Evita - Web-1
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| Photographer - | David Wong |
Monday, September 01, 2008
Cox and Box at Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield Fundraiser
“COX AND BOX” - a Boarding-House Musical
It’s the perfect scam. Landlady Bouncer is getting double rent for the same seedy room. Mr. Cox works by day, Mr. Box by night. Until today, they’ve never met. Nor do they know they are both engaged to the same woman—and both unwillingly.
Come into Beaconsfield’s boarding house as the Rataplan Players of Nova Scotia - Duncan Miller, Tony Marshall, and Jacqui Good, accompanied by Leon Cole on piano - sing and squabble through this delightful, 50-minute Victorian gem by Sir Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan) and F.C. Burnand, future editor of Punch. The piece is a musical adaptation of a popular farce of the day, Box and Cox.
Have you ever heard a lullaby sung to a rasher of bacon? It’s here. And watch for the PEI celebrity mystery guest, who plays the non-love interest of Cox and Box.
For the second half you can join the audience chorus for selections from Gilbert and Sullivan’s “HMS PINAFORE”, led by Carl Mathis and accompanied by Leon Cole, who in another life was host of the well-loved CBC Radio program, RSVP. Solos are optional. Or you can just listen and cheer on the fun.
At the end of the evening, reward your vocal chords with fine Victorian refreshments from Lady Baker’s Tea Trolley.
The event is a fundraiser in aid of Beaconsfield’s Garden Project and takes place one night only, Friday, September 19 at 7:30pm in Beaconsfield’s Carriage House - corner of West and Kent Streets in Charlottetown. Seating is limited and reservations are recommended.
Tickets are $30 (with a tax receipt portion to be issued) and reservations can be made by calling Beaconsfield Historic House at 368-6603.
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Thursday, August 28, 2008
Walk and Chew Gum?
Singing and Acting Workshop
There’s that old expression about how hard it is to do two things at once – ‘Why, I can’t walk and chew gum at the same time!’ That challenge happens on the stage: when drama and tunes come together in a musical, it means having to use both singing and acting talents in a rather special way.
ACT a community theatre is mounting a workshop for developing that blend of skills. It’s on Saturday morning 20 September, 9:00 till noon, at LM Montgomery school.
The leaders are Leon Cole and Jacqui Good, the dynamos of the Nova Scotia Gilbert and Sullivan society, who will be in town for a special benefit show ( “Cox and Box”) at Beaconsfield. ACT has taken the opportunity to have them – along with co-performers Tony Marshall and Duncan Miller – share their skills and their combined more-than-a-century of quality musical-theatre experience with the PEI stage community.
This is for directors and participants in any kind of musical theatre – school musicals, church pageants and cantatas, community drama and choir groups. It’s appealing to the dozens of people who have just joined the cast of ACT’s coming production of “EVITA”, of course, but this workshop is really for anyone in all kinds of theatrical music presentation. It will hone such practical skills as singing while moving, following the conductor while acting to the audience, keeping in time and tune with a group despite physical distance, clear diction, facial and body expressions to convey the meaning of lyrics, positioning on the stage for best singing effect. It’s an inexpensive lesson – just a $10 fee (no charge for ACT members).
For information and to ‘register’ to take part: robthomson @ pei.sympatico.ca or 628-6778
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
“Evita” Preview Evening
ACT (a community theatre) will stage the Andrew Lloyd Webber blockbuster “EVITA” at the Confederation Centre in March 2009. Auditions will be held in the first week of September. To give potential participants a taste of the show, ACT offers a Preview Evening. It’s Wednesday, August 20th, 7 - 9:30, at the St. Peter’s parish hall (corner of Rochford & Fitzroy in Charlottetown). There’ll be excerpts from the recording and the Madonna movie, a video about Eva Peron’s life, information about the show and auditions and a singing-and-acting workshop ... even a Tango demonstration!
