The Prompter - The Village Players of · PDF fileThe Prompter . In this Issue ... Matzoh Brei premiere, and I'm sure it was an Oscar- ... organizer Ralph Rosati, "a good time was.....

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92nd

season, Issue 6 March 2015

Thinking Spring

The Prompter

In this Issue

Page 1 Prez Says

Page 2 Virginia Woolf

Page 3 VP History

Page 4 Matzoh Brei Movie Premiere

Page 5 Matzoh Brei Concert Reading Hidden Heroes

Page 6 VP Birthday Party Recap

Page 7 Prompter Deadline

Page 8 Save the Date Page 9 Tour of Broadway Benefit Page 10 Auditions Elsewhere VP Members on Other Stages

Page 11 Millie Cast List

Page 12 Virginia Woolf Telling Us

Page 13 New Members Answer Key Page 14 Upcoming Events

PREZ SAYS

Greetings, all! I hope you're all staying warm and dry! Is it spring yet? Even though I was in San Francisco, I've seen a lot of pictures on Facebook that look tremendous! I will try to bring the San Francisco weather back with me.

I trust you all had an opportunity to attend the

Matzoh Brei premiere, and I'm sure it was an Oscar-

worthy event. Thoroughly Modern Millie auditions are over and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf will be up and running beginning March 6. The birthday

party sounds like it was fun, and I'm sorry to have

missed that as well!

Village Players stays busy and mounts all of these events. We need all of your help, whatever you can do! It takes a Village to create a show.

May the Luck of the Irish shine on you through this

Month of Green. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Suzi

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An Example of Historical Inevitability? By Tim Wittlinger In Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, George and Nick are Professors in a small New England college. George is in the History Department, and Nick in the Biology Department. Nick is studying a project that will alter chromosomes to make everyone predictable, as well as look and act alike. George counters with the fact that it is History which determines and predicts the events and actions of the future - Historical Inevitability, as he calls it in Act II. 45 years ago, during Village Players 47th Season, we took a treacherous step forward in our play selection. In spite of the recognition that our audience might very well avoid the third show of that season, and that the subject matter of that play would be deemed, at the minimum, “controversial,” the Board still elected to present a play by Edward Albee. The lead characters, Richard and Jenny, live not unlike George and Martha in the current production – in a world of illusion that denies the reality of their lives. As Richard states to Jenny in Act I:

“You live in a forty-thousand-dollar house and you have to smoke bad cigarettes to get the coupons so you can afford a good vacuum so you can clean it; you belong to the club so you can pay back dinner invitations from people you wouldn’t even know if you hadn’t even joined the club in the first place, and you joined the club and learned how to play tennis, because you decided to move into a neighborhood where everybody belonged to the club.”

Richard and Jenny live in an affluent bedroom community such as Birmingham or Grosse Pointe, and to make ends meet, Jenny (without Richard’s knowledge) becomes a prostitute and makes hundreds of dollars a week to support their lifestyle and help ameliorate their financial condition. Not a good subject to present to a Birmingham audience in 1970. Albee’s Everything in the Garden, as many of his plays, is designed to make the audience think and then to recognize the reality of their own existence. Many thought it wouldn’t sell – Albee (and Village Players) proved them wrong. Now, 45 years later, we are doing it again. In spite of numerous comments that Albee’s Virginia Woolf is too heavy a drama, that it will not attract Birmingham and surrounding communities’ interest, that it will not sell tickets, and that it will be a financial flop, Village Players has boldly decided to stage this award-winning, educational, successful, and iconic theatrical classic. The Director and the outstanding cast of four bring a total of 136 years of theater experience to the Village Players stage, and with many hours of rehearsal time, overtime work, and deep character analysis, have transformed Albee’s words into

believable ACTION on stage. When the word gets out as to just how deeply this professional cast has interpreted Albee’s theme, Virginia Woolf will no longer be thought of as just another heavy drama; it will attract local interest, will sell tickets, and will be a financial success. As Albee did for us 45 years ago, and will do again today, Village Players will be recognized as a leader in presenting classic award-winning dramatic presentations for the enjoyment and education of its theater-going public. Historical Inevitability!

