Sad news. Gloucester Daily Times obituary by Michael Cronin- Nan Webber, community theater matriarch, dead at 89. Wonderful quotes from Martin Ray.
RIP remarkable Nan Webber
Tag: theater
The Golden Goose Awards at Gloucester Stage
Thirty-five Harborlight Montessori 4th-8th Grade students have taken up residency at Gloucester Stage Company for two weeks. As one of Harborlight’s new Experience Week programs, this group of students has been learning all aspects of theater production in preparation for their World Premiere performances of The Golden Goose Awards. The Golden Goose Awards was written by Harborlight’s very own Performing Arts Director and published playwright, Katie Oberlander. The collaboration between the staff at Gloucester Stage and the staff of Harborlight Montessori has come to life with this fantastic Theater Education experience. Tickets to the 3/22 and 3/23 performances are available for purchase on Gloucester Stage Company’s website.
This two-week theater education session is one of several options that Harborlight students, as well as students not currently enrolled at Harborlight, can select from to supplement their academic year coursework. Robust Experience Weeks have been carefully designed to enhance students’ learning and provide them enriching opportunities during typical school vacation weeks. Harborlight is thrilled to be working with some amazing community partners….like, in this exciting case, Gloucester Stage Company!
For more information on other Experience Weeks, click HERE
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Dorothy Parker staged at new Rogers Street Theatre
Ken Riaf’s new play My Station in Life premieres October 12th thru the 28th at Gloucester Stage. Go!
Great news from multitalented creative Ken Riaf:
“The premiere of My Station in Life a new play I wrote about Simon Geller, America’s last one-man radio broadcaster. Geller, the radio recluse who brought classical music to a hardscrabble fishing port, fights for survival against powerful forces that want what little he has. Actor Ken Baltin and supporting cast bring Geller’s quirky persona and corkscrew saga to the stage from October 12th through October 28th. ”
Produced by the Gloucester Stage Company and directed by Robert Walsh, Ken Riaf’s My Station in Life tickets are available now at My Station in Life.
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O’Maley Innovation Middle School performance May 10th | O’Maley Academy presents A SPRING SHOWCASE
News from O’Maley Innovation Middle School:
O’Maley Academy Proudly Presents
A Spring Showcase
*A benefit for The O’Maley Academy after school program which consists of 18 free clubs for students
Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 6:30 PM
FEATURING: Song & Dance Club performing 10 musical numbers & Drama-Rama Club performing 14 More Ways To Screw Up Your College Interview by Ian McWethy Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com)
Tickets: $5 (with a $20 family cap). O’Maley Auditorium
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Lindsay Crouse, Peter Krasinski soar | Peter Pan silent film screening at Cape Ann Cinema
Another unforgettable Cape Ann Cinema & UU Gloucester Meetinghouse collaboration was held on Sunday, December 3, 2017–a special screening of the silent film adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan as a benefit for Pathways for Children. Ellen Sibley was there for Pathways, welcoming guests and opening the evening.
Renowned organist Peter Krasinski explained that star Lindsay Crouse would use her artistry to accompany this silent screening like a Benshi, a Japanese word for performers who provided live narration for silent films in order to translate the intertitles. Though Krasinski has collaborated with benshi in Japan for some of his live performances, yesterday’s event was the first time he’s done so in the United States. I went to film school and was fortunate to take master classes in cinema studies with Bill Everson, a film historian and major collector. He’d invite Lillian Gish and other silent screen stars and producers to lecture, and always there were amazing accompanists. Not once though have I experienced a narration, too. I’ve heard Krasinski play before and seen Crouse act in film, tv and Gloucester Stage. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew it would be like nothing else I’d ever experienced. Krasinski has seen Peter Pan numerous times and his confident music was subtle and charming, cueing the music to the action on the screen and improvising along with Crouse. Crouse’s narration was pitch perfect. Crouse spoke of her affection for the story and related seeing it 17 times as a child (yes, with Mary Martin) and how it’s among the defining and formative theatrical pulls of her youth.Who knew Nana’s whimpering and such subtle variations of so many characters crying throughout Peter Pan was possible? I googled Lindsay Crouse audiobooks right when I got home. Lindsay Crouse audiobooks
What amazing effort and art for a good cause.
