Evita - Oh What a Circus
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Photographer
Elaine Schuller |
Thursday, August 27, 2009
ANNUAL MEETING 2009
What a fine annual gathering we had on Saturday, August 22nd. Big thanks to Monique and Ben for hosting it at their beautiful country home.
20 people attended. We played croquet. We chatted. We ate. Boy, did we eat (and sip).
We held our formal Annual General Meeting, at which ...
- The financial report revealed we are quite solvent ... we have plenty of money to cover the expenses of the fall production plus the costs of our normal year-long operating expenses. Those expenses—for the Beach House rental, snow removal, insurance, awards to support community theatre, etc., together with our sponsorship of the PEI Community Theatre Festival—are distinct from the money it takes to put on our productions, and in the coming year the cost will be about $7000.
- The Director of Theatre’s report reminded us of the three productions of the 08/09 season: “Jack the Ripper,” “Christmas Remembered” and “Evita.”
- Monique reported on the fun of the Reading evenings.
- Sophia reminded us that we had more than 90 members this year.
- Richard told us about “The Rocky Horror Show” coming up in October, and Jennifer spoke about the the renewal of the Community Theatre Festival next March.
- We held the election for officers of the Board ... and here is how that shapes up;
• President - Richard Haines • Past-president - Rob Thomson
• Vice-president - Rob Reddin • Treasurer - Jennifer Long
• Secretary - Janet Macdonald • Membership coordinator - Sophia Wong
• Director of Theatre - Adam Gauthier • Readings coordinator - Monique Lafontaine
• Music adviser - Carl Mathis
Still needed: Workshops coordinator ... ACT-out coordinator
- We presented ACT’s Community Theatre Appreciation Award to Wallena Higgins—recognizing her year-after-year contribution to the life of amateur theatre on PEI, through her stage managing and mentoring service with ACT as well as Charlottetown Rural High School and other community stage enterprises.
Here is the President’s report to give an overview of ACT’s 08/09 year ...
• The Board held 10 monthly meetings between early September/08 and the end of June/09 ... plus a couple of e-mail votes.
• ACT’s membership surged this year to over 90 – chiefly because of strong involvement in Evita. Thanks to Sophia Wong for handling membership matters.
• This was a somewhat limited year for our play-reading evenings. There were just a few, although Monique Lafontaine did well in choosing a good variety, editing longer works to manageable size, and conducting the readings so that the dozen or so participants had a range of parts.
Two tries at ACT-Out occasions did not work out so well. A good experiment, though, was to have a dinner together before one of our own play-readings.
One other good evening was the ‘Evita preview’ – video clips, biographical outline, tango demonstration, and information about the show – as a way of recruiting auditioners.
• ACT staged three successful productions in the 08/09 season:
- “Jack the Ripper: Monster of Whitechapel” by Joe Dickinson in October 2008. Directed by Richard Haines and produced by Adam Gauthier, this comedic-melodramatic pleaser offered the novelty of optional endings. It played to about 300 people at the Carrefour and had a surplus of over $1100.
- “Christmas Remembered,” the charming mix of sentimental songs and stories, was reprised by Brenda Porter at the Carriage House, a sort of co-production with Beaconsfield. Audiences topped 100, and ACT’s share of the surplus was just over $300.
- “Evita,” the Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice blockbuster, absorbed most of ACT’s energies this past year. It engaged 100 participants: 45 singer-actor-dancers on stage, 15 musicians in the pit, and another 35 or so people carrying out the production tasks. The creative directors were Mark Ramsay, Shirley Anne Cameron and Julia Sauvé, with costuming by Pam Jewell and set by Garney Gallant. Producers were Brenda Porter and Rob Thomson. 2800 people saw the show at Confederation Centre; the budget was almost $40,000, and the surplus was over $13,500.
• This past spring, with leadership from Paul Whelan, ACT invited Island playwrights and would-be playwrights to submit short plays or play-sections ... with the plan that ACT would organize an evening or two to ‘give voice’ to the writings by way of a reading by actors. There was a fair response, but it emerged that some refining was needed, and so the readings were postponed till fall.
• Especially with the boost of Evita, ACT has continued in financial good health. As the year ended we had $36,000 invested in GICs and a little over $10,000 in the bank account, ready to finance regular operations plus the fall production.
