Strike at Putney Church - Diabolical Plot
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Wednesday, February 08, 2012
ACT presents Ayckbourn’s comedy Relatively Speaking
February 6, 2012
Charlottetown PE
The Guild will be filled with laughter this spring as ACT (a community theatre) stages the hit comedy Relatively Speaking by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. Directors are Paul Whelan and Brenda Porter and cast members include Ashley Clark, Adam-Michael James, Keir Malone and Barbara Rhodenhizer. The Host for the evenings will be Tony Welsh. The four performances will take place March 29, 30 and 31 at 7:30pm and April 1 at 2:00pm. Tickets will be available online at theguild.com or from the box office (902.666.2200) from March 13. Admission is $20 regular and $18 seniors/students/unwaged.
Alan Ayckbourn has written a total of 76 full length plays (the most recent of which opens in 2012) but this feather-light farce is probably his best known work. With its timeless combination of dramatic irony, misunderstandings and brilliant wit, it should keep audiences happy for a very long time.
Briefly, the story concerns a young man who expectedly turns up at the home of a middle-aged couple he mistakenly believes to be his girl friend’s parents. The remainder of the plot must remain a secret. Ayckbourn says that he wanted to make people laugh when their seaside summer holidays were spoiled by the rain and they came into the theatre to get dry. The popularity of Relatively Speaking over the years attests to his success!
Click here to go to Relatively Speaking pictures in the gallery.
You forgot your slippers!
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Read-Along Macbeth
Whet your appetite for the September production of Macbeth.
Come read the play aloud with Shakespeare fans.
ACT (a community theatre) will host a reading of Shakespeare’s Macbeth on February 15, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. in the Southport Room of the Stratford Town Centre. Those attending will be invited to take turns reading various parts from an adapted script.
The same script will be used for an outdoor production of Macbeth in Stratford’s Cotton Park, September 6-8 and 13-15, 2012. The director of the September show, Terry Pratt, and UPEI Theatre Studies Co-ordinator, Greg Doran, will be present to coach readers on delivering the Bard’s lines.
Admission is $2 to cover the cost of copying scripts and is free for ACT members. ACT memberships will be available at the door.
For more information, contact hparry@upei.ca or bunty1948@gmail.com
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Cast for ‘Relatively Speaking’ Ready to Begin
After a great set of auditions, the ACT (a community theatre) cast for Alan Ayckbourn’s ‘Relatively Speaking’ has been confirmed. Cast members are:
Greg - Keir Malone
Ginny - Ashley Clark
Philip - Adam-Michael James
Sheila - Barbara Rhodenhizer
Host - Tony Welsh.
Directors are Paul Whelan and Brenda Porter and rehearsals will begin on February 2nd.
So mark your calendars and tell your friends – this hilarious comedy will be on stage at The Guild March 29, 30, 31 (7:30pm) and April 1 (2:00pm).
Monday, January 16, 2012
“The Philosopher” auditions
Yuling Chen will be directing a play written by Dr. Malcolm Murray called “The Philosopher”. This is a one act play, and will be featured in the PEI Community Theatre Festival at the end of March. Auditions are going to be held at UPEI on January 18th in the Duffy Amphitheater (Room 135) and on January 19th in Kelly 237, both from 7 until 9pm. The auditions will be cold, and no experience is necessary. They will be looking for 3 males and 2 females for the show.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Read-Along Macbeth
ACT (a community theatre) will host a reading of Shakespeare’s Macbeth on February 15, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. in the Southport Room of the Stratford Town Centre, 234 Shakespeare Drive, Stratford. Those attending will be invited to take turns reading various parts from an adapted script.
The script has been adapted for an upcoming production of Macbeth, out of doors in Robert Cotton Park, Stratford, in early September, 2012.
The director of the September show, Terry Pratt, adapted the script to better meet the challenges of staging the play’s scenes in various locations around Cotton Park. Pratt and UPEI Theatre Studies Co-ordinator, Greg Doran, will be present on February 15 to coach readers on delivering the Bard’s lines.
The September production will include public performances on September 6-8 and 13, and special performances on September 14 and 15 for delegates to the Stratfords of the World Reunion 2012 being held in Stratford, PEI. Auditions will be held in March.
