company will choose one Women of Will Fellow each year, who will be in residence at Shakespeare & Company throughout the rehearsal period of a Shakespeare production, helmed by an experienced woman director. The Fellow will observe and work as Assistant Director throughout the process. In 2024, she/they will assist director Kate Kohler Amory on The Comedy of Errors, June 10 – July 20, and will also have the opportunity to return for one week in August to observe Packer directing an enhanced reading of The Winter's Tale. Following their time at Shakespeare & Company, Fellows will continue to receive support through continued access to their Mentor Director, the members of an advisory committee of women directors, and other members of the Company. “Fellows will join in creating a legacy of Women of Will mentoring others in the field, bringing a contemporary and culturally diverse female gaze to Shakespeare’s plays and the theater community,” said Thompson. Applicants should have either completed their academic training or possess experience equivalent to at least four years of college. They should have at least two years of directing experience outside of an academic program, including experience directing Shakespeare. Candidates from historically underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply, as are theater practitioners who have worked professionally in other areas of theater and are expanding their careers into directing, and those reentering the field after a pause. “Early-career director” does not carry an age limit. For more information and to apply, visit shakespeare.org. Applications are due by March 25. The inaugural Fellow will be selected by mid-April. Calling all Valley actors! Help raise the curtain on the Valley Players. On Sunday, April 28, 12pm-3pm, the Valley Players will hold its first Sceneathon—an evening of community, theater, and gourmet dining in downtown Amherst. The Sceneathon is the inaugural fundraising event for the Valley Players and an opportunity to showcase some of the tremendous acting talent here in the Valley. Any and all actors are welcome to sign-up to be a part of the show and to stage a scene or speech from a play of their choice. Participating performers will gather donations from people willing to sponsor their appearance in the show. Sponsorship donations can be in any amount and are tax-deductible. The performer with the highest donation total by the day of the show will get 4 complimentary tickets to a future Valley Players production of their choice. To sign up and receive a pledge form, email info@valleyplayers.org with: 1.) the names of the people who will be performing and everyone’s contact info; 2.) the play, act and scene from which the scene/speech comes; 3.) the approximate run-time of the scene/speech (no more than 10 minutes). 100% of donations raised will go to support the programming and mission of the Valley Players, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the quality of life in the Connecticut River Valley region of Massachusetts by producing high-quality community theater and related arts, education, and cultural programming. For more information about the Valley Players, to sign-up for the group’s contact list, or to make a donation, visit www.valleyplayers.org, email info@valleyplayers.org, or call 413-252-2979. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES Happier Valley Comedy Seeds of Storytelling with Robert Weinstein Mar 9, 2024 at 12:00 PM Happier Valley Comedy, 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley Tell your story! This workshop will explore the basic elements of Moth-style storytelling using verbal, written, and illustration exercises. It is designed to teach you how to take personal experiences from your life and create material that connects with audiences. You will also learn techniques that lead to a real and truthful stage presence so that you can show how your unique perspectives can reveal the meanings behind your experiences. This is a great chance for you to dip your toe into the Storytelling waters, or if you've already taken another storytelling class, here is another perspective with a dedicated focus on your story! And come see Robert telling his own stories to inspire the improv later that night with 2nd Saturdays Presents! Prerequisite: None! All are welcome. More information. Henry Balzarini to host improv workshop at The LAVA Center A Saturday Dose of Fun (improv games for grownups with Henry Balzarini) Saturday, Mar. 16, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. The LAVA Center, 324 Main St., Greenfield More information. Facebook event. The LAVA Center will host a free improv workshop for adults, led by local improv teacher and performer Henry Balzarini, on Saturday, Mar. 16, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Warning: This workshop may cause multiple moments of mirth, foster greater comfort in new situations, inspire creativity, lift your mood, release stress, make you more spontaneous, ease you into connecting enjoyably with other people and even make you laugh out loud. Using improv games, we will become a fast thinking, in the moment, loose goose brigade. You’ve been warned. Oh and it’s free! No improv experience necessary. Intended for adults. Limit of 15 please, so sign up now: email hbquit@hotmail.com. about your host: Henry Balzarini is a native of Boston. In the 1980’s he lived in New York City where he studied acting and