It should be cautioned, though, that our non-production budget for the coming year is doubling, and it looks like it will be a deficit year. It is easy to forget or be unaware of the on-going costs of operating ACT, as distinct from the money involved in putting-on-shows. Our non-production expenses have been around $3000 over the past few years, but will be on the order of $7000 next year – owing to a more realistic rental arrangement, sponsoring the Community Theatre Festival, buying some equipment and having a contingency reserve.
We have been fortunate to have Mar Thomson’s bookkeeping and financial advice.
• Gerry Gray carried out a significant reconstruction of the ACT web-site.
• We benefitted from publicity sponsorship arrangements with The Guardian and Ocean & K-Rock radio.
• ACT lent materials from our collection (set-pieces, props, costumes) to several theatre endeavours – reflecting our constitutional role to support community theatre activity beyond ourselves.
• We adopted two policies to give consistency to:
- the loaning of materials (set-pieces, costumes, props, scripts, books, etc.)
- payment of honoraria when we use professional help for choreography, music, set-building, costuming, graphics, lighting and such
A policy to guide establishment and on-going management of ACT’s archives was created, but has yet to be formally adopted.
• A recommendation from last year’s ‘Thinking Session’ and the AGM was that ACT should get more active in offering theatre-related workshops. So we held two of them this year:
- “Walk-and-Chew-Gum” took place in September 2008. Jacqui Good, Leon Cole and the rest of the Rataplan players led several dozen participants in exercises to develop their singing and acting.
- “Stage versus Screen” was a weekend workshop in late May, put together by Corin McFadden, jointly sponsored by ACT and IMAC (Island Media Arts Coop). It offered intensive actor training by Alex Scott, involving video recording and feedback. Regrettably, there were just a half-a-dozen participants.
• ACT renewed the awarding of a ‘Theatre Review Prize’ to a student (this year it was Heather Parry) in UPEI’s theatre course for writing the best critical review of a production.
• Another award is being made: the Community Theatre Appreciation Award, for significant contribution to the life of amateur theatre on PEI. [It was presented to Wallena Higgins at the end of the meeting.]
• The go-ahead was given and some groundwork laid for two major projects for 09/10:
- mounting “The Rocky Horror Show” in later October;
- ACT’s revival of the PEI Community Theatre Festival in March 2010 – with Jennifer Shields in the producer-coordinator role.
• Our thanks are expressed to people who are leaving the Board: Paul Whelan, Clair Smith and Corin McFadden – particularly for some of the helpful observations they each have contributed through Board-meeting discussions and e-mail advice.
Very special appreciation is extended to Terry Pratt as he leaves the Board after terms as President and Past-President. He has been an active leader, and a fount of historical knowledge and good-sense advice. Repeatedly it was Terry who looked ahead and identified issues ... who diligently thought out the pros and cons and gave perceptive feedback ... who took responsibility to get things done. He can now formally add ‘good and true service on the ACT Board’ to the lengthy resumé of contributions to many sectors of the PEI theatre scene.
All in all, ACT has come a long way—and a very productive way—from that winter evening in early 1995 when seven or eight of us each put down $25 on a coffee table to mount “Our Town.” It is ironic, by the way, that that money was used to buy two stepladders for our first set ... and this year we had to buy two stepladders to build the “Evita” set. One wonders what became of the original ones!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Provocative New Cabaret Hits The Guild
A Peek At “Martha’s Box”
The Guild
August 12 & 13, 8pm.
Licensed 19+, Provocative Content
Tickets $16.
Charlottetown – After you’ve been touring around the world with the hit stage musical Mamma Mia! for 5 years, what do you do for an encore? If you’re Island-raised Marlene Handrahan, you take a break from Dancing Queen and S.O.S., and head back to PEI to put the finishing touches on a musical cabaret show called A Peek At “Martha’s Box”.
The former Miss Stacy from the Charlottetown Festival’s production of Anne of Green Gables – The Musical™ is bringing her new show to the Guild in Charlottetown for a two-night only run on Wednesday, August 12 and Thursday, August 13 at 8 pm. Handrahan describes A Peak At “Martha’s Box” as “a saucy evening of stories, musings and music”, which prompts the actor to ask, “Do you hate tag lines as much as I do?”
Handrahan stresses that the show is “more cabaret than theatre - no set, no staging.” With the emphasis on the entertainment, the cabaret format gives the actor an opportunity to present highlights from her more formal work entitled Martha’s Box as well as some notable musical additions. “The stories are based on the character I created for my play Martha’s Box, though here they’re presented in a more intimate and very musical setting,” explains Handrahan.
