Newsletter January 2018

January 25 – February 10, 2018 Thursday, Fridays, Saturdays at 8pm
Sunday January 28th & February 4th at 2pm

“LOVE IS FRIENDSHIP THAT HAS
CAUGHT FIRE.”  – Ann Landers

Funny, sad and sweet , STOP KISS is the story  of Sara and Callie, two smart, engaging young women who discover how a simple act can change everything in a single heartbeat – for better or for worse. Thought provoking and ultimately moving, STOP KISS reveals that Love Isn’t Something You Find. Love Is Something That Finds You.

Tickets $17 and $14 at ticketpro.ca, or call 1-888-311-9090.

For more info, visit www.dartmouthplayers.ns.ca.

Dartmouth Players is located at 33 Crichton Ave., across from Sullivan’s Pond.

Director’s Notes – Stop Kiss

Stop Kiss is a tremendous love story. It looks   at the conflict between how other people identify you, and the complex ways that you know yourself. Following Callie and Sara as they meet and bond in NYC, this story is one that transcends time, and could just as easily be happening right outside your door as in  the New York City of 1998.

When I first read the play I was in disbelief. I cried and immediately connected to it. Every day that I open my laptop and look at the news, this story has more relevance to our world: women being assaulted, the #Metoo movement, what it means to be a modern-day feminist, human rights, gender norms, LGBT+ advocacy. It’s  easy to take a play like Stop Kiss and decide it is black and white, but I urge us all to look deeper. Look at the story within the story – at two woman who walked through a park, at the pain that goes into coming home to yourself, at the people who cross our paths and the ways a heartbeat can change a moment forever.

Recently a study was completed in London that looked at people’s emotional responses to a piece of theatre. The finding was that during a theatrical show audience members’ heartbeats started to synchronize, creating bonds amongst people that transcend any other boundary. By attending a play you unknowingly connect to the room full of people around you. If any story can bring an audience together on a journey that alters the heart, it’s this one.

While we are still early in the rehearsal process for Stop Kiss, it is already coming together as a beautiful and poignant show. There has been laughter and tears–and moments where all the oxygen seems to have left the room. I am proud of the cast and crew that are coming together to create what will sure to be a unique theatre experience for our audiences.

-Kathryn Reeves, Director

Producer’s Notes – Stop Kiss

One of the hardest productions to  make happen is the one that spans the Christmas season. Volunteers have their own lives, families, and other functions to attend. We are late on the start of the set due to the performances by Upstage Studios (we wouldn’t have it any other way) so in  many ways the winter production is a challenge.

Having said all that, Stop Kiss has been one of the smoothest productions we have ever created. Things are just appearing out of nowhere, on time and on budget. The cast is off book. There are 25 scene changes with hopefully no more than ten seconds between each – a real challenge for the costumer, Pam Wood, because Callie is in every scene. With the great number of scenes, we must establish quickly where conversations are taking place. Fortunately we’ve had the infusion of a number of new experienced people backstage and they are working like a well-oiled clock. Carl Anderson and Mike Ruxton came on board to  put together some soundscapes. We are just getting started at this point so I’m not sure exactly if they will have time to finish the task, which is very time consuming. We have our gem, Judie, acquiring all the props and Sheila Greentree there for production nights. Marin Carey will be working backstage also, especially to help with costume changes. Richard Bonner has his hands full with lighting. Between entrances, light cues, sound cues, prop cues, and costume changes, stage manager, Eileen Carey will not get much rest backstage.

It’s been rewarding pulling this production together. Socially relevant shows are my favourite. I am greatly looking forward seeing Stop Kiss come to life.

-Holly Irving – Producer

Cast Photos – Stop Kiss

Top: Christine Gerogiannis, Andrea Ratcliffe ,Melanie Perry
Bottom: Damir Allen, Sophie Trinacty, Joshua Lawrence

Charity Night – Stop Kiss

Monday January 22, 2018

Established in 1983, the ScotianAires Chorus is a 60-voice women’s barbershop chorus specializing in four-part a cappella harmony. Directed by Sue Kember, its members are a diverse group of women of all ages from across the Halifax Regional Municipality. The ScotianAires Chorus is a chapter of Harmony Inc., an international non-profit organization whose purpose is “to empower all women through education, friendship and a capella singing in the barbershop style. ”

For  tickets,   contact   Kim   Meechan   at tickets@scotianaires.ca

Auditions: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Audition Dates: Sunday, January 7, 1pm – 4pm, Monday, January 8, 6pm – 9pm at Dartmouth Players Theatre, 33 Crichton Avenue (upstairs)

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is an absurdist, existentialist tragicomedy that expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Characters

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: friends since childhood, caught up in the plot of Hamlet, without ever really knowing what’s going on or why. Guildenstern is analytical and prone to worrying; Rosencrantz is more literal and sanguine.

The Player: leader of a troupe of actors. Enigmatic and cunning: a puppet-master of sorts.

3-5 Tragedians: a ragged and bawdy group of travelling actors. These actors will need to have strong movement and physical comedy abilities. They will present The Murder of Gonzago and the final scene of Hamlet in dumb show, and will be part of the pirate battle.