tapped into Big Apple essence. Back to Boston, he acted in various scripted roles and then found improv, and hasn’t been the same since. He performed in improv groups and productions in Boston and Brattleboro, and taught teen groups in Keene, NH and most recently, Zoomed improv during the pandemic. Henry says, “Many of the surefire routes to joy, in my life, have been the times I’ve spent doing improv-based activities, whether it’s creating, playing, performing or just transforming a moment. To me it’s more a state of mind/being. When I watch the joy and transformation that comes about when people play improv games and work together as a group, I’m transformed as well. In a safe setting, participants, especially adults, can let loose and go places they never thought they could. It’s the act of letting go, of enjoying a perfect synthesis of minds. It’s all made me a better person. It’s time again to share that joy.” The Montague Shakespeare Festival is proud to announce its inaugural season, from March 18 to April 7, at the Shea Theater Arts Center at 71 Avenue A in Turners Falls, MA. This three-week celebration of Shakespeare's timeless works will feature a series of workshops, professional training sessions, and the staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The festival is under the artistic direction of Nia Lynn, who brings her experience as voice coach and text coach for the Royal Shakespeare Company (Stratford-upon-Avon) to her role leading the Montague Shakespeare Festival. With more than 18 years of experience, Nia Lynn has honed the talents of professional actors on some of the most renowned stages globally. Her career spans prestigious institutions such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, Donmar Warehouse, London's Young Vic, Horace Mann School in New York, Connecticut's Eugene O'Neill Theatre, and the Fonact School of Acting in France. Nia's expertise encompasses a comprehensive approach to performance, combining voice coaching, body and breath work, and accent and dialect training, making her a sought-after mentor in film, theater, and television. In the debut season of the Montague Shakespeare Festival, Nia Lynn will lead a series of immersive workshops designed to delve into the intricacies of Shakespearean language. Maggie O’Connor Moore is the Associate Artistic Director.  *Performers and stage craft professionals interested in being part of A Midsummer Night’s Dream are encouraged to join the ZOOM call with Nia and Maggie: Saturday, February 10 at 11am EST. on the website    Workshop Information: Space for the following workshops is limited. Discount applies for enrolling in more than one workshop. Monday, March 18 @ 6:30-8:30pm Mastering Verse Like A Pro A 2-hour session to demystify the rhythms and structures of Shakespearean verse. This workshop is designed to help participants find their groove in verse speaking, navigating the complexities of pentameter, trochees, prose, and blank verse. $125 ENROLL Wednesday, March 20 @ 6:30-9:30pm Ensemble Building: The Power of Words and Play in Theatre The art of ensemble theatre through a unique lens. This 3-hour workshop is about the mechanics of collaboration and the profound relationship between language, personal interpretation, and collective creation. $125 ENROLL Friday, March 22 @ 9:30-3:30pm Shakespeare in the Classroom: An Educators Retreat! A dynamic 6-hour workshop tailored for English and drama teachers. $500. Includes lunch. ENROLL Workshop Overview: Innovative Teaching Techniques: Learn creative strategies to introduce Shakespeare’s works in a way that captivates and connects with students of various age groups. Analyzing Shakespeare with Fun: Discover methods to analyze Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets that are both enjoyable and educational, fostering a deeper appreciation and understanding among students. Practical Classroom Activities: The workshop includes various hands-on activities that can be directly applied in the classroom, making the learning process interactive and enjoyable. Workshop Highlights: Engagement Without Glossaries: Explore how to teach Shakespeare’s language and themes without relying heavily on glossaries, making his works more approachable and relatable for students. Interactive Learning Approaches: Dive into interactive teaching methods that encourage active student participation, discussion, and exploration. Building the Perfect Essay: Gain insights into guiding students to write insightful and original essays on Shakespeare’s works derived from their own understanding and enjoyment of the text. Why Attend? “Shakespeare in the Classroom” is more than just a professional development session; it’s an opportunity to transform how Shakespeare is taught and perceived in educational settings. This workshop aims to break down the barriers that often make Shakespeare’s works seem daunting to students, replacing them with a sense of excitement and discovery. Saturday, March 23 @ 9:30-11:30am Making Shakespeare Your Own: A Personal Approach to the Bard This workshop is designed to help you understand how to make Shakespeare’s language sound natural and relevant, taking it off the pedestal and into your own voice and experience. $125 ENROLL Monday, 25 @ 6:30-8:30pm Character Development: Bringing Shakespeare’s Characters to Life In theatre, embodying a character is both an art and a science, especially in Shakespeare’s complex and layered characters. $125 