Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Final Weekend Beowulf Alley Theatre's PAGE ON THE STAGE

Beowulf Alley Theatre’s

PAGE ON THE STAGE

THE OUTRAGEOUS NEW PLAY FESTIVAL 2011

Final Weekend

 

Beowulf Alley Theatre’s Page on the Stage program offers its three new and exciting plays in FINAL workshop productions July 21st through the 24th at Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 South 6th Avenue, downtown between Broadway and Congress.

 

Devin Gorman’s Icon tells the funny and moving story of a writer and artist who is catapulted to fame, and her dark secrets to get her there. Performance dates and times: Thursday, July 21; Saturday, July 23, both at 7:30 p.m.

 

“In Icon, Devin Gorman keeps the secret motivations of her characters so well disguised that when the neurotic muse-for-hire, hilariously played by Richard Cheney, uncovers the truth, you still can’t believe it.  I found myself wanting more when the lights came up.” – a patron at post-show discussion

 

Jonathan Northover’s You Do Not Want to See This is a twisting, turning mystery of two defense lawyers and two suspects to a terrible crime. Performance dates and times: Friday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 24 at 2:00 p.m.

                 

“The relationship between the two childhood friends accused of a heinous crime was artfully played in the fashion of George and Lennie in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men; and Northover scripts a twisting plot to a surprising conclusion making You Do Not Want to See This something you can’t stop watching.” – a patron at post-show discussion

 

Gavin Kayner’s Stephen’s Syndrome is a dark, funny, frightening meditation on illness, the past and the power of (dysfunctional) love. Performance date and time: Saturday, July 23 at 2:00 p.m.

 

“Awesome play, fantastic actors. Go see it if you can.” – a patron’s Facebook comment

 

Tickets are available online at www.beowulfalley.org, by phone at (520) 882-0555 or at the door the day of performance. $36 for 3-play package or 1 play for $15.

 

 

Hamlet at Beowulf Alley, July 29-Aug 13

 

LATE NIGHT THEATRE

HAMLET 1.0

by William Shakespeare

 

 

Late Night Theatre at Beowulf Alley, 11 S. 6th Avenue between Broadway and Congress, presents Hamlet 1.0 by William Shakespeare, July 29, 30, August 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 7:30 PM. For more information, contact Michael Fenlason at 520-977-5218.

 

Hamlet 1.0 is a multimedia, multiplatform telling of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy using Shakespeare’s language, original music and multimedia. Hamlet’s father has been murdered. Will Hamlet avenge the death?

 

Pre-opening ticket special: just $8, online at www.beowulfalley.org or by phone at (520) 882-0555. After July 28, tickets are just $10 online, by phone or at the door.

 

Tucson: Old Time Radio Theatre at Beowulf Alley, Sept 2011

 

OLD TIME RADIO THEATRE

Beowulf Alley Theatre

Performances for the Month of September, 2011

 

Beowulf Alley Theatre’s Old Time Radio Theatre Company will present classic productions and reproductions from the golden days of radio at the theatre, 11 South 6th Avenue (Downtown between Broadway and Congress). Performances in (month) will be at 7 p.m. on September 6 and September 20. Tickets purchased online at www.beowulfalley.org at least the day before a performance are $8.00. Tickets by phone or at the door are $10. Children 12 years and under are free. The box office phone number is (520) 882-0555.

 

September 6, 2011

 

RAISING JUNIOR

SUSPENSE: The Dark Tower

 

Raising Junior was a 15-minute comedy-strip show broadcast on the Blue Network from 1930-32. The show was heard daily, six days a week at 6 p. m. A domestic comedy, its major claim to fame was the discovery of Walter Tetley as a major radio character. Actor Ray Knight snatched the 9-year-old Tetley off an elevator and placed him before a microphone when the actor who was to play Bobby failed to appear. Tetley went on to appear on thousands of broadcasts (over 2,300 appearances on 150 separate series) in the late ‘30’s. He appeared on such notable shows as The Fred Allen Show, Easy Aces, The Great Gildersleeve, and The Phil Harris/Alice Faye Show.

 

Suspense was one of the premier drama series of the Golden Age of Radio,  broadcast on CBS Radio from 1942 through 1962. Subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills," it focused on suspense thriller-type scripts, usually featuring leading Hollywood actors of the era. Approximately 945 episodes were broadcast during its long run, and more than 900 still exist. Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors, and director/producers. Formula plot devices were followed for all but a handful of episodes: the protagonist was usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation; solutions were "withheld until the last possible second"; and evildoers were usually punished in the end. This lighter episode, The Dark Tower, was adapted from a story by George S. Kaufman and Alexander Wolcott, and starred Orson Welles as a parody of himself. 