The original piece saw Martha, after the end of a relationship, rummaging through a storage locker in an attempt to locate a set of dishes, and finding remembrances of her life in the process. Says Handrahan of the cabaret version, “The story, or arc, is similar to the play in that the evening reflects on relationships, growing up, sex, finding yourself, and finding those damn dishes!” Though wearing its double entendres intentionally, Handrahan adds that the cabaret’s title “refers to the storage space that Martha uses as a metaphor for compartmentalizing her life.” And of course, the audience will be peaking at the play by getting highlights during this full-length cabaret performance.
Joining Handrahan onstage is Halifax singer/songwriter Brad Davidge whom Handrahan describes as “an incredible musician and a really intuitive artist.” Davidge will be featured performing some of his own material, as well as accompanying most of the stories. Handrahan adds that the music “plays an integral part in the piece. I really see it as a duet - both elements really influence each other - the rhythm of the music kind of drives the rhythm within the monologues, and vice versa.”
Handrahan and Davidge met while doing Eastern Front Theatre’s production of Canada’s Songbird: A Musical Tribute To Anne Murray in Nova Scotia this past winter. Davidge played with the band and joined the three female leads during duets. He’s also toured with artists such as Gordie Sampson, Bruce Guthro, Lennie Gallant and Natalie MacMaster and has shared the stage with Faith Hill, Don Henley, Allison Krauss, Yo-Yo Ma, Rosanne Cash, Randy Bachman, and Wynton Marsalis. Davidge’s professional experience has also seen him perform at Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic and Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops, and appear on Good Morning America, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and ABC’s New Years Eve Special with Peter Jennings. In 2002, Davidge released a critically acclaimed solo recording, Unfolded, produced by Gordie Sampson.
Says Handrahan of the opportunity to present this cabaret on PEI, “I love storytelling, and my writing has been informed by the community and culture I grew up in. To be able to combine the spoken word with music in such a complementary and spontaneous setting is a thrill.”
A Peek At “Martha’s Box” is part of The Guild’s Gotta Go Festival sponsored by Freedom 55 Financial, a Division of London Life. Credit Union Central joins the festival as this show’s sponsor. For tickets and more information, contact The Guild online at http://www.theguildpei.com or via their box office at 902-620-3333.
The Guild reminds audiences that A Peek At “Martha’s Box” contains provocative content and is licensed.
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Written by Dave Stewart
Media Contact:
Cate Proctor, cate@theguildpei.com, 902-620-3474
Thursday, July 23, 2009
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
This is for friends/members of ACT - a community theatre – current, past, and would-be interest parties ... It is notice of the Annual General Meeting of ACT.
When: Saturday 22 August - about 4:00 till mid-evening
Where: at Ben Kinder/Monique Lafontaine’s country estate in Earnscliffe
What to bring: potluck food + drink + chairs + lawn games e.g. frisbee, badminton, a ball + bug repellent. (Dinnerware and utensils will be provided.)
Response:
==> Please call (628-6105) or send a note (monique_lafontaine_1 @hotmail.com) to tell Monique Lafontaine if you’ll be attending, so that she can make arrangements for the appropriate number. She will provide you with directions to the Earnscliffe estate.
What happens: lawn games ... a potluck supper ... entertainment ... mostly chat ... but also our fairly brief business meeting – short reports, plans for the coming year, maybe some discussion of ‘issues’, election of officers
Elections: the Nominating Committee will present a slate of candidates for several positions, but there can also be nominations from the floor. The following table shows the officers, terms, and the Nominating Committee’s proposals. The positions of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Director of Theatre, Membership Coordinator, ACT-out Coordinator, and Workshops Coordinator are to be filled at this AGM.