Information: robthomson @ pei.sympatico.ca or 628-6778
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Annual ACT Gathering
This is for friends / members of ACT (a community theatre) – current, past, would-be interest parties ...
Look ahead to the lovely summer Saturday afternoon/evening (4:00 till ?) on August 16th ...
• You’re playing croquet or lawn darts on the grounds of the magnificent country estate of Monique and Ben.
• You’re chatting with the amiable company as you sip a libation in preparation for a scrumptious potluck dinner.
• You learn the ACT-applications of Facebook communication.
• You hear about the Hallowe’en comedy “Jack the Ripper” and the blockbuster musical “Evita” ... indeed, you watch bits of the Madonna movie, tapping your toes to the pulsing Latin rhythms.
• You are enthralled by Ann Putnam’s staged reading of the intriguing mystery “Trifles”.
... Oh, and you spend 20 minutes fulfilling the requirement of an annual general meeting to recap the past year and confirm that the organization is solvent and pretty well managed – as well as electing the people who will manage it for the coming year.
We need to know how many people will be attending – to be sure we have a quorum and for providing dinnerware, etc. So could you please tell Monique of your plans to join us on August 16th – 651-3131 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Recreate Sir Andrew Macphail and Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Macphail Foundation, which operates the Macphail Homestead in Orwell, will be holding its major fund raiser on September 13 this year.
The date commemorates the visit of Lucy Maud Montgomery to the Homestead in 1910, at the invitation of Sir Andrew Macphail, but is being celebrated this year because of the “year of Anne” events. On that day, Earl Gray,(then Governor General was also in attendance.
On September 13, the Foundation will hold a tea in the afternoon from 1-3 and a dinner at night from 6:30 until everyone goes home.
The Foundation would like to have actors play the roles of Sir Andrew, (who was not yet Sir; he earned his knighthood as a result of his service in WWI), Lucy Maud and the Earl during each event. The same actors could do both events or two different sets of actors could play.
We would provide information that would be useful in writing scripts or in preparing the actors to role play/improv based on the times, the characters and the events of the day, and our historical experts would coach the actors on what would be appropriate behaviours, language, and subjects of conversation. We would arrange for costumes. If actors come forward by August 10, we would include mention of ACT in advertising, programs, and on the menus.
The foundation would be very pleased if the actors would donate their time, but we would also ensure that they were not out of pocket, and would provide food, travel costs, etc. This aspect could be negotated if interested participants are found. If the fundraiser is a success, we would be looking to reprise Sir Andrew’s role every year, with different special guests (e.g. John MacRae, Stephen Leacock).
If you are interested, please contact me.
Monday, June 02, 2008
ACT Auditions for Jack the Ripper
ACT (A Community Theatre) will be holding auditions for its October production of the rather off-beat comedy “Jack The Ripper - Monster of White Chapel” by Joe Dickinson.The production is directed by Richard Haines and produced by Adam Gauthier.
Auditions will take place Saturday, June 21 and Sunday,
June 22.
To book an audition time or for further information please contact monsterofwhitechapel@gmail.com
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Halifax Theatre Troupe Brings “A Taste Of Honey” to TheGuild
Friday, May 9 & Saturday, May 10 @ The Guild
“A Taste of Honey”
8:00pm
$18 general admission, $15 for students / seniors
You enjoyed the movie Juno? Come and see A Taste Of Honey! This award-winning witty play written by Shelagh Delaney is about a young teenage girl, Jo, pregnant in a single family home with a mother who is anything but ‘ideal’. The mother’s taste in men only compounds the situation. The show precludes the movie “Juno” by decades, but the scenario is similar.
Delaney produced this play at only 19 years of age; its film version went on to win accolades at Cannes and BAFTA.
The presentation by Broken Leg Act Theatre of Halifax has only 2 shows in Charlottetown! Staged in-the-round, this is true cockpit theatre. Come and cheer for the winning player!