The Cast of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, back row – Alan Canning

(George) middle row (left to right) – Colleen Gentry (Martha) and Josh

Bartlett (Nick) and on the floor – Erica Shubin (Honey)

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Looking Back at Village Players History By Tania Velinsky

I have been spending some time looking back through the Village Players scrapbooks, and thought it might be fun this month to play a game of ‘Name the Actress’! How many of these long-time Village Players

actresses can you name? Find the answers on page 13.

C: Carnival (with Ben Benson) – 1979

D: Something’s Afoot – 1980

E: Move Over, Mrs. Markham – 1985

Note: For those who read my column last month and wondered who was the man pictured at the top of my article; it was Waldo Fellows (pictured left), who was quoted in the 1925 Detroit News article!

A: Night Must Fall - 1977

B: The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild – 1978

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Matzoh Brei Premieres at Village Players

By Stephen Sussman

On Saturday, March 21, the movie Matzoh Brei premiered at the Village Players. The short movie, directed and produced by Alan Canning of A2 Creative, was written by VP and Playwrights@Work member Stephen Sussman. It is based on his one-act play of the same name.

It turned out to be an entertaining and memorable evening as many VP members attended, graced the red carpet, laughed during the comedic film. The evening included a talk-back with the filmmakers and cast afterward. Refreshments were provided and wonderful time was had by all.

The event was co-produced by Barbara Schmitt and Diane D'Agostino. This was the second movie premiere at VP based on an original play by a member of P@W and we hope for many more successful fundraising events of this type in the future.

It is most unusual for a community theater to be a source for producing original plays and films. We are very fortunate to be part of a unique and creative environment that supports and fosters original work. Thank you for all who attend and support local original filmmaking, and please join us for a concert reading of the full-length version of Matzoh Brei March 22 at 2 PM at the Baldwin Public Library to see how the story continues.

The Prompter March 2015

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Free Concert Reading of Full-length Matzoh Brei Scheduled March 22 Playwrights @ Work and the Baldwin Public Library will present a free concert reading of full-length play, Matzoh Brei at the library on Sunday, March 22 at 2:00PM. A film based on the one-act version of the play, by VP’s Stephen Sussman, was featured at a gala fundraising premiere at Village Players on February 21. The light-hearted comedy describes several days in the lives -- and mixed-up loves -- of a Jewish-American family, beginning during Passover and continuing into the week after. Sussman, who also directs the play, says the full-length version picks up the day after the action in the shorter version ended. The title of the play refers to a break-fast dish traditionally prepared during Passover. Those who attended the premiere and want to know what hap-pens next are encouraged to attend the reading. Several actors from the film are returning to lend their talents to the concert reading. Audience members are asked to comment on the play, which is still a work in progress. As at Playwrights @ Work’s Shorts & Sweets staged readings, audience comments and critiques become part of the materials considered when the playwright revises his or her play. Light refreshments will be served at the free event. WARNING: Matzoh Brei contains some language that is not suitable for children.

Hidden Heroes

We at The Prompter are beginning a new feature to recognize some of the “Hidden Heroes” within our group – those who quietly find things that need to be done and do them, not for applause or recognition, but just because they need to be done. This month, our hidden heroes are Ralph and Sharon Rosati. Ralph and Sharon are at the theater at least once a week cleaning, straightening, and organizing. Village Players does use a cleaning company, but Sharon and Ralph have taken it upon themselves to take over where the professionals leave off by keeping the refrigerator clean, organizing all the kitchen cupboards, trying to keep up with the salt that is tracked daily into the building throughout the winter, tidying before performances, and anything else they can find. Ralph recently organized and labeled everything in the paint room, and Ralph and Sharon pulled out and refolded all of the black curtains, teasers, and tormentors in the curtain storage area downstairs. “I just love to organize things!” says Sharon. “We don’t help out for the glory of it. We just love Vil-lage Players; we love the people and we just want to help keep it clean and pretty.” All of us at Village Players say a big “thank you” to Ralph and Sharon, this month’s hidden heroes.

Do you know a hidden hero that deserves recognition? Please send your nominations to Tania Velinsky at [email protected].

