Provincetown Theater

Illustration by Fritz Eichenberg                                                                     Illustration Susan Jaekel

Two favorite tales that deepen the ties of family and the holidays.

A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES

Adapted for the stage

by Clarke Maylone from the lyrical tale by Dylan Thomas

and

THE GIFT OF THE MAGI

Adapted for the stage

by Thomas Hischak and based on the Short Story by O. Henry

Tickets $18; Seniors and Students $15.

Purchase by phone: 508 487-9793 or at the Theater Box Office

238 Bradford Street, Provincetown

or www.provincetowntheater.org

AND A SPECIAL SHOW CREATED FOR KIDS!

There is so much I wanted to say as this will be the last time I address you as president. But truthfully there are only two things that are important.

First thanks for two of the most thrilling roller coaster years of my life as your President. We as a group have saved the Provincetown Theater. It is in sound financial shape and our production company is back putting on shows.

Secondly, the task I wish to concentrate on now is the $650,000 mortgage. If we can get it paid off, the $70,000 a year we receive from the Schoolman Trust can be put into productions as it was originally created to do. If you are interested in helping on this, contact me and join the development committee.

I did finally get to give Lily Tomlin our award in Las Vegas. She will forever remember our award to her.

Lastly, I could not be more sanguine about our future with Karen Billard as President. She has the vision and skills required to take us to the next phase of our development. I encourage everyone to pitch in and work under her leadership, as involvement creates understanding and progress.

Again my sincerest thanks for allowing me to give of my heart, time and money to such a worthy place and cause; to the future, my friends.

Tim McCarthy
President of the Provincetown Theater  

Karen Billard, President Elect

As 2009 comes to a close, we have much to be thankful for and much to look forward to in 2010.   This past month, we had yet another wonderful Fall Playwright's festival, co-produced by Judith Partelow and Roger Chauvette.   Congratulations to the playwrights, directors, actors and production crew for a job well done!

The Fall and Spring Playwrights Festivals and the Winter Reading Series are the core of our production company and central to our mission.   It is very exciting to be expanding our focus on new work development to full productions.  

This is a key step in the educational process for an emerging playwright, but what of the others involved in the production?   Along with supporting emerging playwrights, it is our goal this year to expand our educational offerings to include workshops, apprenticeships and training sessions in technical theater and performance.  

Would you be interested in presenting workshops in acting, directing, costuming, set design, etc?   Please contact Patrick Lamerson, our operations manager.   He will be accumulating a file for review by the Program Committee.

In the meantime, keep checking the website for updates.   We are looking forward to seeing you through the winter at the Provincetown Theater!

In my report to the Membership last month, I described the re-development of our committee structure, to bring additional people into the process of furthering the missions of the Provincetown Theater. As I noted, each committee has several Board Members, but, in addition, each is filled out by other folks willing to share their time and talents.

Stepping up to the task at hand, the new Program Committee has expanded, and continues its work with an impressive exploration of its own role in bringing performances to our stage. They will be a first point of contact for all potential renters, and will make recommendations to the Board concerning proposals. And, they recognize the central importance of developing an educational component in our work.

To that end, work has begun to develop the Provincetown Children's Theater, which will premier a work by our own Operations Manager Patrick Lamerson, ’’ The Snowman in the Dunes’’ for the holiday show. Patrick is working with Braunwyn Jackett and Scott Cunningham on this fine project, and collaboration with the high school for internships has been discussed. It is hoped that regular, even monthly, children's events will be possible.

And, indeed, the ’’ Spirit of the Season’’ program is moving toward production by our Provincetown Theater Company, from Dec. 17-20, of the classic holiday works: The Gift of the Magi , after O. Henry, and A Child's Christmas in Wales , based on a Dylan Thomas poem.

Looking ahead, a number of productions for the Winter season are under active discussion by Program committee members. Watch the website for the schedule. Our very popular reading series will be back on Wednesday evenings, beginning Jan. 13 with Matt Tudor's riotous farce, My God the Scallops , set in the kitchen of the old Ciro and Sal's. And longer range planning is underway, for programs next Spring through Fall.

So stay tuned, at least, for another full season of performances, and better yet, become involved. The more energy and engagement you the Membership bring to the Theater, the richer all our experience can be. .

ANNOUNCEMENTS

What a pleasure it was for the Winter Reading Series Selection Committee to read and discuss each one of the plays. The process was rich, rewarding and provided fierce debate. As the curator of the Provincetown Theater Company's Winter Reading Series I am most grateful to Adam Berry for his leadership in conducting the competition and notifying the winners. It is our honor to announce the plays that were selected for the Provincetown Winter Reading Series and the dates of their readings:

This is an invitation, to any of you who are interested in directing one of these readings, to let Patrick Lamerson (Operations < operations@provincetowntheater.com >) know that fact, and if you have a preference, the play you would like to direct.  Directing in the Reading Series and other readings has customarily been the way for newcomers to theatre to test out their abilities and get started.  A copy of any play is available for inspection at the playhouse, playwrights are responsible for recruiting/selecting their own director, or to direct their own play, if they wish.  So some of your choices may be limited, but I would certainly encourage any of you with interest in this area to sign up. Directors with experience are, of course, most welcome to do so as well.

