Tag Archives: theatre

Post Show Post

Posted on September 22, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had meant to have a pre-show post, but time got away from me.  In my defense, I went running.  And to Valley Wine and Liquor for a gin tasting.  And to dinner at Sorrento’s.  Then to the show, which was Shattered Angel presented by Herkimer County Historical Society at Ilion Little Theatre.

As you see, still a couple of opportunities to see it.

The show was excellent.  It was interestingly staged and emotionally involving.  My steady diet of true-crime documentaries on television gave me a good perspective on the proceedings, as did my previous obsession with shows like LA Law and Boston Legal.  I have a pretty good idea of how things may have transpired in a modern courtroom.  But never mind my silly opinions and perspectives. Instead, here are a couple of pictures of the show (taken during rehearsal, of course.  One does not like to take flash photos during a performance).

I think this one is suitable for framing.

This shot was purely staged for the picture; the actual pose was never seen in the show.  But that is appropriate, since the show is not precisely what went down in the courtroom.  I believe I mentioned before how characters are combined and testimony condensed to give us the feel of the whole without simply presenting the transcript verbatim (have you ever been to a real trial?  It sometimes takes a LONG time to get to the point).

One of the most moving scenes of the play.

I really enjoyed the performances.  I’m too tired to give a real review, mentioning names and detailing specific parts deserving praise.  But I guess that is appropriate for Lame Post Friday. Let’s just give a shout-out and drive on.

The play continues Saturday, Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 23 at 1:30 p.m.  I can’t guarantee they haven’t sold out, but if you’re local and want to take a chance, go to 13 Remington Ave., Ilion, NY.  It’s a great show!

 

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Up Next: Murder Most Trivial

Posted on September 20, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I went to work this morning determined to write on breaks and lunch, as well as right before the first buzzer rings.  I usually get to work early.  I used to always write my blog post at that time. Did I do so this morning?  Alas, no.  What the hell happened to me?

However, the news is not all bad.  While I was working, I got a couple of good ideas for my next murder mystery.  I quickly jotted them down when I got a chance.  I was mysteriously unable to write any more, but one does what one can.  Herkimer County Historical Society, beneficiary of the murder mystery, had asked for the premise and title for their Facebook page.  I thought I could manage that much.  This is what I messaged them:

The title of the mystery is “A Trivial Murder.” We’re all here for a taping of the game show, “Who Knows Herkimer History” with our host, Gary “Herk” Henderson. Gary is actually the new host. The original host died under mysterious circumstances, but let us not allow such gloomy thoughts cloud our evening! You should also just ignore those rumors that our returning champion has been given the answers in advance. There’s no scandal here! That journalist is here to do a puff piece, not a muck raking scandal-monger.

Looking over it again, I see where it could be improved.  And improve it, I will!  But not for this blog post.  For one reason, this is Wuss-out Wednesday, and I am only slightly less brain dead than I was yesterday (which I just now realize I should have categorized under “Tired Tuesday”) (another indication of my brain dead condition).  Then again, slightly less is still less.  I bet I’ll have that murder mystery finished in no time!  Can better blog posts be far behind?

 

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Getting Ready to Kill!

Posted on September 16, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Just when I thought I was going to have to make a fast, foolish post before getting ready for our show tonight, I checked my email and found pictures!  My friend Matt  took these pictures at last night’s rehearsal.  Now I can talk some more about Donate to Murder.  This will be great!

Donate to Murder, regular readers may recall, is the murder mystery LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, is presenting at the Herkimer Elks Lodge tonight.  I really need to be showering and getting ready, but of course blog posts must be made (or else they are not blog posts).  So here are the pictures and a few brief comments by me.

Now when a woman has a flower in her teeth, they say it’s sexy.

This is Renwick Spaulding, a lover of bugs.  When I gave him a rolling cockroach I just happened to have (a relic of another murder mystery), he immediately adopted it as his best friend, Edward.  Now Edward is my favorite character in the play.  Good playwrights are not resistant to script changes.

Personally, I think plaid is sexy.