For more details, call 620-3333.
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Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Auditions for Anne & Gilbert
The producers of the hit musical Anne & Gilbert are holding auditions in Charlottetown on Monday, February 11 and Tuesday, February 12, 2008. The production team is looking for male and female performers aged 9 through adult with acting, singing and dancing ability. Those auditioning are required to prepare one musical piece, and to bring their sheet music with them, as well as a photo and CV detailing their acting/theatre experience. Performers may also be required to demonstrate their dance skill during auditions.
If you are interested in auditioning, please respond to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with contact information including your full name, age, phone number(s), and please highlight any theatre/dance/singing experience you have. Please also indicate any special skills you possess such as acrobatics, instruments played, etc. If you have photos and a theatre/performance resume that can be e-mailed, please include them with your response. Only those selected for an audition will be contacted.
Anne & Gilbert tells the story of Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe, now young adults teaching in PEI, and later attending Redmond University in Halifax. Gilbert continues to pursue Anne, as she continues to resist him. The musical is based on Anne of the Island and Anne of Avonlea, two of L.M. Montgomery’s sequel novels to her Anne of Green Gables. It was written for the stage by Nancy White, Bob Johnston, and Jeff Hochhauser. Anne & Gilbert debuted in Victoria-by-the Sea in 2005 to sold-out houses. For the past two years it has been performed at the Harbourfont Jubilee Theatre. Last year, the original cast recording soundtrack won an East Coast Music Award.
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Thursday, November 08, 2007
“Nasty Doin’s at Newman’s”
Kingston United Church presents NASTY DOIN’S AT NEWMAN’S, a whodunit fundraiser, set in Newman’s Garage in New Haven. It is directed by Terry Pratt and produced by Jennifer Shields, and is adapted for local delivery from MAYHEM IN MAYVILLE by Dean Kephart. This is audience participation theatre at its most enjoyable, and takes place at Cornwall United Church hall, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16 and 17 at 7:30, and Sunday, Nov. 18 at 2:00. Tickets are $10 and $8 for children under twelve.
Further information: 675-3672.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Blue Castle - The musical
Yes, her name is Valancy and ‘The Blue Castle’, to be staged in November by ACT (a community theatre), tells her story. This musical written by Hank Stinson with additional music by Helen Stewart MacRae is based on a 1926 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The Blue Castle tells the story of Valancy Stirling’s escape from her stultifying home life, her quest for identity, and her awakening as a woman. She is a true hero - a glowing example of courage and determination in the face of the unknown; It’s only when you realize that no one else is going to take care of you that you begin to take care of yourself.
This play won Theatre PEI’s ‘New Voices’ first prize in 1992, and has been staged several times on the Island. The original production had a cast of more than thirty and a live band on stage but Hank Stinson had creative second thoughts - he became increasingly convinced that the work was better suited to an intimate setting, told by a few actors who were really in tune with Lucy Maud Montgomery and her milieu. This production boasts a trimmed script, some new music, and a cast of 12 actors, singers and dancers.
This ACT production is timed to be a part of the November ‘kick-off’ for Anne 2008 and there will be a performance of the show on LM Montgomery’s birthday, November 30. Musical direction will be by Helen Stewart MacRae and choreography by Julia Sauve. Performances will take place at The Guild, on Queen Street, in Charlottetown, on November 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, and Dec.1. Ticket prices are $18 for adults and $16 for students and seniors. They are available at the Guild Box Office, (902) 620-3333 and at the Confederation Centre Box Office (902) 566-1267 / 1-800-565-0278 as well as on line at www.confederationcentre.com
This project has been made possible with funding from the Community Cultural Partnership Program of the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs and with the support of the City of Charlottetown.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
ACT membership renewal 2007 / 2008
Membership year will be from now till August 31, 2008.
