MONTANA REP EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH FALL TOUR 2013 MONTANA REPERTORY THEATRE professional theatre-in-residence university of montana PRESS PACK EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH 2014 TOUR PRESS PACK CONTENTS: Below is a list of what is included in this press pack and suggestions on what to do with this material. Please remember that media agencies need to receive materials as far in advance as possible. Press Release: Please give these to your local newspapers as a starting point for a print story on the production. You may enhance these in any way you feel is appropriate. These could also be used for newsletters, TV community calendars, etc. Press photos: See website: http://www.montanarep.org/edshow.html 30-second radio ad copy: (Includes 10-second tag time at the end for local information) If you would like a pre-recorded radio spot on CD, contact Teresa two weeks in advance. If you have no funding to purchase radio ads, try asking a local business to donate some of their yearly radio contract to your agency or school. Copy for a 15-second PSA: If you are not fortunate enough to run radio ads, you can always get your local radio and TV stations to run short free PSAs for you. You need to fill in the blanks, of course, with your local information. Posters: The poster artwork is available for you to download. Make as many copies as you need. There is white space at the bottom on which to write in local information. Company bios and general information about Montana Rep: This is not only to acquaint you with the cast/crew before their arrival, but also to give you extra information for any longer news articles or interviews. Programs: (for your performance s audience members) will arrive with the Stage Manager the day of the show. Programs will not be handed out at in-school performances. MONTANA REP is funded in part by a grant from the Montana Arts Council (an agency of state government), with support from the Montana State Legislature, the University of Montana, Dr. Cathy Capps, Dr. Sandy Sheppard, The Dramatist Guild, and The Shubert Foundation.
MONTANA REP EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH FALL TOUR 2014 / 2 PRESS RELEASE: Tickets are now on sale for Once Upon a Time in Ancient Greece. A comedy by LARAMIE DEAN Montana Repertory Theatre s Educational Outreach Tour is bringing to the stage a fantastic and comic quest of mythological proportions. The 2014 Fall Touring show is Once Upon a Time in Ancient Greece: Stheno s Descent into the Underworld written by Missoula playwright and Hellgate High School drama teacher Laramie Dean. Directed by Cohen Ambrose, this three-person show stars Heidi Mudd, Jamie Parnell, and Paige O Neill (who is also the company stage manager) and will tour the state of Montana playing in high schools, middle schools, and community colleges from late September to mid November. Coming to on at. CITY DAY and DATE LOCATION Told in under 50 minutes, this production gives a contemporary slant to the story of Stentho, one of three sisters turned into hideous Gorgons by Athena for catching the eye of Posiedon, who is not going to take her sister Medusa s murder lying down! This presentation follows in Montana Rep s Educational Outreach Tour tradition of bringing staged adaptations of iconic stories from history or of the works of acclaimed historical writers to Montana communities. Though gleaned from Greek mythology which dates back more than 2300 years, Dean s adapted tale highlights many of the same issues that resonate with today s audiences. Established in 1977, Montana Repertory Theatre has become one of the most respected professional touring companies in the country today. Recent productions include the highly acclaimed The Miracle Worker, as well as To Kill a Mockingbird; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Leading Ladies; Bus Stop; Doubt, a parable; and Biloxi Blues. Montana Repertory Theatre has operated under the artistic direction of Greg Johnson, a member of the Acting/Directing faculty in the University of Montana s School of Theatre & Dance, for the past twenty-three years. Tickets for Once Upon a Time in Ancient Greece are available at OUTLET or by calling. Prices range from $ to $. PHONE Performances are at in. TIME / DAY / date PLACE This Montana Repertory Theatre performance is sponsored by. SPONSOR Montana Repertory Theatre is funded in part by a grant from the Montana Arts Council (an agency of state government), with support from the Montana State Legislature, the University of Montana, Dr. Cathy Capps, Dr. Sandy Sheppard, The Dramatist Guild, and The Shubert Foundation. (Add local funding information if desired).