Upcoming Gloucester Meetinghouse / Cape Ann Cinema collaboration Continue reading “Lindsay Crouse, Peter Krasinski soar | Peter Pan silent film screening at Cape Ann Cinema”
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The entire O’Maley 8th grade will be seeing classmate Nate Oaks in To Kill A Mockingbird @GloucesterStage!
So cool! Thank you Gloucester Stage, Gloucester Public Schools and GEF
Congratulations, Nate, and Gabriel Magee, another Heidi Dallin Youth Acting Workshop (YAW) actor. Buy your tickets soon- Gloucester Stage productions sell out and are not to be missed. Read more about Nate and the entire cast
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Who’s buying tickets to movies, art and sporting events? New findings from US Bureau of Labor Statistics plus Health & Retirement Study
All ages! See details from a new report released yesterday by the US Bureau of Labor statistics which charts various data sets (mostly 2012-2015):
or in article PDF form
For example, this chart lumps together movies, art and sporting events
Also a September 7, 2017 report has more findings about the health benefits for seniors who create art and attend art events.
From the Health and Retirement Study (#HRS) Washington, DC—Older adults who create art and attend arts events have better health outcomes than adults who do neither is one of the conclusions in a new report published by the National Endowment for the Arts. Staying Engaged: Health Patterns of Older Americans Who Engage in the Arts presents the first detailed look at arts participation habits, attitudes toward the arts, and related health characteristics of adults aged 55 and older. Staying Engaged is based on results from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), conducted by the University of Michigan with primary support from the National Institute on Aging within the National Institutes of Health.
Gloucester knows this well! One big example is from the Council On Aging (COA) Rose Baker Senior Center Art Program. Its mission statement under the direction of Juni VanDyke: To connect Gloucester Senior Citizens to their community through worthwhile art projects while encouraging artistic individuality and collaboration.
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Youth writing contest
Ten minute plays that fit the challenge – Friends and Followers : technology’s impact on relationships
Gloucester Stage Company Youth Acting Workshop (YAW) Young Playwrights Festival
DEADLINE SOON- Submission deadline August 18. Must be 18 or younger.
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Laura Harrington’s new novel A Catalog of Birds to be released in 2 days |Gloucester book launches at The Bookstore and goodlinens
Laura Harrington’s New Novel, A Catalog of Birds, will be released on July 11 by Europa Editions. Two back to back special book launches in Gloucester:
book launch Thursday July 13th @ 7PM The Bookstore of Gloucester – 61 Main Street
“Harrington’s ‘Alice Bliss’ was a big hit, and you won’t want to miss out on this one either!”
book launch Friday July 14th @ 7PM at goodlinens / studio 133 Main Street UPDATE goodlinens RSVP at capacity
Laura Harrington Book Tour Dates for A Catalog of Birds
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Laura Harrington is an award-winning playwright, lyricist, librettist and author. She teaches at MIT and lives in Gloucester, MA. And she sings! Alice Bliss, her first novel, grew out of Harrington’s one-woman musical Alice Unwrapped, which ran off-Broadway in New York and in the Minneapolis Fringe Festival in 2009. Her novel Alice Bliss (Viking/Penguin) won the 2012 Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction. Playwrights Horizons has commissioned her to create Alice Bliss the musical which is in production 2017.
Read the great press release issued by MIT
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LIVE at City Hall: GEF Gloucester Arts Festival
Listen to sweet voices from Veterans school chorus, “Imagine”.
Gloucester High School chorus
More theater, bands and chorus coming up!