 

(2nd  Date)

 

EASY ACES: Jane Thinks Mink

ESCAPE: The Abominable Snowman

 

Easy Aces, a long-running American serial radio comedy, ran from 1930-1945. It was trademarked by the low-keyed drollery of creator and writer Goodman Ace and his wife, Jane, as an urbane, put-upon realtor and his malaprop-prone wife. A 15-minute program, it aired three times at week at first and later, twice a week for 30 minutes. Its unobtrusive, conversational, and clever style, and the cheerful absurdism of its story-lines, built a loyal enough audience of listeners and critics alike to keep it on the air for 15 years. “The laughs on the other foot.”

 

ESCAPE was first performed on September 13, 1953. The famous opening to the show, often worded to suit the events of the moment or season, warns the intrepid radio listener of adventure that is anything but... everyday. Like its sister show on the radio, Suspense, it is considered one of the top shows ever done on radio. Escape takes you on a ride into a world where danger comes in many forms, and you are on the edge of life and death, and perhaps you are being pushed! When Escape says romantic, we're not talking kissing, perhaps those kisses might be from teeming piranha! Escape is more Devil's Island than Fantasy Island. And it is wonderful adventure radio for the whole family, especially Dad.

 

The Abominable Snowman begins in Darjeeling, India as three men are about to embark on an expedition to capture one of the Yeti, the mysterious creatures reported by mountain climbing expeditions in the Himalayas since the early Twentieth Century. They hire a sherpa guide named Nasang who claims to have seen one. We learn from Nasang that the Yeti, also called the "Metoh-Kangmi", have evil faces. Nasang informs them that he is unable to hire any porters for their expedition because the locals are afraid of upsetting the Yeti, who are cannibals. So, the four men start climbing Mt. Everest on their own. One by one, their small expedition faces the challenges of the mountain and an Abominable Snowman. They sometimes leap and sometimes they run in great strides. He warns them that trying to capture one "will be a difficult thing." Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of … romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you … ESCAPE!

 

 

Directed by Sheldon Metz, the OTRT Ensemble Company includes: Ryan Amstutz, Jon Benda, Denise Blum, Butch Bryant, Samantha Cormier, Gerri Courtney-Austein, Laura Davenport, Samuel DeJesus, Evan Engle, Bill Epstein, Sydney Flynn, Vince Flynn, Audrey Ann Gambach, Brian Hale,Barbara Glover, Meagan Jones, Bill La Pointe, Elizabeth Leadon, Lois Lederman, Butch Lynn, Steve McKee, Charlie Middagh, Whitney Morton, Joan O’Dwyer, Robert Anthony Peters, Shannon Brooke Rzuildo,  Mike Saxon, Ina Shivak, Pat Timm, Terry Thure, Jared Stokes,  John Vornholt.

 

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Theater Is Born | Review | Tucson Weekly

Theater Is Born | Review | Tucson Weekly

Theater Is Born

Beowulf Alley shows off three brand-new plays written by Tucsonans

Playwrights need to see their developing plays "on their feet." It's not enough for the play to be given a reading, although readings can be helpful. New plays need a stage, a director, actors who are "off-book," and enough technical embellishment to provide a real sense of how—or if—

the plays actually work. Playwrights—unlike poets and novelists, who can labor alone in their garrets—are collaborators.

Beowulf Alley Theatre is lending its support to developing plays with the "Page on the Stage" event, which happens over the next three weekends. Three new plays authored by Tucson playwrights will be presented to that other critical collaborator—the audience.

Michael Fenlason is the coordinator of this summer's festival, which is in its second year.

"The plays are given almost-full productions—they're not just readings," he explains. "This shows your faults and your strengths almost immediately."

Renata Rauschen and Richard Chaney in Icon, part of "Page on the Stage."

Renata Rauschen and Richard Chaney in Icon, part of "Page on the Stage."

Fenlason says, "This does attract perhaps a more adventurous audience, but these are smart writers talking about interesting things in ways never seen before. This could be the first step to becoming a great play—and you saw it first."

Read the entire article here: Theater Is Born | Review | Tucson Weekly