Tag Archives: community theatre

Another Pre-Rehearsal Hasty Post

Posted on October 4, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, it was going to be a Bad Attituesday no matter what anyways, but I’m afraid now I have to take a blogger’s sick day.  I have been feeling quite awful since last night, dizzy, nauseous, headache, body aches, stiffness… oh, sorry, now I’m going on and on, whining in a most unbecoming fashion.  I’m pretty sure it is my allergies, and I’m just going to have to ride it out.  Once when I had gastroenteritis, a doctor told me that the body can ride out an astonishing number of things if only you stay hydrated.  With that in mind, I drank water all day, with only the necessary amount of coffee thrown in, and now am sipping seltzer with lemon from a wine glass (woman cannot live by water alone) (at least, not this woman).

Where was I?  Did I mention I’m also feeling kind of out of it?  That’s just MARVELOUS news for me, since I have to drive myself to Little Falls in about a half hour for rehearsal for Strike Story.  I don’t suppose I mentioned Strike Story recently. It is a beautifully researched reader’s theatre piece about the 1912 textile workers strike in Little Falls, written by Little Falls resident Angela Harris.  It was the inaugural production of LiFT Theatre Company, first presented in 2012.  I had the good fortune to take part in it when Ilion Little Theatre imported the production in November of that year (I may have written  a few blog posts about it at the time).

Well, LiFT is reviving the play on Oct. 27 in Little Falls.  Unfortunately, a quick search as I type this does not give me further info as to time, ticket prices, etc.  However, this is a daily blog, so as soon as I find out more, I’ll write another post.  In the meantime, I’ve got to punch holes in my script and put it in a binder.  Thank God it’s reader’s theatre and I don’t have to learn all the lines!

Hmm… this is not the blog post I set out to write at all.  No matter, I have not time to rewrite it.  I hope to see you all tomorrow on Wuss-out Wednesday.

 

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More Fun with my Theatre Friends

Posted on September 17, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am sitting on my couch in my husband’s bathrobe (oh, don’t say TMI, just be happy I’m not sitting around naked!), waiting till it’s time to get ready for tonight’s adventure, which I wrote a blog post about two days ago (perhaps you read it).  I did accomplish one thing I meant to do: I emailed out character sheets and scripts to the cast of my next theatrical endeavor.

They put my name on the flier! I’m really on the spot now!

A G.R.A.V.E Murder is an interactive murder mystery dinner theatre.  I’ve done a few such in the area. Engaged To Be Murdered  and He Laughed Himself to Death at the Morning Star Methodist Church in Ilion were presented under the auspices of Ilion Little Theatre.  Who Shot J.S.?  was produced by and for the Herkimer County Historical Society.   Rubbed Out at Ruby’s was a slightly different interactive murder mystery presented by LiFT Theatre Company at the Overlook Mansion in Little Falls.   So you see, I have the bonafides when it comes to murdering people theatrically (my computer is telling me “bonafides” is not a word, but I don’t have time to look it up) (full disclosure:  I probably do have time to look it up; I’m just too tired and agitated).

Where was I?  Ah yes, A G.R.A.V.E. Murder.  G.R.A.V.E. stands for Ghost Retrieval and Verification Enterprises.  We are a company of ghost hunters, and our fearless leader was recently killed during a ghost-hunting expedition.  Were the evil ghosts he was hunting responsible?  Or was it one of his earthly colleagues?  Hmmmm…..

We begin rehearsals tomorrow (murder mysteries don’t take nearly as many rehearsals as full-length plays).  I have gathered a wonderful cast of marvelously talented people (I don’t say that just to butter them up; it is quite true and I’m sure they would agree with me).

My co-workers have been shaking their heads at me, reminding me that I had vowed to take a theatrical break after The Tempest,  yet here I am, pulling out Ruby’s long cigarette holder (don’t worry; they’re fake cigarettes) and writing murder mysteries.  But these aren’t full-length plays!  Tonight shouldn’t even really count, since I didn’t have any lines to learn.  All right, for the murder mystery I have some lines to learn (I’m not the dead body, after all).  Not too many!  Oh well, maybe after Oct. 14 I will take a real break.  If I don’t, you are welcome to say “I told you so.”  I will be too busy having fun with my theatre friends to worry about it.

