Community Theatre Festival 2010 - Opening Night - Thane & Sue
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Monday, September 13, 2010
WANT TO PUT ON A PLAY?
Here’s your chance to do that play you’ve been wanting to see on stage ...
Hello everyone.
ACT has decided to pull together an evening of one-act plays for later this fall (the date is under consideration by a small committee right now). As such we are looking out to the membership for people interested in throwing their lot in as a director to one of these shows.
An interested director would need to have a one act show to propose, and hopefully another person or two interested in helping them produce and/or Stage manage their production.
So give it some thought, and if you’re interested, let me know at richard.haines @ gmail.com
Friday, August 20, 2010
ACT MEMBERSHIP 2010-11
A new membership year
A reminder from our Membership Coordinator
It’s time for membership renewal. Our membership year runs from September 1, 2010 to August 31, 2011.
The annual fees are the same as they’ve always been since ACT began in 1995:
$25 regular $40 for people of the same household $15 for someone with limited income such as a full-time student or unwaged person.
It’s actually a pretty good deal ...
Tickets: you get a $2-per-ticket discount on the advance purchase of two tickets to ACT shows
Play-Reading Evenings: free participation (vs $3 non-member charge for printing cost)
‘ACT-Out’ social events: going to a show and having dinner together
Being ‘in-the-loop’: e-mail notice to get word of theatre-related events (auditions, performances, workshops, etc.)
Performances: the Constitution requires that you must be a current member to participate directly in a show, whether on- or off-stage (... and so be eligible for a comp ticket)
Why do we need fees? It’s because it costs money to run the organization—about $7,000 a year for maintaining ACT’s building, insurance, snow-removal, the website, office equipment, giving two kinds of theatre awards, etc.
We get that money from two sources: the profits from shows and member dues.
So ... if you’d like to be a member of ACT for 2010/11, please get in touch with the Membership Coordinator, Sophia Wong (sophiacw @ gmail.com) or send your cheque—payable to ACT - a community theatre—to ACT, 11 Beach Street, Charlottetown PE C1A 5G5.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Community Theatre Appreciation Award 2010
Terry Pratt - honoured for many contributions to PEI theatre
At ACT’s Annual General Meeting on August 1, 2010, President Richard Haines presented the Community Theatre Appreciation Award to Terry Pratt. For a photo, click on Gallery (top-right of this page) and choose ‘Award’. Here’s what was said about ACT’s honouring Terry:
From time to time during its history, ACT has given an award – call it ‘the community theatre appreciation award.’ We like to recognize a person or an organization who has made a major contribution to the life of community theatre on PEI.
Sometimes it was an individual – for example, David Sherren who organized and directed Charlottetown Rural’s musicals, the Confederation Centre’s community Christmastime productions, and a number of ACT’s own productions in our early years ... and Mae Ames for all her work in various drama groups and her classes for youngsters. Sometimes it has been an organization – for example, the Confederation Centre, The Buzz, and The Guardian – all of which played such a strong and on-going part in promoting amateur theatre.
The recipients are people who have done good things in several ways or fields or areas ... helping a number of theatre groups, with direct and ripple effects for lots of people in amateur theatre ... contributing again and again over the years.
Terry Pratt has done this—hugely.
• He has directed so many productions of various kinds, involving so many actors, singers, students, production people – at UPEI and with ACT.
Think just of his major ACT productions: The School for Scandal, The Gondoliers, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore, Trial by Jury, Murder in the Cathedral.
• He led in taking ACT to a higher step with the G&S productions at the Confed Centre.
• He was imaginative and collaborative enough to reach out to do joint productions in fresh locations – Summerside Court House, Indian River, Beaconsfield.
• In administrative or organizational ways he has been a leader – as board member, president, treasurer, set construction – not just in ACT but in other theatre enterprises: UPEI, Theatre PEI, Community Theatre Festival, Victoria Playhouse.
• And he has been so generous in donations to theatre enterprises (such as to the Victoria Playhouse), and outstandingly, buying and maintaining a building for ACT’s use.