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Village Players Birthday Party

“ A Great Time Was Had By All”

A small but congenial group turned out February 28 to enjoy a potluck dinner, a lively game of team trivia, and music at VP's 92nd Birthday Party. Many of those who attended the program have been VP members for decades, including VP stalwarts Ty Perkins (who serenaded the audience with a song), Peggy McCall, Priscilla Benson, Martha Hodge and Betsy Todd. Others, like Penelope Calcaterra, joined VP only recently. But, according to organizer Ralph Rosati, "a good time was had by all." It was the first time Calcaterra had attended a VP social event, and it won't be her last. "We had a great time," she said. "I enjoyed meeting some people I didn't know -- Kevin Cristbrook and Priscilla Benson, and Ralph did such a great job with the trivia game." Her feelings were echoed by long-time member Helen Moultrup. "It was a lot of fun," she said. "It was so good to catch up with friends." Ralph Rosati , organizer of the event, both emceed and wrote the questions to the trivia game. The 50 theater- and film-based questions, ranged from the fairly simple ("Who played Abraham Lincoln in the 2012 movie Lincoln?") to the extremely difficult ("Who sang "Old Man River" in the original Broadway production of Show Boat?"). The winning team -- with 44 correct answers -- received elegant gift bags, assembled by Sharon Rosati. After the game, VP's Kevin Cristbrook entertained the audience with a selection of Broadway (and other) tunes on the piano, inviting members to sing along (and several did). "It was well-attended, everyone cooperated beautifully, and seemed to have a good time playing trivia," Rosati said. "Certainly, I had a great time being emcee. And, of course, the food was great!" Rosati noted he wanted to give special thanks to Cristbrook for sharing his talents. The birthday party was organized by Ralph Rosati, chair of VP's Social Committee, Sharon Rosati, Betsy Todd, Laura Bradshaw Tucker and Art Tucker.

L to R Kevin Cristbrook, Ralph Rosati, & Marc Rosati

Paul Gillin in background

L to R Peg McCall & Helen Moultrup

Pictures taken by Laura

Bradshaw Tucker

Martha Hodges

Marc Rosati & Barbara Schmitt

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The Prompter March 2015

A Few Words About The Prompter Deadline

By Randy Gilchrist

Regular readers of The Prompter will be aware that a new team recently assumed responsibility for compiling our newsletter each month. The team consists of Michael Gravame (layout),

Tania Velinsky (history and other writing), and me (copy

editing). This edition (March 2015) represents the team’s fourth effort.

As with any periodical, our readers expect the newsletter to be timely and up-to-date, but also to be available on a particular date. In this case, our target date is the first of the month, the third at the latest. Naturally, there is a deadline for submission of articles and other materials. In our limited experience with this endeavor, we have determined that we need about eight days to ready The Prompter for publication.

Rather than making the deadline the same date each month, we are establishing a changeable deadline, depending on the length of the month prior to publication date. Some of you may have noticed that the

deadline for this month’s edition was February 21. For the April edition, the deadline will be March 24. Of

course, submissions before the deadline are most appreciated. The deadline will continue to appear on the back page, so look for it there.

We recognize that, in some cases, events will occur between the submission deadline and the publication date. In this case, we may be able to extend the deadline on a case-by-case basis. So, if you know you can’t make the deadline, please contact us before the deadline to determine how we might work together on getting your submission included.

Please help out the team by adhering to our deadline. This will result in a much happier newsletter staff and, we hope, a better Prompter.

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Noises Off Auditions

Brush up on your British accents. Noises Off will kick off the Village Players 2015-16 season,

Directed by David Reinke.

AUDITION DATES:

Sunday, May 31, 2015: Registration, 12:30PM; auditions, 1:00PM

Monday, June 1, 2015: Registration, 6:30PM; auditions, 7:00PM

PRODUCTION DATES: Preview, September 2. Performances, September 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, and 19 at 8:00PM, and September 6, 13, and 20 at 2:00PM.

If you have any questions, please email David Reinke at [email protected].

Shorts & Sweets Scheduled for Saturday, April 11

Playwrights @ Work’s spring short play festival, Shorts & Sweets, is scheduled for 7:30PM, Saturday, April 11. The free event will showcase six 10-minute plays by P@W members, performed as staged readings, under the direc-tion of Diane D’Agostino. A five-minute audience Q & A follows each performance.

The slate of plays to be performed will be announced in the April Prompter. A program dominated by comedy is anticipated. A free dessert buffet– the “sweets” of Shorts & Sweets – follows the production.

