Beowulf Alley Theatre Company's ActingKids@the Alley classes

Media Contact:  Beth Dell, Managing Director

theatre@beowulfalley.org

(520) 622-4460

 

 

Beowulf Alley Theatre Company
11 South 6^th Avenue · Tucson, AZ   85701

Administration 622-4460 · Reservations 882-0555

www.beowulfalley.org

theatre@beowulfalley.org

For Immediate Release

 

(Tucson, AZ, March 9, 2009) Beowulf Alley Theatre Company’s ActingKids@the Alley presents two new afternoon classes for Tucson’s youth: Introduction to Theatre—Ages 9-12 and Introduction to Theatre—Ages 13-16 at the Theatre, 11 South 6th Avenue, conducted by Sheldon Metz, Youth Program Director.

 

Introduction to Theatre—Ages 9-12	Introduction to Theatre—Ages 13-16
Mondays, April 20—May 18, 2009	Tuesdays, April 21—May 19, 2009
3:30-6:00 p.m.	3:30-6:00 p.m.
$100 online at www.beowulfalley.org or by phone at (520) 622-4460	$150 online at www.beowulfalley.org or by phone at (520) 622-4460

 

These challenging and lively, 5-week introductory training programs are designed to teach the basics of theatre: positions of and movement on the stage, technical equipment, collaboration and courtesies of theatre, discipline and focus, breathing, voice and movement, vocal projection, self-confidence, and critical thinking in a fun and exciting atmosphere. Students learn how to unlock their imaginations and emotions, develop character through discovery and play. Students are on the stage most of the time with occasional visits from working theatre artists. Scenes are performed and constructive peer criticism techniques are learned.

 

A reception for each group of prospective students and their parents to introduce Sheldon Metz, tour the facility and learn more about the programs will be held at the theatre on Monday, April 13. For ages 9-12, the gathering is 5:15-6:45 p.m. and for ages 13-16, at 7:00-8:15 p.m.

 

Sheldon Metz has been active in theatre for over 56 years, in Chicago and Los Angeles, ever since playing Hansel at the age of six. He is an award-winning director and set designer as well as an actor and instructor of acting and directing. Gordon Davidson calls Sheldon his “go to guy.” Sheldon founded and served as Executive Director of A.C.C.T., The Association of Commercial and Community Theatres, the West Coast Theatre Conference (Los Angeles) and The Theatre Conference (New York). He also served as a Producing Director for the Playwrights Kitchen Ensemble (PKE), under the Artistic Direction of Dan Lauria.

 

For more information, e-mail Beth Dell at theatre@beowulfalley.org or Sheldon Metz at thedrektor@gmail.com or call (520) 622-4460.

 

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_____________________________________________________________________________________

Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, a 501 (c)(3) organization, is committed to enriching the community and enhancing appreciation of the arts through the production of innovative, invigorating theatre and theatrical education with the highest standards for acting and production. Equal and fair treatment will be provided to all participants regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status and/or marital status. Founded based on dialogues with local theatre artists who wanted a permanent home to practice their craft, its intimate 95-seat theatre provides a facility that meets professional standards where performing artists, educators, and technicians can present their skills. Because Beowulf Alley engages a talent and volunteer pool that calls Tucson “home” for its productions, the Theatre is committed to helping grow a new generation of Tucson talent with its educational programs for young people. And true to its roots, the Theatre maintains ongoing dialogues with the community, including Dialogues with theatregoers after the first Sunday matinee performance of each of its main stage plays, at Readers’ Theatre nights, and other presentations, providing an opportunity for theatregoers to discuss the plays with the director and artists. Writers who cover the Tucson arts scene say the Theatre provides its audiences with “the best total package”—plays, performances and productions that are high in artistic and technical quality. Beowulf Alley has received critical acclaim, including two Mac Awards and seven MAC nominations. The company has presented over 200 performances to Tucson audiences since 2002 and has served hundreds of theatre artists. The theater also provides performance and rehearsal space for other Tucson theater companies. For more information, log on to www.beowulfalley.org. We thank the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the Tucson Pima Arts Council, the Janet S. Brunel Residuary Trust, and our business sponsors for their support.