Admission to Read-Along Macbeth is $2 to cover the cost of copying scripts and is free for ACT members. ACT memberships will be available at the door, as will more information about the upcoming production.
For further information on the reading, contact: Heather Parry: hparry@upei.ca
For further information on the September production, contact the producer, Bunty Albert: bunty1948@gmail.com.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Greg Hughes has died
It is with sadness that I have to tell you Greg Hughes died on December 23 of an apparent heart attack. He was 75 years old. He will be buried in Ancaster, Ontario.
Over the years Greg was a very active ACT member. He certainly holds the record for the most ACT program advertising sold!! His last advertising was for Evita. He attended all shows, if in town, and was an avid participant of ACT reading clubs and/or ACT Outs/Aways whenever they were held.
But Greg’s interests and activities were broader than ACT. He was an avid reader and bridge player. He was very interested in Genealogy and had been active in that community for a long time. He loved classical music and attended concerts frequently, wherever they were held. Greg was also the first certified teacher of Scottish Country Dancing on PEI and ran a SCD group in Charlottetown for many years.
Greg worked for the Federal government for many years. He was with DVA when the decision was made to move the department headquarters from Ottawa to Charlottetown. He retired from DVA more than ten years ago. Since retirement he took the opportunity to travel fairly extensively, both on cruises to interesting locations like the South America (including Machu Picchu) and Egypt’s Nile, and to visit friends and family. ACT Trial by Jury members may remember Greg’s relatives sitting in on our first run through in Summerside.
Greg will be missed by his many friends in ACT.
- Gerry
Monday, December 19, 2011
Cuso theatre postings
3 short-term jobs in El Salvador
Cuso International (the renamed CUSO) has posted three overseas job openings which may be of interest to theatre folks.
They are short-term—for 2 or 3 months ... working with a small municipality in El Salvador. It sounds like a challenging and exciting project. The positions:
• Stage Manager
• Vocal Coach
• Wardrobe Manager
Go to the volunteer openings website
http://volunteerplacementsoverseas.org/english/volunteeropenings.asp
... and find the three jobs at the bottom of the page under “Theatre and Arts”
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Auditions for Relatively Speaking
ACT (a community theatre) will present the comedy “Relatively Speaking” by Alan Ayckbourn at The Guild for four performances March 29-April 1, 2012. The production will be directed by Brenda Porter and Paul Whelan. Rehearsals will take place on Tuesday evenings, Saturday and Sunday afternoons throughout February and March.
Auditions will be held on Saturday, January 7, 10:00 am-2:00 pm. The cast includes two adult males (one in his 20s, one in his 50s) and two adult females (one in her 20s, one in her 50s).
To book an audition or for further information, contact Paul Whelan (tel: 569-3748, e-mail: whelanc@eastlink.ca)
Thursday, November 17, 2011
AMAHL and the NIGHT VISITORS
Famous made-for-TV opera coming to the Island in after-Christmas week
Have you noticed that as soon as Hallowe’en is finished, the stores are full of Christmas? We’re getting a bit of a head-start ourselves—to give you advance notice of a very special musical presentation that is coming for Christmastime.
It’s Gian-Carlo Menotti’s famous short opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors”. The Island’s classical choral group Coro Dolce will give performances in four churches during the time between Christmas and New Year’s. It will be a captivating and inspirational family experience during the holiday week.
Amahl is a 50-minute music-drama created for television in the early 1950s. It is the tale of the three kings on their way to Bethlehem, and what could be considered Jesus’ first miracle, in the simple home of a widow and her crippled son. It became and remains a magical Christmas tradition throughout North America.
The creative team for Coro Dolce’s PEI presentation is led by directors Terry Pratt and Carl Mathis, and engages the skilled experience of veterans of ACT - a community theatre. The orchestra has leading members of The Singing Strings as well as a number of professionals. There are two dozen actors and singers.
The schedule:
- Tuesday 27th December - Central Queens United church, Hunter River (preview performance)
- Wednesday 28th December - St. Paul’s Anglican church in Charlottetown
- Thursday 29th December - Trinity United church in Summerside
- Friday 30th December - Cornwall United church
All performances begin at 7:00 pm
Tickets would make a fine stocking-stuffer, don’t you think? They are reasonably priced at $14 and $8 for children 12-and-under, with a large-family rate. (For the Central Queens ‘preview’, admission is just $10.)
