Rehearsal photos from “The Other Place”
“And Then the Moon Swallowed the Sky”
Friday, August 18th: (One night only!)
Last December I received an e-mail from Rachel Nelson who was working on a play about the upcoming solar eclipse and was looking for a theater in the Northwest where she could present it. One thing led to another and she will be here next week with her play and a training class for our local actors.
We (The Actors Theater) will be presenting the world premiere reading of “And Then the Moon Swallowed the Sky”, by Rachel and Danielle Mackey, for one night only: Friday August 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the Grange.
“In an uncertain world, three women make a pilgrimage across time and space to see the total eclipse of the moon seeking transformation and healing. Instead, they come face to face with themselves.”
This performance takes place between the August partial lunar eclipse and just before the upcoming solar eclipse that many have been eagerly anticipating.
Local actors will be reading the play for its premiere, and Rachel Nelson and cast will have a talkback session with the audience after the reading.
This is a rare opportunity to see a world premier and meet the playwright. Don’t miss it.
Tickets are $10 at the door or at Darvill’s
Doug
The Other Place
“The Other Place” opens Friday, September 8th and runs for three weekends.
“The Other Place” by Sharr White. This contemporary play got Laurie Metcalf (remember her from the “Rosanne” TV show?) a Tony nomination during its Broadway run in 2013. The Broadway cast also included Daniel Stern (remember “Home Alone”?) .
Juliana Smithton has invented a drug that is in final clinical trials and may be able to arrest the progression of dementia. As she tells us, the drug will never be able to bring back memories that are lost because the brain cells that held those memories are gone. But if successful, the drug will stop the progression of the disease.
While her professional life is progressing, her personal life is in trouble starting with a daughter who ran away from home ten years ago and issues relating to her own health.
This drama stars Aaimee Johnson as Juliana, Kevin Doyle as her husband, Ian, and Bethany Marie and Travis Baker.
If you are looking for a great story, well told, you don’t want to miss this play. “The Other Place” opens Friday, September 8th and runs for three weekends. Language and subject matter may make this play unsuitable for pre-teens.
Tickets are available at Darvills Book Store, at the door and on-line at
Click here to purchase on-line tickets
Actors Theater Brings “My Old Lady” to Random Howse
Thursday – Friday, July 13 – 14, 7 p.m., Random Howse
— from Melinda Milligan for Actors Theater of Orcas Island —
The Actors Theater of Orcas Island presents a staged reading of “My Old Lady” by Israel Horowitz, on Thursday, July 13 and Friday July 14 at 7 p.m. at Random Howse.
Directed by Melinda Milligan, “My Old Lady” is set in a Paris apartment occupied by 90 year old Mathilde (Annette Garver) and her daughter Chloe (Lesley Liddle). The arrival of New Yorker Mathias Gold (Tom Fiscus) opens a box of family secrets that leads to surprise, laughter, sadness, pain, and eventually, love.
Tickets are $10 at the door or Darvill’s Bookstore. Random Howse offers a Thai menu from 5-8 p.m. Reservations are available by calling 376-1111
April 30, 2017 — Play: Always A Bridesmaid
So, after I lost all the work I did Sunday (yesterday) morning, I decided to drive down to Terra Ceia (an hour plus south of Tampa where I’m flying out Monday) and spend the night with my cousin Bill (son of Bill, father of Will).
Since I’m not doing the interstates (or toll roads) it is a five hour drive from Tallahassee. A few hours later I stop to stretch my legs and look to see if there is a community theater nearby. Yes, there is one and they have a matinee at 2:00 for the play “Always a Bridesmaid” by the Wooten, Jones Hope. Playwrights who also wrote Mama Won’t Fly and The Dixie Swim Club. I look at my watch: 2:15. I rush over to the theater, get there at 2:20 to find out the show has already started and it is sold out. I told them I had driven all the way from Tallahassee (true) and I wanted to see the show (mostly true) and could I stand up in the back to watch it? They told me that since I had driven all the way from Tallahassee, they would get me in and not charge me for the ticket.
The theater was a 60 foot (long) by 35 feet (wide) by 16 feet (high) block of concrete. About 160 seats. The stage was about the same size as Orcas Center. Nice set, good costumes, mediocre play, poor acting. The acoustics were terrible. With all the concrete, the voices just kept bouncing off the walls. The actors stood or sat in a line facing the audience and shouted their lines with super heavy southern accents that would have been hard to understand in a place with good acoustics.
No character arcs. The character who was depressed at the start was depressed at the end. The character who screamed at everyone at the start was screaming at everyone at the end.
The play had six scenes spread over 20 something years. Each scene takes place just before a wedding of one of the four main characters. The scene changes were interminable because the four main characters had major costume changes. The Director tried to cover it by having the stage crew in costume and changing throw pillows, minor rearranging of the furniture and so on.
I would consider doing the play except for the costumes and scene change times – would need to find a solution for that first.
As soon as I post this, I’m heading to the airport to fly to Seattle. Home tomorrow (Tuesday).
