NETC NEWS

Cast of Arlekin Players The Bear receive their first place NERF award. (L-R) Eduard Snitkovsky (Luka) Unknown Natalia Snitkovsky (Props) Lena Kaleva (Make-up) Joan Fuess (Adjudicator) Mike McTeague (Stage Manager) Gene Ravvin (Grigory) Igor Golyak (Chekhov/Show Director) Alana Kumalagov (Elena) Marsha Amato-Greenspan (AACT Representative) Chuck Emmons (Festival Chair)

The New England Regional Festival took place Sat. March 5, 2011 in the Concord (NH) City Auditorium, an event made possible through support from NETC. NETC treasurer Chuck Emmons managed the event.
The Bear, by Anton Chkhov, produced by the Arlekin Players, Newton, MA was selected by the judges.to move on to the finals in Rochester, NY.. Runner up was Six Nights in the Black Belt, by Lowell Wlliams (who also directed) produced by M & M Productions, Hudson, N.H. The original script was based on a true story. Lowell Williams is the New Hampshire liaison to the NETC Community Theatre division..

Other choices by the respondents were:
Best Emerging Playwright – Bob Keniston – The Fag Variations/Conversations of the Straights, Center Theater, Dover-Foxcrot, ME

Best Design & Execution – Wellesley Players, Steel Magnolias, Wellesley, MA

Best Supporting Actresses: Judy Mitchell, Animal Farm, Milford Area Players, Milford, N.H.;
and Maria Mendez Hendricks – “Six Nights in the Black Belt, M & M Productions, Hudson, N.H.; and Tracy Nygard , Steel Magnolias, Wellesley Players, Wellesley, MA

Best Supporting Actors: Larry Pizza – Six Nights in the Black Belt, M and M productions, Hudson, N.H.; and Mark Ferman, Animal Farm, Milford Area Players, Milford, N.H.

Best Stage Manager::Val Verge , Animal Farm, Milford Area Players, Milford, N.H.

Best Actress: Alana Kumalagov – The Bear, Arlekin Players, Newton, MA

Best Actor: Gene Ravvin – The Bear, Arlekin Players, Newton, MA

Best ensemble: The Bear – Arlekin Players, Newton, MA

Outstanding Director: Igor Golyak, The Bear, Arlekin Players, Newton, MA

Outstanding Adaptation: The Bear, Arlekin Players, Newton, MA
The Bear will represent the New England region at the American Association of Community Theatre national festival (ACTFest11) , which will be held in Rochester, NY 11 June 20-26. NETC is providing a modest subsidy to help defray the group’s expenses
AACTFest11 is a national theatre event that will bring the best community theatre productions from across the country and the U.S. Armed Services in Europe to Rochester, NY, June 20-26, 2011. Over 600 people are expected to participate in this American Association of Community Theatre Flagship event. Performances, workshops and exhibitions are open to the public. For more information on AACT and the festival, go to: http://www.aact.org/festivals.html| .

Bevie Lord, representing Community Theatre on the NETC board of directors, has put out a call to all community theatre in the region to share memorabilia as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of AACT this June at the AACTFest11 in Rochester, N.Y. June 20-25, 2011.

Dave Sheppard has asked Bevie to spearhead this delightful idea: CREATE A BASKET OF THEATRE MEMORABILIA FROM EACH REGION. The basket would contain items that represent community theatre from your region to be placed in the silent auction.

Examples of what could be in the basket: a feather from the production of The Bear, an old hat, a special fundraising coffee mug, a small prop, an anniversary program, a commemorative tee shirt. (Bevie has already been able to collect a beer throttle handle from the old ACME Theatre.)
It would be ideal if each group could include a short paragraph or two of their theatre’s history.

Examples of what NOT to include: no sports memorabilia from your area, no can of baked beans from Boston, no lobster from Maine. We would like to have this strictly represent Community Theatre from your region .

Items from Region 1 may be sent to
Bevie Lord
60 Granite St.,
Foxboro, MA, 02035-1709.

Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre presents two fully staged past one-act play winners that were originally showcased in the company’s annual Nor’eastern event. These two plays will be presented by ART under the title, THE BEST OF THE NOR’EASTERNS, on April 13, 14,15, &16 at 7:30 p.m. and April 17 at 2:00 p.m. at the Paramount Brick Box Theatre, Center Street, Rutland, VT.
Each year Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre conducts a year-long one-act play contest with entries from the six New England states as well as New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. As part of its sixth season, the Company has selected two former winners.
The first play to be presented is The Best Wine by Michael Nethercott, a Nor’Eastern winner in 2009. It is a study of betrayal, loyalty and accountability set in occupied France during the Second World War. In the wake of a compromised Resistance action, the citizens of a small town are forced to judge one of their own, and, in doing so, make a fateful decision. This play will be directed by Diane Liccardi.
Playwright, Michael Nethercott of Guilford, VT has published his writings in numerous magazines and anthologies including “Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine”; “Best Crime and Mystery Stories of the Year”; “The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction”; “Plays, the Drama Magazine for Young People”; “Thin Ice: Crime Stories by New England Writers” and others. He is a past recipient of the Black Orchid Novella Award for traditional mystery writing. Michael has also taken the stage as a storyteller and actor and is the writer/director of the seasonal theatrical event, “The Forest of Mystery” in Brattleboro, Vermont.
The second play is The Window, a Nor’Eastern winner in 2007, in which inmates on death row find hope and redemption by looking through the window in the only cell that has a window; the cell in which the next inmate to be executed is housed. It will be directed by Thaddeus Lorentz

Playwright, NICK VIGORITO, JR., is a member of The Dramatists Guild. He has written over twenty plays, several screenplays, and several original sitcom pilots. Nearly all of his plays have been produced and two are published. His writing has won various awards and prizes including a recent Scriptapalooza competition for his original sitcom pilot Les Is More. His ‘day job’ is that of a Letter Carrier for the Postal Service, and while not yet disgruntled if he isn’t discovered soon that might all change! He lives in Brooklyn NY with his wife Maria and their two Boxers. And he has never been an inmate on death row.

The Best Wine is stage-managed by Judi Tompkins, and features actors, Laura Steere, Ilene Blackman, John Romeo, Christopher Larson, and Eric Mallette. The Window is stage-managed by Bonny Benson, and features Paul Burroughs, Gary Boyles, Tom Pomfret and Alex Lucci.
Lighting is by David Lane, properties by Tom Brown, costumes by Catherine Loew, sound by Bridget Scott, make-up and hairstyles by Jane Campeau, graphic design by Marna Grove, production by Peter Marsh & Sandra Gartner and technical direction by Doug Yaremchuk .
Reservations are available by calling the Paramount Box Office at 802-775-0903. Tickets will be sold at the door as well, at all performances. There is limited seating. Tickets are $15 for general admission.
Vermont Actors Repertory Theatre Company will produce this year’s three Nor’eastern winners in Showcase on May 6 & 7 at the Paramount’s Brick Box Theatre. For more information about Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre visit the Company’s Website at www.actorsrepvt.org

Marc Smith, founder/producer/director of the former Foothills Theatre in Worcester, MA, died Wednesday at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester. Foothills Theatre was the recipient of the NETC regional award in 1996. A prolific playwright, Marc continued to stage readings of his original works after his retiring from 25 years of managing Foothills. Perlman Funeral Home in Worcester will be the site of services Sunday, March 27 at 11 a.m. A memorial tribute will be held at Tuckerman Hall, corner of Tuckerman and Salisbury Sts. in Worcester at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 30

An obituary can be found at :

http://www.telegram.com/article/20110324/NEWS/110329835/0/local&TEMPLATE=MOBILE

Also, Richard Duckett, entertainment editor at the Worcester Telegram, has written an article about Marc’s achievements:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/telegram/obituary.aspx?n=marc-p-smith&pid=149614479&fhid=11396

Harwich Junior Theatre presents THE SEAMIST TRIO

Sunday, March 13 at 2 PM

Celebrate St. Patrick and Your Irish Heritage in style!

Come join us for a delightful concert of Irish music, song and poetry featuring Mairead Doherty on Irish Harp, Rose Clancy on Fiddle, Clayton March on Clarinet and Richard Sullivan – ‘Irish Tenor’. A concert of lively dance music, slow airs and favorite songs (some old, some new) will make for a great afternoon of entertainment for the entire family and benefit Harwich Junior Theatre’s Education Programs. A reception with refreshments will follow the performance. HJT -105 Division St. West Harwich. All tickets $20. Please call the BOX OFFICE at 508-432-2002 or on-line at www.hjtcapecod.org

The Un-Common Theatre Co announces auditions for Improv Soup, their teen improvisational troupe.

