CHRISTMAS CAROL RETURNS TO THE ACADEMY!
We will bring back to the Academy of Music stage, A Christmas Carol, directed by John Reese with original music by Paula Kimper in December, 2014. It’s exciting to offer this whimsical and very, very Valley Christmas Carol. We feel Dickens’ message bears repeating, especially when so many among us are in need. A Christmas Carol is not a story of religious traditions but of humanity. It is about community, and will be produced in a way that celebrates our own unique and lively sense of community. People are looking for meaning and connection, especially at the holidays, and this is the perfect event to create that sense. It’s one of those shows that make you feel more human. And you will see lots of familiar faces on stage. We’ll establish A Christmas Carol as an annual ritual celebrating our interconnectedness within our beautiful Valley.
Presenting John Sheldon's Red Guitar, May 2 & 3
The Red Guitar on May 2 & 3 8:00 pm at ARTSBLOCK at 289 Main Street, in Greenfield, MA. Tickets are $20 and very limited so buy early: TICKETS
After two sold out nights as part of the Double Take Fringe Festival, we have joined up with John Sheldon to take THE RED GUITAR to the next level. John has expanded the show to be a full evening of his musical journey of life through music. Don’t miss it – for two nights only!
About The Red Guitar
Says Sheldon, “The Fender Stratocaster guitar was first advertised in the spring of 1954. At the same time, the first Hydrogen bombs were made operational. These two inventions were going to change the world. At the time, I was 3 years old. The electric guitar was to become a dominate force in my life, giving me entry into creative realms, while the H bomb would represent the opposite, a force of total destruction. My life played out between these two opposing energies.
I was 12 when I first got my hands on an electric guitar. In the piece, I tell the story of what it sounded like to me, how it crackled with energy in my hands, and how I learned to play it. I found ways to learn off of records, by watching others play it, and even writing a letter to a famous guitarist who wrote back to me. Following the path through Surf music, Blues, Rhythm and Blues, and Rock and Roll, until I sat in a studio listening to Jimi Hendrix noodling around on his Stratocaster before a recording session, I absorbed everything I could.
In this piece, I describe every realization, every sound that led me, by actually playing it. The audience will hear snatches of Duane Eddy, Dick Dale, Steve Cropper, Jimmy Reed, Hendrix, Knopfler, and finally, what it all became, how it all blended and merged. The intent is not only to entertain, educate, or demonstrate. It is to describe and enact a journey of the spirit, and to encourage others to find their own path and walk it.”
Old Deerfield Productions offers two sessions of summer theater at Eaglebrook School for children and now for TEENS, too!
Old Deerfield Productions will offer their Summer Program for Children and now for TEENS at Eaglebrook School August 4-8 and 11-15, 2014 from 9am – 3pm. This year we will offer a single two week session for each of the two age groups. REGISTRATION
This is a holistic program where the children ages 8 through 13 and also young people ages 13 through 17 (they may choose if they are 13) have the opportunity to create original work, collaborate, cooperate and enjoy the beauty of Pocumtuck Ridge and the magnificent Eaglebrook campus in Deerfield and perform for their parents at the end of the session.
The cost is $550 for either of the two week sessions with a limit of 12 in each age group. A check may be made payable to Old Deerfield Productions at 7 Memorial Street, Deerfield, MA 01342. Deposit of $50 to reserve your spot is required at registration with remainder due by June 15. For registration form and more info contact Linda at lmciner@gmail.com
Founded in 1922, Eaglebrook School is a located on 750 acres along Pocumtuck Ridge in Deerfield, MA just off of Routes 5 and 10 in the village of Old Deerfield.
Our teachers: Bill Stewart (Children ages 8-13) teaches in the Leverett Elementary School and has taught theater workshops for young actors since 1995. He has played the roles of writer, director, Ultimate Frisbee Player, archaeologist, and especially actor, where he has performed as princes, monsters, & cowboys. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Playwrighting/Performance and a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Massachusetts.
Stephen Eldredge (Young people ages 13-17) holds a BA from Hamilton College is in “Theater-Drama”, and an MFA NYU Tisch School of the Arts degree in Acting. He co-founded the Hampshire Shakespeare Young Company, and was company mentor from 2000 – 2004. he has taught, coached and directed teen actors since 1991.
A new commission, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein adaptation.
Old Deerfield Productions has commissioned a new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein written and performed by Lindel Hart as the Creature with an actor (to be named) playing all of the other roles. The production will feature projection design illustrating the story through light and image that draws parallels to the present. Through the use of handheld video projectors and video we incorporate images from the Scientific Revolution of Shelley’s time with present day images of genome mapping, stem cell research, quantum mechanics, chaos theory and more. By highlighting the prescience of Shelley’s novel we hope to further the process of changing our Story from one that sanctions dominance over nature to the New Story of our interconnectedness that will allow the human race to thrive in respectful relationship with the planet.
A development performance of Frankenstein will take place at the First National Bank in Greenfield in July, 2014. More info will come your way soon.