You can get tickets from each of the host churches, whether in advance or at the door. Phone contacts: Central Queens - 368-2838; St. Paul’s - 892-1691; Trinity Summerside - 436-3155; Cornwall United - 566-4052
Further information: 675-3672
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Theatre Review Prize
Each year ACT awards a theatre review prize to the best review of theatre presented to Greg Doran in his UPEI Theatre Studies course. We are pleased to announce the winner of this year’s prize is Devin MacKinnon. Congratulations Devin.
Distance And Depravity: A review of Close and The Problem
By Devin MacKinnon
On Saturday, March 26th, 2011, I had the pleasure of attending two plays at the PEI
Theatre Festival at the Carrefour L’Isle-Saint-Jean in Charlottetown. The festival was divided
into two sections: a section for children and a section for more mature audiences. Close, written
and directed by UPEI student Dylan Riley, was the first play in the “mature” section. The play is about a young couple named Patrick (Ben Hartley) and Michelle (Toni Timmins). The play starts
with Patrick gazing out the window, commenting on the clouds, while Michelle is more
concerned about what he is going to wear to an engagement that they are scheduled to attend.
Suddenly, Michelle gets a phone call and learns that her grandfather has passed away. Upon
hearing the news, Michelle begins to tell Patrick about the few, unpleasant memories she has of
her grandfather. During this time, Patrick says very little, while trying to be as supportive as he
can. In the end, the couple is even further apart emotionally than they were when the play began.
The premise of the show was heartbreaking, and the irony of the title was not lost on any
members of the audience. At times, I found myself captivated with what was going on, and there
was a very intense atmosphere throughout the theatre. However, the play failed to keep me
captivated for the entirety of its run. The lack of physicality made the show seem very
monotonous. Both members of the cast were seated for more than half of the play, and they had
very little to do. The set consisted of nothing more than a table and a couch, while the extra
space of the theatre was hardly used. Moreover, while the emotional performance delivered by
Timmons was excellent, her lack of volume and projection made listening to her a struggle.
Hartley played the role of the desperate boyfriend extremely well, and I found him to be the
more sympathetic character of the two; however, he seemed to serve little purpose in the show,
aside from highlighting the irony of the title. He had very few lines, as compared to Timmins,
which made it difficult for me to establish either a connection or conflict between the two
characters. Another thing that took me out of the moment during the run of Close was the
atrocious sound cue about half way through. During a break in one of Timmins’ monologues, the
sound of rain and thunder began to play. The use of this sound cue was very awkward and
uncoordinated because the volume was much too loud at the beginning; furthermore, it seemed
to randomly fade to silence and was not heard again.
Despite these criticisms, I have to say that the show was entertaining and engaging at
times, and it is great to see students like Dylan taking strides to contribute to the PEI Theatre
scene. There were many positive aspects to the show and plenty of things for Dylan, Toni, and
Ben to improve on.
The second show of the evening was called The Problem. It starred real husband and wife
Richard and Marla Haines, and it was directed by Rob Reddin. The play began with an obviously
pregnant woman (Marla) walking on stage to discuss the “problem” (the baby) with her husband,
a professor (Richard). Upon hearing that the baby may not be his, but may belong to a
mysterious black man, the husband confesses to his wife that for the last several years he has
been pretending to go to an evening class twice a week so that he may rush down to their cellar,
disguise himself as a black man, and make love to her. In return, his wife tells him that she knew
all along that her mysterious lover was him, and, after the initial encounter, she has had a
mysterious woman take her place for all of these years. She then goes on to tell her husband that
she has been the “ghetto pass-around” ever since his charade started, so she has no idea who the
father may be. In the end, the audience learns that these are all lies and nothing more than kinky
stories that the couple makes up to fuel their depraved sexual appetite before making love. The
pregnancy is revealed to be nothing more than a balloon, and the couple dashes off stage to the
bedroom.
