Tag Archives: Williamston Theatre

A new season, a new show

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Today we start rehearsal for Season 13 at Williamston Theatre, with a beautiful play called Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson.  A gorgeous story, it’s all about Henrietta Leavitt, one of the first women astronomers.  (Link is here for more info)  I’m super excited:  The play is wonderful, the production team I get to work with is top-notch, and the cast is fabulous.

Some designs I can leak:

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This set rendering (Design by Kirk Domer) is from the SR audience viewpoint. Imagine the back wall being full of stars, or projections, or color, or a combination of all 3!

And here’s an image of the set construction as of a couple days ago!

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I’ll post more designs and images as the days go by.

This is going to be a fun one.  Warm, funny, beautifully moving, and deeply inspirational.  Lauren Gunderson has taken the real-life story of Henrietta Leavitt and crafted a play about a woman who simply refused to accept the status quo – and changed the world. This is the kind of life-affirming play that makes you wanna explore the world around you, tackle something big and make a difference!

Season to Season

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Next week we start previews for the final show of our 12th season, Memoir!  Watching some rehearsal the other day got me excited – this is going to be a beautiful show!MemoirWeb.jpg

I’m also excited about what’s coming up after that! Starting meetings for Season 13, and I can’t wait to dig into Silent Sky!

I’ve already written about the season lineup but, just for fun, here are the very cool logos for Season 13!  We wanted something different for next season, so the fabulous artist Matt Mumford did some really cool work with us.

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Williamston Theatre 2018/2019 Season

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We are just past the halfway point of this season, and neck deep in rehearsals for Doublewide, but the wheel keeps turning. I’m so pleased to announce our upcoming Season!

Williamston Theatre 2018/2019 Season

Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson
September 20 – October 21, 2018

Based on the true story and science of early 20th century female “computers” at Harvard Observatory. Astonishing discoveries await Henrietta Leavitt as she maps distant stars in galaxies beyond our own. But this brilliant, headstrong pioneer must struggle for recognition in the man’s world of turn-of-the-century astronomy. In this exquisite blend of science, history, family ties, and fragile love, a passionate young woman must map her own passage through a society determined to keep a woman in her place. An inspiring, stunningly beautiful tale.

A Hunting Shack Christmas by Jessica Lind Peterson
Nov. 15 – Dec. 23, 2018

Looking to sort out his life, Charlie heads up to the hunting shack that’s been in his family for generations. Instead of the peace of mind he was looking for, he finds himself buried in a blizzard of snow, unexpected family squatters, beef jerky, crazy internet romance, and more snow. Can he sort it all out in time for his wedding anniversary? And who the heck is Helge?!

To Quiet The Quiet by Christy Hall
Jan. 24 – Feb. 24, 2019
A World Premiere

Having suffered great loss and heartbreak in her life, Kathy, now middle-aged and alone, is a woman on the edge. Haunted by her past, and her own personal demons, Kathy seems to be losing the battle against her thoughts, her words, her fears. And the one man who can help Kathy may prove to be just as powerless against her. This new mystery play will keep you riveted through it’s deepest, darkest secrets.

The Gin Game by D.L. Coburn
March 21 – April 20, 2019
Featuring Ruth Crawford and Hugh Maguire
1978 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Drama

Weller Martin is playing solitaire on the porch of a seedy nursing home. Enter Fonsia Dorsey, a prim, self-righteous woman. They discover they both dislike the home and enjoy gin rummy, so they begin to play. As they play, intimate details begin to reveal themselves, and what follows was called by the New York Times “The closest thing the theatre offers to a duel at 10 paces.”

New Releases by Joseph Zettelmaier
May 9 – June 9, 2019
A World Premiere

Jen is going down with the sinking ship. That ship is Avid Video, a small-time video rental store that is circling the drain. One night, a strange woman comes in to rent a video that has never been rented…one that Jen didn’t even know the store carried. The two of them strike a bizarre deal, and as the months go on, Jen struggles to unravel the mystery of this woman, even as the store she loves marches towards extinction. A warm comedy that’ll melt your funny bone and touch your heart.

Popcorn Falls by James Hindman
June 20 – July 28, 2019

The sleepy town of Popcorn Falls is forced into bankruptcy when a neighboring town threatens to turn them into a sewage treatment plant. Their only hope – OPEN A THEATRE! Two actors play over twenty roles in a world of farce, love and desperation proving once and for all that art can save the world. You won’t want to miss this hilarious, theatrical whirlwind!

The Williamston Theatre 2017-2018 Season!

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I’m very excited to be able to release this into the wild!