 

'3 Guys' provides color coordinated joys and sorrows

'3 Guys' provides color coordinated joys and sorrows

'3 Guys' provides color coordinated joys and sorrows
CHUCK GRAHAM
Published: 02.19.2009


If tragedy breeds comedy, a lot of tragedy should breed a lot of comedy. That is exactly what happens when three guys in drag set out to hold a yard sale to sell their stuff - a remarkable collection of bright-colored wigs and whimsical knickknacks. And, oh, yes, a sex toy or two.
Well, when a play is titled "3 Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff," you pretty much know that flamboyant costumery will be involved. This trio is wanting to sell stuff to raise money for an authentic Fabergé egg, which will become the final resting place for the cremated remains of Diva's husband Horace. Up until now, he's been kept in a pickle jar.

A spiked punch bowl keeps the laughs coming in "3 Guys in Drag."
Photo by Scott Griessel/Creatista, courtesy of Beowulf Alley Theatre Company

Diva, as played by Richard Chaney, is a balled-up bundle of nervous energy. Brittle humor is her weapon of choice to keep life's cruel challenges at arm's length. She has a handful of retorts for every situation, often with strings attached to her own ever-pulsing libido. Life can be so distracting for Diva, her cell phone is kept strapped to her thigh and set on vibrate. That way she won't miss any calls.
She struts, she swaggers, she flounces, she tries to lure bored passers-by into becoming active participants in this al fresco enterprise, but to no avail.

"May I service you," she asks an unseen shopper, then stops herself. "I mean, be of service to you?"
Effective business marketing was never one of her favorite subjects in school.
A cut glass bowl of bright red punch plays a prominent role, as well. Generously blended with alcoholic additives, the punch sinks lower in the bowl as the play goes on, and as the characters become increasingly disheveled.

The original idea was to attract attention by offering everyone free punch, encouraging them to browse among the items for sale. But by intermission, half the punch is gone and they still haven't sold anything. So for Act Two, the sign says "Free Punch. With Purchase."

As for those other two guys, Kenton Jones plays Lillian, a tall figure more fragile than Diva. Lillian is full of frets, happy to let Diva be the control freak. A life of the mind is more to Lillian's liking, especially when that mind is tuned in to psychedelic phenomena and astral projections.
She is the one who spikes the punch bowl with absinthe during intermission, then gives the audience a description of absinthe's effect and explains why it is illegal in the United States. As you might imagine, the bitter banter between Lillian and Diva is the sort we usually associate with old married couples - always complaining but never considering divorce.

Which is the point, really, of this surreal but touching comedy by Edward Crosby Wells. Whether you call them drag queens or cross-dressers, whether or not you admire their heightened appreciation for the extra dimensions of style in female clothing, these males have all the human emotions of everyone else. Just because their joys and sorrows are more color coordinated doesn't mean they are different.
Diva and Lillian do have a third friend, Tink, who is confined to a wheelchair. Tink can't talk much. She moves very little. Mike Sultzbach plays the role with remarkable concentration. Mostly he has to sit perfectly still. There are a few times when he gets to slip out of his body, so to speak, and talk to the audience about his problems.

Director Cynthia Jeffery has prepared a quickly moving production that puts the emphasis on heart. These three guys may be in drag but they aren't flouncing around or calling up all the gay stereotypes. They know firsthand that going through life in a dress is tough enough when you're a gal. Much more, when you're not.
Jeffery also wants us to see the determination of Diva, Lillian and Tink to be true to themselves. So what if they feel more comfortable in heels. They are still willing to take out the garbage, to do their part. Ultimately, you have to admit that courage in any gender is a quality to be admired.


IF YOU GO
What: Beowulf Alley Theatre Company presents "3 Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff" by Edward Crosby Wells
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 1:30 p.m. Sundays through March 1
Where: Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 S. Sixth Ave.
Price: $20, discounts online (Thursday's performance is a benefit for Wingspan, tickets $30 each)
Info: 622-4460, beowulfalley.org
Grade: B

Beowulf Alley Theatre Company Hosts Readers' Theatre

Beowulf Alley Theatre Company Hosts Readers’ Theatre

 

Tucson, Ariz. (February 16, 2009) — Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, 11 S. Sixth Ave., continues its Readers’ Theater Program on Tuesdays at 7:15 p.m. Admission is pay-what-you-will. Come support your local playwrights.

