On Stage at the Old Theater

Hot Dames, Hot Lead

2011-11-06T20:30:00.003-05:00

Presented by

The Old Theater Corporation
Stage Director

Lynn Whalen
Music Director & Keyboardist
Mary Clyde Dunn

November 4~6, 2011

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to “see” what an old time radio show broadcast was like? Well wonder no more!

The Old Theater in Oriental is presenting Hot Dames, Hot Lead for your listening and viewing enjoyment! This vintage 1930s “radio show” is performed by actors in costume and sound effects created in front of you. Listen to the latest episode of Catfish King (Per Erichsen) and enjoy the “Buttercups” as they provide singing commercials of yesteryear.

We open with the entrance of Lola LaRue (Kate Tuttle) who is the secretary of Senator Bullfrog “bring home the bacon” Bodiene (Bill Sage). The beloved Senator is bringing a much needed, but thought to be useless, dam project to Sunshine Valley to provide needed jobs. Lola knows something isn’t quite right when Big Bill Mullin (Joe Lane) is found to be in cahoots with the local Cosa Nostra.

Listen and watch while Catfish follows a trail of colorful characters including Raccoon Montgomery (Rick Smith), Jimmy the Shinebox & Big Tuna (Woody Fuller), Sadie Deal (Nelda Coats), Crashin’ Annie Burne (Cindy Ista), Professor Nobodski (Russ Stevenson) and the German Ambassador & Mayor (Rich Tuttle). Gangster voices (Nancy Hiller) and a Messenger (Rainy Bilicki) add to the intrigue while, between episodes, you’ll be entertained by singing commercials featuring the “Buttercups” ... Rainy Bilicki, Care Gerdeman, Nancy Hiller, Kelly Russo and Carol Small. Art Whalen and Care Gerdeman provide on-stage sound effects.

Director Lynn Whalen is thrilled to see so many “new” faces on the Oriental stage. She said it has taken over 30 people to put this production together and over two thirds of them are new to the Old Theater.

So come enjoy in the fun and step back to the 1930s for an old fashioned family adventure!

THE CHARACTERS ...
Rainy Bilicki (as the Messenger)
Nelda Coats (as Sadie Deal & the Kid)
Per Erichsen (as Catfish King)
Woody Fuller (as Jimmy the Shinebox & Big Tuna)
Nancy Hiller (as the Gangster & Voices)
Cindy Ista (as Crashin' Annie Burne)
Joe Lane (as Big Bull Mullen)
Bill Sage (as Bullfrog Bodeine)
Rick Smith (as Raccoon Montgomery)
Russ Stevenson (as Professor Nobodsky & Leroy)
Kate Tuttle (as Lola)
Rich Tuttle (as the Mayor & German Ambassador)

THE ANNOUNCER ...
Peter Freeman
THE COMMERCIAL VOCALISTS ...
Rainy Bilicki, Care Gerdeman, Nancy Hiller,
Kelly Russo, Carol Small & Kate Tuttle
THE FOLEY ARTISTS ...
Care Gerdeman & Art Whalen

SNEAK PEEKS ...

Lola & Catfish King

Sadie Deal & Crashin' Annie Burne

The Ambassador, Bullfrog, Big Bill, Raccoon & the Professor

Jimmy the Shinebox & Our Announcer

"The Buttercups"
Carol, Care, Kelly
Rainy & Nancy

Art & Care, Our Foley Artists

Mary Clyde, Our Music Director & Keyboardist

Photo Courtesy of TownDock.net

Click HERE to see a slide show of this performance. Password is guest.

BRAVO! THANKS FOR A GREAT PERFORMANCE!

Produced by special arrangement with Heuer Publishing.

All proceeds of this special event benefit The Old Theater.

Mother Truckers

2011-06-25T08:56:00.037-04:00

A comedy by
Judith Sapperstein and Gary Murway
Performed by
The Oriental Repertory Company
Under the Direction of
Craig Elliott

September 16 & 17, 2011

Maxine's husband dies on the road while delivering a shipment in his "Big Rig." With no money and a Peterbilt truck, what else is she supposed to do? She'll pick up where he left off and her sister, Charlotte, goes along to keep her company.

Get off the road, 'cause here come the Mother Truckers!

STARRING ...

Suzy Alitto (as Maxine)
Ellyn Speciale (as Charlotte)

Mary Clyne Dunn (as Mary Ellen)

Sam Alitto (as Roy McCoy)

Meagan McLain (as Trixie)

Craig Elliott (as Sugar Daddy)

Photo by Charlie Hall/Sun Journal

Click HERE for slide shows. Username is otc ... password is guest.

Represented and Licensed by J&G UNLIMITED, LLC.

There's A Burglar In My Bed

2011-04-10T07:50:00.012-04:00

Written by

Michael Parker

Performed by

The Oriental Repertory Company

Under the Direction of

Craig Elliott

April 8 & 9, 2011

William Worthington III and his wife both say they are going away for the weekend from their 200-acre Massachusetts estate with its 26-bedroom mansion: William to Delaware to shoot ducks with the Duponts and Ashley Worthington to visit her mother in Boston. Both have, in fact, arranged trysts with their respective lovers in the estate’s beach cottage.

Inevitably their paths cross and divorce is in the air. But neither is willing to give up the world famous Worthington necklace, so each devises a plan to steal it.

True to the laws of farce, both simulated burglaries are scheduled for the same night. Fun and chaos ensues — mistaken identities, unlikely romantic liaisons, a bumbling private detective, a fake necklace, one very determined nymphomaniac and two pseudo nuns sharing a single skirt.