My husband, Steven, is also featured as Dudley Turnbull, a lover of dogs but hater of dog poo.  My character, Miss Phoebe Larkspur, cringes when he mentions “poop” instead of saying the dogs “do their business.”  The other lady is Flora Fertenza, a kind of a flower child.

It’s a dramatic moment. Take my word for it.

 

I have a little hostility towards Flora at first.

Yes, one of these people is a murderer.

Here is the whole crew: Phoebe Larkspur, Meryl Barrymore, Flora Fertenza, Harold Greene, Dudley Turnbull, and Renwick Spaulding.

And now I have to jump in the shower.  Crap, I hope I can remember my lines!

 

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Looking for Lame Inspiration

Posted on September 15, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I tried hard to make a “real” post yesterday, because I knew I would be strictly lame today.  Then again, it is Lame Post Friday, and I have been known to post lame even after a whole week of stinkers.  So I will drive on, even though quite frankly, I feel like I got nuthin’.

“Nothing, you say? But you have BLOOD!”

As I often do, I look to Nosferatu for inspiration.  As I typed in the caption, I remembered a quote often repeated and I have no idea who said it: Writing is easy; just sit down and open a vein.  That is probably not even the right quote.  But I get the idea that I am supposed to bleed. Quite frankly, I have almost never found writing to be that painful.  Perhaps that is why I am a silly blogger and not the winner of some prestigious literary award.

I almost put “only a silly blogger,” but I do not feel it is nothing to make a blog post every day, even if many of them are lame.  I can always build on this and write more.  I always intend to.  In the meantime, how about a blog post now.

Since I wrote about Shattered Angel‘s dress rehearsal yesterday, it would be nice if I mentioned Donate to Murder‘s dress rehearsal tonight.  Of course, our murder mystery is by no means as vast an undertaking as Angel, and it lacks Angel‘s historical significance.  However, I expect to entertain a number of people.  We have certainly enjoyed our rehearsals.  If only I had taken some pictures.

Once again, Donate to Murder is to be presented at Herkimer Elks Lodge tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m.  Tickets are $25 per person and are available at the downstairs bar at the Elks lodge, 124 Mary St., Herkimer NY, or by calling 315-866-1439.

 

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Another Shattered Shout-Out

Posted on September 14, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

This was printed on a post card I sent to a few people.

As I sit here typing in my blog post, the cast and crew of Shattered Angel are at Ilion Little Theatre enjoying their final dress rehearsal. I’m just happy all of them are going to be actually dressed, since my name is in the program under “Costumes.”  Full disclosure:  I personally did very little in outfitting the cast.  I like to think I helped, though.  I like to think I can also help publicize the event with my little blog here.  So here is another shout-out to our play.

Shattered Angel, as you may have read in this space, tells the story of the murder of an area school teacher by one of her students in 1914.  It is a sad story, and a fascinating one, because the defense was not guilty by reason of mental defect, a new idea at the time.   The staging is interesting, too, because although all the action takes place in the courtroom, it is not a straightforward depiction of the trial. Through the use of flashbacks and strategic condensation of testimony and arguments, we get a fuller picture in a shorter time.

The lady in the black dress is not actually in the courtroom, if you see what I mean.

Director Stephen Wagner wrote the script, based on the book Murder of a Herkimer County Teacher: The Shocking 1914 Case of a Vengeful Student by Dennis Webster, and courtroom transcripts.

This is one of my favorite shots.

I stole these pictures from the Herkimer County Historical Society’s Facebook page.  Historian Caryl Hopson took them at rehearsals.  I suppose I should have stayed at dress rehearsal with my Tablet and taken a few pics of my own, but Caryl does such a good job at it.

Once again, performances are Friday and Saturday, Sept. 14, 15 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday Sept. 16 at 2 p.m.; Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20, 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday Sept. 23 at 2 p.m., at Ilion Little Theatre, 13 Remington Ave., Ilion, NY.  For tickets, contact the Historical Society at 315-866-6413.

One more picture I found on Facebook.