Officer
President - nominee: Richard Haines
(succeeding Rob Thomson) Term ends Aug/11
Vice-Pres - nominee: Rob Reddin
(completing for Richard Haines) Term ends Aug/10
Rob Thomson - Past President
(succeeding Terry Pratt) Term ends Aug/11
Janet Macdonald - Secretary
(continuing) Term ends Aug/10
Treasurer - nominee: Jennifer Long
(completing for Adam Gauthier) Term ends Aug/10
Director of Theatre - nominee: Adam Gauthier
(succeeding Paul Whelan) Term ends Aug/11
Membership Coordinator - nominee Sophia Wong
(standing for a new term) Term ends Aug/11
ACT-out - ??? Indefinite term
Monique Lafontaine - Play-readings Indefinite term
Carl Mathis - Music Indefinite term
Workshops - ??? Indefinite term
Webmaster (not a Board position) - Gerry Gray
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
John Alfred Conway
The death occurred at his late residence in Charlottetown on Monday, July 20, 2009, of John Alfred Conway, aged 54 years. Born in Charlottetown, January 17, 1955, he was the son of the late H.J. “Harry” Conway and Louise (Blanchard) Conway. He is survived by his daughter Patti, son Ryan (Shauna) and daughter Julia. Also survived by sister Lynda Campbell (Jim), Charlottetown, Paula Crockett (Orville) of Montrose, P.E., and brother Michael (Darlene) and sister Helen, Charlottetown. Resting at the Hennessey Funeral Home, completed funeral arrangements to be announced later. Online condolences may be made at http://www.islandowned.ca .
Thursday, July 16, 2009
SCRIPT READING OPPORTUNITY
Actor-Readers needed for Friday 17 July
Corin McFadden (of IMAC) is soliciting the help of actors in the community, who might be free Friday, July 17, between 7-10 p.m, to participate in a stage reading of short excerpts, from the top six screenplay finalists, for the 2nd Annual PEI International Film Festival. This will be presented at The Guild.
Those interested can contact Robbin W by phone (902) 894-9911
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
THEATRE TRAINING for YOUNG PEOPLE
Youth Summer Drama Camp - Kentville NS
CentreStage Theatre in Kentville NS will be hosting a youth drama camp under the very capable leadership of Cynthia Myers, Chester (http://www.cynthia-myers.com). For more information or registration forms, please email jchurchill @ ns.sympatico.ca.
Week of August 3: Ages 6-11
STAR SEARCH: The greatest talent contest in the Universe! Queen Andromeda of the Andromeda galaxy is bored, her assistant Sirius decides they should host a talent contest. When the word gets out in the solar system; Venus, Mars; The Meteorites and The Pleiades all arrive to compete to be the brightest star in the universe! And the winner is….?!?
This week long camp will focus on teamwork, choreography, singing and basic theater etiquette. The actors will receive a script and CD of Cynthia Myer’s original musical Star Search. Every actor will audition, every actor will be given a part and together the ensemble will perform on Saturday August 8th at 2pm.
August 3-7th Performance Aug 8th at 2pm
Monday to Friday 9-3pm
Class limited to 25
Week of August 10: Ages 12-17
Who’s Right: Whose Rite?!
We all have rights, but what happens when someone from 2009 is plopped into Biblical times, the turn of the century, or outer space?
Find out what really happens when you’re overdue with library books, and you get sent into the story you’re reading!
This week long camp will focus on acting technique and basic theater etiquette. Actors will learn choreography; how to work with sets, props, costumes and character development. All actors will audition, receive a CD and script and work together and an ensemble in performance Saturday Aug 15th at 2pm.
Actors age 12-18
August 10-14th performance Saturday August 15th at 2pm
Monday to Friday, 9-3pm
Class limited to 25
If you have any questions, or would like further information please contact us at centrestage @ centrestagetheatre.ca or phone 678-3502 and leave a message. CentreStage Theatre is located at 61 River Street, Kentville, near the police station.
Monday, June 22, 2009
AGM - early notice
Keep August 22 open ... for ACT’s AGM/party
ACT - a community theatre will hold its annual general meeting – well all right, its annual general convivial gathering – on Saturday afternoon, August 22nd, starting at 4:00 pm. This is for ACT members – current, past and would-be.
Besides the mercifully short business meeting, there’ll be news about the coming season’s productions, workshops, play readings and ‘ACT-Out’ social occasions, lawn sports and a fine potluck dinner.
Venue: the Earnscliffe estate of Ben and Monique.
The agenda for the business meeting includes short reports by the President, Treasurer, Membership coordinator, Director of Theatre, Readings coordinator ... elections for Board members ... possibly some discussion of ‘issues’ like strategic directions for ACT.
More information later.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Spring Cleaning
The Beach House sparkles after its spring clean-up.
We held our annual June clean-up of the Beach House on Saturday, 20 June. Big thanks to the sweepers, scrubbers, garbage-tossers and toilet-bowl polishers: Wallena Higgins, Terry Pratt, Cyril Armstrong, Richard Haines, Barb Rhodenhizer, Doug Gallant and Rob Thomson. After the labours we had a nice barbecue lunch together.
