Monday, December 28, 2009

Pre-Casting in Community Theater, Right or Wrong?

Pre-Casting: the act of assigning actors/actresses to roles in a production before the actual auditions occur.


Many professional theaters pre-cast roles. Using big name celebtities to promote their big ticket admission prices and to cover high production costs. But does this practice make sense in the smaller arena of community theater? A local theater group has announced auditions for an upcoming two-person show, but only has auditions for one of the two roles. Meaning that they have pre-cast the lead role. While I understand that we all like to work with a known talent, someone whose abilities, strenghths and weaknesses we are already aware of, doesn't this send the wrong message to anyone who might have tried out for that role? Like don't bother?


M&D has always had an open audition policy. Which means every role in a production is up for grabs. Yes, we encourage known local to talent to audition for certain roles, but we do not pre-cast. You never know what undiscovered talent is just waiting for that juicy lead role they have always dreamt of playing.


What does everyone here think? Should pre-casting be done at the community theater level? If so, why? If not, why? Talk amongst yourselves....

Friday, December 18, 2009

HURRY! GET YOUR LAST MINUTE GIFT HERE!




2010 MEMBEHIP CARDS ARE READY JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!
You enjoy the shows, so why not take advantage of this great offer. With tickets as low as $10.00 this makes it the best holiday gift ever!
Your 2010 Membership card gets you:
(depending on what level you purchase)

1. FREE Amdission to all the Galas and V.I.P. Parties
2. Perferred Seating
3. Discounted tuition to any of our workshps and classes
4. Free Food and Drink at concessions
5. Participation in our "Play Reading Committee"

Want to see the savings? Here you go! The more you prebuy... the cheaper they are.

ARCHANGEL $180.00
(18 shows at only $10.00 each )

ANGELS $150.00
(12 shows at only $12.50 each)

SPONSOR $100.00
(7 shows at $only 15 each + $25 savings)

PREFERRED $70.00
(5 shows at only $15 each + $5 savings)

REGULAR $36.00
(2 shows at $18 each)

INDIVIDUAL $18.00
(1 show at $18)

NON-MEMBERS $25.00
The general price of admission.
CALL NOW BEFORE SUPPLIES RUN OUT!

**ALSO**
All those who order now before Dec 25th will get a FREE Christmas CD of some of the best local singers in MWV.
SO CALL NOW! 603-662-7591

Monday, October 19, 2009

"DOG SEES GOD: Confessions Of A Teenage Blockhead."

by Burt V Royal




"Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead" is NOT your typical Charles Schultz "Peanuts." They are all grown up now. Set approximately ten years after the events in the fifty-year-running comic strip, Dog Sees God begins with Snoopy's death, and things for the introspective "CB" and the gang follows these typical teenagers with a direct reflection of todays society and all it's social givings; all seen through the eyes of modern teenagers.
Still trying to understand life's darker meanings, still plagued with his endless identity crisis, CB talks to his gang of friends to find answers to his many questions. Of course, this gives us the chance to laugh at seeing what became of these well-loved and recognizable characters. Doe "CB" get the answers he is looking for in the final scene of the play in a touching letter from Charles Schultz (CS)? Come and see Lucy, Linus, Schodar, Pig Pen, Marcy, and the reat of the gang in M&D Productions last "studio show" of 2009.
This touching heartfelt drama, Dog Sees God garnered the coveted Excellence Award for Best Overall Production, TheaterMania's Best Play of 2004, and the GLAAD media award for best Off-Off-Broadway Production.

**NOTE** This show has strong language and adult themes and is not reccommended for children under 12 years old.
Ticket prices
$25 NonMembers
$18 Members

Reservations and info call 603-662-7591

Friday, October 16, 2009

LET'S HEAR YOUR STORY!


OPEN CALL FOR ORIGINAL DRAMATIC PIECES

On Valentine’s Weekend 2010, M&D Productions Theatre of North Conway will be presenting The Vagina Monologues and Other Women Centered Stories, newly original monologues.

M&D Productions and the show’s director, Stacy Sand invite you to submit an original monologue for possible inclusion in the show. Your monologue should run 2 to 8 minutes when read aloud and can be funny or serious, a personal experience or any women centered experience. For examples of style, please refer to Eve Ensler’s original The Vagina Monologues.

If your monologue is chosen for the February performance, you will receive a pair of complementary tickets (value $50) to one of the performances. Actors for all monologues will be chosen at an Open Audition in December.
Please send your monologue to M&D Productions, attn. Stacy Sand; PO Box 1147; Conway, NH 03818 or e-mail Stacy at info@yourtheatre.com.


Friday, October 09, 2009

Lend Me A Tenor - The Review is in!



