Vintage Murder

Written by
Paula Hilton

Presented by
The Old Theater Corporation

Directed by
Craig Elliott

January 18 & 19, 2008

You are invited to the last wine auction the Tortellini Brother’s Winery will ever hold. The historical winery, known for its rare but excellent cabernets, is being sold due to the death of its owner Georgio Tortellini.

And it’s such a crime … literally!

STARRING ...

Suzy Alitto (as Jessie Jones)

“J.C.” Cappelmann (as Carmine Blanca)

Paul Del Rio (as Zach Henry)

Kathy Kellam (as Olive Tortellini)

Rob Lucey (as Joe Bob Biggs)

Jackie Thompson (As Dr. Jacobi)

Jeff Troeltzsch (as Angel "The Eggplant" Serra)

Richard Wertin (as Nigel Tuesday)
Darrell Wiard (as Barney Schneckel)
Roberta Zawasky (as Toni Tortellini)

Behind the Scenes

The Old Theater would be a dark and lonely place if not for those who give the generous gift of their time to work behind the scenes. There's a job for anyone who wants to be involved in a production and no experience is required.

If you would like to participate in a future production, email to oldtheater@gmail.com. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who has helped us to "make it happen"!





Theater Folk

What are the tasks and responsibilities of those who work in theater? While there are no fixed job descriptions, following are basic expectations and activities common to some key positions.

If you would like to participate in a future production, email to oldtheater@gmail.com.

DIRECTOR ~ The work of the director is central to the production of a play. The director has the challenging task of bringing together the many complex pieces of a production—the script, actors, set, costuming, lighting and sound and music—into a unified whole. To accomplish this task, a director needs to:

• Interpret the script
• Cast the production
• Collaborate with designers
• Plan the rehearsals
• Guide the actors in their work during rehearsals

The director’s work is most often based on a detailed study and analysis of the script to be produced. Many careful readings of the script help the director develop an individual vision of the playwright’s intentions, which will form the core of his or her interpretation. This sense of “what the play is really about” will shape a director’s thinking about every other aspect of the production.

Directors also study the characters in the script, gathering as much information as they can about their physical and psychological traits. This is vital preparation for casting, when the actors who are best able to bring the characters to life in performance need to be chosen.

The director’s initial meetings with the set, costume, lighting and sound techs typify the creative collaboration vital to theater. Any notes the director has made on the technical needs in the script are shared with the techs. The free flow of ideas that takes place here will further refine the director’s vision of the production as a whole.

Details in the script about the specific locale(s) in which the action takes place need to be attended to early in the production process, because they will determine both the basic requirements of the set and the possible movement of the actors on stage. Acting areas, entrances and exits, and furniture and props called for in the script or desired by the director will need to be a part of the set design.

The floor plan can then be sketched out. The floor plan is a basic outline drawing of the stage setting as it would look from above. It is an essential rehearsal planning tool because it allows a director to work out the blocking of the play. Blocking (or staging) is the precise moment-by-moment movement and grouping of actors on stage.

The director’s creative collaboration continues during h/her work with the actors in rehearsals. The actors will bring their own interpretations to the project and perhaps inspire the director to rethink h/her interpretation. They will work closely together to breathe life into the lines and develop a deeper understanding of the characters’ motivations and relationships, fleshing out the subtext of the play. Later the focus of the director’s work in rehearsals will broaden to the overall look and feel of the whole production as transitions between scenes are smoothed out, effective pacing is achieved and all the design and technical aspects of the production are integrated.

Once the show opens, the director's work is essentially complete. Now it's the stage manager's job to make sure that every aspect of the production runs just as the director intended time after time, until the production closes.

STAGE MANAGER ~ Stage managers typically provide practical and organizational support to the director, actors, designers, stage crew and technicians throughout the production process.