Williamston Theatre

2017-2018 Season

 

THE TAMING

By Lauren Gunderson

Directed by Lynn Lammers

September 21 – October 22, 2017

A Michigan Premiere

Tweetering, pandashrews, and undying giddiness for James Madison – what else would you expect to find at a Miss America pageant? In this hilarious, raucous, all-female “power-play,” contestant Katherine has political aspirations to match her beauty pageant ambitions. All she needs to revolutionize the American government is the help of one ultra-conservative senator’s aide on the cusp of a career breakthrough, and one bleeding-heart liberal blogger who will do anything for her cause. Here’s lookin’ at you, America!

 

BEAU JEST

By James Sherman

Directed by Tony Caselli

November 16 – December 23, 2017

Sarah is a nice Jewish girl with a problem: her parents want her married to a nice Jewish boy. They have never met her boyfriend, a WASP executive named Chris Kringle. She tells them she is dating a Jewish doctor and they insist on meeting him. She plans a dinner party and, over the heated protests of Chris, employs an escort service to send her a Jewish date to be Dr. Steinberg. Instead, they send Bob Schroeder, an aspiring actor who agrees to perform the impersonation. Hilarity ensues in this charming family comedy with a tender heart.

 

OUR LADY OF POISON

By Joseph Zettelmaier

Directed by Shannon Ferrante

January 25 – February 23, 2018

A World Premiere

1659, Rome, Italy. Giulia Tofana and her daughter Girolama are beloved apothecaries, and skilled poisoners. This mother-daughter team run an infamous underground operation to provide unfortunate wives with an escape from untenable marriages. When the young bride of a nobleman requests their help, an unexpected romance blossoms. But that very love threatens to destroy the life Giulia has built for her family. Based on historical events.

 

DOUBLEWIDE

By Stephen Spotswood

Directed by Tony Caselli

March 22 – April 22, 2018

NNPN Rolling World Premiere

Jim Starkey’s version of the American Dream is a modest one: to build a home on his one-acre plot of land and replace his doublewide trailer with something his daughter, Lorelai, can inherit. When a highway expansion project shatters their dreams, Jim must decide how far he can be pushed and Lorelai is left to build her own future. A heartfelt and often funny drama that explores how far one family will go to hold onto their American Dream.

 

OUT OF ORBIT

by Jennifer Maisel

Director Frannie Shepherd-Bates

May 17 – June 17, 2018

A World Premiere

Meet the Jet Propulsion Lab Scientist mom and her underachiever teenage daughter. Sara lives on Mars time, spearheading the Mars Rover Expedition, visiting a planet she cannot touch. Her daughter, Lis, on earth time, falls under the spell of an internet Romeo. Sometimes it takes being worlds apart for an exploring woman and a longing-to-be-explored girl to find each other in our increasingly disconnected universe. A tender comedy about the challenges of a unique mother-daughter relationship.

 

THE GIN GAME

by D.L. Coburn

Directed by John Lepard

July 12 – August 18, 2018

Weller Martin is playing solitaire on the porch of a seedy nursing home. Enter Fonsia Dorsey, a prim, self-righteous lady. The friendship between these two made-for-each-other strangers comes about when Weller talks Fonsia into letting him tutor her in the fine, if forgotten, art of playing gin rummy. The relationship develops and the brutal realities of aging are revealed through their card playing. This Winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for Drama shows that a hand of cards can pack as hard a punch as boxing gloves.

A pretty good Friday…

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Lots of looking to the future today.

I got to nail down the rights to the last of the plays for our 2017-2018 Season at Williamston Theatre.  Confirmed rights and dates with one of the licensors, and sent out a couple of playwright contracts for some of our world premieres.

Season selection is one of my favorite parts of being an Artistic Director.  There’s something energizing and exciting about it – working with the staff to nail down what our shows will be, what the face of our organization will be for a season.  “This is who we are this year, everybody!  Come hang out!”  There’s a sense of The Future – moving forward, growing, making things – creation.  I love it.

Also, I started speaking with our prospective new apprentices.  Lining up interviews, discussing when they’d be able to meet, looking over resumes, that kind of stuff.  Looking into who and what the rest of this season, and all of next season, will bring to the team.

Proofread a big press release from the National New Play Network for a project we’re involved in.  That’ll go out next week, announcing a fun thing that we’ve not yet been able to talk about much.

Plus, I got to have a phone call with my daughter in Finland.  It’s her birthday!  Well, for us her birthday will happen tomorrow, but at 5pm here we called her because Finland is 7 hours ahead of us and she was out at Midnight CELEBRATING her birthday!  How our little girl is suddenly 19 and living on the other side of the planet is still something I’m struggling to grasp, but just texting with her today and talking with her tonight reminded me of how bright and exciting her future is.  And her little brother is on a bus to a weekend Show Choir retreat where he’s going to have a blast singing, dancing and hanging out with friends.  So much potential and goodness coming for both of them!