Students currently in 8th – 10th grade may make an appointment to audition on Saturday April 2nd from 2 – 3pm.

Improv Soup is one of the few teen Improv Troupes in Massachusetts and is currently in their thirteenth season. The troupe performs long and short form Improv, based on audience suggestions, rehearses weekly on Sunday evenings and performs one Friday a month in Foxboro, Ma during the school year

Email uncommontheatre@verizon.net to make an appointment giving your name, phone #, email address and grade or call (508)698-3098 or check the web site www.uncommontheatre.org for more information

Theatre Library Association announces its third Symposium, Holding Up
the Mirror: Authenticity and Adaptation in Shakespeare Today, which will be
held at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ Bruno Walter
Auditorium on April 22, 2011.

This Symposium consists of a fascinating day of presentations on the
challenging art of staging Shakespeare in our time, offered by leaders
of four of America’s most celebrated theatre organizations:

• Oskar Eustis – Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, Keynote
Speaker. (Eustis is former Artistic Director of Providence’s Trinity Rep, and winner of the Moss Hart Memorial award for his direction of Angels in America.)
• Ralph Alan Cohen, Paul Menzer and Colleen Kelly – American
Shakespeare Center
• \Jeffrey Horowitz and Arin Arbus- Theatre for a New Audience
• Diane Paulus and Marjorie Garber- American Repertory Theater

All of these artists are renowned for the originality of their
approaches to Shakespeare’s works. Their presentations – enlivened with
performance excerpts – will give insight into the ways each company interprets the
Shakespearean tradition and its sources.

The American Shakespeare Center adapts Renaissance theatrical practices
to enable contemporary audiences to experience Shakespeare’s works as
Elizabethan playgoers might have. Theatre for a New Audience seeks to
uncover connections between Shakespeare and the contemporary world.
American Repertory Theater’s recent Shakespeare Exploded festival
encouraged audiences to derive new meanings in Shakespeare through a
series of imaginative adaptations.

For an additional perspective, Dr. Francesca Marini – recently appointed
Archives Director at Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival – will
offer closing remarks.

To register – please consult:
www.tla-online.org/events/symposiumthree/

Holding Up the Mirror: Authenticity and Adaptation in Shakespeare Today
is made possible by the generous support of the Gladys Krieble Delmas
Foundation and the Shubert Foundation.

Actors Equity Association reminds Equity Membership Candidates that applications are still being accepted for the 2011 Roger Sturtevant Musical Theatre Award. You could be the lucky winner of the Award and $1,000 if you are picked by the panel of judges, but just having your work seen by them is a great opportunity.

The application deadline is March 15, 2011.

The award is named in honor of noted casting director Roger Sturtevant, who died in 2003. It is available to current EMCs who have demonstrated outstanding abilities in the musical theatre field and consists of a $1,000 check and a certificate presented to one male and one female applicant.

Selection is based on a videotaped audition, written recommendations and a completed application form. The judging panel, including actor/members of the Equity Foundation and members of the Casting Society of America, choose the winners. The panel adheres strictly to the principles of non-traditional casting and actively encourages actors of all cultural backgrounds to apply.

For a downloadable application form, visit AEA’s Document Library at this link:

http://actorsequity.org/library/library.asp?cat=32

For more information about the application or award, contact Anne Fortuno at afortuno@actorsequity.org or 212-869-8530 x 409.

The Un-Common Theatre Company is proud to present the Tony award winning musical “The Secret Garden” at the Orpheum Theater, Foxboro over the weekend of April 1st.

Based on the classic children’s novel by Francis Hodgson Burnett, “The Secret Garden” tells the haunting story of a young girl’s struggle to free the inhabitants of a gloomy Yorkshire mansion who are emotionally imprisoned by a tragic memory. Through her tenacity, human courage and her profound sense of dignity, young Mary Lennox, sent to live in the sorrowful house following the death of her parents from cholera, brings her departed aunt’s neglected garden back to life, along with the spirit and soul of her long grieving uncle and the health of her fragile, bedridden cousin.