MONTANA REP EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH FALL TOUR 2014 / 3 Radio Copy If you would like a pre-recorded radio ad on CD, please let Teresa know two weeks in advance. (406) 243-2854 / teresa.waldorf @umontana.edu 30-Second Radio Spot: (20 seconds of copy and 10 seconds of tag time at the end.) Don t miss Montana Repertory Theatre s Fall Educational Outreach Tour for 2014: Laramie Dean s Once Upon a Time in Ancient Greece: Stheno s Descent into the Underworld, a fantastic and comic quest of mythological proportions. This production tells the story of Stheno, the Gorgon sister, who is on a quest to avenge her sister Medusa s death. Now playing at a location near you! Montana Repertory Theatre bringing you great theatre from the Heart of the Rockies! TAG: Please add your local information at the end of this spot location, dates, times, and ticket information. 15-Second Radio Spot (psa): Don t miss Montana Repertory Theatre s Fall Educational Outreach Tour for 2014: Once Upon a Time in Ancient Greece. See this fantastic and comic quest of mythological proportions at LOCATION on at. date TIME Call for local ticket information. PHONE Sponsored by. SPONSOR S NAME
MONTANA REP EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH FALL TOUR 2014 / 4 MEET THE COMPANY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR GREG JOHNSON has served as artistic director of Montana Rep since 1990. He brought with him a commitment to excellence developed during years of experience in the New York theatre, where he worked with the best directors, choreographers, actors, designers, and playwrights in the country. From Neil Simon and Gene Saks to Hugh Leonard, Elizabeth Ashley, Beth Henley, Christine Baranski, Andie MacDowell, Barnard Hughes, and Melvin Bernhardt, Greg has been privileged to work with the finest. He brings energy and expertise to every aspect of his involvement with Montana Rep. Greg s Broadway credits include Biloxi Blues; Crimes of the Heart; Is There Life After High School?; Da; and Hide and Seek. National tours include the Broadway productions of Steel Magnolias, Crimes of the Heart, and Biloxi Blues. Greg spent nineteen years working in professional theatre in New York City as an actor, stage manager, and director before coming to Montana to head Montana Rep. Since joining Montana Rep, Greg has directed Broadway Bound; The Heidi Chronicles; Someone Who ll Watch Over Me; Lend Me a Tenor; Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll; The Real Thing; Willi; The Voice of the Prairie; and the national tours of To Kill a Mockingbird; It s a Wonderful Life; Death of a Salesman; A Streetcar Named Desire; The Trip to Bountiful; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Leading Ladies; Doubt, a parable; and Biloxi Blues. In addition, he is responsible for development of The Missoula Colony: A Gathering of Artists in Support of the Writer s Craft at The University of Montana. Greg has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and, with the Rep, is a member of the Theatre Communications Group, a national network of regional theatres. He serves on the faculty of the University of Montana College of Visual and Performing Arts. playwright LARAMIE DEAN is a Montana native, born and raised on a ranch in northeastern Montana. His move to Missoula in high school allowed him to take drama classes at Hellgate High School, opening up an entire theatrical world of possibilities. Laramie earned his BFA in acting at the University of Montana before moving across the country to work on his PhD in playwriting at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Since then, he has performed, written, and directed numerous plays, including Othernatural, a one-man show, which was performed at Stage Left s Left Out Festival in New York City and at Missoula s own Crystal Theatre. Laramie is currently enjoying his dream job as the drama teacher right back at Missoula s good ol Hellgate High School. DIRECTOR Cohen Ambrose, a native of Bigfork, is an MA theatre studies and MFA directing candidate at the University of Montana. He holds a BA in philosophy and theatre from The Evergreen State College. An actor, director, playwright, and scholar, Cohen has lived and worked in Montana, Washington, New York City, and Prague. His research interests and scholarly output include theatre history, acting theory, philosophy and performance, and the cognitive sciences in performance. His directing credits for the University of Montana include The Galileo Experiment and Book of Days; Holes in the Wall and The Elephant Man for Flathead Valley Community College; True West for the Prague Playhouse; adaptations of The Enormous Turnip and A Christmas Carol in Prague; Grandma and Me at the Flea; Theatre for a Bilingual Community in Shelton, Washington; Quick Bright Things for GroundUP Productions; and Elephants and Coffee for 13th Street Repertory Theatre in New York City. He has created theatre and performance with and for young audiences from toddlers to teenagers. He is thrilled to make his Montana Rep directorial debut with the Educational Outreach Tour.
