Community Theatre Nurtures Original Works

Transcription

1 Community Theatre Nurtures Original Works What do you get if you mix six characters, one couple, one mother, three daughters, two gay lovers, three waiters, one girlfriend, two bachelors, two Gestapo Players of Wauwatosa were looking for a means to produce the winners from a play writing contest they had held the year before. The proposal? a festival of original one act plays. Thus the First Annual Original One Act Festival was born. There were positive reactions from the playwrights, the audience, and the cast and crew. And thus began a project that has been running for almost a quarter of a century. Over the years the festival has gone through a number of changes. Originally the festival had two different sets of shows presented on alternating nights. That format was eventually dropped when the production logistics became overwhelming. The search for scripts now extends to playwrights throughout the entire state Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa agents, and one green dragon? Add in five playwrights, four directors, and a production staff and you ve got the Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa s twenty third annual Original One Act Festival for Wisconsin Playwrights. For the past 23 years this suburban Milwaukee community theatre has provided opportunities for playwrights in Wisconsin to get to see their work produced on stage. It began in 1984 when the Village Playhouse was presented with a proposal. A group of local playwrights was looking for a venue to present some of its work. The VPW was looking for a reward for its season ticket holders and the Mini-Theatre Original One Act Festival of Wisconsin and produces several dozen scripts each year. One change that didn t survive was an experiment in moving the festival to an every other year format. Neither the audiences nor the WACT News June Page 1

2 VPW members would accept reducing the frequency of the festival. Despite the changes, the spirit has remained the same. It s still a forum to give new and experienced playwrights and directors a chance to practice and hone their respective crafts. A number of plays that began their life at the One Act Festival have been picked up by publishers. The Village Playhouse festival was used as source material for Original Works, a book by Chris Mackowski on producing original material. One act plays have become more popular in Milwaukee over the years as evidenced by the number of One Act Festivals that have been, and continue to be, produced at both the community and professional level. However, the VPW s festival is believed to be the oldest in the state and unquestionably a pioneer in the production of original material at the community theatre level. For information on the 2009 festival, either as an audience member or to submit a play, check the VPW website (villageplayhouse.org) or ndtz34@aol.com. Wisconsin AACTFest 2009 The suspense is over! AACTFest 2009 will be hosted by the Sauk Prairie Theatre Guild February 27 to March 1, The venue will be the River Arts Center in Prairie du Sac. Watch the newsletter and the WACT website for more information as it becomes available. Upcoming Events June 20-22, 2008 Minnesota FAST*Fest Short Play Festival St. Cloud, Minnesota June 22, 2008 WACT Board Meeting Verona, Wisconsin July 10-13, 2008 AACT New York Trip New York, NY Aug 29 - Sept 1, 2008 Ohio State Conference How Sweet It Is Columbus, Ohio Feb 27 March 1, 2009 Wisconsin AACTFest Sauk Prairie, Wisconsin June 23-27, 2009 National AACTFest 2009 Tacoma, Washington WACT News is published quarterly by the Wisconsin Association of Community Theatre for its members and is annually distributed to an expanded list of known community theatre organizations and interested individuals. Publication dates are March, June, September (expanded list) and December. Volume 6, Number Wisconsin Association of Community Theatre All Rights Reserved WACT News June Page 2

3 Renew Now and Beat the Rush All WACT memberships will expire on July 31, Send in your renewal now using the form on the back page and save the time and expense of sending a renewal notice. Feel free to use this opportunity to tell us how we re doing, what you d like us to be doing, and how you d like to help out. AACTFest Perils and Pitfalls AACTFest has an entire handbook devoted to rules, recommendations and policies. While it is critical that every performing group read the entire book to avoid running afoul of any of the rules, some rules prove to be more problematic than others: Productions have 10 minutes setup time, 10 minutes strike time and 60 minutes to perform. The important thing is to leave yourself enough leeway for different pacing, audience reaction, etc. Timing is strictly enforced. If you are doing a cutting of a play, you must have documentation from the licensing agent that you have permission to cut. Make sure you read your contract for any special cutting requirements. For example, Dramatists Play Service usually does not let you cut within a character s speech. Arguably, the most problematic rule deals with using music in your WACT News June Page 3 production. You must show that you have obtained permission to use the music within your show. This can be an incredibly time consuming and frustrating experience. You may end up trying to track down a composer and if you plan to use a commercial recording -- a performer and a recording company may be involved. There are numerous horror stories of music companies that don t want to bother with you or will tell you they don t care -- but refuse to put it in writing. Remember, music used within a show requires synchronization rights and these are not handled by ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. These same copyright issues pertain to visual images or anything else protected by copyright. Note that while AACT only requires the completion of their Warranty of Company Compliance, Wisconsin requires performing companies to show actual permission from the rights holder. If something is in the public domain or was created specially for your show you must still provide documentation for either situation. You must send four copies of the script (as you ll be performing it with any cuts marked) to the festival. Photocopies are not allowed unless you have received (and can document) permission from the licensing company. Finally, be aware of restrictions that may exist in the host facilities regarding the use of real/realistic weapons, pyrotechnics, open flame, or special effects. The rules and laws governing these become more and more restrictive all the time. Even things as common as candles or cigarettes can be problems. Always check with the host facility ahead of time. This is dealt with in some detail in the AACTFest Handbook. Daunting as this may seem, most of the rules are not difficult to comply with. The main thing to remember is that a lot of what we may take for granted at home must be documented for the festival. Do as much as possible as early as

