September 2009

PROVINCETOWN THEATER  238 BRADFORD STREET

President’s Message  Chairman of the Board   Board Members  From the Editor 
  Front of the House:– Priscilla Sample   Announcements

The Provincetown Theater Foundation / Provincetown Theater Company

Proudly Presents:

SECOND ANNUAL

ART PERFORMANCE WITH ROBERT CARDINAL

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th

  4-6pm

238 Bradford St., Provincetown

Don’t miss this chance at owning a Robert Cardinal original painting

“From the empty canvas to the completed work, in the course of a luscious late-afternoon in late-summer. As he works, the painter illustrates his approaches to the creation of a work of art.” 
                                        Brian O’Malley

On Saturday, September 5th, from 4:00-6:00 pm, Mr. Robert Cardinal, renowned local artist, teacher, and raconteur will be onstage as he begins, and completes, a full size painting in his beautiful characteristic style, while we observe and learn.

He will be accompanied by the accomplished violinist Cenovia Cummins, oboeist Marilyn Coyne and other musicians. Patrons will enjoy a variety of delicious complementary appetizers from many fine local restaurants, wine selections from Truro Vineyards, and beer styles produced by Cape Cod Beer.

At the conclusion of this delightful demonstration, a raffle will select the recipient of the just-completed 40 x 40 inch marine painting, valued at about $8,000.  A number of fine ‘consolation prizes’, including signed posters, and artist-label wines from Truro Vineyards, courtesy of the artist, will be raffled to those present.

Bobby’s first performance was sold out last year. Don’t miss this year!

The ticket price is $150 for the event. For those unable to attend, tickets for the large painting raffle-only are $100.

Contact provincetowntheater.com for tickets; call 508-487-7487; or visit the box office at the Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford Street.

All proceeds go to the Provincetown Theater Foundation/ Provincetown Theater Company.         http://www.provincetowntheater.org/

FROM THE EDITOR:

The focus of this month’s newsletter is that of collaboration – between theater companies, community members and groups, and the artists in our midst.
>There is an important message from Chairman of the Board, Brian O’Malley, concerning a renewed commitment by the Board of Directors as it reaches out to participate more fully in the development of theater in our community.
>Tim McCarthy and Priscilla Sample give us their individual perspectives on the big “black-out” in Provincetown on Sunday, August 16th during a performance.
>We are so grateful for the wonderful contributions Robert Cardinal is making to the Provincetown Theater, and we hope you will join us to witness his expertise, talent and sense of humor on Saturday, September 5th. Anyone interested in art should not miss this unique opportunity to see a master at work.
>Announcements for playwrights, actors, directors, tech people, etc. make up a good portion of this month’s newsletter, and depending on space, can be included in future months, as well.
>As you’ll see, we are evolving without a fixed format. We hope this sparks your interest and keeps us engaged. (Please forgive the indulgence of my photo on Broadway, taken by my cousin a few years ago, but the enthusiasm being created by all this theater activity made it seem so apropos!)

Judith Partelow

I would like to focus, this month, on the mission commitments made, at the August meeting of the Provincetown Theater Foundation Board, to the centrality of nourishing here, a crucible for new theater work.

The history of theater production in Provincetown over the past nine decades has been one of innovation in the dramatic arts. Certainly, theater existed in this nation prior to Eugene O’Neill, and his new Bound East For Cardiff, staged on a wharf that used to project into Provincetown Harbor, a short walk from the Theater. But this work - here - marked a new stage in the development of serious playwriting, and is recognized as a seminal event in the history of modern American drama.

The current functions of the Theater Foundation are to maintain our wonderful small theater itself, as an available resource for performance art, and to nurture the development of our own resident Provincetown Theater Company. The Spring and the Fall Playwrights’ Festivals, the Winter New Works Reading Series, and other productions, are the fruit of this talented group. With the Playwrights’ Lab, local writers working cooperatively to develop their scripts, the PTC content is increasingly coming from within the emerging theater community.

The (PTF) Board is committed to providing, at the Provincetown Theater, a home for developmental work in the arena of theater art specifically, and performance arts in general.

To this end, we have taken certain actions. We have recently established a “Production Fund” which will be available to the Provincetown Theater Company, for its own works at the Theater. This funding is available from the successes of our recent productions. Our hope is to build substantial, year-round offerings, featuring our own talent: works coming from the Playwrights’ Lab and works produced by the PTC.

Reaching further afield, we will also pursue grant funding, which will allow us to underwrite the presentation of new works by emerging companies and playwrights. These might be premieres, workshops, or first production trials. We would like to be known as a stage for developing and emerging works, and we will be looking to market towards this particular niche. Our successful NEA Fastrack Grant in 2007 encourages us to apply again there, and to a number of other agencies, in support of this development outreach.