The Problem was uproariously funny, and it had the crowd in stitches for the duration of
its run. With each twist in the story, I found myself more engaged and fascinated by what was
happening on stage. Despite the fact that the male protagonist was seated for most of the play,
the play seemed very physical thanks to the director’s excellent use of the space and Richard’s
fantastic physical comedy. The real life relationship between the two characters gave the show
an interesting dynamic, so the connection between the two was genuine.
However, the mood of the show failed to match the audience’s reaction at times. There
were dull moments in the show where it felt as if the couple was simply going through the
motions. Marla struggled to match the projection and volume consistently delivered by Richard,
and the pace of the show was too fast. It felt as if the actors simply wanted to get the show over
with, and there were very few pauses for laughter.
On the whole, I enjoyed my evening at the PEI Theatre Festival. Both shows I had the
pleasure of taking in were excellent in their own respective ways, and I highly recommend any
theatre lover to check out next year’s festival.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
ACT’s BOARD of DIRECTORS
Advice wanted for nominating board members for 2011-12
We know that it is a number of weeks away (near the end of August), but the ACT board is looking ahead to the annual general meeting of ACT—in particular, the yearly routine of renewing the Board. For that, we could use your advice.
ACT’s constitution calls for a Nominating Committee to prepare a slate of candidates in preparation for the election which is held at the AGM. Other candidates can be nominated at the meeting, of course, but the purpose of the Nominating Committee is to make certain that there will be at least one nominee for each office that is becoming vacant. The Nominating Committee this year is Rob Thomson, Janet Macdonald and Heather Parry.
The 2-year terms of the various Board members are set up so that there is a sort of leap-frogging: about half the officers get elected in one year, the other half in the next year. This year the offices which are coming due for election are these:
• President • Director of Theatre • Membership Director
There is also one other opening for an appointed position (which doesn’t have a specific term)—Coordinator for ACT-Out (organizing some social occasions - going to a play and having dinner or dessert).
So ... here’s the point of this posting: we wonder if you, as an ACT member, would be able to suggest someone who you think would do a committed and effective job on the ACT board (... or may yourself wish to be considered for nomination.)
The ‘position descriptions’ for each of the four offices are shown below this message.
Could you please give this some thought and feed us (robthomson at pei.sympatico.ca) any suggestions in the course of the next ten days (by Monday, June 13)? Thanks.
The current Board, by the way, is this:
• President - Richard Haines • Past-president - Rob Thomson
• Vice-President - Rob Reddin • Secretary - Bunty Albert
• Treasurer - Janet Macdonald • Director of Theatre - Adam Gauthier
• Membership Coordinator - Sophia Wong
• Music Adviser/Guru - Carl Mathis
• Readings Coordinator - Heather Parry
• ‘Flex’ member & ACT-Out - Margaret MacEachern
• Workshops Coordinator - Ben Rayner
• UPEI Liaison - Devin MacKinnon
The positions ...
President
- Call meetings; set agenda; chair the meeting
- Look ahead: raise issues; ensure planning
- General coordination: keep in touch with participants; make sure doers are in touch with each other
- Call AGM; set agenda; chair the meeting
- Spokesperson for ACT when needed
- Arrange any general publicity (apart from particular shows)
- ‘Foreign affairs’ - representative of ACT; liaison with other parties
- Handling of any requests to borrow items from ACT’s collection of props, costumes, set-pieces etc
- File annual return form (info re officers, etc.) to keep registration as a non-profit company
Director of Theatre
- Plan the production year (September to June): find, encourage, arrange for persons to plan and direct productions, so that ACT will present a suitable number (3 has been a rule-of-thumb standard, but is not the absolute number) and variety of shows for its annual season. Preferably such planning involves much discussion with others.
- Plan/arrange for (with a fair degree of certainty) these elements of a show:
- the Director, in combination with the Director’s choice of play (or willingness to do the play proposed by the Director of Theatre)
- the rights to perform the play
- the timing (dates of performance, framework for auditions and rehearsals)
- the venue
- a rough budget
- the Producer (... and preferably the Stage Manager)
- Present – with the proponent-Director of a show, using ACT’s standard form/guideline for proposing a show – the plans to the Board for approval. (The Board as a body must give permission to launch a production which uses ACT’s name and money.)