A G.R.A.V.E. Murder  will take place at the Mohawk American Legion on Oct. 14 at 5:30 p.m.  Cost is $22 per person and includes a delicious roast beef dinner.  There will be a Chinese auction as well as prizes for some who correctly guess the murderer.  Tickets may be purchased at the historical society at 400 N. Main St., Herkimer, NY, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by calling 315-866-6413.

 

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Wrist to Roger Corman to Tempest

Posted on August 21, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday, the day I just can’t get much done and write a foolish blog post so I can get back to not doing it.  I am looking at (I can’t say “watching,” but I am periodically glancing at the television screen) a Roger Corman movie.  I thought I had not seen It Conquered The World before but now I am remembering parts.  I really will have to watch it with some attention some day and write a blog post about it.  For now, however, I am still in All Tempest All The Time mode.

I draw your attention to the entry at the bottom of the sign.

Yes, we performed at the Utica Zoo yesterday.  It was a great deal of fun, and I think the audience enjoyed it, too.  I guess the zoo has a lot of stuff going on. I’ll have to check out a few other events when I get a chance.  That would no doubt be worth a blog post.

Next time I want to be the guy with his sword up in the air.

This is one of the cast photos taken after the performance.  We do one smiling nicely and one “in character.”  My character tends to smile nicely each time. An exception would be a picture taken in Little Falls, when the King’s drunken butler was next to me.  I shared that photo before, but for anybody who has forgotten:

Luckily he is not a “method” actor, or he may have drooled. Ew!

I have been thinking again today about what a great cast I have been working with this summer.  I will miss them when this is over.  Then again, there is always the next play.  That is a cheerful thought for Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

 

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It’s All About Me, and The Tempest

Posted on August 19, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

 

In lieu of my usual Friday Lame Post, I thought I would continue my theme of All Tempest All The Time and plug tomorrow’s show at the Utica Zoo.  They have a nice little amphitheater.  Last year we performed Much Ado About Nothing there.  That had the charm of rhyme:  Much Ado at the Zoo.  Well, we can’t have everything.

We rehearsed at the zoo on Wednesday.  Did you know they block off the Parkway on Wednesday nights for the Utica Roadrunners?  Kim and I had to take a little walk to get to the zoo.  Oh well, I needed the exercise.  Alas, I did not bring my Tablet so have no pictures of rehearsal.  I just don’t imagine I will be able to get any of the performance either, because, you know, I’ll be acting.

The show at the Utica Zoo begins at 2  p.m. and is free with admission to the zoo. Cue jokes about animals in cages and on stages (I won’t make any of those jokes myself, because it still is Lame Post Friday, you know).

I’ll close with a couple of pictures from our dress rehearsal at Caroga Lake, where we performed Aug. 5.  Naturally I chose pictures that included me, because, as you know, it’s all about me.

That’s me with my arms upraised, you know, acting.

 

I chose this one, because I thought it would be nice to include one with swords out. I’m hoping for some actual sword fights in next summer’s Shakespeare play.

For more information about LiFT Theatre Company, you can visit their Facebook page.

 

 

 

 

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Two Tempest Pics for Mental Meanderings Monday

Posted on August 15, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Some of us may look a little shady, but we are bad hyphen ass.

Well, rather than whine about how tired I am and that’s why this is going to be a Mental Meanderings Monday, I thought I would open with a picture of the cast of the Tempest, taken after Sunday’s performance. Regular readers know that we just had three performances in four days (Thursday, Saturday and Sunday).  Oh, I know, YOUR play ran for ten performances in three days; there’s always someone!

Performances went very well, but I’m sure I’ve mentioned that already.  Did I mention how hot it can get for some of us in our costumes?  Not the fellow front left, in the shorts and body paint.  I think I may hold out for a similar costume if I do Summer Shakespeare next year (which I keep saying I am NOT going to do and for some reason nobody believes me).  One thing I keep saying is no pantyhose and only one layer.  I suppose it is my fault for not finding a lighter vest, but we all know that the selection in thrift stores only goes so far.  Never mind.  With only two more performances to go, I am more than capable of sucking it up (but please don’t call me Buttercup).

Having rattled on for over 200 words, I think I’ll close with the other cast photo taken Sunday.  The first one we smile, the second was in character.