Why do we believe it will work? For beginners, we know we have a smart, experienced, theater-savvy audience here. For years, we have been seeing great drama, here, and elsewhere.

And we have seen what a great number of talented actors and actresses are among us…. not to mention directors, stage managers, set-designers, techies of all competencies, musicians, choreographers, language coaches, dramaturges, singers and dancers, graphics folks… and many more. This capacity has been building with the growth of the Provincetown Theater, and its affiliated production companies, especially Susan Grilli’s remarkable Counter Productions.

It is the intent of the Board to encourage here, at this fine little theater of ours, the development of theater production skills, the honing of play-writing skills, and the increasing sophistication and appreciation of our audiences.

Our October Annual Membership meeting will focus on these questions. A date of Wednesday, October 14 at 6pm has been set, and everyone with an interest in maintaining an active developmental theater environment here at the Theater, should plan to join us for a good discussion. We need and ask you to be involved.

Wow, what a summer this has been. The most successful financially and artistically that we have had at the Provincetown Theater so far, thanks to Provincetown Counter Productions; from Take Me Out to Gross Indecency. But it was Working, in the blackout, that really showed the power of performers and audiences in Provincetown. That Sunday we had just closed the theater after showing my film “Meth & Murder In P-town; isn’t that what poetry is about?” at 4pm (thanks to everyone who came to see it) when the power went out for the first time. The power stayed off for the next three hours and depleted the hour and a half battery our emergency lighting system had. So when the power came back on it had only a few minutes to recharge the batteries before it went out again during the performance of Working. It was at this point that the stage managers of the show got flashlights into the hands of the audience, and they proceeded to hold the lights so that the show could go on. It was a true testament to the power of Provincetown audiences and performers. We have installed “audience participation lights” near the hand rails. Should the power go out twice again, we will be prepared for it and the show can go on.
And in another example of cooperation - in this year of cut-backs on advertising and support of the arts in general, Counter Productions was unable to pay the rent in full for the summer season before it started (which is a stipulation of the rental contract). So the theater agreed to take the rent out of ticket sales as they happened over the summer. This cooperation proved to be a success for both of us.

This successful cooperation just makes Counter Production’s leaving us all the more difficult. We have traditionally had Meryl Cohn’s Women’s Week production for the 10 days (two weekends) of Women’s Week. In order to cover the costs of this production which is a musical featuring Lea Deliria, Counter needed three weekends - one more than in the past. And that next weekend was already booked last year by Castle Hill for its Dance Festival, its fifth year with us. So without the weekend available, Counter had to seek another venue.

So with love and thanks in our hearts we wish Counter Productions the best in its new space and hope they know they can come back to the theater anytime they wish.

From the Front of House – Priscilla Sample

This summer I again had the opportunity to work the front of house for the theater. I enjoy the position, as it affords me the opportunity to meet and greet the audience as they arrive each evening and to see artists and theater friends that I might not catch up with individually during the fast-passed summer. While working outside the theater means I can’t sit and see the plays each night, by visiting with patrons during intermission and after each performance, I enjoy the pleasure of experiencing their response – a sort of re-experiencing – to each night’s performance. This year Counter Productions’ offering of three plays in repertory (Take Me Out, Gross Indecency, and Working) was particularly challenging for the production company as they grappled with set and costume change-overs three times each week, but was very successful in providing a diversity of beautifully executed plays – truly something to appeal to every theater goer and offering a host of memorable moments and performances.

Particularly memorable was one production of Working in August. A sweltering day, the entire town of Provincetown had lost power for a couple of hours in the afternoon, leaving cast, crew, and audience wondering if there would in fact be an evening performance. When power was restored early that evening, the decision was made that the show would go on (true to theater dogma). The audience was seated and the show started without a hitch, only to be plunged into darkness shortly thereafter when the entire town, once again, lost power. The emergency lights came on briefly, then went out. The police instructed producer Susan Grilli to keep the audience in their seats, for safety, as the power would be restored briefly. Using available flashlights, Susan reassured the audience and all remained calm. The owner of the East End Market, a patron that evening, dashed to his store and back with his available stock of flashlights. To entertain the audience, Susan told Music Director John Thomas to ‘play something’, and by flashlight he played what was before him on the piano – the next number of the show. Immediately the cast started singing, took the stage, and the show continued – lit by flashlights held by cast, crew, and audience members. Before the show was over, maybe half-an-hour later, the power was restored, causing a round of applause from the audience. After the final number, the audience gave a standing ovation – much deserved – to cast and crew. It was an unfortunate event that no one working in or attending theater would ever wish for, but at the same time, it was a wondrous communal experience that is exactly the reason we do or attend theater to begin with – a truly rare utopian moment that no one will soon forget.