The remaining six parts require actors who are comfortable with Shakespearian text. They will double as pirates. The characters are:

Hamlet

Polonius

Ophelia

Gertrude

Claudius

Horatio

The audition will be a reading from the text.

A note on casting: actors of all genders, ethnicities, and body types are encouraged to audition for any part.

Rehearsals will begin around January 14th. The exact rehearsal scheduled will be determined once the show is cast, but rehearsals will be held on evenings and weekends.

The show runs from April 5 – 21. 

Questions: tamarasmith78@gmail.com

A PERFORMING ARTS AND STAGECRAFT WORKSHOP SERIES

Launching February 2018 at The Crichton Centre, 33 Crichton Avenue, Dartmouth

ANIMATED BY EXPERIENCED TEAMS OF LOCAL AND VISITING THEATRE PROFESSIONALS

ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE

Will enlighten, refresh, re-define, delight, and entertain.

Watch yourself starring in musicals, movies, monologues. Pose for professional quality headshots. Prepare a demo reel. Develop a character. Practice and present an audition piece. Direct and shoot famous (and infamous) TV moments. Produce a cabaret. Write a twelve-minute play. Engineer a pod cast. Build a set. Block a scene. Be a costume designer. Write a review. Stage manage a show. Design a lighting plot. Create a soundscape.

We’d love you to “Come play with us” and enjoy fun- filled weekends onstage, backstage, front-of-house, and behind the scenes. And as a bonus, receive a red carpet, V.I.P.  invitation to the 2018 Dartmouth Players’ mainstage productions’ Friends and Family Preview Nights.

The weekend workshops are age appropriate from ages 16 TO 106. Exceptions may be made.

Visit dartmouthplayers.ns.ca, or find our Facebook Group, for upcoming details.

Open Stage Nights

Dartmouth Players Open Stage Night!
Friday, January 12th
Doors open at 7:30pm, curtain at 8:00pmJoin us for the first Open Stage of 2018! It’s a new year and we’ll have plenty of new things in store! Do you have a New Year’s resolution to sing a song on stage? Or maybe a skit you want to perform? Look no further!Email openstagenight@outlook.com after Jan. 2, to reserve a spot. Best “New Year’s Resolution” which is still on, wins a prize!Over the past year we’ve seen dancers, singers, monologues, skits, scenes, musicians, bands, comedians, burlesque, and puppeteers! The show is pay-what-you-can so it is affordable for everyone, while all proceeds go to the non-profit Dartmouth Players Theatre. Come out and enjoy fresh, live entertainment!

Be aware that, though we do not encourage it, there is often adult language in the comedy routines. We do have a a drum set and a top notch piano available for  those  who  may want to indulge.

Producer’s Report – Glorious!

Glorious was just that – a glorious piece of theatre that all of us at Dartmouth Players can  be proud of. Mike Durling had a good vision for this play and thanks go out to the creative team that made his vision a reality. The crew did excellent work under the guidance of stage manager Mark Monk. Special thanks to Ray LeFresne for arranging the rental, from Neptune Theatre, of a completely fake but totally gorgeous grand piano; to Andrew and Emily Coll (both old friends of DP and talented classical pianists) for inputting the music into our Kurzweil, to Richard for his usual excellent job with the lighting, and to Mike Minick for manning the booth as well as taking the rehearsal  pictures and portraits for the poster. The sound design was also very nicely done by Mike Durling.

Thanks as well to Kathleen and Jon for their work on the program and publicity, to Holly Irving for pointing out a good deal on Kijiji on a tea wagon which I bought for the production and which will also be available for future productions, and to Pam Wood and her crew for the beautiful costumes.

In closing, a few words about Judie Woodward who is an absolute gem! She created our beautiful poodle, “Ricky”, as well as many other props used in this and other shows. She is a skilled craftsperson who has contributed a lot to our theatre. Thank you, Judie.

Ongoing Upgrades to the Theatre

Upgrades have slowed a bit with the pressure of show production. We have managed to move risers, flats etc. down to the theatre area. The props room and all the props have been moved upstairs to the closet under the attic hatch (because props are easier to carry up and downstairs than heavy risers). We are hoping to add more shelves.

Gem Judie (Woodward) is purging and cataloging and filing the props into bins.

The upstairs hall, the attic, the Sircom and Trillo Rooms have all been purged and the shop now has a bigger work space. The furnace room has been cleared of some of  the clutter. Martha Surhr has spent a number of days patching the wall near the furnace.

The old box office has been removed and we may have found a ramp to the elevator.

We continue with the ladies’ washroom. It has been painted. Yes, we know it needs a second coat. We have added a place to sit and a place to put on makeup using an old dresser found in the attic. The next projects are to paint the washroom dresser and pipes some funky colours, to get the rail replaced in the audience area, and to do some “scumbling” on the theatre walls.

Many thanks to Sharon and Rick Robinson, David Lunn, Ray Lefresne, for the ongoing push forward. We would welcome anyone to the team but especially someone with rudimentary carpentry skills.

Please contact hollyirving@eastlink.ca

Scent Free for You and Me!

Many of our patrons, cast and crew members have sensitivities to fragrances and scented products.  Please respect these needs as we aim to provide a safe and comfortable environment for all in our small theatre.

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