Incidentally, that fellow is asleep in my shoulder because he is drunk. Had he not been there, I may have been smiling in both pics, because my character is rather a happy fellow.

 

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More About the Tempest

Posted on August 10, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I hope everybody can read it.

It may be All Tempest All The Time for the next couple of weeks.  Our Aug. 5 performance is in the books, but we have shows the 10th, 12th and 13th.  Then we’ll have at least a couple of rehearsals at the Utica Zoo, preparing for Aug. 19.  I may be able to sneak in a few real Mohawk Valley posts after that, but then we’ll be preparing for our final performance on Sept. 1.

Then I’ll start getting ready for Halloween, yes!

Thursday’s performance is at Benton’s Landing in Little Falls.  It is where we did our preview performance on July’s Third Thursday (that’s a thing in Little Falls).  Perhaps you read one of my blog posts about it.  It is an interesting performance space with a couple of different levels.

It doesn’t really show the whole space, but you can get an idea.

This is the cast of last year’s summer show, Much Ado About Nothing.  It was the only photo I could find on LiFT’s Facebook page of Benton’s Landing.  As I was adding it to this post, I remembered, I shared some photos of our Preview Performance last month at, you know, Benton’s Landing.  How silly of me!

I took this one standing behind the rapt audience (if they were not rapt, I would rap them on the noggin!) (just kidding, in order to make a pun).

So I am getting ready to go to rehearsal at Benton’s Landing.  Tomorrow is the performance.  Yikes!  That happened fast!  How did three days of this week just slip right by while I was at work thinking time was dragging on?  Ah, that is a topic for Lame Post Friday, when I occasionally indulge in half-baked philosophy. Now Friday seems pretty far away.  Perspective!

 

 

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I Didn’t Act and Type

Posted on August 6, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

So yesterday before our play, I just felt I could not write a post.  I thought to myself, “That’s OK.  Sometimes on a Saturday, I drink and type.  Today I’ll act and type!”  That was my plan, and it was a good one (it has been a saying of mine since army basic training: “That’s my plan and I think it’s a good one.”).  Except I didn’t come right home after the play.  I went to a lady’s house.  I drank wine.  I knew I wasn’t driving, and that was good, because I put the seat back and slept part of the way home.  That may have been awkward had I been driving.

The show went wonderfully.  That is, The Tempest by LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, in Caroga Lake, for those just tuning in or who forgot. I love acting, and I love community theatre.  This play has a delightful cast.  I like to hug the entire cast before a performance.  That gets awkward when there are people in the cast I don’t like.  Today I got pre-show and post-show hugs.  I can get very huggy.

Anyways, I went straight to bed when I finally got home.  I would still be asleep if it was up to me.  However, my husband has to be up.  He gets up early with me all week; I guess I can get up semi-early with him on the weekend.  As a added bonus, I can type in a kind of a blog post to make up for my miss on Saturday (that’s not writing, that’s typing, as Truman Capote once said).  Additionally, I did not have Lame Post Friday this week, which I almost always do.  So we an call this a Really REALLY Lame Post Saturday.  I hope to see you all later today on what is sure to be Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

 

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That Darn Doodah Parade!

Posted on July 21, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I said “darn” because it is a family friendly event.

What a week I am having!  Rehearsals Monday and Wednesday, a preview performance Thursday, and the Ilion Doodah Parade on Friday!  And anybody who is saying huffily, “I see you had Tuesday off. I had something to do EVERY night this week, even Sunday!”  can just be quiet.  I bet there is somebody else who is even busier than you, only they are not writing a blog post about it.

Where was I?  Ah yes, stressing over the Ilion Doodah Parade tomorrow.  I am marching with other m embers of the Ilion Little Theatre Club (ILT).  Of course most of my summer is being taken up with LiFT Theatre Company of Little Falls, but I must make time for ILT once in a while.  For one reason, my good friend Kim is in charge of our participation in the parade.  I’m always ready to join Kim for a Mohawk Valley adventure!

My big problem is a familiar one for me.  What, oh WHAT shall I wear?  Last year I dressed as a pirate.  Some folks wore jeans and a t-shirt from a show.  Not all of our shows have t-shirts made, but, for example, the Herkimer County Historical Society gave the whole cast of Roxy t-shirts.  I, of course, was in Roxy (perhaps you read a few of my blog posts about it; that was in 2015).  Well, I’m sure wearing a theatre t-shirt is fine for some people, but I like to be a little more distinctive. OK, I just have to put n a show.  I thought you knew that about me.