 

February 17	The First Third	by John Vornholt
March 10	The Funniest Joke in the World	By Gavin Kayner
April 14	Race Music	By Warren Bodow

 

Readers’ Theatre is a stimulating event and a terrific opportunity for both playwrights and audiences. Playwrights have a chance to be heard and audiences have a chance to hear new and dynamic works being developed for the theater as well as contribute to their development by participating in discussions following the readings. Throughout each year, guided by its Artistic Development Committee, Beowulf Alley Theatre will offer a selection of thought-provoking readings to Tucsonans and visitors to Tucson.

 

Playwrights may submit proposals for the inaugural 2008-2009 season by following the instructions, online at www.beowulfalley.org, “Cast & Crew,” “Directors & Playwrights,” “Playwrights.”  Inquiries regarding participation (actors, volunteers) in the Readers’ Theatre Program may be made by e-mailing theatre@beowulfalley.org.

 

Beth Dell

Theatre Manager 

 

Special Benefit Performance of Three Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff, Feb. 19

The Observer - Tucson, Arizona: Special Benefit Performance of Three Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff, Feb. 19

Wednesday, February 11, 2009



Special Benefit Performance of Three Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff, Feb. 19

TUCSON (Observer Update) - Beowulf Alley Theatre, located at 11 S. 6th St., presenting Three Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff by Edward Crosby Wells, directed by Cynthia Jeffery is hosting a special event to benefit Wingspan, Thursday, Feb. 19 the special performance of Three Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff will be followed by a reception catered by Pastiche Modern Eatery.

Diva, Lillian, and Tink (three men in drag) are having a yard sale to raise funds for Faberge egg in which to place the ashes of Diva's dead husband. We meet an entire neighborhood of characters through the eyes of the "ladies" during the course of their yard sale. This is a raucous, ranchy, gut-busting, more than a laugh-a-minute play. Contains adult content. Arizona Premiere!

Tickets are $28 if purchased on beowulfalley.org and $30 if you call Beowulf Alley to buy them. Either way, $10 is donated directly to Wingspan and is tax-deductible, so please consider joining THEM for this fun show and for the reception afterwards! For tickets, call Beowulf Theatre at (520) 882-0555, or go online to beowulfalley.org.

It's a guy thing

It's a guy thing


It's a guy thing
In time for Valentine's Day, curtains rise on 2 plays highlighting tools of romance
CHUCK GRAHAM
Published: 02.12.2009

Celebrating Valentine's Day by going with your sweetie to the theater sounds lovely, civilized. Except this Valentine's Day you can do it with an edge and a fresh sense of how many ways there could be to properly observe this holiday dedicated to romance.




Richard Chaney (from left), Mike Sultzbach, and Kenton Jones are "Three Men in Drag."
Photo by Scott Griessel/Creatista, courtesy of Beowulf Alley Theatre



And you can still be deep in your seat in front of the stage as the clock ticks toward midnight. The Etcetera gang of late-night thespians at Live Theatre Workshop has flipped "The Vagina Monologues" on its ear with a rowdy and sometimes ribald production of its own, "The Penis Monologues." That 90-minute show starts at 10:30 p.m. Along with the monologues are two comedy interludes and a pair of big musical numbers.
But if that confrontational title seems a little too graphic, consider the other play opening this weekend, Edward Crosby Wells' "3 Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff" playing downtown at Beowulf Alley Theatre. It's a comedy with adult content, says director Cynthia Jeffery.

As the title implies, a trio of older drag queens needs to raise some money. The "husband" of one has died. They want to store his ashes in a Faberge egg. So gathering up some of their most sentimental memorabilia, they put on a big yard sale - wigs, handcuffs, whips, that sort of thing. Oh yes, and there is a heavily spiked punch bowl involved to help stimulate buyer response.

According to one online reviewer describing the stage setting, "There was no shortage of sequins, feathers and sexual toys."

Says Jeffery, "It's definitely a comedy, but it also has some nice tender moments The men are in drag, but they are also real human beings with real feelings and real courage.
"And they are very sweet guys," she adds. "I would expect the audience to be emotionally moved, with big laughs."

