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New Kensington Civic theatre |
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" Entertaining the A-K Valley for over 60 years" |
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OF THE NEW KENSINGTON (PA) CIVIC THEATER OUR 64th SEASON November 2010 724 339 3140 P.O. BOX 202, New Kensington, Pa 15068 www.nkct.org
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CALLBOARD |
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It’s Camelot, centuries ago, and it’s May and Guinevere, wife of Arthur and in love with Lancelot sings the lusty month of May song, gaily traipsing about strewing flowers and things, we imagine, and we know that all that didn’t end well. So here it is May again, over eight hundred years later in England and the lesson, whatever the lesson could be, still hasn’t been learnt. You’ll see proof of this shortly with our current play……
OUT OF ORDER…… This play opens at Penn State on Thursday of next week. That’s the 13th. But first to business. The move is slated for this Friday and the more people who show up the quicker things get done. We’ll meet at the workshop at six PM, move, unload, and begin putting the set together. We’ll work for several hours then adjourn to MacKensies where we’ll relax, have a bite along with some beer, wine, coffee tea or sodas. Then we gather again at Penn State, those who can make it, at about ten Saturday morning and work into the afternoon.
The cast will resume rehearsals Sunday evening, getting familiar with the set – doors actually open and windows actually close. Hard! In the mean time there’s tinkering with costumes and props and light adjustments, all coming together for the opening at 8 on the 13th. The transformation from what seems like debris at the workshop to a functional set is, in a small way, like the clouds lifting and revealing what they once marveled at centuries ago. But we don’t want to go off the deep end here.
THE MEETING… Because the play is running on the 14th we will have our monthly meeting on Friday, the 21st, 8 pm at the workshop where the deconstructed set will have been stored and stashed, awaiting the next play. There will be refreshments, all kinds of things left over from the strike and appreciation night, things we’ll get to later. There’s always a flurry of last minute activities. Someone is needed to do lights and sound. Here’s a bulletin just in:
I'm sending out a call to anyone interested in running the light and sound board for our upcoming performance of "Out of Order" at Penn State New Ken. This would require you to push a few buttons during the show. Really, just a few. We would need you May 9-16 for a few hours during each day. We could really use your help! Please let me know if you are interested...ASAP. A monkey could do this job, so don't worry about it being too complicated. And if you know any monkeys, send them my way, too. :) Thanks!
We’re going at this in no particular order but while we’re here let’s remember the strike. It begins as soon as the audience leaves on Sunday afternoon, chuckling and laughing (we fantasize). Everything is dismantled and trucked back to the workshop. A lot of that involves carrying things out to the truck and the set crew can’t do that and take down the set at the same time. As the set is dismembered people can carry the stuff out to the truck. We’d like to have every thing back at the workshop by six thirty. Then celebrate.
AUDIENCE APPRECIATION NIGHT… This will be on Friday the 14th. This is something done yearly as our way to thank the audience members – those who come on Friday anyway - that we love to have them there. We set out food and drinks for them both before the show and during intermission, much to the consternation of Penn State’s little café on the upper level. Please consider donating any item of finger food (non-messy) or Crystal Light mix. If you have any ideas call Angie Mitas who is coordinating and who is the prime mover of this wonderful idea.
The upcoming play, Out Of Order, has an outstanding cast and is being handled by a capable director. It’s a comedy and is downright funny, a fitting play to close our 64th season. We don’t have any information on the play party but it’s usually follows Friday’s performance. It will be at Mackenzie’s or Woodpecker’s next door – ask around. Woodpecker’s is often too noisy on Friday’s to carry on a conversation.
OLD BOTTLES, ODDS AND ENDS… Several of our members were involved in Greensburg civic Theater’s production of Cabaret that ran from April 30 through May 1st. Nate Newell was the musical director, Laura Wurzell the choreographer, and Ron Farrer played Herr Schultz while Pam Farneth was Frenchie, one of the Kit Kat girls. And most of them are also involved in Out Of Order. Indeed, up to their very elbows in theater.
There still is no definite word on the musical for next season – that would be this October. We’re in negotiations with Penn state through Bill Mitas to make Frankenstein a joint venture – NKCT & Penn State to run for two weekends at Penn State. The other two plays slated for next year are Steel Magnolias and Underpants.
Again, a recap of Out Of Order in case you’ve forgotten. It’s a comedy, an English farce actually, by the prolific playwright Ray Cooney. When Richard Willey, a junior government minister, plans to spend the evening with Jane Worthington, one of the opposition’s typists, things go disastrously wrong proving the point that it’s only funny when it happens to other people.
Now on Wednesday, the 12th, you can attend, those who are free, a Trumpet and Piano Recital at St. Mary’s Czestochowa Church, 657 Kenneth Ave. New Ken. Greg Sturgill will be on the trumpet and flugelhorn and George Pecoraro at the piano. Works of Albinoni, Bach, Ewazen, Hohne and more. It’s free and open to the public.
Mary Ann Dakis, Mary Ann Altimus then, sent us a lovely picture from the fall of 1962 from the old Daily Dispatch. It was a picture of the officers for the coming year, something the paper did regularly then. There’s Dianne Cummings whose last know whereabouts was Texas, a youthful Steve Pastrick, Mary Ann, now in Indianoplis and Dick Devlin. The picture, unfortunately doesn’t copy well but it might be better left to the imagination anyway.
May is the meeting when we vote in next year’s officers. There’s a slate but it’s just a reshuffling of the current people as last year’s was of the preceding year. But nominations can be taken from the floor. Vice President Ron Ferrara is up for President and Cliff McCalmont, now President, switches back to Vice President. All will be revealed at the meeting. We’ll be looking for you.
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Callboard May 2010 |
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Richard Devlin Editor, Prevaricator, and Embellisher of this rag |