4 possible. And make sure you have an extra copy of all your documentation and bring it with you to the festival in case something s gotten lost. It s on my desk at home I ll send it to you Monday won t be acceptable. WACT is fortunate in having two people who are extremely knowledgeable on AACTFest rules and procedures Frank Peot (FPeot@wact.org) and Bob Kafka (BKafka@wact.org) who are happy to answer questions. The last and best piece of advice if in doubt -- ASK, don t make assumptions. The complete AACTFest Handbook can be downloaded from the AACT website at Truth is Stranger Than Fiction We all have amusing theatre related stories that have to be true because they re so unbelievable that no one could ever make them up. This is your chance to share yours with the world. Just them to newsletter@wact.org and we ll publish them as space permits. It was Saturday night, the Broadway tour of Avenue Q was in Milwaukee and I d managed to get myself a very nice box seat. Everything seemed to be going well. I was looking forward to the show and the previously unknown woman next to me turned out to be interested in theatre and that rare combination of pleasant conversationalist without being either boring or intrusive. The show begins -- and then it happens! A cell phone goes off across the aisle from me. Now the way this area of seats is arranged is quite intimate with no seat more than four from an aisle and only eight rows deep so it s pretty obvious who the offender is. (You know what s coming next don t you?) Yes indeed, he proceeded to answer it! However, he was polite (?) enough to go behind the rows of seats (all eight of them) to continue his conversation. R R R Back in the old days, when I was in college, we were doing a production of Dracula and one night it became pretty obvious that everyone was doing a good job of keeping the audience on edge. It was a dim and eerie scene with Lucy (played by charming actress named Marylin) asleep on the sofa in a dim pool of light. Suddenly Dracula looms up over the couch (having come up through a trap door behind it) ready for a late night bite on Lucy s neck. Suddenly a piercing scream comes out of the audience Look out Marylin. To her credit, Marylin didn t fall off the sofa laughing although she confessed later that it wasn t easy. R R R It s show time and as usual someone comes out and makes the traditional announcements about photography, hard candy and cell phones. So of course about fifteen minutes after the beginning of Act I. the sound of a cell phone ringing is heard throughout the theatre. And of course it s a custom ringtone so everyone was treated to the opening strains of the Hallelujah Chorus! To add fuel to the fire, the customized ringing let everyone involved in the production know that the phone belonged to the person that had made the announcement to turn them off. The culprit has yet to live it down. Useful Websites Wild west arts equipment and supplies Theatrical systems and scenery products WACT News June Page 4

5 Theatre Crossword (Solution in the next issue of WACT News) Across 2 Deaf, dumb, blind kid show 5 The Madwoman of 7 Ticket remains 8 salle verte 9 Shed no tears for her 12 Quaint Scottish play 13 Cursed ball team 14 First Shue Show 19 Long time Winter Garden staple 20 Channing signature show 21 Boy who wanted more 22 Shue One Act 24 Harold Hill checked her out 27 Long running Cristie mystery 28 Was he or wasn t he 30 No, your other 32 Solstice fairy 35 First play date 36 Mad playwrights make them 37 Clandestine cloister 40 Habit forming show 43 Longest running musical to originate in US 44 AABA retrospective 46 Show with a chopper 49 Bennet bombshell 50 Comes between germanium and selenium and goes with old lace 51 Above the stage 52 Came after Charlie Brown 54 Rodgers and Hammerstein merry go round 56 Charity s middle name 57 Show that appears once a century 58 I m ready for my close-up Mr. Down 1 Shakespeare birthplace 3 Municipality belonging to you, me and Thorton 4 Sarah and Sky s date site 6 Fellow of infinite jest 10 Fathered by Hucklebee and Bellomy 11 Audrey II s cry 15 Donny Osmond apparel WACT News June Page 5 16 Todd s edge 17 Mammet Real Estate 18 Fiddler s custom 23 Was obnoxious and disliked in It goes for Reno Sweeney 26 Leo s liege 29 Revealing Radcliffe show 31 Pink ones make your pretty 33 Night Music sendees 34 Actor s annoyance 38 Arthur Miller sent him to his death 39 Little red haired girl play 41 Python pork 42 Mus musculus that got flowers 45 Disinterested illumination 47 West Side Romeo 48 Where all the world s a stage 50 Was NOT associated with Children s Television Workshop 53 Pajama Game speakeasy sender 55 Ronnie Larson lease nee