The three characters are played by Mike Sultzbach, Kenton Jones and Richard Chaney (who also wrote one of those monologues being performed at Live Theatre Workshop). After some serious discussions at rehearsal about the difference between drag queens and transvestites, the cast turned to matters of learning to apply makeup like a female.

"We discussed how drag queens are men who dress like women to entertain audiences," Jeffery says. "Milton Berle did it. Flip Wilson did it. Divine brought it full force in John Waters' movies."
Even before that - in 1959 - Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon did it on the big screen in "Some Like It Hot," playing musicians hiding out in an all-girl band to escape some gangsters.
"And since this play takes place in the daytime, our three drag queens aren't wearing as much glitz as if they were going out at night," Jeffery adds.

Applying makeup turned out to be a real eye-opener for the director.
"What surprised me is how elaborate the process is. I didn't realize before how much I've been naturally trained to do it."

Jeffery does say the language can get a little racy. These three queens are past middle age and filled with all the rue you would expect.

"There are a few blushing moments," the director chuckles, but compares the play to those Carol Burnett skits on TV that featured the character of Eunice. "Those skits were funny, but they always had a point."
Meanwhile, across town at "The Penis Monologues," Christopher Johnson as director is pulling together what he calls "a total community effort" in writing, performing and presenting this celebration of the male genitalia.

"I'd give all the credit to Eve Ensler, who wrote 'The Vagina Monologues,' " Johnson says.
While those seven monologues are combined with comedy interludes and musical numbers, Johnson keeps insisting his production is not about gender politics. He's going for an evening that is both thoughtful and fun.

"I started talking about the idea two years ago as a joke, really, but it was like, there was so much enthusiasm. They all said 'Of course.' It seemed like such a natural response to everyone."

That's when people all over town started writing and mailing Johnson their monologues for consideration. He estimates receiving 30 to 40 entries, a number of them written by women. That whole batch was winnowed down to the final seven, which LTW director of music Michael Martinez augmented with the musical numbers "Penis Gonna Shine" (with dreams of standing out as a porn star) and "Penis Is OK" (which Johnson describes as being about "equal rights").

On the list are monologues covering al the different roles the penis plays in society. One woman who was comfortable with her own body also admitted she enjoyed the idea of using a strap-on. But only one monologue is about penis envy.

Johnson says the subject didn't come up very often. A greater concern was the protest against circumcision. Their battle cry was "Save the Foreskin!"

"We simply want to express the idea that, regardless of how you choose to use your body, it will be beautiful," Johnson says.

The comedy interludes are provided by the improv company Not Burnt Out Just Unscrewed, using their improvisatory skills to play Penis Games with the audience. A few equally spontaneous bits are also being worked out as surprises for opening night.

"Yes," Johnson affirms with enthusiasm, "there will be a giant inflatable penis."
additional information

IF YOU GO
What: Beowulf Alley Theatre Company presents "3 Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff"
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 1:30 p.m. Sundays through March 1
Where: 11 S. Sixth Ave.
Price: $10 preview Friday, $20 Saturday's opening night and thereafter (discounts for online purchase)
Info: 622-4460, beowulfalley.org

Funny men in drag | www.azstarnet.com ®

Funny men in drag www.azstarnet.com ®

Published: 02.13.2009

Funny men in drag
This is definitely not your father's yard sale
By Kathleen Allen
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

What Cynthia Jeffery has in mind is fun. Lots of fun. Jeffery is directing Beowulf Alley Theatre's production of "3 Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff." She discovered the script when she was nosing around on the Internet one day. She thought it was funny. But would anyone else?


Mike Sultzbach, left, Kenton Jones and Richard Chaney are selling their stuff in the Beowulf Alley Theatre production of "Three Guys in Drag." Photo by Scott Griessel/Creatista Courtesy Beowulf Alley Theatre



"I passed it around at work and started hearing laughter down the hall," said Jeffery, who is more often seen on stage than behind the scenes.

"I just thought it was a fun show. I've been to drag shows here and in other countries. I always ended up feeling I had a great, trouble-free fun time. I thought it was time we had fun."

"3 Guys," by Edward Crosby Wells , is about a trio of friends, Diva, Lillian and Tink. They are elderly drag queens in full dress-up mode who are having a yard sale in hopes of raising enough money for one of them to purchase a Fabergé egg to contain the ashes of a partner.