ENROLL Tuesday, March 26 @ 6:30-8:30pm The Art of Speaking Shakespeare’s Sonnets In this focused session, participants will be able to immerse themselves in the poetic world of Shakespeare’s sonnets. $125 ENROLL The Montague Shakespeare Festival is envisioned by Executive Director Kenny Butler. Proceeds will benefit the Shea Theater Arts Center. This vibrant celebration of Shakespeare's work is made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Shea Theater, RiverCulture, and the generous support of The Amherst Cultural Council and a Mass Cultural Council Festival Grant. WAM Theatre Teen Ensemble Now Accepting Applications Calling Teen Theatre Artists & Change Makers for Paid Immersive Performance Opportunity WAM Theatre is thrilled to announce the return of its acclaimed Teen Ensemble. The Lenox-based theatre company is currently soliciting applications from young artists aged 15-19 in the Berkshire County region, who will create an original performance to be presented to the community in downtown Lenox over Memorial Day weekend.    WAM Theatre has been working with teenagers to devise original performances on activist themes since 2014. Devised theatre uses a collaborative process where an ensemble uses a variety of techniques—writing, improvisation, games, movement, brainstorming, and more––to create original performance material.    Based out of WAM’s Creative Hub and Offices in Lenox, this year’s program focuses on “Immersive Performance for Changemakers.” The ensemble will train in devised theatre techniques with the goal of creating short site-specific performances. The program kicks off with a week of Theatre Skills & Activist Training from April 16-19th, which is spring break for area public schools.  According to WAM’s Director of Community Engagement Maizy Broderick Scarpa, who will co-facilitate the ensemble, “that week is when Teen Ensemble artists become a company and develop a shared toolbox which they'll use to build their performance.” The group will reconvene for the Site-Specific Performance Weekend on May 24-26 (in conjunction with Berkshire Arts Week).   “As a devised theater lover, I deeply believe in the mana (power) of telling stories from one’s own experience as a way to ignite positive change in the world.” Malia’Kekia Nicolini, who will co-facilitate the Ensemble, explains. “I am excited to uplift the stories from this cohort of Teens to create some magic for our community. Mahalo (thank you).”    While no theatre experience is required to participate, interested individuals are required to complete and submit a brief application form available on WAM’s website. Candidates may be invited to a brief interview where facilitators and candidates learn more about one another and ask any outstanding questions about the ensemble. The criteria for participation is enthusiasm, creative impulse, and the desire to advocate for causes that are meaningful to the participant. Interested youth should be prepared to devise, perform and be open to embracing new experiences with an open mind.    Besides age and availability, WAM Theatre will select candidates who demonstrate an understanding of collaboration and the value of community in art-making. “It’s important for the ensemble members to embrace difference as a strength.  We need folks who care about the world around them, who listen to each other and to their community, and who are ready to speak up when the situation demands,” says Scarpa. “If this sounds like you, we hope you’ll apply!”    The submissions window is currently open, and set to close on March 17th. Interested individuals can apply online at: www.wamtheatre.com/engage/teen-ensemble/.  This is a paid opportunity. Participants in the Teen Ensemble will be provided a stipend for their work.    Parents, counselors, teachers, and community leaders are also encouraged to nominate students who would thrive in this kind of collaborative creative environment.  Nominations should be directed to Maizy Broderick Scarpa, Director of Community Engagement (maizy@wamtheatre.com). Nomination should include the name and contact information of the person you are nominating, along with 1-3 sentences about why you are nominating them. Questions, and requests for assistance with the application, should also be directed to maizy@wamtheatre.com Registration is open now for Riotous Youth, Shakespeare & Company’s summer theater program for children and teenagers, slated to run from Monday, July 1 to Friday, August 16. These one-, two-, and three-week sessions are tailored to different age groups, introducing participants ages seven to 17 to the language, stories, characters, and ideas in Shakespeare’s plays through imaginative and playful methods. Exercises and games incorporating voice, movement, and acting enable participants to explore Shakespeare’s text emotionally, physically, and intellectually. Participants then create a performance piece based on their experience of the play, which they share with family, friends, and Company members on the final day of each session. 2024 summer sessions include: One-week session Julius Caesar: August 12 – 16 For Ages: 7 – 12  Tuition: $425 Two-week sessions Twelfth Night: July 1 – 12 (sessions A and B are waitlist only) Henry V: July 15 – 26 (session D: limited spots available) Love's Labor’s Lost: July 29 – August 9 (sessions G and H: limited spots available) For Ages: 7 – 15 Tuition: $825 Three-week sessions  Riotous Company For Ages: 14 – 17 Tuition: $1075 All sessions are held at the Shakespeare & Company campus at 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, Mass., and limited financial aid is available. Visit shakespeare.org/education to learn more and apply. For more information, contact Education Residency and Riotous Youth Programs Manager Caitlin Kraft at ckraft@shakespeare.org or (413) 637-1199 ext. 132.  