Community theatre on PEI would not be what it has been without Terry Pratt.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
CONCERT of FRIENDS
Beaconsfield Historic House
presents
THREE LADIES and NINE GENTLEMEN
A Reunion Concert with
Suzanne Campbell, Emily Hanlin Piper & Jacqueline Sorensen
featuring the works of Vaughan Williams, George Gershwin, Aaron Copland & others
Saturday, July 24 at 7:30 pm
Beaconsfield’s Carriage House
Admission - $12 ~ Tickets at the Door
Doors open at 7pm
Beaconsfield Historic House is pleased to announce a reunion concert, “Three Ladies and Nine Gentlemen”, will be held in its Carriage House on July 24 at 7:30pm. The three ladies are Island singer Suzanne Campbell, mezzo-soprano, Island pianist Jacqueline Sorensen and American performer Emily Hanlin Piper, soprano. The trio will perform music by nine of their favorite gentlemen composers, including Vaughan Williams, George Gershwin and Aaron Copland. These ladies performed regularly together six years ago while Hanlin Piper lived on Prince Edward Island and are excited to once again perform together in concert. The rustic charm of Beaconsfield’s Carriage House is the setting for the reunion concert which takes place at 7:30pm, Saturday, July 24. Admission is $12 and tickets are available at the door. Doors open at 7pm. For more information call at 368-6603.
Friday, July 16, 2010
ACT Annual General Meeting
Hello everyone,
The time is once more upon us to gather, to review a year’s business and reaquaint with all our friends. This year on August 1, the ACT AGM will be hosted (most generously) by Terry and Jennifer.
The AGM is open to all of it’s members past and present, so don’t be shy to come out and join us. We will be meeting at 5 pm, and beginning the formal meeting itself by 6 pm. Following the meeting we’ll enjoy a potluck dinner. People should also bring a lawnchair or two if they have them for outdoor meeting and dining. (BYOB too!)
Terry and Jennifer’s home is at 932 Peters Road, route 244 in Elmwood. Take TransCanada to New Haven; turn north on hwy 9, the Colville Road; take (after about two kilometres) the first left, the Wynne Road; take it to the end, which is the Peters Road; turn right and proceed about a kilometre. Our house is on the right, set back behind a lot of trees. If you come to a potato warehouse on the right, or a crossroad, you have come too far.
I hope to see you all there! Take care, Richard.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Three Oaks Show
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Harbourfront - last week of May
Three Oaks Senior High School is proud to present this year’s musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with performances by two separate casts May 27-29, 2010. The show’s Tony Award winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky, yet charming, cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time. The characters involved come to learn that winning isn’t everything and that losing doesn’t necessarily make you a “loser”. This hilarious tale spells nothing but fun for the audience- and maybe even a chance to “interact”! Join us for an evening at the Harbourfront Theatre May 27-29, 2010, curtain at 7:30 p.m., and enjoy the chance to just “bee” yourself. With two casts performing, the experience will never be the same way twice! Tickets are on sale through the box office beginning April 21 or on line: www.jubileetheatre.com. See you at “The Bee”!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Young People’s Theatre Camp
Summer Theatre Camp for Kids at Beaconsfield’s Carriage House
Beaconsfield Historic House and former Island thespian, Emily Hanlin Piper, are presenting a Prince Edward Island History Theatre Camp for children ages 8-12 at Beaconsfield’s Carriage House in Charlottetown, Monday through Friday, July 19 – 23 from 1pm until 5pm. The students will perform an original comedy, Princess Louise Comes to Call based upon the real-life visit to Beaconsfield of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Louise. Sharing directorial duties is Cheryl Scofield, MA Theatre. The cost is $150 for each student with sibling discounts available.
This camp will focus on period manners, comedic timing, diction and more through theatre games as well as play rehearsal. All of the young thespians’ hard work will culminate in a final performance at 7pm on Friday, July 23rd at Beaconsfield’s Carriage House.
Emily Hanlin Piper, BA Theatre from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, is a former Island theatre and music instructor now residing in Massachusetts. She was the 2004 winner of Theatre PEI’s Best Production Award. Since leaving PEI, Emily has lived in Chicago where she performed professionally and taught a number of theatre, music and art classes. She now lives on a 250 year-old farm in Westford, Massachusetts where she owns her own arts-based business, Rumphius Creativity Unhinged. She teaches
theatre, puppetry, art and eco-friendly classes as well as performs as Mrs. Junkbox in schools across the state. She is very excited to be back on PEI this summer and to work with Island kids once again!
Cheryl Scofield has been teaching theatre in Virginia and Illinois for several years. She has an MA from Northwestern University in Theatre History, Criticism and Literature and worked as a dramaturg with some Off-Loop theatres while living in Chicago. Also in Chicago, Cheryl taught theatre in inner-city schools in a program designed to keep kids out of gangs through involvement in theatre. She is currently director and theatre teacher at Liberty High School located in Virginia.