Highlights of some of the benefits of becoming a member of ACT are:
-receive advanced notification regarding workshops, mentoring possibilities, auditions and productions
-participate in any aspect of any performance (on-stage or off)
-purchase tickets in advance for any ACT production at a discounted price
Annual membership fee for
single adult member $25.00
same household $40.00
student/unwaged $15.00
cheques (made payable to ACT) can either be mailed to:
ACT (a community theatre)
11 Beach St
Charlottetown PEI
C1A 5G5
or pass along to any executive member.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Schools Drama Project in the Solomon Islands with support from ACT
This is a good-news story. Over the past three months, an excellent thing has happened in Honiara in the Solomon Islands. It came to fruition on Thursday evening, 7 June. It was the HAMS Inter-School Drama Competition.
HAMS is our Honiara community-theatre group. Its main activity has been to put on two or three comedies a year, chiefly for the adult expatriate audience. We decided to do something different—to reach out into the community, to promote drama in the local elementary schools while bannering the Environment as a critical issue for the people of this South-Pacific archipelago.
The project was led by a chap in the British High Commission here. He was prompted by his teenage son who had seen the success of a similar competition (in a different field) in the UK. About ten others of us pitched in to help with planning and arrangements, and to serve as ‘mentors’, assisting the schools who took part. Sponsors included a bank, a computer company, conservation agencies and others—plus Prince Edward Island’s own ACT (a community theatre), which covered transportation costs for the school drama groups.
The competition worked like this ...
- The challenge was to create a 10-minute play—to develop the ideas, write the script, make the costumes, props and set (with a grant of about 14 Canadian dollars!), and present the drama using 6 or 8 pupils plus a 2-person stage-crew. The play was to have a strong societal-improvement purpose, deriving from the general theme of protecting the environment.
- Everything had to be done by the students themselves—at the grade 4, 5, 6 level—under the guidance of their teachers and with advisory help from the HAMS mentors. We arranged with WWF (World-Wide Fund for Nature) education specialists to visit each participating school to get the ideas flowing.
- All elementary schools in Honiara were invited to take part; 6 took up the challenge, and that turned out to be a perfect number.
There was a burst of creative energy over a three-month period. Besides the weekly work in a classroom or under the canopy of a giant rain-tree, each school had a day at the HAMS theatre for rehearsals and the chance to do some fund-raising, while showing off their play to classmates and parents. At a dress-rehearsal run-through, all the kids had a grand time watching each other’s plays.
Then came the gala performance evening. The theatre was full: the Lord Mayor of Honiara, diplomatic officials, the Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister, teachers, school-mates, parents and ‘wantok’ (kinfolk) plus a surprising number of people from the general public. Scores of student actors and assistants clustered outside, waiting for their turn on the stage.
What a show they put on. We were all astonished at the level of acting skill, the creative genius of the costumes and set, the provocative impact of the environmental messages about beating the degradation of clear-cut logging, thoughtless rubbish and dynamite fishing.
The prizes went home with a good spread over all six schools—certificates, trophies, computers ... for costuming, set, stage-crew, actor, actress, group acting, script, overall production/performance, and ‘spirit of the competition’.
The other outcomes were probably more important than the awards.
- A lot of publicity gave profile for the schools, for HAMS, for the idea of grass-roots theatre, and of course for protecting the environment.
- Participation: about 60 pupils were performers and stage-hands; dozens more got in on the action of developing the scripts, costumes, props, set and whatnot. About 15 teachers volunteered for the experience of learning and leading; most started in a rather shy or modest way, to be honest ... but then grew and grew in enthusiasm, imagination, responsibility and pride.
- We found that there is a great pool of dramatic talent and imagination among Solomon Island youngsters, and this developed enormously during these few months.
- What else developed was confidence and self-esteem. White River School is the outstanding example. A disadvantaged school in several ways, it found this project a big challenge ... and then factors like missing set and costumes contributed to a disheartening dress rehearsal. The kids bounced back two days later with a final show that had the audience rocking; that put mile-wide smiles on the students’ faces ... which lit up even more as they took home the computer for ‘Best Spirit of the Competition.’