‘Tenor’ offers up a night of light comedyKevin O’Neil and Mary Bastoni-Rebmann as the bickering Italian couple Tito and Maria Merelli in M&D Productions’ peoduction of the ensemble comedy “Lend Me a Tenor,” which is currently at Your Theatre in North Conway. (LISA DUFAULT PHOTO)THEATER REVIEW BY ALEC KERR THE CONWAY DAILY SUN

CONWAY — As with its recent pro-duction of “How the Other Half Loves,” M&D Productions has decided to go for a bit of light comedy with “Lend Me a Tenor,” an effervescent throw-back to the screwball comedy.

“Lend Me a Tenor,” which opened at Your Theatre in Willow Common in North Conway last night, centers on the complications involving a performance in Cleveland by Tito Merelli (Kevin O’Neil), a famous Italian opera singer.

Because of a string of misunder-standings, Max (Andrew Brosnan), the assistant to the opera company’s general manager (Paula Jones) must impersonate Tito, which only results in an increasingly more convoluted series of mistaken identities.

Playwright Ken Ludwig’s script, which fi rst appeared in London in 1986 before moving to Broadway in 1989, is very much in the tradition of the screwball comedy and is even set in the decade in which they fl ourished: the 1930s. Screwball comedy is often used interchangeably with slapstick, but slapstick is just one of the ingredi-ents of a successful screwball comedy.

The screwball comedy as it emerged in the 1930s was infl uenced by the farcical comedies of Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. Misunderstandings, double entendres, innuendoes and rapid-fire dialogue are mixed with Chopspratfalls and a progressively more anarchic tone. All of these elements are on display in “Lend Me a Tenor.”

There’s a misconception that drama is diffi cult and comedy is easy, but an exceptionally well-timed comedy is not a simple feat. As with tragedy, the tone, pacing and delivery have to be just right, especially when dealing in the fast-paced screwball genre.

Ludwig’s script ably re-creates the feel of the genre, and director Ken Martin and his cast and crew have mounted a worthy production that is laugh-out-loud funny, especially in the second act where, as is so often the case in this genre, things escalate to a whirlwind of hilarity.

The impressive set, designed by Mark DeLancey, re-creates a lavish luxury hotel and features plenty of doors for slamming as characters run around during the mounting confusion.O’Neil as Tito and Mary Bastoni-Rebmann as Tito’s wife have a lot of fun with thick, comically over-the-top Italian accents. Bastoni-Rebmann in particular runs with the boisterous Italian stereotype to great effect, and her fi ghts with O’Neil score some of the best laughs in the production. Brosnan, in his fi rst time on stage, fi nds his stride when the show kicks into high gear. As a man who finds himself by pretending to be someone else, Brosnan makes a congenial focal point for the insanity.

Karen Gustafson as a woman with a crush on Tito that’s so big it blinds her to the sweet and kind Max truly embraces the rat-a-tat-tat nature of her dialogue. At times she spits her dialogue out so fast it is a wonder she doesn’t pass out.Carrie Engfer clearly relishes getting to play a vampy actress who seduces a very confused Tito in hopes of getting ahead in show business. In one of the productions best scenes the double entendres are piled on thick and Engfer and O’Neil play it just right.Paula Jones, in a role traditionally played by a man, has a nice edge to her delivery as the tough and cynical com-pany manager. Eric Jordan and Karen O’Neil add even more well-timed humor to the production as two more fans des-perate to get face time with Tito.

If the show has any fl aw it is that in places the repartee could be delivered even faster, but, chances are, as the run of the show progresses the pace will be picked up in those rare places it does slack.For more information visit www.yourtheatre.com or call 662-7591.

Monday, October 05, 2009

2010 Mainstage Season

Here you go! this is the 10th Anniversary Season
I think you will agree that it is a great diverse season and wait till you see what is in store for the rest of the year. We promise to be the theater company that cares about it's community. We care and we listen to you. So, one oof the changes we have decided to impliment this year is our "Mainstage Season" and our "Studio Season".

Here is the difference.
Mainstage Season- While we LOVE to do edgier shows and want to engage as many people as possible, we spoke with many of you and heard your concerns for a more mainstream season with more familiar plays and maybe even a musical or new work. So this is our promise that we will create a more family friendly mainstage season while reserving our more edgier shows for our "Studio Season."

Studio Season- This will be our edgier or more provocative type of shows. These will generally be only 2 weeks in length and of a greater social impact. This is a large part of our mission statement and we have no desire to stop engaging our community and affecting a positve change.

So without any further wait, Here is the 2010 Mainstage Season.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
February 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27

Doubt: A Parable.
April 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24

A Streetcar Named Desire
June 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19

California Suite
July 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24
Fat Pig
August 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28

The Pitch (an Original Musical)
October 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23