The Shea Theater offers TWO two week sessions of summer theater with Atticus and Enzo Belmonte for children ages 8-12. Each day of the program will be dedicated to creating and rehearsing the immersive theater performance, as well as learning and participating in various acting games and workshops. The cost is $650 per session with a limit of 20 children in each section. This fee includes snacks but not lunch. To register: sheatheaterartscenter@gmail.com DATES: July 8-19, 2024 and July 22-August 2, 2024 Monday - Friday Program runs 9 AM to 3 PM. Performance of the immersive play will take place on the second Friday at 10 am at the Shea on 71 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA.   In this program, the performers will rehearse and perform in an immersive theater show based on a fairytale, a Shakespeare play, or a myth. This immersive approach encourages imagination, collaboration, and creativity while teaching acting and movement techniques in a nurturing and holistic environment. A check may be made to: Shea Theater PO Box 773 Turners Falls, MA 01376 Deposit of $100 is required at registration with remainder due by June 15, 2024 Atticus Belmonte is a writer, director, actor, and theater major at Bard College. He is a founder of Patch Productions that he formed with his brothers and several friends taking his immersive theater pieces to the Shea where they have offered several productions. Enzo Belmonte is 16 years old and grew up doing theater, specifically Shakespeare and immersive theater. He has a special skill set in technical theater and will create lights and sound for the show. The medium of Immersive Theater is an innovative theater format allows audience members to wander wherever they wish within a play, finding characters and scenes at their own will in different rooms and spaces. No audience member has the same experience; they all will see different scenes in different locations, piecing together the story as they go. Registration is now open! Is your creative kiddo ready for a fun-filled summer of a creating their own fairy tale, channeling their inner wild creature, going on a magical musical adventure, and channeling their inner clown? Does your tween or teen feel that creative spark? Registration is now open for PIC Kids Summer with options to pay in full or a deposit only. This year we are excited to have offerings for young artists ages 7-11 AND ages 11-15! For younger artists (ages 7-11) will adventure through the creative process as they explore theater, movement, and music. Each week follows a different theme, and all weeks will culminate in a sharing of the young artists' original work on Fridays at 2:30. JUL 22-26        Fairy Tale Mash Up! JUL 29-AUG 2  Growl and Groove AUG 5-9          Soundscapes and Sorcery AUG 12-16       Theatrical Clown 9am-3pm each day  $325/week Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity, 130 Pine St, Florence Older youth artists (ages 11-15) will explore all things ensemble, co-creating a brand new collaborative performance. Using theater games, writing exercises, improvisation, movement, songwriting, and art, participants will draw upon their dreams, original perspectives, and hopes for the future. All of this collaborative fun will culminating in a sharing at 4pm on Friday, August 16th. AUG 12-16       PIC Kids Ensemble: Our Dreams!​ 9:30am-3:30pm each day  $350/week The Workroom at 33 Hawley Street, Northampton Learn more and register​ Submit your workshop, class, audition, performance, or any other theatre opportunity here! Pioneer Valley Theatre Companies Academy of Music Theatre Amherst Community Theater Arena Civic Theatre A.C.T. Youth Theatre Black Cat Theater Chester Theatre Company CitySpace Cold Spring Community Theatre Completely Ridiculous Productions Drama Studio Double Edge Theatre Easthampton Theater Company Eggtooth Productions Exit 7 Players Ghost Light Theater Greenfield Community College's Theater Department Hampshire Shakespeare Company Happier Valley Comedy Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center Ja'Duke Center for the Performing Arts K and E Theater Group Ko Theater Works/Ko Festival of Performance Majestic Theater Mount Holyoke College Rooke Theatre No Theater Northampton Community Arts Trust Northampton Playwrights Lab PaintBox Theatre Panopera Pauline Productions Performance Project Phantom Sheep Players Play Incubation Collective Real Live Theatre Red Thread Theater Royal Frog Ballet Serious Play Theatre Ensemble Shakespeare Stage Shea Theater Arts Center Silverthorne Theater Smith College Department of Theatre St. Michael's Players Starlight's Youth Theatre, Inc. Strident Theatre Theater Between Addresses TheatreTruck Turbulent Times Theater UMass Department of Theater UMass Theatre Guild Unity House Players Valley Light Opera Valley Players Ware Community Theatre Westfield Theatre Group Wilbraham United Players World and Eye 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 TV/Radio and News Column Local Theater Critic Max Hartshorne 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|*