Environment is crucially important in the Solomons. The effects of shifting from age-old customs to ‘western ways’ and of pillaging the forests and reefs have been killing the capacity of land-and-sea resources to sustain the people’s traditional subsistence living. The plays made the problems concrete and visually demonstrated that solutions are within reach.
There is no shortage, though, of other serious problems—urban drift, political instability, land tenure, inter-ethnic tensions, haphazard education and such. So there is ample potential for using ‘popular theatre’ as an instrument for guiding people to recognize and analyze an issue and feel their way toward remedial action ... and there is no reason to omit children from that process.
We can be almost certain that the HAMS Inter-School Drama Competition will become an annual activity.
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Saturday, August 04, 2007
Go Finis
This is our final monthly newsletter from the Solomon Islands—the 22nd to record our two years here which began on September 8th 2005.
Bae mitufala go finis fofala dei moa: four days from now we will take off from Henderson Airport. That is, by the way, the air-field which, because of its strategic significance in the Japanese spread across the South Pacific and southern Asia, was the cause of the horrific battles of Guadalcanal which made this place the grave for over 40,000 soldiers and sailors.
Much of our stay here has been (to put it in a best-possible light) ‘challenging’. We look back at the first half-year especially—at ‘aggrimatization’ to the filth of Honiara, the power and water outages, and particularly the total mess into which we stumbled at work, where no one had been doing anything for a couple of years and no one (employees, Director, Board, CUSO) seemed to be terribly bothered by that ... and we wonder: -...Why did we ever stay? Why did we bother trying?
Some things have improved. Power and water go off only about twice or three times a week. We no longer smell burning plastic so much and the rubbish covering everything is probably only about 65% of what it was, now that the town has some erratic garbage collection. We haven’t had a loot-and-burn riot in over a year ... although Chinatown (through which we walk twice a day) is still an empty un-rebuilt shell. Politics are still pretty ridiculous, to the point of some scariness, but the Solomons Prime Minister and Australia are still, for all their angry bickering, maintaining some sort of relationship.
But two kinds of thing keep us discouraged.
- Some significant attributes of Solomon Islands ‘culture’—particularly the (non-) work ethic of a majority of people and the attitude of dependency:—You white men are good at that; we black men are no good at it; we need you white men to do it—and the assumption that if something needs to be done, AusAid, the EU or Taiwan will fund it, and someone like the UN (or CUSO) will send ‘experts’ to do it.
- Which leads us to our work and the fate of LASI, our Literacy Association. The good news is that the new Finance & Administration person is competent: those aspects of LASI will run smoothly. But ... How telling it was, what our Director said in a staff meeting a couple of weeks ago: “Thanks to Rob & Mar for helping me ... when they go, I’ll have to find someone else to help me.” He has learned virtually nothing, and what he said reflected that he has had no concept (despite all our attempts at training / ‘skills-transfer’) that he should be learning ... There’s a presumption that there will always be someone else who will tell him how to manage. Then there’s Alex—the fellow hired in January as the literacy professional ... one of the three persons in the Solomons with a year’s formal training. What emerged a few weeks ago was that he (i) had reverted to porn-site addiction; (ii) had hugely mismanaged LASI money on his training trips; (iii) had, for all the typing he seemed to do, produced nothing of what he was assigned. He did give training to many of our field coordinators and about 150 village teachers, so that was an achievement. But quite sensibly, the Board fired him ... which means that after 2 years we’re back to square one, having no capacity to provide training and other literacy services. Aaaarrrrggggh.
Finished up in a more positive way with our HAMS theatre group—orchestrated the AGM, got a new constitution adopted and a strong executive committee in place. I can feel good about the theatre work—the comedy shows and other events like coffee nights, and especially the wonderful Schools Drama Competition we put on.