So, yep.  The future.  So many good things are on the way.  Sure, there are challenges, that goes without saying.  But that’s part of the fun.  Do I know exactly what I’ll be doing a year from now?  2 years?  5? Nope.  I can guess, I can hope, I can plan… and then life will do what it does regardless of my hopes and plans.  But looking around right now, I’m sure glad I’m here – and I kind of can’t wait to see what happens!

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So much good stuff coming up at work

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Some weeks are pretty darned great, y’know?   This week I got to have an amazing 1st Production Meeting with the team for Pulp.  Rehearsals start in about 5 weeks, and I can’t wait!  I LOVE the beginning of a project when you’re working with a great production staff – the excitement, the ideas bouncing around, the energy – such a good time for digging into the work.

Not only did I have that meeting, but I had a great playwright meeting for Rights Of Passage, the other show I’m directing this fall, and I’m feeling super enthusiastic and energized about the project, and the direction it’s headed in.  I’ll be directing this show at the Jewish Ensemble Theatre, and can’t wait to work with the great cast.

Heard from the amazing David Blixt at Sordelet Ink, and very shortly we will get the proofreading copies of our Williamston Theatre Anthology Of New Plays: VOLUME II, so in another few weeks we’ll have copies of both volumes available for sale!  PS – To buy VOLUME I, click here!

And today (a little later than normal because of REASONS) we finally were able to nail down the last cast member of our 2016-2017 season, so not only is the whole season cast and staffed, but we just finalized our brochure and it’s off to the printer.

So – for your viewing pleasure – here are some screenshots I took of some of the brochure pages.  Here’s what we’ve got coming up!

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SO MUCH great stuff happening – lots to be grateful for.  I hope you’re finding all the things in YOUR day to celebrate and enjoy.  🙂

Next season at Williamston Theatre!

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Pulp

By Joseph Zettelmaier

Directed by Tony Caselli

Los Angeles, 1933. The world of pulp fiction is turned upside down when a literary agent is gruesomely murdered. The four suspects: his remaining clients, all writers for different pulp magazines. Private Investigator Frank Ellery dives into the mystery, and his world turns upside down as life begins to imitate literature in this who-dun-it-science-fiction caper.

A National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere.

 

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The Nerd

By Larry Shue

Directed by John Lepard

Aspiring young architect Willum Cubbert has often told his friends about the debt he owes Rick Steadman, a fellow ex-GI but who saved his life in Vietnam. He has written to Rick saying as long as he is alive, “you will have somebody on Earth who will do anything for you”—so Willum is delighted when Rick shows up at his thirty-fourth birthday party. But his delight soon fades as Rick, a hopeless nerd, sticks around and causes one uproarious incident after another, building to a surprise ending.

A collaboration with the MSU Department of Theatre

 

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A Painted Window

By Christy Hall

A Painted Window catalogues the reunion of two sisters, Josephine and Sylvia, that used to giggle together late at night, yet now stand worlds apart. It’s a dissection of identity, classism, racism, and the grotesque havoc that consumerism, capitalism, and entitlement have wreaked on the American dream. But ultimately, at its center, this is a play about love.

A World Premiere!

 

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1984

By George Orwell
Adapted by Michael Gene Sullivan

Directed by Tony Caselli

Based on the iconic novel by George Orwell, 1984 brings us the story of Winston Smith, a cog in the giant machine state of Oceania. Winston has been caught struggling for scraps of love and freedom in a world awash with distrust and violence. With the brutal “help” of four Party Members, Winston is forced to confess his Thoughtcrimes before an unseen inquisitor, and the audience – which acts as a silent witness to his torture. A ferocious and provocative adaptation of one of the most prescient works of literature of the last century.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (Copyright, 1949) by permission of Bill Hamilton as the Literary Executor of the Estate of the Late Sonia Brownell Orwell, adapted by Michael Gene Sullivan.

A Michigan Premiere!

 

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Taking Shakespeare

By John Murrell

Directed by Mary Job

When a longtime, disillusioned college professor is asked to tutor her dean’s son through his freshman Shakespeare class, she finds it to be as much a test for her as it is for him. Although they seem to have nothing in common, as they explore the Bard’s Othello together, they learn more about each other—and themselves—than either is ready to admit. While they draw strength from the play, they come to understand what it means to live up to expectations.

A Michigan Premiere!

 

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Murder for Two

Book and Music by Joe Kinosian
Book and Lyrics by Kellen Blair

Directed by Rob Roznowski

Murder For Two is the perfect blend of music, mayhem and murder!  In this hilarious 90-minute show, 2 performers play 13 roles—not to mention the piano—in a witty and winking homage to old-fashioned murder mysteries.    The New York Times calls it “Ingenious!  A snazzy double-act that spins out a comic mystery animated by funny, deftly turned songs.”  You won’t want to miss this killer musical comedy!