For more information and to register, go to www.creativityunhinged.com. Registration forms are available under “How to Register”. Please use the Summer Camp form. Or contact Emily Hanlin Piper at 978.995.7002 or rumphius@creativityunhinged.com. Sibling discounts and payment plans are available. Limit: 20 students.
SUMMER SINGING
What’s in a name? Quite a lot for the former Indian River Festival Chorus.
IRFC singers enjoyed their role as ‘back-up vocals’ for featured artists at the Festival in each of its nine years. But this year the Festival chose not to use the Chorus, which strengthened director Carl Mathis’s growing feeling that the group is ready to claim its own identity, repertoire, and audience.
Mathis says that “within minutes” of his e-mailing his decision to break with the Festival, “the responses came back from singers, saying, ‘So where are we going to sing then?’ It was very positive. I was delighted, overwhelmed, and humbled. Their answers are what made this future we are launching.”
Much remains unchanged besides the director, a former voice professor at UPEI: the mandate to sing classical music, rehearsals and concerts in the summer, and a core membership of experienced choristers from other choirs, who would otherwise have to forego their singing fix at this time of year.
All of these elements were reflected in a recent “Name-the-choir” ballot circulated by an interim Executive among current members. The short list included “The Island Summer Chorus,” and “The Master Singers.” But the clear winner reflects the choir’s classical roots, its unbroken, though altered, existence, and the sheer love of bel canto or ‘beautiful singing’: Vive Viva Voce – the living voice!
“The IRFC,” says Mathis, “sang music from the 14th century to ‘the ink is still wet.’ So will Viva Voce – including classical pieces twisted into something funny. Composers have written humorous pieces for centuries, so we won’t be stuffy.”
Already there are more performance invitations for this new/old choir than ever before. During August 1-5 Viva Voce will appear in the organ recital series at St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral, Charlottetown, and Saint Simon and Saint Jude Roman Catholic Church, Tignish; in a Sunday service at Trinity United Church, Summerside; and in an independent concert at Bonshaw Hall.
Viva Voce currently has 22 members. New singers of all voices, experienced in learning classical music, are welcome. Rehearsals are Mondays 7-9 pm at Bonshaw Hall, beginning May 31; regular attendance and dues ($40/year) are required. Anyone interested should call Carl Mathis at 892-1780.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
ACTORS WANTED
Passing on a message from a Summerside company which is looking for actors for a promotional video
Shooting a short promotional video for one of our clients to be distributed on the internet, and on DVD format. We are in need of a few actors, and possibly one actress. One man in his late 50’s or early to mid 60’s and one man in his late 30’s/early 40’s. We can give out more details if people were interested. Should be minimal script for a 1-day shoot, and we are willing to pay full rates.
Call or e-mail Josh Smith at Higher Design Multimedia Promotions—Tel: (902) 888-4545 | Fax:(902) 888-4546 | Toll Free: (800) 401-2995 ... Email: josh.smith @ higherdesign.com ... Website: www.higherdesign.com
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Liverpool International Theatre Festival Program Now Available
The LITF 2010 festival program guide is now available on our website. Please see:
http://www.litf.ca/pdf/program.pdf
—
Beth George
Marketing Director, LITF 2010
Www.litf.ca
marketing@litf.ca
(902) 356-2670
Friday, April 30, 2010
NARRATOR WANTED
Passing on this request for narration for a dance presentation ...
Call for volunteer talent:
Dance Stars Academy is looking for narrator for the recital show.
Show split in two parts: Swan Lake (Ballet) and Hairspray (Jazz, Musical). Total of 13-15 acts. Recital is by children and for children age 3-10yrs.
We are looking for someone who has an experience in story telling for children.
Location: Stratford Town Hall
Dates: full dress rehearsal: May 21, 5-7pm; recital: May 22, 5-7pm
Please contact us via email: info @ DanceStarsAcademy.com
Thank you,
Maria Brychuk
www.DanceStarsAcademy.com
Monday, April 26, 2010
Workshops Planned for Liverpool International Theatre Festival
MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The upcoming Liverpool International Theatre Festival will feature six outstanding theatre workshops at its tenth biennial event, being held in Liverpool, Nova Scotia from May 19 – 23, 2010. Hosted at the Best Western Liverpool hotel, these workshops will give attendees a chance to learn first-hand about various aspects of theatre craft.