The Prompter March 2015

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“A Tour of Broadway”

Jeff & Jay

The Prompter March 2015

A Benefit for Village Players

Village Players member Jay Kaplan, joined by Jeffrey Willets,

will be presenting their cabaret show, “A Tour of Broadway”, as a

benefit for Village Players, on Saturday March 28, 2015 at

8:30PM at the Playhouse. Tickets are $15, or $20 per person for

table floor seating.

Accompanied by Elisabeth Wagner (piano) and Jesse Gibbs

(percussion), Jeff and Jay will provide a tour of musicals recently

playing or soon to be playing on Broadway, including songs from

such musicals as On the Town, She Loves Me, Bridges of

Madison County, Gigi, Kinky Boots, Paint Your Wagon, The Visit

and Hamilton. Enjoy a drink and some appetizers, and come take

a tour of Broadway with Jay and Jeff!

Call The Box Office for Tickets—248-644-2075

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VP Members on Other Stages

Julie Fuller has been cast as Claire and Lauren Fuller will appear as Cassie in Stagecrafters' production of Neil Simon's comedy Rumors. The performances are on the main stage March 13-29. Tickets and more information are available at www.stagecrafters.org.

Pictured here are R to L Julie Fuller and Kendall Doman

Auditions Elsewhere To the best of our knowledge, information below

is accurate as of publication date. ALWAYS check

websites listed below for the latest details.

Stagecrafters, Royal Oak MI

Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida

Audition workshop: March 8, 1:00PM (offsite)

Audition date: March 14, 2015 (offsite)

Performances: May 22-June 7

www.stagecrafters.org/auditions.html#aida

Avon Players, Rochester Hills MI

A Man of No Importance

Audition dates: March 15, registration at 5:30PM

March 16, registration at 6:30PM

Performances: May 22-June 6

http://www.avonplayers.org/site/current/1415/Man/index.htm

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Additional cast members to be announced at a later time. If you are a male singer/dancer, we’d love for you to join this toe-tapping musical. Contact Kevin Branshaw at [email protected], or Dennis Penney at [email protected].

Female Ensemble – Carson Delaney Audrey Gebbie Katherine Huyghe Katherine Lieblang Christine Maurer Cynthia Pike Erica Poster Andrea Sevonty Olivia Tokerski

Male Ensemble – Eric Henrickson Nasir Khawaja Ryan Quinn Loren White

The Prompter March 2015

The production staff of Thoroughly Modern Millie is pleased to announce the cast. Millie Dillmount – Kimberly Elliott Jimmy Smith – Sterling Orlowski Trevor Graydon – Jason Bowen Miss Dorothy Brown – Noelle Perrin Mrs. Meers – Lynette Yeager Muzzy Van Hossmere – Shondra Tipler Miss Flannery/Dorothy Parker – Christine Maurer Ching Ho – Need to Cast Bun Foo – Need to Cast Character Parts – Bryan Conroy

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Just What is Virginia Woolf Telling Us? By Tim Wittlinger, Director

It was a cold winter night in 1954 in Greenwich Village, New York. Edward Albee was having a beer in a local tavern. Leaving the restroom, he noticed a strange phrase written in soap on the bathroom wall mirror, which said: “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?” It was this college prank that would end up being the title for the award-winning play which opened on Broadway eight years later.

Virginia Woolf was a bipolar, depressed English writer, well known in the annals of English literature, whose bust stands in the middle of Tavistock Square, London. After completing the manuscript of her last play, Woolf became so depressed that she put on a heavy coat, loaded its pockets with large rocks, and walked into the River Ouse in Sussex, England.

In the current play, George and Martha also are bi-polar, and this is illustrated by their inability to recognize the embarrassment that their actions cause in their guests. They live in a world of illusion, escaping the realities of their real life. They are aware that their fantasies are in fact illusions (they are too intelligent to realize otherwise) and as such have developed “rules” that govern how they must act when they play out their illusions. When Martha breaks the rules, leading to their guests’ embarrassment, George recognizes that things have gone too far, and retaliates by de-stroying the illusions, but within the set rules.

