|
|
| What's News at JAC Publishing & Promotions
& New England Entertainment Digest |
|
| JAC Publishing/NEED Update | 05/26/10 |
|
|
|
|
Hello!
Are you receiving what you want to get from us? Do you just want to receive audition and/or production notices for New England? Do you just want to hear when JAC releases a new play? Customize your profile to ensure you get only what you want to read! You have the power!
Click on the Update Profile/Email Address link below. We don't like spam in our mailboxes, and we certainly don't want to be spam in yours!
|
|
|
New Releases
 Our third release from Melanie MacQueen is An Old, Old Tale. Says MacQueen, "This play was first done with a group of third and fourth graders as part of my own "Elizabethan Project". Fairy friends, Finton and Demzelle must hide their friendship because they are on opposite sides of a long conflict. Because of that conflict the flowers are suffering, as the fairy tribes forget their duties to nature. When the warring tribes, the Lepora and the Cana, pit two champions against each other Demzelle's brother is accidentally slain by Finton. This sad event sets the stage for a battle between a reluctant Finton and an angry and grieving Demzelle, who now are the appointed champions of their respective tribes. As their fight commences, an angel appears to point out that the battling fairies have neglected their duties to the flowers. Full of pride and anger, the competitive tribes almost destroy the flowers trying to outdo each other in showing their mastery of rain and sun. Seeing what has happened, Finton begs Demzelle to help him save the flowers and show the two tribes why they must stop fighting. A large ensemble cast an infinite creative possibilities. JAC has also published MacQueen's Pandora's Bum Rap and The Monarch's New Raiment.
 Following William Allen's short play Under Par comes two full-length dramas. First is Shadow Map, inspired by actual events. London, 1854, has been stricken with an outbreak of Cholera. Dr. John Snow is on the forefront of discovering how the disease spread and how its victims are treated. Convincing others his theory is valid, however, proves to be a formidable challenge. Farr, Chadwick, Father White, Rogers and Hall offer counter arguments that reflect the common prejudices of the time, but Snow finally wins them over. After Snow's friend, Mary, is stricken with the disease, it is decided to dismantle the Broad Street pump, from which Snow believes the cholera is spreading - but it is too late. The disease must run its course, and nothing can stop it. Innocent people must die as a sacrifice to their destiny before the truth about Cholera can be ascertained. 8 men and 2 women make up the cast.
 Next up from Allen is a much lighter (and hilarious) farce called Nude Scene. Thanks to a case of mistaken identity, Stanley and Laura Schafer end up in the VIP suite of the Desert Palm Hotel. The real VIP, Moira Schafer, and her husband also arrive...and the sparks fly. When a feeble excuse for détente is reached they reluctantly share the suite just long enough for Moira to greet her fans and leave. Mr. Godfrey, an officious hotel manager, announces the night's festivities, but springs on Moira that, instead of pressing what she expects in cement, he would like her to press what she is most famous for - her chest. Because of secret she has kept for years, Moira must find a proxy... and Laura is it (or so she hopes). Chaos, drunkenness and cross-dressing are all factors in this farce with an ending twist that still makes sure everyone lives happily ever after.
A new playwright to JAC, Israel's Yair Packer brings us four short selections:
Performed together as a full evening of entertainment, each of Packer's selections is a gem unto itself.
For more information about these or any of JAC's play selections, visit us online, or drop us an email! |
|
PROVIDENCE, RI: Trinity Repertory Company is pleased to invite the public to remember and celebrate the life of the late Richard "DeeDee" Cumming, former musical director, director of Project Discovery, and composer-in-residence, who passed away last November at the age of 81. The memorial celebration - featuring songs, speakers and stories - will take place June 12 from 11am- to 1pm in Trinity's Dowling Theater, 201 Washington Street. The memorial service is free and open to the public. Seating reservations are not necessary, but those with special seating needs should call (401) 521-1100 x411.
Cumming, who with founding artistic director Adrian Hall co-authored several pieces for the radio, television, film and the stage - including the adaptation of A Christmas Carol still produced annually on Trinity Rep's stage - served as Trinity's composer-in-residence for 25 years, composing over 60 musical scores and sitting behind the keyboard for some twenty productions. In addition to his work with Trinity Rep, Cumming shared his talents with stages such as the New York Shakespeare Festival, McCarter Theater, Milwaukee Rep, Dallas Theater Center , the Alliance Theater, the Folger Shakespeare Theatre, and the Geffen Playhouse, among others. With Adrian Hall, he co-authored several pieces aired on PBS, including Feasting With Panthers, Life Among the Lowly, The House of Mirth, and Brother to Dragons, all produced under the banner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Cumming's work garnered him awards from the ASCAP, Ford Foundation, NEA, RISCA, Wurlitzer Foundation, Rubin American Opera Competition, Associated Schools of the Arts Piano Concerto Competition, among others.
Would you like to be featured in the NEED Feature slot? Drop us a line to find out how! If you'd like your event/production listed or featured on the NEED website, please email your request and we'll get it launched asap. ____________________________________
|
| Playwright Profile - Tim Ryan made his playwriting and directorial debut in the winter of 1998 at Windham (ME) Center Stage Theater with Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty?The popular and financial success of the production led to subsequent productions of the play being performed by several community theaters and schools throughout Northern New England. Many of the productions have broken box office and attendance records. Mary O'Leary & The Leprechauns of Ballybunn Village was Tim's second original play to be produced. The play made it's premiere at Windham Center Stage Theater in March 2001 to public and critical acclaim. While honeymooning in Ireland, Tim was inspired to write the script, by the humor and charm of the locals, the beautiful scenery as well as the many legends, which the country is famous for. Sanford Maine Stage Theater also produced the play again with much acclaim in the summer of 2002. Tim is also a professional actor. In the short time since his first audition, he has accumulated many production credits as an actor, producer, director and playwright. He has appeared in wide range of local stage character roles and commercials in Maine. Nationally, Tim made his motion picture debut playing the feature comedic part of Brian (a.k.a. Buster, the drunken busboy) in the HBOfilms production of Empire Falls. The film is based upon the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. Since 2002, Tim has directed Freeport High School's One Act Drama competition pieces. In this capacity, Tim became one of the only few people in the world to have directed a officially sanctioned stage version of Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail, a play adapted by the Freeport High School students based on the hit movie. Word quickly spread of the show's both critical & commercial success. As they prepared for their show's national debut, the production team behind the Broadway version of the movie titled Spamalot (which included Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols & Monty Python's Eric Idle) requested all materials related to the Freeport High production. They wanted to see how such classic scenes such as The Black Knight, Trojan Rabbit and Killer Rabbit scenes were achieved on a $500 budget. Tim has also written and directed comedic instructional videos for IT companies. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