Third Annual Double Take Fringe Festival October 18 and 19!
Tickets NOW ONSALE AT: Double-Take.org
tickets
SO EXCITING!! 8 snappy shows in 8 different venues all within walking distance in downtown Greenfield, MA.
A LETTER FROM SABINE by John Bechtold. Using a combination of installation art and live performance, children (ages 7-10) will be invited to become Postmasters-in-Training as they embark on an adventure to deliver a letter from a mysterious woman named Sabine Strohem to Griffin Moss at his art studio and shop, Gryphon Cards, located in downtown Greenfield. An immersive theater experience designed from non-adults, audiences will be escorted to the store in small numbers for an intimate and magical encounter, complete with a surprise visit to Sabines studio – located on an island on the other side of the world. Based on the epistolary story Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock; developed and performed by the Amherst Regional High School Theater Company.
MONKAMOK THEATER COMPANYS Moon Up By Morning. In this future-present the consensus reality is bleak and oppressive. Three everyday characters who are blissfully enslaved to the societal dreariness, discover their part in the collective dreaming, and venture to awaken the source of all dreams. This is a mythic odyssey through a lunar landscape of inner realms from abstraction and disconnection to empowerment. Utilizing physical theater, giant masks and innovative stage craft to convey the depth and humor intrinsic to our human condition, Monkamok presents a heros journey of our present-day dystopia.
33/13 – Social Justice in Two Short Plays
GAN-e-meed Theatre Project presents 33/13 – Social Justice in Two-Short Plays NO MORE HOG JOWLS AT THE JIM CROW COUNTER, by Candace Perry, directed by Amy S. West. Used to be black folks were required to sit at the Jim Crow counter in the back room of the 4 Way Lunch, a diner in Cartersville, Georgia. Two friends are long-time customers who have made the back room theirs, though the law now says they can sit up front. Its been their choice. What Happens when that choice is changed? DIE KLEINEN, PARTS 1 & 2, by Molly Haas-Hooven, directed by Dori Robinson. It is the summer of 1933 in a small town in Bavaria. Six youth grapple with first love and new found sexuality. But violence from the outside seeps into their insular world and as they discover who they are, they must confront for the first time the violence within themselves. Some run away from it. Others embrace it. A few are forced to do the unthinkable. 6:15 & 7:30 both nights
THE MARRIAGE PROPOSAL by Anton Chekhov is considered the best of his many one-act plays, and has delighted audiences for more than 125 years. The setting is the country house of a landowner Stepan Stepanovitch Chubukov who lives with his daughter Natalya Stepanovna. They are visited by Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov, a neighboring landowner who intends to ask for the hand of Chubukovs daughter. In true farcical form chaos and many hilarious situations ensue within minutes. The play is a sure fire crowd pleaser. With John Reese, Joan Haley and Michael Haley.
THE RED GUITAR by John Sheldon. The Fender Stratocaster guitar was first advertised in the spring of 1954. At the same time, the first Hydrogen bombs were made operational. These two inventions were going to change the world. At the time, I was 3 years old. The electric guitar was to become a dominant force in my life, giving me entry into creative realms, while the H bomb would represent the opposite, a force of total destruction. My life played out between these two opposing energies.
AS WE GO ALONG with Jack Golden and Karen Montanaro is part verbal dexterity, part physical eloquence and all high risk. These two veteran performers cast aside the security of a script and rely only on their imagination, personal history and stream of inspiration, to guide them into a realm of infinite possibilities. Following their three rules for improvisation: Listening to what the present moment is suggesting, Reading what is coming at them from all directions and Following their impulses faithfully, Jack and Karen venture into a world where the opportunities are endless. Come join them on this inventive expedition into the unknown.
HIGH TIDE by playwright Brad Slaight directed by Stephen Eldredge. Set on a California beach, this poignant comedy-drama features teenage surfers Brian and Keith, who have just come from the funeral of their close friend, the brilliant, enigmatic surfer Kirk. Each wonders in his own way if he ever really knew Kirk. They struggle to share their feelings, but they are, in fact, teenage boys. A surprise encounter with tourists Connie and Lisa disrupts and engages them, ultimately helping them face their grief and revealing the hidden truth about Kirk’s final hours…
FOR WHOM THE SOUTHERN BELLE TOLLS by Christopher Durang directed by Ezekiel Baskin. In this parody of THE GLASS MENAGERIE, the fading Southern belle, Amanda, tries to prepare her hyper-sensitive, hypochondriacal son, Lawrence, for “the feminine caller.” Terrified of people, Lawrence plays with his collection of glass cocktail stirrers. Ginny, the feminine caller, is hard of hearing and overbearingly friendly. Brother Tom wants to go to the movies, where he keeps meeting sailors who need to be put up in his room. Amanda tries to face everything with “charm and vivacity,” but sometimes she just wants to hit somebody! “…With the help of Mr. Durang, the fine art of parody has returned to theater in a production you can sink teeth and mind into, while also laughing like an idiot…” NY Times.