We want to thank each and every one of you for your time and commitment and wish you all success.  Please continue to submit plays and support our effort to produce new works at the Provincetown Theatre. We thank you all.

Warm Regards, The Winter Reading Selection Committee 

The Fall Playwrights' Festival was a terrific success with the full production of six short plays and performance quality readings of five full length plays by Cape playwrights.  The short plays included REUNION by E. Thomas Finan, MAMA'S BOY by Jeannette Angell, NOVEMBER, by James McLindon, FORGET ME NOT by Myra Slotnick, JOCK ITCH by George Sauer, and BEACH ENCOUNTERS by Bob Seaver.  Sinan Unel served as dramaturg following a performance of the short plays, and the audience was treated to an enlightening discussion of the new work.  The full length plays were FEEL THE BEND  by Priscilla Sample, PORTRAITURE by Margaret Van Sant, DANCING WITH THE DEVIL by Jim Lucason, FIRST DANCE by Jerry Thompson, and FLAT DADDY'S HOME by Candace Perry.  Co-producers Judith Partelow and Roger Chauvette made it all go smoothly.  An additional educational component of the Festival was the workshop in comedy by Hester Schell, one of our guest actor/directors in the Festival.  Many thanks to all the tech folks, actors, directors, producers, and playwrights who made the Festival possible!

And allow me, also, to give a   big thank you to all of the actors, crew members and playwrights, as well as the Playwrights' Lab, my co-producer Roger Chauvette, and the Innkeepers who helped with housing out-of-towners   to make the Fall Playwrights' Festival so successful. Innkeepers were: Jonathan & Camille: Hide-A-Way Hill; Rick & John: Provincetown Seasons; The Cape Inn Resort; Bayberry Gardens; The Waterford Inn. On the heels of that success, I'm very pleased to say that proposals for productions are coming in from far and wide, and the Program Committee is evaluating the submissions, checking the calendar for available dates, and looking over the proposed budgets. Along with the development of plays from our own registry of readings presented at the theater, this year promises to be very ’’ entertaining’’ ! And please if you have not already done so, become a member of the theater. It only costs $10/year, and it gives you the right to vote in the annual meeting, and to participate on committees and make your voice heard. Eventually we will be sending the newsletter to members only, so don't lose touch with what's going on! Send your payment or drop it off at the box office, and be sure to give us your contact information including email address, which is the only way we are sending out communications at this time. Also, watch for our Annual Appeal letter. Please keep the theater in mind as you evaluate what it is offering the community in the way of educational and developmental opportunities. Send donations to: Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford Street, Provincetown, MA 02657 or   go to our website: www.provincetowntheater.org . Thank you!

Wine, grapes, ritual madness, and ecstasy !  

In an alcove behind the ticket booth at the Key West Playhouse, sits a lighted statue of Dionysus . Some actors have a preshow ritual to touch the statue for good luck prior to a show run. Rituals and superstitions often have a basis in fact.  Others, though, may simply be based in fantasy or a really good story told long ago.

Roman Gods and Greek Gods ' names are used interchangeably . (Credit Wikipedia for some of the following.)   Dionysus is the God of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy.

( Sounds like a dress rehearsal to me). He was also known as Bacchus by the Romans. He is the patron deity of agriculture and the theater. His divine mission was to mix the music of antique instruments and to bring an end to care and worry ( sounds like a tech rehearsal to me). Scholars have discussed his ability to preside over communication between the living and the dead ( sounds like the conversations over headsets between stage managers and some back stage crews ). He has been described as being womanly or "man-womanish". ( Sounds like Showgirls!)

As a young man, Dionysus was exceptionally attractive. ( sounds like Spiritus at 3   AM, goddess of pizza). Attempts to kidnap him for ransom were short-lived because no rope could restrain him....(The Vault anyone?). Those who came into contact with the   kidnapped God, died. Those who jumped ship to avoid death, were turned into dolphins. The lesson here:   Never jump ship in the middle of a show   (although I have always wanted to come back in my next life as a dolphin).   Bacchus or Dionysus, Greek or Roman.....choose either as your theater God.

Tim McCarthy, President
Brian O’Malley, Chairman of the Board
Joy McNulty, Vice President and Treasurer
Karen Billard, Grants and Website Coordinator
Robert Cardinal, Special Events
Luceil Carroll, Special Events
Allen Gallant, Sound Engineer
Robert Seaver, Program Committee
Sewall Whittemore, Building Committee
Candace Perry, Playwrights' Lab Liaison
Judith Partelow, Newsletter Editor

http://www.provincetowntheater.com/

Many thanks to Pearlene for helping to deliver the finished newsletter to you at the beginning of each month, and for the tireless efforts of Patrick Lamerson, our excellent theater office assistant!

             ’’A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone's knowledge of himself and the world around him.’’

                      Dylan Thomas