Two Rooms Advances to Regional Competition

Transcription

1 Two Rooms Advances to Regional Competition The Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa s production of Lee Blessing s Two Rooms was selected to advance to the AACTFest regional competition at Wisconsin s 2005 AACTFest. The political drama played out on the stage of the River Arts Center in Prairie du Sac tells the story of an American hostage held by Arab terrorists, his wife, a reporter, and the State Department. The play is filled with symbolism and realism and deals with events both tragic and startling. We realize there are no winners in a hostage crisis, only losers and a sense of futility and despair that comes when people realize that logic, compassion, and fairness have become meaningless when dealing with those who would commit barbarous acts so willingly. Wauwatosa s production also earned an ensemble performance award and a supporting acting award for Stacie Williams. 10, There it will compete with productions from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan for the honor of representing Region III at the national festival which will be held June 14-18, 2005, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The alternate production selected was John Steinbeck s Of Mice and Men entered by the River Valley Players from Spring Green. This was Spring Green s first entry into the AACTFest Competition for which they also earned honors for make-up, set design, direction, and ensemble performance. Other performances in this year s Wisconsin AACTFest were: Visiting Mr. Green by the Racine Theatre Guild, A Rose for Emily by the Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre, Domino Courts by the Lancaster Community Players, and The Girl in the Mirror by the Redbud Players from Columbus. Wauwatosa s production will represent Wisconsin at the Region III AACTFest in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, on April 8, 9, and WACT News December, Page 1 In addition to the six great performances there were workshops Movement for the Actor, Grant Writing and Budgets, Directing a Musical, and Costumes on a Budget. Each evening concluded with a social gathering at the Cedarbury Inn in Sauk City. Rounding out the weekend s activities was an awards brunch, held on the stage of the River Arts Center, the site of the festival performances. (continued on page 2

2 Adjudicators for the festival were Kay Armstrong, Executive Director of Dance Council, Dallas, Texas; Alan Ebert, Managing/Artistic Director of the Soldiers Theatre, Vicenza, Italy; and Morrie Enders Artistic/Managing Director of the La Crosse Community Theatre. All three adjudicators brought knowledge of theatre, community theatre, and AACTFest to the festival. They provided festival attendees with great insight into the performances and numerous ideas for future production endeavors. WACT wishes to thank all of the producing companies for taking the time and making the special effort to participate in this great festival. They, along with those in attendance, and the adjudicators enjoyed a great weekend of fine theatre, great educational experiences, and super socialization. A Revolutionary Idea? In the musical 1776, John Adams asks Is anybody there? We know you re out there but we need to see more of more of you. The inside back cover of this newsletter shows the current WACT committee structure. What we need is to get your names in the boxes. There s no one s talent that we can t use and don t need. If WACT is to grow and prosper we need the membership involved with the newsletter, fund raising, membership, publicity, PR, etc., etc., etc. So find a spot (or make a spot if you have an entirely new idea) and contact one of the Board members listed on the back. Uncle Sam may want you, but we NEED you. Know More Miss Steaks I have a spelling checker It came with my PC It plainly marks four my revue Mistakes I cannot sea. I ve run this poem threw it, I m sure your pleased to no. It s letter perfect in it s weigh; My checker tolled me sew. Wisconsin AACTFest 2005 Honorees Excellence in Set Design River Valley Players -- Of Mice and Men Excellence in Set Design Racine Theatre Guild -- Visiting Mr Green Excellence in Acting George Mangold Racine Theatre Guild -- Visiting Mr Green Excellence in Acting Samantha Hinkley Redbud Players -- The Girl in the Mirror Excellence in a Supporting Role Stacie Williams Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa -- Two Rooms Excellence in a Supporting Role Greg Kolak Redbud Players -- The Girl in the Mirror Excellence in Makeup Design River Valley Players -- Of Mice and Men Excellence in Ensemble Performance Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa -- Two Rooms Excellence in Ensemble Performance River Valley Players -- Of Mice and Men Excellence in Direction River Valley Players -- Of Mice and Men WACT News December, Page 2

3 New WACT Board Elected At the WACT Annual Membership Meeting in Prairie du Sac, elections were held for open positions on the Board of Directors. The four people elected to the board to fill expiring terms were Mark Holten (Verona), Marie Peterson (Columbus), Jeannie Pitsch (Marshfield) and Lynn Ruhl (Milwaukee). Thom Yarnell has moved out of state and resigned his board position. Russ Stetler (Racine) was appointed to fill the last two years of his term. After the annual meeting the new Board of Directors met to elect officers. The new Board of Directors is: President Vice-President Secretary Treasurer Members at Large Bob Kafka Frank Peot Lynn Ruhl Dee Baldock Carla Gallun Mark Holten Dick Jellings Elaine Jellings Marie Peterson Jeannie Pitsch Russ Stetler This election completed our transition from electing all board members once every three years to having approximately one third of the board elected each year. 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 3, Number Wisconsin Association of Community Theatre All Rights Reserved WACT News December, Page ? Already? Before the first show even loaded into the River Arts Center for AACTFest 2005, plans were already underway for our 2006 conference. The Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre will be hosting the annual gathering in the renovated Baptist church they call home. So, reserve February 24-26, 2006 for our annual theatre rendezvous. (Anyone ever feel like this is just a long-running production of Same Time Next Year?) As always, you can expect a weekend full of fun and education. Stay tuned for more details. All Roads Lead to Michigan? The next step after the Wisconsin AACTFest is the Region III Festival in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Region III consists of Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. It will take place April 8-10, 2005, at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial and the Microtel Inn and Suites (Roseville). Performance sessions will take place on Friday at 7:15 PM, and Saturday at 12:30 PM and 6:45 PM. The Wisconsin entry is tentatively scheduled to be the first show of the Saturday evening performance block. More information can be found on the Grosse Pointe Theatre s web site at And, if that s not enough to significantly raise the per capita alcohol consumption in Michigan, June will see the National AACTFest take place in Kalamazoo, Michigan, at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre. The national festival will see eleven of the best shows that community theatre has to offer. Productions will come from all over the country and the overseas army bases. Information on the festival in Kalamazoo can be found at