The season has closed, and while I admit I was ready for a break, I’m already looking forward to the next time I can say, “Hello, you’re going to see a great show tonight.”

Hear ye, hear ye!  Auditions for the Fall Playwrights’Festival will be held on October 3rd from 1-3pm and October 4th from 5-7pm.

The submission deadline for The Fall Playwrights’ Festival has been extended to  September 1st. So if you’ve been dragging your feet, you still have a couple of days to run it over to the theater! This festival is open to playwrights who live full or part time on Cape Cod.  

Festival dates: Nov. 7-8 & 14-15

Submissions will be considered in the following categories:

                                             Short Plays - running time no longer than 15 minutes

                                             One-Act plays – running time approximately 30 minutes

                                             Full-length plays

NOTE: Only plays that have NOT been previously produced are eligible. Plays that have only been given previous readings WILL be considered. The festival will stage the chosen short and one-act plays in a black box setting with minimal technical assistance. Therefore, small casts and very simple sets are a requirement. The full-length plays chosen will be given a reading at one or both of the weekends of the Festival.

No royalties will be paid for production/reading of the chosen plays. Chosen playwrights directors and casts will be given a year’s membership, gratis, to the Provincetown Theatre Company.

                           Only ONE submission allowed per playwright

                           3 copies in manuscript form (no electronic submissions) should be delivered to:

                                          Fall Playwrights' Festival

                                                      Provincetown Theater

                                                      238 Bradford Street

                                                      Provincetown, MA 02657

An announcement from:     CTEK ARTS

Attention Actors!

Wartime in Provincetown

Needs you!

CTEK Arts is producing a new play for the 4^th Annual Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival – a multi-locationed, performative piece set in P’town in the early 1940s.  A series of short scenes, the time commitment is very light  (four rehearsals the two weeks prior, then tech, dress, and three performances).  We need actors of all ages, races, and talents. As this is the kick-off event of the Festival, we want to include as many community people as we can.

Performance dates:                                       Sept. 24 @ 3:00 pm

                                                                       Sept. 25 @ 4:00 pm

                                                                       Sept. 26 @ 11:00 am

Priscilla Sample                               Artistic Directors                             Margaret Van Sant

                                 512.466.6339                                                                                508.241.1427

prisample@hotmail.com                     __________                                         vansant@C4.net

From The Provincetown Fringe Festival

now in Asbury Park, NJ, I received this news from the PFF’s longtime producer, director, actress and playwright, Marj Conn, and wanted to share it with you:

“John (Buckingham) and I got married last Tuesday 8/18. I never thought that would happen - getting married - I said off the cuff - we should get married, and he said OK - so that was it - it was a shotgun potluck wedding all planned in less than a week - and about 42 people came which made me feel so good cause I realized how many new friends I've made in Asbury Park/Ocean Grove in less than 3 years.- and I wrote the vows and it was like a short play - very funny - people were howling.”

The Provincetown Fringe Festival in Asbury Park announces its First Annual Short Play Festival Marathon on Saturday October 24 at 7 pm and Sunday October 25 at 3 pm at the Stephen Crane House, 508 4th Avenue in Asbury Park, NJ.  Info at 732-807-4052.

Congratulations, Marjorie and John, from your Provincetown theater community!  Judith Partelow, Ed.

introducing board member:   ROBERT CARDINAL

Originally form Montreal, Robert Cardinal has been living on Cape Cod for most of the past thirty-five years.   Educated at La Grande Chaumiere School of Art in Paris, Cardinal has always been fascinated with the realist and impressionist schools of art history.  His work is predominantly influenced by Edward Hopper.

His paintings of simple scenes, such as isolated beaches, light houses, and lonely Cape Houses stress color, light, and mood in an effort to capture a moment in time while simultaneously expressing the timelessness of solitude.  He usually paints at sunrise or sunset- when the light offers him the drama and exact mood he is looking for. These times also offer striking combinations of color. Cardinal's distinct purple skies have lured and enticed many collectors. His work now hangs in homes and businesses throughout the United States, Canada, as well as in England, Germany, Ireland and Japan.

FROM  GARDNER   COLBY    ARTISTS 

“There is a certain nostalgia in my work, a yearning for time gone by, a more quiet time." Robert Cardinal

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
Judith Partelow, Newsletter Editor
Robert Seaver, Program Committee Co-Chair
Sewall Whittemore, Building Committee
Candace Perry, Playwrights’ Lab Liaison
http://www.provincetowntheater.com/