It's Diva's sale. Her friend Lillian is helping, and Tink, wheelchair bound and out of it most of the time, seems to just sit there save for lucid moments when she tells the audience what's going on in her head.
Among the items being sold at the yard sale are handcuffs, chains and whips. Diva keeps her cell phone parked under her skirt; when it vibrates, she goes digging for it.
Are you getting the picture here?

"3 Guys" is a bit raunchy and outrageous. But, more important, said Jeffery, "it's really a story about how you approach life."

"The playwright has added a lot of humor, but it still tells the story of three friends, their lives and relationships," she said. "They are three-dimensional characters, not cut-out drag queens."
And, Jeffery added, it has something for everyone.

"It makes us laugh at ourselves, whether we are men or women. . . . It shows our similarities, and it does it with a smile."

Preview
"3 Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff"
• Playwright: Edward Crosby Wells.
• Director: Cynthia Jeffery.
• When: Preview: 7:30 p.m. today. Regular performances: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 1:30 p.m. Sundays, Feb.14-March 1.
• Where: Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 S. Sixth Ave.
• Tickets: Preview is $10, regular performances $20, with discounts available if purchased online.
• Reservations/information: 882-0555 and www.beowulf alley.org
• Cast: Richard Chaney, Kenton Jones and Mike Sultzbach.
• Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes with one intermission.
Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128.

Beowulf Alley presents Out to Lunch Theatre, "Let's Talk About Love"

 

TAKE A WORK BREAK, HAVE SOME LUNCH

AND JOIN USWEDNESDAYS for

February’s presentation of…

 

Out to Lunch Theatre

“Let’s Talk About Love”

at

Beowulf Alley

 

February 11, 18 and 25, 2009 @ 12:15p.m. for

 

30 MINUTES of THEATRICAL FUN!

3 - ten minute plays

 

written by local playwright, Warren Bodow

 

Stay Tuned, directed by Susan Arnold

Featuring Roxanne Harley

My Old Flame, directed by Amber Wright

Featuring Marian Wald and Art Jacobson

Street Smart, directed by Amber Wright

Featuring Nicole Scott and Jack Goodhart

 

BRING YOUR OWN LUNCH OR RESERVE a BAG LUNCH BEFORE 10 a.m.

(CREATED BY CHRIS’ CAFE) TO EAT WHILE WATCHING THE PLAYS

TICKET PRICES: $12 WITH Lunch; $6 BYO Lunch

 

CALL 882-0555 or order your tickets and lunch online at

www.beowulfalley.org

 

Please arrive before curtain @ 12:15…

Beowulf Alley Theatre is located at 11 South 6th Avenue

(Between Broadway and Congress)

 

 

Open Enrollment for ActingLab@the Alley

Beowulf Alley Theatre Company and Philip Bennett

Present.......ActingLab@the Alley

A Professional Actor Training Program in Stanislavski’s Ultimate Technique

The Method of Physical Actions and Active Analysis

8-Week Course - Introduction to the System “The Actor Works on Himself”

A practical introduction to the elements of stage action, improvisation, breath work, voice production and preparatory scene work. Fee: $350.00 – Less than $22 per hour!

(Limited discounts; payment plans may be available)

Saturdays - Level 1 Section A February 7 –March 28, 2009 10:00am to 12:00 pm OR Wednesdays - Level 1 Section B February 11-April 1, 2009 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

 

"The duty of the instructor is to discover the spark of genius

within the student, and then to give the student the technical

skill and confidence to bring it to the fore."

 

 

Mr. Bennett is an award winning actor, director and instructor of the Stanislavski System of Acting. He is a founding member of the American Stanislavski Theatre (AST) in New York City and a protege of Russian emigre teacher and director, Sonia Moore. Phil served as the Assistant Artistic Director of AST where he was both an actor and instructor.

In 1976, he founded the San Francisco Theatre Academy at Fort Mason, and subsequently the Bennett Theatre Lab, an avant-garde actor training company. Internationally acknowledged for his expertise in both classical and contemporary theatre, he lectures and conducts workshops at prominent universities and conventions. Graduates appear regularly in films, on television and the professional stage.

