Berkshire Theater News and Notes - July 2008
Much ado at Shakespeare, Williamstown, Barrington Companies, Berkshire Festival
By: Larry Murray - Jul 16, 2008
Shirley Valentine returns for one night only as Elayne Bernstein Theatre Opens at Shakespeare and Company
After years of beating the bushes for funds to renovate the former hockey rink for a Performing Arts Center, the new Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre was dedicated on July 12. Just for the occasion, Artistic Director Tina Packer brought back - for one night only - her much-loved role in Willy Russell's one-woman show Shirley Valentine. She did this as a special tribute to Elayne, one of the Company's long-time friends and supporters, who has served on the Company's Board of Trustees for nearly two decades. In attendance were a legion of supporters, big donors and small, and a smattering of VIPs to wish her well.Cheering her on was the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Anita Walker who also took part in the company's annual reading of the Declaration of Independence, a much loved local event. Two members of the Massachusetts Great and General Court - ie State Representative "Smitty" Pignatelli and State Senator Ben Dowling (our Berkshire guys on Beacon Hill) were there as well. They have been consistent supporters of the arts for the Berkshires.
The Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre opens publicly on August 1, with the world premiere of Christine Whitley's dark comedy, The Goatwoman of Corvis County. Watch for our review. Plans are now underway for a grand opening of the finished Production and Performing Arts Center (PaPA) in the summer of 2009.
An invited audience of company friends, supporters and members of the media got to see Packer and participate in acknowledging Elayne and celebrating the many supporters who have made this new theatre possible. Anyone who has worked in the arts knows that new theaters do not get built easily. Over the past several years, Shakespeare & Company's Board of Directors, Board of Overseers, generous friends and state funding have supported this effort to build this new facility and provide funding for other important initiatives. The evening included a cocktail hour, a tour of the new facility, and the performance. An unveiling ceremony and the acknowledgement of the tremendous contributions of Bernstein's and other key donors and supporters preceded Shirley Valentine, with a gooey dessert reception at intermission.
"Her involvement with and support of Shakespeare & Company cannot be overstated," said Packer. "Elayne and her husband Sol Schwartz's friendship, kindness and support of the arts inspires everyone who meets them. I am delighted to be the first actor to step onto the stage of the new Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre and perform a play I know Elayne is very fond of."
Tina Packer and Shirley Valentine go back a long ways
When she gave up acting to begin leading a major teaching theater company her acting could have suffered from neglect. Not at all. She has managed quite a few turns on stage. Lettuce and Lovage. Antony and Cleopatra. and now her signature piece, Shirley Valentine. It warmed the hearts and tickled the funny bones of thousands of New England theatre goers when Packer performed the role at Shakespeare & Company to critical acclaim in 1991 and again in 1995 under the direction of Patrick Swanson.
Company actor, director, and Youth Programs Director Jenna Ware worked with Packer to re-mount the show. Packer also performed Shirley Valentine in Boston several times in the late 1980's.
The performance was delightful and done in a not-yet fully furnished theater. The risers were missing, being reconfigured due to building code regulations, the HVAC was temperamental. Some problems with acoustics were revealed. But overall the flexible space performed admirably. Like a shakedown cruise, this initial voyage revealed a few minor issues, and the fine tuning begins.
As to the performance, the poignant and often hysterically funny story of a dowdy working class British housewife's journey to self-discovery proceeded beautifully. Considering the short time to reacquaint herself with the script there was not a dropped line during the entire two hour production.
Late last month, former chairman of the Board of Trustees Michael Miller, now serving as president of the Capital Campaign, announced that the Campaign reached $7.5 million and an anonymous donor has stepped forward to offer a $1million challenge grant to help inspire new donors to participate in the $10 million Capital Campaign. Up to $1 million in donations received after the Gala will be matched by this generous donor. "We hope that many members of the community will pitch in and help us complete this very successful effort," said Miller.
So do we.
Quick Link to Shakespeare & Company
Berkshire Theatre Festival Receives NEA Grant
Berkshire Theatre Festival is the recipient of a $10,000 "Access to Artistic Excellence" grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support extended rehearsals for Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. The play is now in its second week of rehearsal and is being directed by Anders Cato, featuring actors David Adkins, Stephen DeRosa, David Schramm, and Randy Harrison. It plays at the Unicorn Theatre starting July 29 and runs through August 23.I had the opportunity to meet with actor Randy Harrison this week and he was enthusiastic about the generous amount of rehearsal time, a rarity for Summer theater productions. Very few donors and grant givers recognize the importance of development time for a production. It is a difficult thing to find money for. During the interview, Harrison talked about Beckett, Godot and the Berkshires. This enlightening conversation with one of BTF's regular actors will appear shortly in Berkshire Fine Arts.