 

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Yet Another Pre-Rehearsal Post

Posted on September 12, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

My heart is sore.  There, I’ve said it.  I don’t want to go on whining about my ills.  It’s tiresome. People will become bored and impatient or, worse yet, will worry.  Or they might give advice.  Sometimes advice is hard to listen to.  You know it is the right thing to do, but you already knew the right thing to do; you just didn’t do it.  Or it isn’t the right thing to do, but you know they mean well.  Or they are just being officious, and you want to throat punch them.  But I’m sure none of my readers fall into the last category.

One reason I feel wrong about dwelling on my problems is that it is Sept. 11.  I wanted to dig out my TV Journal from 9/11/2001 and share some of the things I wrote at the time.  I was home recovering from a bunion operation and sat glued to the television all day.  What a terrible event.  But I’m too tired and ill to brave the mess we call a library.

I just looked up at the television and saw something about the latest hurricane soon to make landfall.  I feel terrible for everybody in the path of that.  I do appreciate that I am not currently dealing with any severe weather, under the heading of Count Your Blessings.

In the meantime, I have a blog post to make, and I must make it before I head tofirst dress rehearsal for Shattered Angel, being presented by the Herkimer County Historical Society in cooperation with Ilion Little Theatre.  Opening night is Friday. Yikes!  It is Sept. 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22 and 23.  Performances are at 7:30 on the 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22; and 2 p.m. on the 16 and 23. Tickets are $15.  For more information, contact the Historical Society at 315-866-6413.

Tomorrow I have rehearsal for Donate to Murder, the murder mystery LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, is presenting at Herkimer Elks Lodge on Saturday, Sept. 15.  Yikes!  That’s close too, with fewer rehearsals left!  It is dinner theatre with $25 tickets including a turkey dinner by Brian Hess of PK’s Pub.  Yum!  For more information, contact the Elks at 315-866-1439.

I guess I’ll call this a Tired Tuesday post and drive on.  At least I plugged two plays.

 

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W(h)ining After Rehearsal

Posted on September 8, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh dear, it is 8:17 on Friday night and I have yet to make my Lame Friday Post.  Full disclosure:  I have had a bit of wine.  Why are you judging me?  It’s Friday!  One is allowed to have a drink on Friday!  Oh yeah, as if I do not have a drink any other night of the week.  Well, whatever.  Judge me if you like.  I am not the arbiter of who is or is not allowed to judge.

OK, so apparently that is all I have to say!  Earlier today I was at rehearsal for Donate to Murder, the murder mystery LiFT, Little Falls  Theatre Company is presenting at Herkimer Elks Lodge, 124 Mary St., Herkimer, NY, on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.  Cost is $25 for dinner and show (I think.  Full disclosure:  I am relying on my memory for this), for tickets and more information call 315-866-1439.  I think it is going to be awfully good, but I wrote it and am in it, so I may perhaps be biased.

In the meantime, I need to get a blog post published.  Once again I have learned that a four day week can be as tiring as a five day week.  But I do not mean to repine. The week is over an I got through it.  If only I could have gotten through it with a few more better blog posts!  At least I will close with a picture. Let’s see… what would pep this post up?

Obviously it is.

Full disclosure:  I am not currently howling.

“To be or… Oh, wrong play.”

Here is a rehearsal shot from The Tempest, presented by LiFT in 2017.  We talked about potential Shakespeare plays for summer of 2019.  How’s that for a Preview of Coming Attractions?  How about Coming Attractions for tomorrow? You’ll just have to wait and see. Happy Friday everyone!

 

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Thank Goodness It’s a Blog Post!

Posted on August 29, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Actually, I had no pleasant delusion today about it being any day but Tuesday.

You knew I was going to have a Tired Tuesday post, didn’t you?  Any local readers might have guessed it based on the level of heat and humidity we all were dealing with here in the Mohawk Valley (YES, I’m whining about it and will probably continue to do so, if you do not want to listen, just move on!).

More astute readers may guess by that parenthetical comment that I am a little sensitive these days to accusations of whining.  A work friend kept yelling at me to quit my whining and I didn’t think I WAS whining but merely observing some unpleasant circumstances.  I have not spoken to him for two days, because I figured I would actually whine.