Although the workshops primarily cater to people involved in theatre, the public at large are invited to attend the workshops for a rare peek at what goes on behind the scenes. All workshops are free admission for all. The following workshops are offered at this year’s festival:
Non ACT News • Non-ACT Press Release • Non-ACT Workshops • Permalink
Monday, April 19, 2010
Nova Scotia Well Represented at the Liverpool International Theatre Festival
The Liverpool International Theatre Festival, to be held May 19–23 at Liverpool’s Astor Theatre, is pleased to welcome four outstanding Nova Scotian theatre companies to its milestone tenth anniversary competition.
The River Hill Players, from Inverness, will join three Halifax companies—the Once Upon a Theatre Collective, the Theatre Arts Guild, and francophone players from Ca cloche dans ma caboche—at the prestigious festival.
“We’re both pleased and proud to have, among the competitors, four troupes representing Nova Scotia,” says festival artistic director Chris Heide.
The River Hill Players will perform Her Wake, starring Cindy O`Neil and Diane Mouland as two elderly Cape Breton ladies attending the wake of a mutual dear friend who has recently passed away. As the evening progresses, their tongues loosen and they share stories about their friend at her best and her worst. This biting social satire, a reflection on life in rural Cape Breton, has had audiences in stitches all over Nova Scotia. Written by Inverness playwright Frank Macdonald, Her Wake is a home-grown hit.
“Willy Wonka” The Musical on the Confederation Centre’s Mainstage
Roald Dahl’s WILLY WONKA
Lyrics and Music by Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley
Adapted for the Stage by Tim McDonald & Leslie Bricusse
Based on the Book Charlie and The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
FULL VERSION in TWO ACTS, RATED G
CHARLOTTETOWN RURAL HIGH SCHOOL PRODUCTION
Director: Richard Haines
Music Director: Mark Parsons
Producer: Edwin Hughes
Choreographer: Julia Sauv
Vocal Coach: Julain Molnar
CONFEDERATION CENTRE OF THE ARTS
EVENING PERFORMANCES: May 6, 7, and 8 @ 8:00 PM
TICKET PRICES:$14 @ the door
SYNOPSIS
Roald Dahl’s timeless story of the world-famous candy man and his quest to find an heir comes to life in this stage adaptation of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. This version also features songs from the classic family film Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder which received an Academy Award nomination in 1971 for Best Original Score.
The play opens somewhere in the bowels of Willy Wonka’s fabulous chocolate factory. Wonka, a famous, eccentric, mercurial, whimsical and occasionally sinister candy wizard, welcomes us into his world with the hit APure Imagination@. Wonka summons his Oompa-Loompa servants for an important announcement: he is planning to retire, and the time has come to choose his successor.
Wonka, acting as narrator, introduces us to the impoverished Bucket family: Mr. And Mrs. Bucket, their young son Charlie, and Charlie’s four bedridden grandparents. A group of children gather outside Charlie’s house, each clutching a nickel to buy a Wonka bar from the local Candy Man. The Candy Man entices his customers with the charming hit “The Candy Man” and reminds them that Wonka always mixes it with love and makes the world taste good.
Charlie is the only child too poor to buy any candy, but the Candy Man treats him to a lollipop and a copy of yesterday’s newspaper. Charlie takes the paper home, and the Buckets learn from it that Wonka has announced a contest: five lucky children will receive a tour of his world-famous factory, and receive a lifetime supply of Wonka chocolate. Five Golden Tickets have been hidden among fifty million ordinary candy bars, and the finders of these tickets will win the tour and the chocolate.
The first ticket is found by Augustus Gloop, an obese, gluttonous child from Frankfurt, Germany. The second Ticket is found in Sao Paulo, Brazil, by an extremely spoiled girl named Veruca Salt. The third Ticket is found in Snellville, Georgia by Violet Beauregard, an abrasive girl who is constantly chewing gum. The fourth Ticket is found in Television City, California by Mike Teavee, a boy who seems more interested in television, video games and cell phones than touring Wonka’s factory. Poor Charlie can barely afford a single Wonka bar. What hope does he have of getting the fifth Ticket? Who will Willy Wonka choose as his heir and successor? Join us and see how this timeless story unfolds.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
“FAME” on at Bluefield
FAME The Musical !
is now playing on the Stage at Bluefield High School !
Shows are Thursday April 15th - 8:00pm
Friday April 16th - 8:00pm
Saturday April 17th - 8:00pm
Sunday April 18th - 2:00pm
Produced and Directed by Jane Hastelow
Choreography by Brittany Banks
Musical Direction by Adam Van Omme
Tickets only $10.
Available by calling Bluefield at 675-7480
Clow’s Red & White 621-0500
www.edu.pe.ca/bluefield