My (R’s) health has been a bother: a 2-day flu, mild food poisoning, cellulitis in an infected leg, ear infection again. Physical wreck. But we’ve been enjoying the cooler nights—three when we turned off the fan!
Family news ... Daughter Meg and Chris this week moved into their new house in Barrhead Alberta, and Chris is doing well at learning RCMP techniques in actual practice. Ken is traveling again, this week in Germany or Switzerland. Graham and Suzy have finished their Italian classes in Sienna and are touring for a couple of weeks. Alec and Allana are busy helping her brother Jimmy and his fiance plan their October wedding. We look forward to seeing them all in a few months.
Predictably, we’ve been socializing quite a bit in these final few weeks. A big farewell dinner at a hotel with representatives of all the various literacy agencies. Lunches with Paula, the CUSO office person. Dinners, big and small, with some of our favourite expat pals ... and even some new ones—example: Australian physician who practised in Saskatchewan; Malaysian epidemiologist working on malaria eradication. A ‘farewelling’ ceremony with songs and gifts and food, at one of our literacy schools.
Perhaps the most meaningful goodbye gathering is this afternoon (Sunday) when our neighbours from the half-dozen houses in our little valley - probably about 50 men, women and pikininis— will gather around our house for a ‘go-finis’ party, a sort of potluck at which we will barbecue hamburgers and the others will bring Solomons kai-kai of various kinds—kumara, taro, fish, cassava pudding, slippery cabbage, etc.
Impressions:
- all the greens of our valley—clover, shrubs, palm, frangipani, papaya, banana, cassava, etc.
- picking ants out of the cereal and off the toothbrush
- Solomon Islanders (most of them) are perhaps not so great at _doing_ and producing results ... but they are very good at _being_, at ‘storying’ and enjoying one another and being happy
- a comic note—a sermon at church ... the guy said that Islanders were just too busy; they needed to slow down!
- residue of Brit / Aussie vocabulary: you ‘ring someone on 22850’ (vs call them at ...)
- in Aussie vocabulary you ‘farewell’ someone (vs say good-bye)
- all toilets offer a sensible choice of full- or half-flush
- the scampering across our floors, walls, ceilings: geckos and big hunting spiders
- the mud on and in everything, after two or three days of rain
- more interesting Islander names: Tango, Relent, Styistel, Netherlyn, Modesta
So ... as we wend our way through Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan ... and Alberta (all those exotic places with inscrutable people!), we’ll be out of touch. We’ll land on good ol’ PEI on Tuesday, September 18th (phone # 902-628-6778)... bringing this 2-year adventure to a close, and opening up a fresh chapter. Thank you for allowing us to share our experiences with you.
Rob & Mar
Friday, July 13, 2007
Coming for a visit to my favorite island
Hello Everyone-
I just wanted to let my favorite Island people know that I am coming for a visit (for the first time since I left three years ago!) in August and would love to see everyone. I am looking forward to seeing how my students have grown and what everyone is up to. I’ll be there between August 6 and 16th. I’ll be staying with Norman and Phyllis Hall in Charlottetown. My e-mail is also an easy way to get a hold of me.
I hope all is well. I can’t wait for some fresh Island air!
Emily
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Associate Producer
Intern in Professional Theatre
The musical stage production Anne & Gilbert is looking for a reliable and responsible person to intern with our show. The ideal candidate should:
- Have an interest in theatre.
- Be 16-years of age or older.
- Have a valid driver’s license and consistent access to a vehicle.
- Be available from mid-June through mid-July.
- Be available to work in Summerside, PEI.
The Anne & Gilbert intern assits the show’s stage management team. This is a non-paying position, though an honorarium is offered at the end of the internship. It is an excellent opportunity for someone with an interest in theatre to gain valuable experience.
All candidates should e-mail their contact information along with some details about their theatre or related experinece to: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Please also indicate why you are interested in interning with Anne & Gilbert
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