Where was I?  Ah yes, whining.  I always say, go with your strengths. No, no, I don’t want to whine but rather to make a respectable blog post.  I am making it before rehearsal tonight.  There is more costume work to be done!  Pieces to be looked for, stuff to be put away, people to talk to, plans to be made.  I was telling another work friend about going to rehearsal and he said, “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”  No, I cannot.

I found this on Facebook just now.

At the risk of repeating what is on the above graphic:  performance dates for Shattered Angel are Sept. 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 16 and 23 at 2 p.m. at Ilion Little Theatre, 13 Remington Ave, Ilion, NY (directly behind Remington Arms).  Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for students and can be purchased by mail by sending a check to: Herkimer Historical Society, 400 N. Main Street, Herkimer, NY 13350, or by calling 315-866-6413 or by stopping by the historical society during their hours of operation, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.  PLEASE NOTE: “Shattered Angel” is a special, additional production in conjunction with the Herkimer County Historical Society and is NOT part of the regular 2018-2019 theatrical season. Thus, subscriptions and memberships are not accepted for these performances.

Tomorrow I have rehearsal for my as yet untitled murder mystery, which will be presented at the Herkimer Elks Lodge on Sept. 15 (another reason I could not audition for Angel).  I’ll have more information on that production soon.

In the meantime, I shall close with a monster picture I could have used yesterday.  In a comment, Pouring My Art Out said Great White Sharks were monsters too. I agree.

How would you like to brush his teeth?

 

 

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Not Enough Actors? Say It Ain’t So!

Posted on July 29, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I went to the second night of auditions for Shattered Angel on Friday.  Once again, that is a play about a local historical murder being presented by the Herkimer County Historical Society in cooperation with Ilion Little Theatre (or is it “in conjunction” or “under the auspices of”?  I don’t know the details).   As it turns out, we have a slight problem.  Not enough actors showed up.

The background was from a different play.

There were enough folks there to read a couple of scenes.  Unfortunately, even with doubling parts, I don’t think we got enough to cast the play.

These guys read several time.

One fellow read but thought he could not do the show, because of his work hours.  Three weekends is a kind of a large commitment.

Another scene.

I read this scene on Wednesday.  I was just filling in, though, because there was nobody present who really qualified for the part I read, that of the young murderer (I didn’t need a spoiler alert for that; this is a murder play but not a murder mystery).

Another angle.

I wanted to include one shot with the director, Stephen Wagner.  He’s pretty cool.

So, local readers, are any of you actors?  Would you like to be in a play?  Go to the Ilion Little Theatre Club Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ilionlittletheatre/.   Send a message, write a post, call the theatre.  Older male actors are primarily needed.  Can anybody help us out?

 

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I’m in a Cheesy Play!

Posted on July 4, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday I went to a rehearsal for the play I was unexpectedly asked to take part in:  Where’s the Cheesecake?  by Angela Harris.

Angela Harris, a resident of Little Falls, NY, also wrote Strike Story, the incredibly well-researched reader’s theatre play which gave LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, its start.  I got to participate in that production when a cast member could not make certain performances.  Perhaps you read a few of my blog posts about it.  Harris has also written several short plays about the ongoing adventures of Mac Blac, “Little Falls’ only professional problem solver.”  I saw one of the plays three years ago, at the Little Falls Cheese Festival.  I probably wrote a blog post about that too.  At least, I hope I did.  When I was asked to take a part in the latest adventure, I jumped at the chance!

This episode is done as a radio play.  We stand up and speak into microphones. Sound effects of doors closing and chairs moving help set the scene.  Oscar Stivala, as The Man with the Horn adds atmosphere. I loves me some Oscar Stivala!

The play takes place right before the Little Falls Cheese Festival and, obviously, involves a cheesecake.  More than that I will not say, because I do not want to give away any salient plot points.  I will say it is very mysterious and a lot of fun.

It’ll be more dramatic when we’re in costume.

Where’s the Cheesecake? will be presented on Saturday, July 14 at 11:30 a.m. at The Shop, 590 E. Main St., Little Falls,  as part of the Little Falls Cheese Festival.  The Cheese Festival is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Main Street.  Come buy some cheese and see a play!

 

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