Berkshire Theatre Festival Artistic Director Kate Maguire calls Waiting for Godot "arguably the greatest play ever written about humanity questioning the very nature of existence." She says, "The questions it asks, such as why we are here and who we are as human beings, are as relevant today as when the play premiered in Paris in 1953."
Mass Cultural Council Supports Berkshire Theatre Festival Renewal Plan
This past winter BTF announced its 80th Anniversary Renewal Plan — an award-winning design by Okerstrom-Lang Landscape Architects, which will preserve and transform their historic property.The Massachusetts Cultural Council awarded the company a $160,000 grant for this important project. It will be used for seemingly mundane tasks like enhancing parking areas, walkways, and informational signs, as well as to prepare the property for future developments. The plans include outdoor seating and picnic areas, water gardens with native plants, improved lighting throughout the grounds, and "The Link," a pedestrian walkway with benches and landscaping that will connect the Main Stage to the Mellon Barn and Unicorn Theatre.
From our perspective, it seems that the company is preparing to make itself more of a campus, with many public amenities, much like Jacob's Pillow, Tanglewood, and Shakespeare & Company. I anticipate that a public capital campaign is coming sometime in the future.
Quick Link to Berkshire Theatre Festival
Barrington Stage changes direction
In the city - Pittsfield in this case - creating a campus with grassy lawns and picnic tables is not as big a priority as simply getting audiences to the theater on time. So this comes as a "news flash!" Union Street is now one-way, headed west, away from North Street. This will certainly make finding the theater easier for first time ticket buyers as now we can turn directly onto Union Street from North Street! (Of course, you can no longer turn onto Union from Center). Please keep this in mind for your next visit to their main theatre.Casting announced for Barrington's Violet Hour July 16-27
Barrington's artistic director Julianne Boyd has announced casting for their new production of Richard Greenberg's The Violet Hour as well as for the Musical Theatre Lab workshop production of My Scary Girl which is currently running.Barry Edelstein is directing Richard Greenberg's The Violet Hour for the Mainstage, July 16 through 27, with an official press opening on July 20 at 5pm. Set in 1919, The Violet Hour is about a driven young publisher at the start of his career and the mysterious machine that arrives that could radically change his future. The cast features Austin Lysy (John Pace Seavering), Brian Avers (Denny), Opal Alladin (Jessie), Heidi Armbruster (Rosamund), and Nat Dewolf (Gidger). The production is designed by Wilson Chin (sets), Jessica Ford (costumes), Chris Lee (lighting) and Matt Nielson (sound).
Edelstein is an acclaimed stage director who served as Artistic Director of New York City's Classic Stage Company for five seasons. He previously directed four productions at WTF – notably All My Sons and As You Like It.
Barrington's My Scary Girl in a workshop production
The second production of BSC's Musical Theatre Lab is now underway, a workshop production of My Scary Girl running through July 26 at Stage 2. My Scary Girl features a book by Kyoung-ae Kang and Mark St. Germain, with lyrics by Kyoung-ae Kang, and music by Will Aronson with additional lyrics by William Finn. A new musical based on the Korean film My Scary Girl. Think Little Shop of Horrors meets So I Married an Axe Murderer meets (a Korean) Gertrude Stein. The production is said to be a romance/comedy/horror story set in Seoul , Korea , with a contemporary musical theatre score. Since it is a work in progress, we will not be reviewing it. But it won't stop us from quietly dropping in to see how things are coming. That's way theatre in the Berkshires is so fascinating, we can actually watch new works evolve and develop.
Directed by Andrew Volkoff, My Scary Girl features Terence Archie, Heath Calvert, Nathaniel P. Claridad, Deborah S. Craig, Greta Lee and J.P. Moraga. My Scary Girl is designed by Brian Prather (sets), Renee Bell (costumes), Scott Pinkney (lighting) and Jillian Walker (sound). Alma Owen is production stage manager.
Quick Link to Barrington Stage Company
Williamstown Theatre Festival offers free play readings
Sometimes play readings can be almost as entertaining as the actual full performance. Certainly the focus is on the words but they are often powerful in and of themselves.July 20: Daily Show's Rob Corddry, his brother Nate, and Debra Jo Rupp read "True West"
Ah, Sam Sheppard's True West. This Sunday, July 20 at 7:30pm, former WTF apprentice Nate Corddry ("Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"), who will also appear in this summer's Not Waving by Ellen Melaver (August 6-17), and his real-life brother, Rob Corddry ("The Daily Show", Harold & Kumar) will read the squabbling siblings in Sam Sheppard's Pulitzer Prize winning play, True West, on the WTF Main Stage. This modern classic is an explosive exploration of family rivalry as two very different brothers attempt to sell Hollywood their version of the great American Western. The brothers Corddry will be joined by Debra Jo Rupp ("That 70s Show"), who will appear in the Festival's Main Stage production of A Flea in Her Ear (July 30-August 10).