Director Michael La Fleur brings the heart and soul of this emotionally charged musical to life through pure theatrical staging, intriguing illusions, and haunting visual imagery. Guided by the whirling, gliding ghosts of her past, and with the help of a handful of unforgettable characters, Mary’s story unfolds in dark visions of haunted hallways, a moving, dancing maze, portraits that come to life and, through some simple but artistically realized, creative stagecraft, a breathtaking garden that blooms before the audience’s eyes.

Esther Zabinski, Music and Orchestra Director, leads the talented cast of 29 through the beautiful and sophisticated musical score.

“The Secret Garden features Deirdre Pedersen of Westborough as Mary Lennox; Johnny Fullerton of Mansfield as Archibald Craven; Katie Beckvold of Abington as Lily Craven; Andrew Purdy of Franklin as Colin Craven; Sarra Forti of Middleboro as Martha; Sean Neary of Mansfield as Dr. Neville Craven; Ryan Larkin of Mansfield as Dickon; Olivia Losiewicz of Mansfield as Mrs. Medlock; and Corey Cadigan of West Bridgewater as Ben Weatherstaff.

Completing the talented cast are:

From Foxboro: Jonah Philibert (Fakir), Erin Van Dell (Mrs. Shelly)

From Mansfield: Katie Armstrong (Alice), Michaela Buccini (Mrs. Winthrop), Alex Fullerton (Lt. Wright), Lloyd Hewitt (Capt. Albert Lennox), Abbey Johnston (Claire Holmes), Logan Marks (Major Holmes) and Kelly Newton (Rose Lennox)

From Needham: Sara Curtin (ensemble), Erin Lipman (ensemble), Ava Marinelli (ensemble), and Kate Oetheimer (ensemble)

From Norfolk: Sarah Gibson (Ayah), Julie Lugten (ensemble), and Emily Walsh (ensemble)

From North Easton: Tim Andrew (Major Shelly)

From Norton: Elizabeth Riley (ensemble) and Abigail Sitte (ensemble)

From Westwood: Marybeth Hogan (ensemble)

Performances will be held at The Orpheum Theatre, Foxboro and are recommended for audiences age 8 and older. Tickets are $20 for adults, and $15 for seniors and students and may be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets at (800) 838-3006 or order online at www.brownpapertickets.com and search for “The Secret Garden”. For Un-Common member or group sales please call The Un-Common Theatre Co. at (508) 698-3098.

For school groups, the Un-Common Theatre Company is offering a special school performance on Friday, April 1 at 9:30 am. Tickets are $10 each which gives schools a remarkable deal for the quality of this fully orchestrated theatrical production. To make reservations for this special offer, call Nancy at (508) 261-9892.

The Un-Common Theatre Co. is currently in its 31st season of providing a safe, exciting and creative place for children and adolescents to develop life skills through exposure to the professional theatrical experience. For more information on the Un-Common Theatre Co. and “The Secret Garden” please visit their website at www.uncommontheatre.org

The show will be held on Friday March 11th at 7.30pm at the Burrell School Auditorium.

Improv Soup, the Un-Common Theatre Co.’s improvisational comedy troupe, is made up of teenagers from all over southeastern Massachusetts. Improv Soup was started in 1998 by Christa Crewdson, who remains the Soup director to this very day.

The Soupians perform one Friday a month at 7:30 P.M. at the Burrell School Auditorium, 16 Morse St. in Foxboro, Ma. Tickets to a night of fabulous improvisational comedy cost a mere three bucks for students and seniors and five bucks for adults!

This year’s Troupe consists of:

From Foxboro, Ma: Tyler Appel and Jonah Philibert

From Mansfield, Ma: Michaela Driscoll, Ashley Goverman, Lloyd Hewitt, Emily Levine, Eric Pederson, Catherine Saba, McKenzie Shea and Sarah Shear

From Sharon, Ma: David Getz, Rachel Kopel, Josh Levitt and Ethan Parets.

From Weston, Ma: Maisy Halloran

The remaining dates for the 2010-11 Season of Shows are:

April 29th, 2011

May 20th, 2011

June 17th, 2011

For more information check the website at www.improvsoup.org or call (508)698-3098