4 A Chance to Complain?!? Wanted The 2005 AACTFest cycle is inexorably winding its way to the national festival in June. Now is the time the AACT Festival Commission works on changes to the festival handbook for the 2007 festival cycle. Now is your chance to sound off about rules you think should be added, changed, or deleted. Every festival is slightly different so the input of the people who are involved in every level of every festival is critical to the festival process. So if you have ideas for changes you can send them to Bob Kafka the recorder for the AACT Festival Commission or Kathie Maldonado the AACT Vice-President for Festivals. If possible, it s best to submit your suggestions prior to the Festival Commission meeting in June so they have a chance to be discussed by the entire Festival Commission. However, they will take written suggestions until August 31st. This may seem to be early for a cutoff date to the people in this area, but the new handbook needs to be ready in time for the earliest of festivals which start almost a year prior to the time frame in which the Wisconsin festival is held. Break a Leg! On April 8th, 2005, the Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa will journey to Grosse Pointe, Michigan to represent Wisconsin at the Region III AACTFest. Please join us in wishing them all the best in their endeavor. As anyone who s been involved in the festival process knows, taking a show to a festival involves an incredible investment of time, energy and money. At AACTFest 2005, in the early morning hours of February 27th, beer cans (empty of course) were maliciously, and without provocation, stacked in front of Chairman Frank Peot s hotel room door. If you have information on the perpetrators of this heinous crime, please contact us so that the evildoers can be flogged. Upcoming Events April 8-10, 2005 Region 3 AACTFest Grosse Pointe, MI mellbee@earthlink.net April 9 Association of Region III Annual meeting Grosse Pointe, Michigan jmberryjm@aol.com May 1, 2005 WACT Board of Directors Meeting Beaver Dam, WI gallun@charter.net June 14-18, 2005 National AACTFest Kalamazoo, MI cweir@kazoocivic.com In Community Theatre there are no strangers, only friends you haven t met yet. WACT News December, Page 4

5 WACT News - March, Page 5 All photos courtesy of Dick and Elaine Jellings

6 Regional Entry Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa Two Rooms Regional Entry Alternate River Valley Players Of Mice and Men Upcoming WACT Member Productions March 3-6, 2005 March 3-12, 2005 March 4-6, 2005 March 11-12, 2005 April 1-17, 2005 April 8-10, 2005 April 8-10, 2005 April 8-17, 2005 April 22-May 1, 2005 April 28-May 7, 2005 April 29-May 7, 2005 May 6-22, 2005 May 20-22, 2005 May 20-June 12, 2005 June 17-25, 2005 June 17-26, 2005 June 21-25, 2005 July 8-10, 15-17, 22-24, 2005 July 14-15, 2005 Clue: The Musical The King & I A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Les Miserables - School Edition Where the Wild Things Are Seussical, The Musical I Ought to Be in Pictures Noises Off Crazy for You I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change I Remember Mama The Music Man Seussical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Seussical, The Musical Oliver! Tales from the Brothers Grimm WACT News June, Page 6 Fond du Lac Community Theatre La Crosse Community Theatre La Crosse Community Theatre Racine Theatre Guild Sun Prairie Civic Theatre Racine Theatre Guild Fond du Lac Community Theatre Lake Country Players, Hartland La Crosse Community Theatre Central Wis. Area Community Theatre Racine Theatre Guild Verona Area Community Theater La Crosse Community Theatre Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa

7 WACT s Bob Kafka President Frank Peot Vice President Dee Baldock Treasurer Lynn Ruhl Secretary Conference AACTFest Fianance Newsletter History Awards Membership Publicity Nominating Website Bylaws/ Operations Manual WACT Membership Form Please fill in the information below and mail this form with your check (payable to WACT) to: WACT/LaCrosse Community Theatre P. O. Box 1852 LaCrosse, WI I have enclosed: $15.00 Individual Dues $50.00 Organizational Dues Name Mailing Address City State Zip Code Telephone (home) Telephone (work) Address Organization Name

8 2005 WACT Board of Directors President Bob Kafka 2418 N. 111 th Street #2 Wauwatosa, WI (414) Vice-President Frank Peot 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue Sun Proairi, WI (608) Secretary Lynn Ruhl 3528 South Toldt Circle Milwaukee, WI (414) Treasurer Dee Baldock 6394 Grandview Road Verona, WI (608) Member at Large Carla Gallun 223 East Maple Avenue Beaver Dam, WI (920) Member at Large Mark Holten 496 Todd Street Verona, WI (608) Member at Large Dick Jellings 825 Lothe Street Sun Prairie, WI (608) Member at Large Elaine Jellings 825 Lothe Street Sun Prairie, WI (608) Member at Large Marie Peterson W11888 Behan Road Columbus, WI (920) Member at Large Jeannie Pitsch 1605 Heide Lane Marshfield, WI (715) Member at Large Russ Stetler 3315 Ruby Avenue Racine, WI (262) Executive Secretary Sandi Weber PO Box 1852 La Crosse, WI (608) Wisconsin Association of Community Theatre PO Box 1852 La Crosse, WI 54602