Who has the real necklace? Who has the fake? There is a surprise ending!

STARRING ...

Sam Alitto as William Davis

Rainy Bilicki as Lorraine DuVal

Craig Elliott as Edward Brookstone

Per Erichsen as William Worthington

Lisanne Erickson as Deborah DuVal

Georgette Rush as Ashley Worthington

Ellyn Speciale as Marianne Van Kleef

It's All About A Necklace!

Click HERE for slide shows. Username is otc ... password is guest.

Simply Divided

2010-09-19T09:36:00.008-04:00

Written by
Jeff Lovett
Performed by
The Oriental Repertory Company
Under the Direction of
Craig Elliott

September 17 & 18, 2010

Times are hard in Simply, Alabama … The men have packed up and moved to work at a nearby truck plant and the women in the town are alarmed … especially the ones who spend their days at the Simply Delicious Diner. When a handsome new stranger moves to Simply, the women begin to compete for his attention.

With plenty of verbal jousting, plot twists and a sprinkling of quirky supporting characters, Simply Divided feels like spending an evening with old friends.

STARRING ...

Suzy Alitto as Sissy Mae

Sam Alitto as Ray

Nelda Coats as Sarah Beth

Mary Clyde Dunn as D'Ellen

Per Erichsen the Radio Announcer

Libby Ferdinandsen as Carlotta

Nancy Hiller as Trish Ann

Ellyn Speciale as Charity

Darrell Wiard as Earl

Gary Williams as Gabe

SNEAK PEEKS

Photo by Charlie Hall/Sun Journal

Photo by Keith Smith/www.TownDock.net

Click HERE for slide shows. Username is otc ... password is guest.

The Amorous Ambassador

2010-03-28T08:55:00.003-04:00

Written by
Michael Parker

Performed by
The Oriental Repertory Company

Under the direction of
Craig Elliott

March 26 & 27, 2010

The Amorous Ambassador is another hormonal comedy by the author of Sex Please We’re Sixty! When the new American Ambassador to Great Britain, tells his wife and daughter he’s going away for a golf weekend, they announce plans of their own. Each leaves and secretly returns for a romantic rendezvous in what they assume is an empty house. Their escapades will leave you laughing for days!

STARRING ...
Michele Bessette (as Faye)
Joe Bliss (as Perkins)
Jake Croom (as Joe)
Lisanne Erickson (as Marian)
Ashley Gody (as Debbie)
Rich Wertin (as Captain South)
Gary Williams (as Harry)
Roberta Zawasky (as Louis)

Click HERE for slide shows. Username is otc ... password is guest.

The Monster Bash

2009-11-01T09:19:00.003-05:00

Written by
Paula Hilton

Performed by
The Oriental Repertory Company

Under the direction of
Craig Elliott

October 30 & 31, 2009

Local resident, Ivana Crump is hosting a Halloween costume party to raise money for a “deadly” cause. She promises this fabulous affair will be a “hair-raising” experience!

Come as you are … or come as you dare … but don’t be left out!

STARRING ...
Sam Alitto (as Conner Crump)
Suzy Alitto (as Isabella Crump)
Rainy Bilicki (as Ivana Crump)
Mary Clyde Dunn (as Iona Crump)
Per Erichsen (as Clark Crump)

Click HERE for slide shows. Username is otc ... password is guest.

Sex Please We're Sixty

2009-06-21T09:47:00.007-04:00

Written by
Michael Parker

Performed by
The Oriental Repertory Company

Under the direction of
Craig Elliott

June 19 & 20, 2009

Harry Douglas, the American Ambassador to Great Britain, tells his wife Lois that he has arranged a golf outing in Scotland for the weekend. Lois in turn tells Harry that she too will be gone for the weekend at a spa, and that their daughter Debbie will be gone visiting a girlfriend. Each then tells Perkins, their newly hired butler in their country home, of their plans. He stoically watches as they each leave for the weekend and return thinking they have the house to themselves!

STARRING ...
Suzy Alitto (as Charmaine Beauregard)
Rainy Bilicki (as Hillary Hudson)
Elaine Creel (as Victoria Ambrose)
Craig Elliott (as Bud Davis)
Per Erichsen (as Henry Mitchell)
Libby Ferdinandsen (as Mrs. Stancliffe)

Click HERE for slide shows. Username is otc ... password is guest.

Final Cut

2008-03-08T10:36:00.006-05:00

Written by
Paula Hilton

Introducing
The Oriental Repertory Company

Under the direction of
Craig Elliott

March 6 & 7, 2008

B-Movie director Eddie Cheek is looking for backers for his new movie, The Zombie Was An Alien. So he's throwing a gala shindig for interested parties. In return for financing his motion picture, Mr. Cheek will put backers in his movie.

It's a killer proposition … so be there!

STARRING ...
Sam Alitto (as Rock Stud)
Suzy Alitto (as Billie Clubb)
Rainy Bilicki (as Henny Loggersnapper)
Per Erichsen (as Eddie Cheek)
Lisanne Erickson (as Cherri Pitt)
Deb Khouri (as Dr. Willie)
Craig Elliott (as Joules Lake)
Bob Miller (as Dan Druff)
Georgette Rush (as Edith Header)
Jeff Troeltzsch (as Chance Heartfelt)
Richard Wertin (as Quinnie Winston)
Roberta Zawasky (as Nova Devoe)

Click HERE for the slide show.

Vintage Murder

2008-01-20T10:26:00.009-05:00

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

2008-01-15T07:55:00.011-05:00

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

2008-01-01T08:55:00.035-05:00

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