Tag Archives: community theatre

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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I Think I’m Rubbed Out

Posted on February 27, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Nobody thought I would not have a Wrist to Forehead Sunday today, least of all me.  I’m TIRED!  We had a wonderful show last night.  The audience loved us!  And we loved the audience!

I am speaking, of course, of Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, the interactive murder mystery presented by LiFT Theatre Company at the Overlook Mansion in Little Falls.  They served hors d’oeuvres catered by That Little Place on Main, and they were, you should pardon the expression, to die for.  Of course, I did not eat a lot.  I was busy acting.

Now I must gear up for a bear of a week, that is, production week for Steel Magolias at Ilion Little Theatre.  Opening night is March 3.  Yikes!  I don’t think I even have all my costumes together, but I am working on it.   Additionally, I must finish writing, cast and begin rehearsals for not one but two murder mystery dinner theatres.  If anybody says, “Well, you’d better get writing,” I’ll scream.

In the meantime, it is Oscar night, traditionally a big night in our humble household.  My dear husband, Steven, has watched them every year since 1965.  In previous years we have had better luck in catching more of the nominated pictures.  Additionally, in previous years I have not been in the habit of going to bed as early as a much older woman or a little kid.  I do not apologize for my nocturnal habits but merely note them.

Well, one can’t do everything after all.  I write, I participate in community theatre, I work full time, and I get what sleep I can.  Additionally, I intend to start running again.  I do not have time to go to movies that tend not to play around here in the first place.  Clean my house?  Who brought that up?  And what are you implying?

I say never mind all that.  Sunday is traditionally a day Steven and I spend time together.  I am going to hit Publish and get back to him.  As a closing note, here is the final cast picture of the marvelous actors of Rubbed Out at Ruby’s.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

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What a crew!

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Pre-Matinee Wrist

Posted on May 1, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

If ever I needed a Wrist to Forehead Sunday, today is the day.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I need these excuses for a foolish blog post several times in any given week.  In fact, I needed one yesterday but serendipitously found an unused shout-out to a local business in my notebook (my computer seems to think “serendipitously” is not a word but is okay with “serendipitous,” so go figure).

Where was I?  Ah yes, posed dramatically with one wrist to my forehead (only figuratively, because I like to type with both hands), lamenting, “The blog can’t go on!”  You know, like, “The show can’t go on!”  Only the show will go on.  That’s Leading Ladies, the show I directed at Ilion Little Theatre.  Today is the matinee.  We had shows Friday and Saturday night, and the show continues next weekend.

We had the BEST opening night!  I was so proud and happy I got tears in my eyes during curtain call.  My cast and crew are so wonderful.  I kind of feel as if the show is all theirs and I’m just along for the ride.  I seem to remember doing a lot of work on it (and writing numerous blog posts; perhaps you read a few of them).  I definitely remember thinking, “I will NEVER direct another show again!”  Well, never say never, except when you say, “never say never.”  I probably won’t direct another show this year, but who knows what the future will bring?

Our second performance went even better.  The audience loved us.  I guess mostly they loved the people on stage, but there were a couple of points where I thought to myself, “I told them to do that.”  Of course there were many, many wonderful things I didn’t tell them to do that they came up with on their own, and even when I made a suggestion they had to make it their own.  Still, I believe I did have something to do with our success.

So why, you may well ask, is my wrist to my forehead?  Oh, don’t mind me.  I’m just tired, and my house is a mess.  I’ve been trying to clean and do laundry prior to today’s matinee and I must say it isn’t going well.  Of course one must persevere.  For one reason, I’ve invited everyone over for a cook-out in two weeks.  That’s not a lot of time, given the mess I’ve let my house get in.

As a wise woman once said, “Oh well, what the hell?” (It was my mother.)  The important thing is that I take a shower and find a fabulous outfit to wear to the show.  It’s at Ilion Little Theatre, Remington Avenue, Ilion, NY, today (May 1) at 2 p.m., May  6 and 7 at 8 p.m., and May 8 at 2 p.m.  For more information, visit ILT’s website at www.ilionlittletheatre.org.