July 25: "What is the Cause of Thunder?" by Noah Haidle
Directed by Justin Waldman. After 27 years on the same soap opera, Ada is starting to confuse her art and her life. But after so many years of acting, her art is her life. Noah Haidle's poignant comedy brings us the hilarity of day-time drama alongside the harsher, but often equally funny, realities of life.
July 27: Theresa Rebeck reads from her novel "Three Girls and their Brother"
Next Sunday, July 27 at 4:00pm, Theresa Rebeck (Mauritius, The Water's Edge), playwright of The Understudy (on the Nikos Stage from July 23-August 3), will read from and sign copies of her debut novel, Three Girls and Their Brother, after the 2:00pm matinee performance of her play. Rebeck's novel offers a clear-eyed look at celebrity culture—and it's not all parties, photo shoots, and champagne. For anyone who's ever wanted a glimpse inside the celebrity fast lane or secretly wished to be the next "It" girl, Three Girls and Their Brother (Shaye Areheart Books) is a must-read. The event, co-hosted by Williamstown Theatre Festival and Water Street Books, will offer patrons the chance to ask questions of the author and to purchase copies of Rebeck's novel in the theatre lobby.
August 1: "Knickerbocker" a New Play by Jonathan Marc Sherman
On Friday August 1 at 3:00pm, a reading of Jonathan Marc Sherman's Knickerbocker will complete the Williamstown Theatre Festival's Fridays at 3 reading series. Sherman (Sophistry, Evolution) will join writers Charles Evered, John Shea, Beau Willimon, Noah Haidle and Tracey Scott Wilson in visiting Williamstown for a reading of his new play. The reading will be directed by Justin Waldman.
"Are you ready?" The question looms over Jerry as the months tick by and his unborn son grows from the size of a peach to the size of, well, a baby. As the birth date creeps ever nearer, will the advice, encouragement and warnings of friends and family make Jerry more or less ready? The awe and terror of becoming a new parent shine through Jonathan Marc Sherman's newest play as he examines whether one can ever truly be ready for parenthood.
August 8: "The Good Negro" by Tracey Scott Wilson
Tracey Scott Wilson takes us into the heart of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement in Alabama. Against a constantly shifting landscape and under the ever-watchful eye of the FBI, a trio of emerging Black leaders must conquer their individual demons, everyday Black men and women must overcome their fears, and the local Ku Klux Klan fights for its old way of life. Wilson is the 2007 Weissberger Award for Playwriting Winner and the reading will be directed by Liesl Tommy.
These events are free and open to the public. Reservations are encouraged and can be made by calling 413-597-3400 or by sending an email to: tickets@wtfestival.org. The Williamstown Main Stage and Nikos Stage are located at the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance, 1000 Main St, Williamstown, MA 01267.
Greylock Theatre Project introduces local North Adams children to play making
The Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced the schedule for the 12th year of its Greylock Theatre Project. It is based on the successful 52nd Street Project in New York City, which has been working with children from the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood for over 20 years. Started in 1996, Greylock Theatre Project is an educational outreach program that works with children living in the Greylock and Brayton Hill neighborhoods of North Adams to create theatre. In the two programs running this summer, One-on-Ones and Playmaking, children ages 8-14 will work with professional theatre artists to create original works as well as perform 10-minute musicals.One-on-Ones pairs one child with one professional theatre artist to spend a week rehearsing a 10 minute musical which they then perform together for the community. The performances are on Monday, July 28th at 5 and 8pm in the Directing Studio of the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance.
In Playmaking children attend a series of eight classes to learn how to write a play. When they have completed the classes, they are paired with a professional dramaturg/director to help them write a play to be performed by actors from the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Performances are on Monday, August 11th at 5 and 8pm on the Nikos Stage of the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance.
The Greylock Theatre Project aims to serve kids in the North Adams community by introducing them to the empowering act of creating theatre. Through a variety of tasks in playwriting and performing, the children strengthen skills in team building and conflict management, and exercise their imaginations through repeated work in creative expression.
The project is co-directed by Christopher Kauffman and Emily Windover. Liz Urban is the Project Manager. Interns are Sarah Pierce, Ashley Stuart and Amanda Ward.
All performances are free, but seating is limited, so reservations are a must. Tickets for The Greylock Theatre Project's One-on-Ones can be reserved by calling (413) 597-3386. Tickets for Playmaking and the rest of the Williamstown season can be obtained online at www.wtfestival.org, by calling 413-597-3400, or at the '62 Center Box Office: 1000 Main Street (Rt.2) Williamstown. Box office hours are as follows: Tuesday – Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 11am – 4pm.
Quick Link to Williamstown Theatre Festival