6 Wisconsin Association of Community Theatre WACT Wide Web Board of Directors Bob Kafka -- President 2418 North 111 th Street #2 Wauwatosa, WI Frank Peot Vice President 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue Sun Prairie, WI Dee Baldock -- Treasurer 6394 Grandview Road Verona, WI Darrell Wagner Secretary P.O. Box Green Bay, WI Helen Blumer Member at Large th St Cumberland, WI Allen Ebert Member at Large th Street South La Crosse, WI Carla Gallun Member at Large P.O. Box 507 Fox Lake, WI Mark Holten Member at Large 200 Prairie Heights Drive # 107 Verona, WI MHolten@wact.org Jeannie Pitsch Member at Large 1605 Heide Lane Marshfield, WI JPitsch@wact.org Randall Read Member at Large 315 Cameron Rd Rice Lake, WI RRead@wact.org Donna Thompson Member at Large 708 North Maple Avenue Marshfield, WI DThompson@wact.org Have you visited the WACT website lately? If not, perhaps it s time for a visit and a look around. The site is constantly changing. Sometimes small changes, sometimes bigger changes, but always changing. Want to know the latest on Wisconsin s 2009 AACTFest or see photos from the 2008 conference in Barron. Head out to the website. Want information on the organization itself or a membership form? Same place. There are also pages for Upcoming Shows and Auditions. Any organization that s a member of WACT can list their activities. Just drop a note to the webmaster at webmaster@wact.org. If your organization has an open job or is conducting classes, we d also be happy to list them. If you re new to the organization and are wondering what s happened in the past, you can find a collection of old newsletters. You can also find minutes from current and past Board of Directors meetings. If you still want more you can read our mission statement or peruse the bylaws. And if that s still not enough for you, there s a list of our members with links to the organization s websites. And finally, the Links page is a cornucopia of places to find other information. There are links to Wisconsin community theatres, vendors, arts organizations, licensing houses, and miscellaneous items of interest. There s also a link to FINDaPLAY.com to help you find which licensing house carries a play you re interested in. WACT News June Page 6

7 Upcoming WACT Member Productions May 16-June 8, 2008 Guys & Dolls Racine Theatre Guild May 17-18, 2008 Golliwhoppers Lakeside Players May 28 - June 7, 2008 Radio Gals Red Barn Theatre June 12-15, 2008 Arsenic and Old Lace Wausau Community Theatre June 13-22, 2008 The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood La Crosse Community Theatre June 18-28, 2008 Escanaba in Love Red Barn Theatre June 20-28, 2008 Brigadoon Verona Area Community Theater July 9-19, 2008 Over the River and Through the Woods Red Barn Theatre July 10-13, 2008 Les Miserables (high school version) Haylofters, Inc July 10-18, 2008 Over the River and Through the Woods Wausau Community Theatre July 11-19, 2008 Music Man Hartford Players July 16 - August 3, 2008 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Haylofters, Inc July 23-27, 2008 The Music Man Eau Claire Children's Theatre July 30 - August 9, 2008 Oliver Red Barn Theatre August 14-24, 2008 Stuart Little Haylofters, Inc August 20-29, 2008 Tom, Dick and Harry Red Barn Theatre September 4-7, 2008 Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Wausau Community Theatre October 2-19, 2008 Bell, Book and Candle Haylofters, Inc November 6-9, 2008 The Philadelphia Story Wausau Community Theatre November 13-23, 2008 A Deer Hunters' Wives Special! Haylofters, Inc Is your show not listed here??? All organizations who are WACT members can have their show listed on the WACT website and in WACT News. Just send your schedule to webmaster@wact.org WACT News June Page 7

8 WACT Membership Form Return form to: WACT c/o LCCT PO Box 1852 La Crosse, WI Name Contact Name (Organizational Members) Address Mailing Address City Telephone Web Site (Organizational Members) State Zip Code Individual $15.00 Organizational $50.00 Additional Donation to WACT (Donations to WACT are tax deductible) TOTAL Please make checks payable to WACT -- All memberships run from August 1 to July 31 Wisconsin Association of Community Theatre PO Box 1852 La Crosse, WI 54602