Kurt Lichtenwald and GHS robotics presented at 1pm. GHS has 11 engineering courses — teaching to the top! Showing us Propane furnaces, LADAR, magnetic Newton’s cradle (no sound), a hovercraft that can carry 60 pounds… Design. Build. Modify. (More than one kid behind me said “I can’t wait to go to high school.”) Displayed art by O’Maley Middle school artists throughout City Hall, Cape Ann Museum and Sawyer Free.
Woodwork display is amazing!
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Globe critics pick their 42 favorite upcoming New England arts: 2 from Cape Ann
Boston Globe critics –Kate Tuttle (books); Zoe Madonna (classical music); Karen Campbell (dance); Loren King (film); Michael Andor Brodeur (pop music); Don Aucoin (theater); Malcom Gay (visual arts)– published an arts preview: “Globe Critics survey of 42 Essential art events in New England that you won’t want to miss this spring and summer.”
Congratulations to Rockport Chamber Music Festival and Clara Wainwright for making the list! Rockport Chamber Music Festival is June 2-July 9 at the Shalin Liu Performance Center. Clara Wainwright, artist and First Night Founder, is one of 8 artists selected for the 21st round of Art on the Marquee, the “massive three sided, seven screened, 80 foot tall marquee at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center” public art project. Look for that exhibit March 16-April 17.
Here’s the geographic tally:
Boston area, MA arts events: 19
Western, MA: 8
North Shore, MA: 2 –Rockport/Chamber Music Festival and Lincoln/Thoreau. (Clara’s work will be shown in Boston)
Cape and islands, MA: 4
ME: 4
RI: 3
VT: 1
CT: 1 (could be New Bedford…)
Most of the MOTT seasonal round ups and e-blasts are light on North Shore listings.
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PHANTOM OF THE OPERA at Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church on 10/31/15
On Halloween Night — Saturday, October 31st at 7:30pm International Sonic Artist Peter Krasinski will be accompanying the 1920’s silent film “Phantom of the Opera” starring Lon Chaney, on organ. “Creative costumes” are encouraged; everyone in costume can join a parade at intermission and be eligible for prizes.
DESCRIPTION:
Experience a unique evening of entertainment for the whole family with one of the most famous silent film actors of all time, Lon Chaney, in his legendary role as the Phantom of the Paris Opera House. When Krasinski accompanies a film it becomes literally a “once in a lifetime” event. Well known in the Gloucester area for his improvisational skills he began perfecting his craft at Hammond Castle and has become internationally known as a master of his art. This is a “do not miss” evening!
This event is the first of 2015-16 Concert & Lecture Series to benefit the Meetinghouse Preservation Fund. For more information see: www.gloucesteruu.org
This event takes place at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Church Street, Gloucester MA 01930. Doors open at 7:00pm, the show starts at 7:30pm.
ADMISSION:
$15 general admission, $12 seniors (over 65) & students; children under 12 free.
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THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA on Sunday 10/12/14
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!
The timeless 1920s silent film classic starring Lon Chaney with live improvised score by International Sonic Artist Peter Krasinski
DATE: Sunday, October 12th, 2014
TIME:Doors open at 7:00pm, the show starts at 7:30pm.
LOCATION:
Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church,
10 Church Street, Gloucester, MA 01930.
ADMISSION:
$15 general admission, $12 seniors (over 65), children under 12 free.
DESCRIPTION:
Experience a unique evening of entertainment for the whole family with one of the most famous silent film actors of all time, Lon Chaney, in his legendary role as the Phantom of the Paris Opera House. When Krasinski accompanies a film it becomes literally a “once in a lifetime” event. Well known in the Gloucester area for his improvisational skills he began perfecting his craft at Hammond Castle and has become internationally know as a master of his art. This is a “do not miss” event! This event is part of 2014-15 Concert & Lecture Series to benefit the Meetinghouse Preservation Fund. For more information see: www.gloucesteruu.org
REVIEWS:
“Anyone who has been lucky enough to hear Mr. Krasinski in performance knows his skill at presenting the essence and power of a film.”