And of course, the college phrase also reminds us of the fable “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” In the 1886 English version of the fable, the pigs, Brownie, Whitey and Blackey were urged by their mother to go off on their own and build houses. Browny, the dirty pig, built his house out of mud; Whitey, obsessed with food, built his house out of cabbage; and Blackey, the smart intel-ligent pig, built his house out of brick. And we all know what happened. Brownie and Whitey, obsessed with the illusion that their houses could withstand the attacks of the big bad wolf, were destroyed. Only Blackey, living in the world of reality, survived the wolf’s attack.

The similarity with Albee’s play is striking. Those living in a world of illusion will eventually slip into insanity. By destroying the illusions and returning to reality, George and Martha will slowly rehabilitate themselves, learning to live with the failures of their lives and accepting, among other things, that George is a failure as a college professor and Martha is an alcoholic, rejected by her father.

“Woolf” dramatizes the big bad wolf allegory on two levels, the intellectual and the emotional. Intellectually, Martha realizes in Act II that the couple’s illusions must become deeper and that their love-hate relationship must become more intense to block out the realities of their lives which tend to destroy the dream world in which they live. George recognizes at the end of Act II that his and Martha’s illusions must be destroyed if they are ever to return to a sane life. Intellectually, Albee makes it clear that George and Martha, an intelligent and highly educated couple, at all times recognize that the illusions they create are in fact illu-sions; they do not confuse them with reality. This is important for the complete understanding of Albee’s theme. George and Martha are not delusional characters. They know that they are creating illusions, that those illusions are affecting the reality of their lives, and it is not until Act III when George’s actions in beginning to destroy the illusions lead the couple back into the sane world of reality.

On the emotional level, both George and Martha realize that living in their illusory world will cause pain and hurt to them as well as others. The illusions result in their relationship to each other (and to their guests) becoming violent, abusive, and physically threatening. As Honey cries out in Act II, “Violence, Violence,” when George and Martha declare total war and hack away at oth-er with cruel and insulting name-calling, bitterness and corresponding physically abusive actions. That is a reason for their agree-ment that one of the “rules” is that their illusions are not to be mentioned to outsiders.

The audience is urged to view the play on both the intellectual and emotional levels. Albee himself criticized the movie version of the play as he believed it failed to address the multiple levels of interpretation which he had inserted into the play.

A third level of understanding the play relates to the names of the characters. Albee intentionally uses the names George and Martha as he wanted his audience to contemplate the issues surrounding the success or failure of American revolutionary princi-ples. Interestingly, the telegram received in Act III is delivered by “Crazy Billy” an elderly western union delivery person – Albee admits that that name is a reference to William Flanagan, a renowned music composer, who wrote musical scores to a number of Albee’s plays, was reputed to be Albee’s lover, who committed suicide in 1969, and who worked as a delivery clerk for Western Union during his teens. I hope to see you at the show

Tim

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New Village Players Members

We would like to extend a very warm welcome to Village’s new members.

Erica Shubin

208 N. Division St.

Ann Arbor MI 48104

[email protected]

Ph: 774.270.4010

Alan Canning

430 Eileen Drive

Bloomfield Hills MI 48302

[email protected]

Ph: 248.797.2762

Robin Trepeck

10535 Elgin

Huntington Woods MI 48070

[email protected]

Ph: 248.765.7777

Note: Robin is the mother of one of our Youth Theatre kids.

“Name the Actress” Answer Key A: Barbara Underwood B: Helen Parrish C. Betsy Todd D. Priscilla Benson E. Diane D’Agostino How many did you get right?

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Upcoming Events

Prompter deadline March 24, 2015 View the VP online calendar at www.calendar.yahoo.com/vp_calendar

March 2, 7PM Playwrights@Work Green Room March 6, 8PM Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf opening March 8, 7PM Board of Directors meeting Green Room March 11, 6PM Board of Trustees meeting Green Room March 16, 7PM Playwrights@Work Green Room March 22, 2PM Matzoh Brei concert read at the Baldwin Library March 24 The Prompter submissions due! March 28 “A Tour of Broadway” Village Players Benefit April 11, 9AM-4PM Directing Workshop for anyone interested in learning more.

34660 Woodward Ave. Birmingham, MI 48009

This edition of The Prompter was created and compiled by your new newsletter team Randy Gilchrist, Michael A. Gravame & Tania L. Velinsky. Please send all

newsworthy articles, pictures and items to anyone on the new team.