The role of the stage manager is especially important to the director in rehearsals. Here the director and the stage manager work side by side, with the stage manager recording the director's decisions about blocking and notes for the actors, keeping track of logistical and scheduling details and communicating what goes on in rehearsals to the rest of the team. This enables the director to concentrate h/her full attention on directing.

Stage managers have several key responsibilities and tasks to perform in each phase of a production, including scheduling and running rehearsals, communicating the director's wishes to designers and crafts people, coordinating the work of the stage crew, calling cues and possibly actors' entrances during performance and overseeing the entire show each time it is performed.

In conjunction with the director, the stage manager determines the scheduling of all rehearsals and makes sure everyone involved is notified of rehearsal times, meetings, costume/wig fittings and coaching sessions. During the rehearsal phase, stage managers also:

• Mark out the dimensions of the set on the floor of the rehearsal hall
• Make sure rehearsal props and furnishings are available for the actors
• Attend all rehearsals
• Notify the support staff of changes made in rehearsal.

In rehearsals the stage manager also records all blocking, plus all the light, sound and set change cues, in a master copy of the script called the prompt book. The information in the prompt book also allows the stage manager to run the technical rehearsals, calling each technical cue in turn to determine precisely how it needs to be timed to coordinate with the onstage action.

The stage manager also works out a smooth and efficient plan for the stage crew to follow during set changes. Furniture and prop plans for complicated sets are drawn up by the stage manager to show exactly where the furniture and props are to be positioned on stage at the beginning of each scene and sometimes in the wings.

Once the show opens, the director's work is essentially complete. Now it's the stage manager's job to make sure that every aspect of the production runs just as the director intended time after time, until the production closes.

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER ~ Often needed in larger productions, the ASM is stationed just offstage to facilitate communication between the stage manager and actors, as well as ensuring safety. The ASM often helps with complex set changes, quick changes offstage or preparing the stage for performance.

MAKEUP ARTIST ~ A makeup artist's job is to enhance characters by changing, concealing, distorting or accentuating human features. She can make a young man look old or a perfectly healthy man look injured and scarred.

Before the show, the makeup artist will meet with the director and performers to determine their visions of character makeup. The makeup artist might look at photographs and sketches in an attempt to secure the exact character image she is aiming for. For period plays, she will become a bit of a historian as she studies character descriptions and period settings to ensure that her makeup effects are in keeping with period in which the play takes place. A makeup artist must be, above all things, organized. She will requisition all the materials she will need for each performance, like wigs, beards, cosmetics and facial cleansers.

During the show, a makeup artist is responsible for the selection of makeup, including stock shades, grease or oil mix to achieve the optimum look for each action. She will cleanse the actor's skin to prepare it for makeup application and work to precisely duplicate the makeup application and style that she has used for every other performance. After makeup application, she will attach prostheses to actors and create special features like scars, wrinkles and bruises.

The work a makeup artist does between shows is, perhaps, as important as the work she does at show time. She must take photos of the actors in full makeup and create a makeup sheet that will document how the makeup was applied. She will work with hairdressers and costumers to make sure their styles are in sync. She will train any helpers she will have at show time, establish a budget that she can work with and prepare prostheses and wigs for the next show.

PROPERTIES MANAGER/DESIGNER ~ Most productions use a properties manager to find or create the small items that a play needs. In coordination with the director, h/she decides what the props should look like and how they will function.

CARPENTERS ~ When sets need to be built, carpenters are needed to do the grunt work of sawing, hammering, lifting and hanging. No experience is necessary to serve in one of these roles as you will be taught on the job.

MASTER PAINTER ~ A highly sought skill in most theatres, the MP is responsible for painting set elements under the direction of the director. The Master Painter often has the freedom to choose many of the design elements h/herself.

There are many other important people who help to get a production from auditions to opening night. A few of them are listed below.

• Production Manager
• Publicity Manager
• Graphic Designer
• Lighting & Sound Techs
• Box Office Manager
• House Manager
• House Crew