 

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What Lame through Yonder Window Breaks?

Posted on April 30, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought of that title yesterday, when I was trying to come up with something for my Non Sequitur Thursday post.  Yes, I was wishing it was Friday.  Who wasn’t?  Oh, I know, you probably weren’t (both the people who work on Saturday and the ones who just always have to disagree) (you know who you are).

Oh, how good it feels to be writing my blog post in my battered spiral notebook before my shift at work begins.  This is so much better than sitting at the computer, staring at a blank screen and thinking, “I got nuthin’.”

So, yes, it is opening night of Leading Ladies at Ilion Little Theatre.  Yesterday, as I gave a little director’s speech before Final Dress (we directors love to give speeches) (and any director who just said, “I don’t,” FAT LIAR!), I said, “There’s a saying that the worse the dress rehearsal the better the opening night…”

“Let’s not do that,” said one of my actors, which is exactly where I was going with that.

“Thank you!”  I said.

And we didn’t do that.  Rehearsal went very well.  I expect tonight’s performance to go equally well.  My only two concerns are (1) what am I going to wear and (2) will anybody want to go out for a drink afterward?  These are questions for which I am sure answers will be forthcoming.

In the meantime, it is Friday.  For this blog specifically, Lame Post Friday.  A lame post should also be brief.  Happy Friday, everyone.

 

 

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It’s Curtains for Me!

Posted on April 28, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, once again I did not write a blog post while on breaks at work today.

Then I just sat here and stared at that sentence for a few minutes.  Oh dear.

My second dress rehearsal last night went very well.   We have two more dress rehearsals then open on Friday.  Tonight I decided to practice my curtain speech, which I have to give before each performance.  I’m wondering if I should mess with my actors’ heads and say some really wild things like, “I just want to apologize to you all in advance…”  No, that would be mean and completely untrue.  Maybe something like, “I’m sure you’ve read the cast bios in the program.  I’m a little surprised none of my leads mentioned their illustrious past in the adult film industry.  I suppose they didn’t like to brag.”

Actually, I’m wondering if they ought to let me make the curtain speech at all.  You know, I’m missing being on stage.  During the murder mystery I greatly regretted not taking part.  It is conceivable that I will refuse to get offstage.  I might go into a stand-up comedy routine, or do the entire play as a one-woman show.  How embarrassing will that be, if I have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, off the stage.  Well, maybe if they get a large-ish, hunky type of guy to do it…

Now I’m being silly.  In my defense, it is Wuss-out Wednesday.  I shall end by re-iterating, my play is Leading Ladies at Ilion Little Theatre, Remington Avenue, Ilion, NY, April 29 and 30, and May 6 and 7 at 8 p.m.; May 1 and 8 at 2 p.m.  For more information you can visit Ilion Little Theatre’s website at www.ilionlittletheatre.org.

 

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My Own Dress Rehearsal

Posted on April 27, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

While I was working today, a song came to me.  It is to the tune of “The Volga Boatman.”

It’s just Tuesday (Uh!)

It’s just Tuesday (Uh!)

Time is dragging, worries nagging,

Happy Tuesday.

The fact is, I was quite anxious to get through my work day and get to Second Dress Rehearsal for Leading Ladies tonight.  First Dress went very well, and a number of nagging little details are now taken care of and off my mind.  Not ALL the nagging details, mind you.  Good heavens, I’m not a miracle-worker, I’m just a community theatre director with a full-time job and a silly blog.

I was heartened by the fact that although time was passing slowly, it was passing.  And you can tell me all you want that there are always sixty seconds per minute, sixty minutes per hour; many of us are convinced that some of them have more.

Work day finally over, I returned home to disaster, self-induced as most of mine are.  I foolishly decided to try on the little purple dress I had hoped to wear opening night to give my curtain speech (YES, and go out for drinks after the show, do you have a problem with that?).  The thing is, I have been getting so hungry lately. I snack on fruits and vegetables, lunch on salad, and try to be sensible for breakfast and dinner.  This is not natural behavior.  And the fact is, you have to do it EVERY DAY or it is not very effective.