- Ensure that there is continuing liaison between the person(s) staging a show and the ACT Board
- Contribute views and take part in decisions on all matters which come before the Board as a body
Membership Director
- Act as the ‘keeper’ of policies/rules regarding membership
- Promote, at any opportunity, interest in joining ACT
... including ensuring membership on the part of on-stage participants in ACT productions (chiefly by doing a ‘sales’ job at the first gathering of participants)
- Handle applications, process payment of dues ... including issuance of receipts and member cards
- Maintain list of current members and contact information ... and provide for use as needed
- Facilitate members’ use of ticket-discount benefit
- Contribute views and take part in decisions on all matters which come before the Board as a body
ACT-Out Coordinator
- Organize (roughly once every month or two) entertainment/social events for ACT members to enjoy together:
- ‘research’ and consult ... choose theatre productions or comparable activities/events* to attend, normally in combination with a restaurant meal or other dining-sort of activity (e.g. wine-and-cheese, dessert) * Note that it need not be a play - example: concert, film
- Make arrangements - e.g. reservations, way to acquire tickets
- Publicize the outing among members and encourage participation
- Contribute views and take part in decisions on all matters which come before the Board as a body
COMMUNITY THEATRE FESTIVAL 2012
Get involved in a good project
The PEI Community Theatre Festival—held at the Carrefour on Saturday afternoon, March 26th—was a wonderful success ... far more audience than expected, a fine experience for scores of participating thespians, no significant problems, a simple but effective concept of true community theatre. That was the second year for the Festival in its renewed form: ACT - a community theatre spear-headed its re-creation after a lapse from earlier production by Theatre PEI.
Organization of these two festivals was done by a committee of three or four persons ... and it proved to be effective and remarkably easy.
The reason for this message is to recruit members for that committee. Two of us are pulling back from overall responsibility on the core group ... although we’ll probably be available for particular tasks such as publicity, awards, sponsorships and such.
Work on the core committee is not all that onerous. We found that in the fall there was actually very little for the organizing committee to do—just some general planning + recruiting participant community-theatre groups. Arrangements-making—choosing and securing venue(s) and a technician, organizing refreshments, getting an adjudicator, etc.—got done after we knew how many and who were the participant groups. That is, the main work happened in January, February, March. It took just three or four committee meetings, apart from the ‘homework’ between meetings, of course. We have two years of experience and written materials which provide guidance for making things happen without a whole lot of stress.
The Theatre Festival is riding on the momentum of two successful years. It’s a very worthwhile project, and organizing it is pretty straightforward—and rewarding.
Do you think this might be something for you to get involved in?
Monday, May 09, 2011
Proof
A special congratulations to the cast and crew of Proof is called for. Last week audiences were thrilled to see this play realized on the stage of The Guild.
It was certainly an evening well-spent with strong performances of a very engaging script.
Technical issues prevented me from being able to post the information on the website before the show, but I am pleased to see our technical issues resolved and be able to extend my congratulations to all.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Play Reading and ACT-out
Our previously cancelled play reading will now take place on Saturday, April 2nd at 7:00 pm in the private room at St. James Gate. We will be reading “Six Characters in Search of an Author” by Luigi Pirandello. Depending on the turn-out, attendees will either be assigned characters or we will go around the table.
This event is being co-hosted by ACT and the UPEI Theatre Society. There will be no charge for members, and only $2.00 for non-members.
If you wish to have a bite to eat and a chance to chat prior to the play reading, please join us at 5:00 pm in the private room at St. James Gate.
Please RSVP by April 1st to hparry@upei.ca - and let us know if you will be joining us for both the meal and the play reading, or just the reading. Hope to see you there!!!!!
Thank you.
Heather
Anne & Gilbert Auditions
The producers of the hit musical Anne & Gilbert are holding auditions in Halifax, Sunday March 27th, 2011 (location TBA) and Summerside on Saturday, April 2nd, 2011 (location: Harbourfront Theatre, 124 Harbour Drive, Summerside, PEI).
If interested in auditioning and would like further details please respond to anneandgilbertauditions@gmail.com with your contact information which includes your name, afe, phone number (s) and resume/photo. Dates of season including rehearsal period are May 30th to September 25th, 2011 inclusive. Performances Tuesday/Thursday evenings and Sunday matinees.