So I could be a pirate again.  Or I could wear the outfit I’m working on for tonight’s preview performance.  A co-worker suggested I wear the outfit I wore for Rubbed Out at Ruby’s.  There are many possibilities.

Right now, however, I can’t think about it.  I have to get ready for my Preview Performance. I wonder if I will have time to write a blog post about it before the Doodah Parade tomorrow.

For more information about the Doodah Parade, you can visit the Ilion Days website at http://www.iliondoodah.com/

 

 

 

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About that Fake Poo…

Posted on March 29, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought I would use today’s post to plug He Laughed Himself to Death, the murder mystery dinner theatre Ilion Little Theatre is presenting at Morning Star Methodist Church in Ilion April 1.  For one reason, deadline for reservations is Thursday, and local readers may like to go.   Of course I do not want to say too much about the plot, because I don’t want to spoil anything.  Perhaps it would jazz things up if I included a couple of pictures of the props Kim and I purchased last Saturday.

Big dog, little dog?

I said in Saturday’s post that I was disappointed in the quality of the fake poo, but it isn’t so bad once you get it out of the package.  I had some better fake poo that I got at a Mom and Pop operation called The Party Store in Potsdam, NY, roughly a hundred years ago.  And that makes me an authentic old person, carping about how things used to be so much better in the old days.  Well, that’s a whole other blog post.  Let’s get back to the silly pictures.

Something bugs me about this picture (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

I guess my insect picture has kind of a shadow, but I don’t have time to set up a better shot.  The cockroach has wheels to you can make it zip across the floor or table.  Tee hee.  Who wouldn’t love a cockroach on wheels?

 

Just looking at it makes me thirsty!

I put the ice cubes with flies in a wine glass with water, then added the bottle of wine to make the picture more interesting.  Domhnall vineyards is located in Herkimer, NY.  I love their Baco Noir.

Steven came home while I was taking the ice cubes out of the package.  He was startled by the bugs on the table and the poo on the floor.  Tee hee.  I gathered up my jokey props and took them to rehearsal, where my fellow cast-members were equally amused.

He Laughed Himself to Death will be presented at Morning Star Methodist Church, 36 Second St., Ilion, NY, Saturday, April 1 at 5 p.m.  A roast pork dinner will be served.  Tickets are $20. Reservations are required by Thursday, March 30 by calling the church office at 315-894-4520.

 

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Lame Flutters, Not Butterflies

Posted on March 11, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

We all knew this would be Lame Post Friday, and here it is.  I had a few thoughts about what I could write about, just some general commentary.  None of it seemed good enough in my head to try to put it on paper, and I had to look over my lines anyways.

The lines, by the way, are for Steel Magnolias at Ilion Little Theatre.  We play tonight and tomorrow, March 10 and 11, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 12 at 2 p.m.  Then we have the CAST PAR-TAY!!!  Which I may duck out of early, because I did not take Monday off.  I thought taking two Mondays off in a row was excessive.  Additionally, my husband Steven, who just happens to have the day off, plans to clean the house that day.  My job is way easier than cleaning a house as bad as mine!

For any local readers planning to go see the show, I advise you to purchase your tickets online (which you can do by clicking on the Ilion Little Theatre link in the previous paragraph) or get to the theatre early.  We are hoping to sell out.  Of course, we may not sell out.   We did not sell out last weekend, although we had pretty good houses.  We had very appreciative houses, I may add.  They laughed at the jokes!  They clapped at the end!  We even got a standing ovation on Sunday!  Ooh, I LOVE live theatre!

I am not having the butterflies that plagued me last Friday.  My stomach is not entirely quiet, but the flutters are less intense.  That is to be expected.  As the time draws nearer to my departure, the butterflies increase.  They are not the beautiful, colorful creatures we love to watch floating from flower to flower in the summer.  Therefore, I will stop calling them butterflies and henceforth refer to them as merely “flutters.”  As I come closer to my time to depart, the flutters increase.  That’s much better.  In a way.  Happy Friday, everyone.

 

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