So here we come to the ugly truth about me, and what an apt expression that is!

I really should have known better.  I purchased the dress five years ago then stupidly gained weight.  I have lost some of what I gained, but you never shrink back to the same shape.  Full disclosure:  I haven’t lost all the weight, either.

Part of me says I should now be happy it is only Tuesday.  I still have Wednesday, Thursday and part of Friday to lose more weight!  Most of me knows, however, that this is a crock of shit.  I’d best give away that little purple dress to some skinny chick that will appreciate it and go shopping for some plump middle-aged lady garments.

It is really no great matter, after all.  I stand on the stage for a very few minutes for my curtain speech and for the 50/50 raffle after intermission.  I am certain I can find a frock suited to my current shape.  In the meantime, I have written a whole silly blog post on my wardrobe and waistline ills and given very little update on the play.  Let’s just call it a Bad Attituesday and drive on.  After all, I have a rehearsal to get to.

 

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Leading up to Leading Ladies

Posted on April 25, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had meant to avoid Wrist to Forehead Sunday, but, well, that is not going to happen.  What did I expect on the Sunday of production week for Leading Ladies (you know, my play at Ilion Little Theatre? Surely I have mentioned it) (and I’ll call you Shirley if I feel like it; I’m sure you’ve been called worse).

Where was I?  Ah yes, pausing in a dramatic pose as I make my blog post.  Today is my last chance to take a deep breath for the foreseeable future.  I have not even been able to spend the whole day breathing, either. I had to paint the floor of the stage, do grocery shopping, make a salad for my lunch for the coming week (there IS still a chance I could fit into that little purple dress on Friday), do laundry (oh yeah, I still have to get it in off the clothesline, but I am SO grateful for the sunny day), oh, and some other things I probably will not get to.  Don’t judge.  On the other hand, go ahead and judge if you want to.  I don’t have time to worry about who might be judging me.

Painting the stage was not the onerous chore I had feared.  I don’t think I did as good a job as others have done, but one cannot always have perfection.  An awesome member of my awesome cast finished the garden mural that really deserves to have a more prominent place on the set.  Really, if I can learn how to post a photo, this will deserve such a thing.  However, I shall not post the photo now. COME AND SEE THE PLAY!!!

So this is my Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  We’ll see what I can come up with for blog posts in the coming week.  In between trying to remember to breath.

 

 

 

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Engaged to be Tired

Posted on March 30, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

So yesterday I promised to do my damnedest to finish the post I started. I bet some of you were sitting there shaking your heads in a superior fashion saying, “She won’t do it.  She’ll have a Tired Tuesday post.  You watch.”

Well, technically we’re both right.  I did try my damnedest to finish that post before giving up and starting the Tired Tuesday nonsense you are now reading (ooh, here are a couple of Freudian slips for you:  I started to type “Turd” instead of “Tired,” and “not reading” instead of “now reading”).

We had rehearsal last night for “Engaged to be Murdered,” the murder mystery being presented by Ilion Little Theatre at Morning Star Methodist Church this Saturday, April 3.  Just to give another plug, that’s at 5 p.m., tickets are $20 and include the performance and a roast pork dinner.  Reservations are required by March 31 by calling the church office at 315-894-4093.

Rehearsal went marvelously.  The actors all brought their costumes and let me tell you, they are fabulous.  Everybody looks awesome!  The performance should be very enjoyable. I’m only sorry I’m not acting in it myself.

Tonight I have another rehearsal for Leading Ladies, ILT’s spring production, which as you may remember I am directing. I’m sure that will go well too. We’ll be missing an actor, but these things happen in community theatre.  We must make the best of them.

In summary, I think I have legitimate reasons to be tired (I didn’t even mention being on overtime at work, but I am).   I suppose it’s no reason not to write a blog post.  Oh wait a minute, I just did.  On to rehearsal!

 

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