“It was remarkable and seamless, and yes—no modern action movie could outdo it.
In fact, I’ll go so far as to say it was live theater…It was as if Krasinski became one with the elements”
“During the applause and encores, you gestured to the hall’s organ – I’m sure it was, in turn, bowing to you in appreciation for having being played so dexterously”
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Arsenic and Old Lace – Theatre in the Pines at Shalin Liu
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Last weekend for the Tragabigzanda Political Theatre Festival
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August Theatre Camp for Kids at the YMCA
If your little ones couldn’t make it to the July theatre camp, there’s another once coming up! They’ll have fun and discover their own creativity and talent for theater!
– Matthew Green
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Origami for kids at Art Haven and Theatre Camp for Kids at the YMCA
This Thursday (3:30-5PM) is the last origami class for kids this month at Art Haven! The content and level of difficulty of the class is entirely flexible according to the needs and interests of those who sign up.
So, for example, if your child (or a child you know) has an origami book and has stopped using it because he/she is stuck on a difficult model or discouraged, register them for the class and bring them with the book in question! I will help them through whatever difficulty they may be facing, and we can fold some model(s) from the book with the other students.
The possibilities are endless! Contact Art Haven for details on pricing and registration, and if you do register and have a specific interest or need, let me know ahead of time so I can prepare if necessary (you can comment on this post). Here’s a photo from a previous class, showing me with budding origami artist Leon Calvo:
We folded a boat, a dragon, a lotus flower, and a Brontosaurus (aka Apatosaurus). Leon’s father David Calvo is a wood carver who does beautiful work and teaches classes as well.
It’s not too late to sign kids up for Theatre Camp at the YMCA! I’ve heard great things about this program. “Murder on Rocky Neck: The Opera” was the result of a similar program with Henry Allen in the past.
– Matthew Green
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Greasy Pole, The Musical – Now, the Slide Show!
I caught one of the last showings of Greasy Pole, The Musical this year. This year’s cast (mostly new) did a great job keeping up the tradition of past years! Here is a slideshow of photos I took (warning: spoilers implied!)
If you missed this one, catch it next year! But the same troupe – Henry Allen’s North Shore Folklore Theatre – has a lineup of shows and other activities that you can see – and participate in – throughout the year! Besides the website at the previous link, you can also find them on Facebook.
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Murder on Rocky Neck, the Opera – opening tonight!
Opening tonight at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck: “Murder on Rocky Neck, the Musical” (tickets available here)!
“Travel back in time to 1870′s Gloucester, and lose yourself in this witty opera, a courtroom drama with a surprise ending – an original story entirely conceived and written by Henry Allen’s Young Playwrights, ages 9-13. The show features a beautiful original score by Derek Dupuis, age 16, who also composed the music for ‘Song of The Sea’. Murder On Rocky Neck, The Opera is appropriate for all ages!”
Here are some photos from a recent rehearsal:
It looks like it is going to be a really fun show!
“On a frosty Thursday morning on old Rocky Neck,
The artist Richard Bluewall was found drowned, by heck!
Whilst the children of the town pondered how he had died,
Court was in session with those being tried:
Was it Old Scurvy Crabwater killed poor Richard Bluewall?
Or was it Miss Sylvia DeSylvia who’s love conquered all?
Or perhaps Jesse Pomeroy, a boy of sixteen,
With suspicious demeanor and caught at the scene!
Star witness and actress, Alicia Linguiça,
Insists to the end,
That the murder was committed
By her former best friend!
With Judge Thaddeus Pudge
Presiding the case,
And the audience as jury putting justice in place,
Attorneys Paperwell, Rockwell, Scissorwell and Schute
Do their level best to condemn the brute.”