Ticket Prize
ACT provided tickets to its October production, The Rocky Horror Show, as a boost for the annual Huntington Disease fund-raiser.
ACT has received a note from Stephen Hurst, the president of the PEI chapter of the Huntington Society, to thank us for donating a pair of tickets to “Rocky Horror” as a prize. The Society’s ‘Indy’ Go-Kart Challenge was held last weekend. It raised $7000 for Hungington research and family support.
The winner of the ACT tickets was Janet-Rose McBeath.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
The Rocky Horror Show
This Halloween ACT is pleased to present the cult classic musical, The Rocky Horror Show. Directed by Richard Haines and produced by Adam Gauthier and Marla Hunter.
Auditions will be held on June 27 & 28 at Charlottetown Rural High School. Anyone interested in auditioning are asked to email us at monsterofwhitechapel@gmail.com to set up an appointment. Any other inquiries about the show are equally welcome!
Actors will be asked to prepare a contemporary monologue and musical selection for their audition. Due to the mature content of the play actors are required to be 18+ years of age.
We are looking forward to seeing people out at the auditions, and presenting this show to the public, take care everyone!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Brilliant Production!!
To all members of ACT. Congratulations on a truly wonderful performance of Evita!! You have an exceptional company. My only regret is that the performances are only for a few days, I could watch your shows over and over again!! Still they are so memorable that they stay fresh in the mind!! May I make a suggestion for a future Performance? How about Les Miserables? We have such a wealth of talent on the Island, that I am sure it would be a sublime production.
I am already looking forward very much to your next performance.
Sketch22 Call for Auditions
Hi Gerry and Brenda,
Sketch-22 is seeking extras for a few hours for our first video shoot of the 2009 season. The release is attached and is pasted below. It’s taking place on Saturday, April 19th at 1 p.m. in Charlottetown. Those interested can email me (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) for more details. I thought some of the ACT players might be interested. If you’re able to pass this along to your members I’d certainly appreciate it. Thanks.
P.S. Loved Evita! Very well done.
Jason Rogerson
ACT News • Non ACT • Auditions • (2) Comments • Permalink
Monday, April 06, 2009
Reading Club and ACT Out
Good afternoon,
The next theatre reading will take place on Thursday, April 16 at 7 p.m. in the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. We will be reading “Belle Moral ” by Ann-Marie MacDonald.
For those of you interested in an ACT-OUT, we will be meeting for supper at Mavor’s Bistro and Bar at 5:30
Please contact me if you plan to attend the supper and/or the reading so I can make arrangements for both.
Please let me know by e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or by phone (651-3131 or 628-6105) if you plan to attend.
Theatre reading: ACT members: free. Non-members: $2.00
Hope to see you there!
Monique
ACT Out / Away • ACT News • Reading Club • (0) Comments • Permalink
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
This is theatre worth applauding
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (Guardian)
Editor:
I have just returned home from one of the best nights of theatre I’ve seen on this Island in 10 years.
Anyone else who had the pleasure of taking in tonight’s (Friday) performance of Evita by ACT knows exactly what I’m talking about. From the moment the first actor arrived on stage to the final curtain two and a half hours later, I was taken in by the entire production. Every element, from staging to costumes to the orchestra, was absolutely bang on. Not to mention the totally convincing performances from every single cast member.
I hope each of the 100-plus people involved in this production takes another bow when they read this. You certainly deserve it. Three cheers for community theatre. We have many, many talented storytellers amongst us.
Kelly Mullaly,
Monday, March 30, 2009
Evita left our spirits soaring
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (Guardian)
Editor:
Congratulations to ACT on their truly magnificent production of Evita. The principals were simply superb with immaculate timing and mellifluous voices. The company gave us delightfully detailed and concentrated work which brought out all aspects of the emotion, turmoil and public fascination with the amazing life of Eva Peron.
Mark Ramsay, Shirley Anne Cameron and Julia Sauve deserve our gratitude for setting a standard to which all productions should aspire.
The very clever settings, lighting choreography and costumes delighted the eye.
Altogether a wonderful evening reminding us of the magic of musical theatre, after a steady diet of musical revues on the mainstage.
The production left our spirits soaring with Eva and the angel.
M. Raymond Moore