MONTANA REP EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH FALL TOUR 2014 / 5 MEET THE COMPANY TOUR ACTOR Heidi Mudd (Stheno) is a recent BA theatre graduate of the University of Montana School of Theatre & Dance. Some of her favorite roles include Alais in The Lion in Winter and Louann in Book of Days. She has had the opportunity to work with Montana Repertory Theatre once before, in the 2012 National Tour of Biloxi Blues, where she played Daisy and served as assistant stage manager/props crew. Heidi grew up in rural Montana and owes her interest in theatre to traveling groups just like Montana Rep, without whom she would not have had the chance to experience theatre. She is overjoyed at the opportunity to have some creative fun with Montana students just like her! TOUR ACTOR Jamie Parnell (Old Man/Heracles/Orpheus/Hades), is a native of Hamilton and is thrilled to be working with Montana Rep s Educational Outreach Tour for his second season. His first tour proved to be one of the most personally enlightening and entertaining of his career. He has worked around the nation as an actor, company manager, and stage manager. He got his education at the University of Montana and has been lucky enough to take courses and workshops around the world. Jamie s most memorable stage roles include the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps, Papageno in Mozart s The Magic Flute, and Man 2 in Greater Tuna. TOUR ACTOR Paige O Neill (Euryale/Athena/Stage Manager) is thrilled to be working with Montana Repertory Theatre, having just returned from a season at Fort Peck Summer Theatre, where she served as a stage manager, assistant stage manager, and props designer. She is grateful for this opportunity to further enrich her professional résumé by working with such a distinguished company. Other credits include The Miracle Worker and Biloxi Blues national tours with Montana Rep, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged and Romeo & Juliet with Shakespeare Walla Walla, and Violet, Xanadu and Into the Woods with Venture Theatre. Paige will return to Missoula this spring to finish her BFA in theatre at the University of Montana. Scenic Designer Jadyn Velazquez has been pursuing her MFA at UM for the past two years in scenic design. She has had the pleasure of designing Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches; A Midsummer Night s Dream; and The Comedy of Errors in that time. Jadyn has learned a great deal about technical theater and plans on learning even more as she branches out in her career. She loves the temporality of theatre and how every show introduces new challenges. Costume Designer Nikki Nelson is a student at the University of Montana and has been focused in the costume shop for the past year and a half. She loves designing and creating something from nothing; she enjoys the process as much (or more than) the completed work! Nikki has had the opportunity to build for the Rep s 2014 touring production of The Miracle Worker and has been the assistant costume designer on two shows in the School of Theatre & Dance: Distracted and A Midsummer Night s Dream. Once Upon a Time in Ancient Greece has been a fun process and Nikki has especially enjoyed the chance to do so many crafts alongside costumes. Lighting Designer Russell Homan is working on his third Educational Outreach production: he was the lighting designer for Writing Wild: The Adventures of Jack London and An Unladylike Battle for Survival in the Sunnyside Library. He has also worked for Huron Playhouse and Cortland Repertory Theatre. At the University of Montana, his most recent lighting design was for You Can t Take It with You. He also created the lighting design for original choreography entitled Echo for UM s Dance In Concert in 2011. Russell is thankful for the encouragement and support from the faculty, staff, and students of the UM School of Theatre & Dance. Sound Designer Robert Durkee is originally from Austin, TX. He came to UM to study forestry but then decided to change majors to theatre design/technology. He worked on many productions while attending UM. His most notable assignments were assistant lighting designer for Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches, lighting coordinator for 2014 s Dance in Concert, and sound designer for A Midsummer Night s Dream. Robert now resides in Spokane, WA, where he is pursuing jobs in theatre design/technology.
MONTANA REP EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH FALL TOUR 2014 / 6 MONTANA REP TOURING SINCE 1968 Montana Repertory Theatre was established as a professional touring company in 1968 to provide professional theatre to our own and neighboring Western states at an affordable cost. Montana Rep is one of the oldest and most respected touring companies in the country. Our mission is to tell the great stories of our world to enlighten, develop, and celebrate the human spirit in an ever-expanding community. Montana Rep delivers a theatrical experience in its entirety, bringing with it everything from lighting to sound design. Completely self-contained, the Rep offers presenters large and small in facilities ranging from new performing arts centers to high school gyms the opportunity to enjoy first-class theatre. Mainstage productions are supplemented by audience talkbacks, professional theatre workshops, and a one-hour performance suitable for high schools. The Professional Ensemble Montana Rep is pleased to showcase the talents of principal actors, directors, and designers with prestigious credits and awards from the worlds of Broadway, national and international tours, film, and television. The company operates under an agreement with Actors Equity Association and the University/ Resident Theatre Association. Montana Rep has been touring nationally since 1996, when we presented our first production of To Kill a Mockingbird. Following that highly successful tour and building on its success were It s a Wonderful Life; The Diary of Anne Frank; Death of a Salesman; A Streetcar Named Desire; Steel Magnolias; The Trip to Bountiful; Lost in Yonkers; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Leading Ladies; Bus Stop; Doubt, a parable; Biloxi Blues; and The Miracle Worker. A Commitment to Academic Excellence As the professional theatre-in-residence at the University of Montana, Montana Rep offers theatre students unique educational opportunities. UM is one of very few universities in the nation to house a professional touring company, and the only one that incorporates students and faculty into that company. Students touring with Montana Rep work alongside seasoned actors, directors, designers, and technical crew members, gaining experience that other academic programs cannot offer. To learn more about our theatre seasons and academic programs, please visit these websites: Montana Repertory Theatre www.montanarep.org salina.chatlain@umontana.edu School of Theatre & Dance www.umt.edu/theatredance www.umtheatredance.org umtheatredance@umontana.edu College of Visual and Performing Arts www.umt.edu/umarts The University of Montana www.umt.edu Montana Rep is proud to present the very best of the American theatre tradition, as we continue examining the heart of the American character through the medium of live theatre. MONTANA REP is funded in part by a grant from the Montana Arts Council (an agency of state government), with support from the Montana State Legislature, the University of Montana, Dr. Cathy Capps, Dr. Sandy Sheppard, The Dramatist Guild, and The Shubert Foundation.