For further information call: Philip Bennett at 520-495-5652

Class Size is Limited – Register NOW for the Winter Term

 

Beowulf Alley Theatre Presents "3 Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff"

Beowulf Alley Theatre Company Presents 3 Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff

(Tucson, AZ- February 3, 2009) — Beowulf Alley Theatre will present the fourth play of their main stage season, 3 Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff by Edward Crosby Wells, at their theatre located at 11 South 6th Avenue (Downtown between Broadway and Congress). Winner of the 2000-2001 Spotlight on Best Play Award for Excellence in Off-Off Broadway Theatre, 3 Guys in Drag Selling Their Stuff is a raucous, raunchy, gut-busting, more than a laugh-a-minute play with ADULT CONTENT. Diva, Lillian and Tink (three men in drag) are having a yard sale to raise funds for a Faberge egg in which to place the ashes of Diva’s dead husband. We meet an entire neighborhood of characters through the eyes of the “ladies” during the course of their yard sale. Directed by Cynthia Jeffery, the cast includes Richard Chaney, Kenton Jones and Mike Sultzbach. This project is supported in part by funds from the LGBT-Straight Alliance Fund, a special project of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona.

The $10 Preview performance is on Friday, February 13 at 7:30. The run is from Saturday, February 14-Sunday, March 1. Performances are on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 and Sunday matinees at 1:30. The single ticket price is $20. There are online discounts for single tickets and groups of 4 admissions when you purchase your tickets at www.beowulfalley.org. The running time is approximately two hours and twenty minutes including the intermission.

The Thursday, February 19 performance is a benefit and post-show reception for Wingspan. Tickets are an additional $10 ea. The additional funds will be given directly to this deserving community service organization. The reception is hosted by Pastiche Modern Eatery. Please join us for some fun while contributing to a worthy cause.

Dinner serves more than just food - WildLife

Dinner serves more than just food - WildLife

Dinner serves more than just food
By: Kim Kotel
Issue date: 1/21/09 Section: WildLife


The Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Dinner With Friends," written by Donald Margulies, exhibited nothing short of a spectacular performance of various kinds of relationships in the raw.

The performances run thru Jan. 25 at Beowulf Alley Theatre located in downtown Tucson, camouflaged among similar cement buildings, the tobacco store on the corner and a music shop across the street.

The first scene opens on a married couple, Gabe (Art Armquist) and Karen (Carrie Hill), gushing about their trip to Italy, the tomatoes, the little old lady smothering them in her fists -- oh, and Karen's erratic driving, while their longtime friend and solitary dinner guest, Beth (Rhonda Hallquist), looks about as excited as the emotionless panela dessert sitting on the counter.

It turns out the risotto has more ability to stick with it than Beth, and with a tearful burst of agony the plot unfurls; Beth's husband Tom has left her. He wants a divorce.

And suddenly an estrangement between husband and wife winds its way through the relationships both individuals possess with their best friends - couple to couple, friend to friend and, even for Gabe and Karen at the end of the cycle, husband to wife. The dialogue is packed with repressed energy, flaring unexpectedly and finishing every scene with driving force.

Perhaps the beauty of the play lies in its title "Dinner With Friends." A simple event playing itself off as an understatement. It's what drives the plot and what Beth, Tom, Karen and Gabe's world revolves around: conversations that change our delicate static of life with every word spoken and left unsaid.

The set looks like it got snatched from your own living room, and the acting was nothing short of impressive. Margulies captured a dark, volatile and very normal part of life, lacing it with humor and adding yet another dimension of what makes us human. Beowulf Alley Theatre Company and director Susan Arnold made it breathe.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinner with Friends
Beowulf Alley Theatre Company
Runs through January 25

Actors and Crews wanted for LNT@the Alley and Out to Lunch Theatre

 

Media Contact:

Michael Fenlason (Late Night): MichaelFenlason@aol.com

Susan Arnold (Out to Lunch): smarnold@dakotacom.net

Beth Dell: theatre@beowulfalley.org

 

 

Beowulf Alley Theatre

11 South 6^th Avenue · Tucson, AZ   85701

Administration 622-4460 · Reservations 882-0555

www.beowulfalley.org

theatre@beowulfalley.org

 

Actors and Crews wanted for LNT@the Alley and Out to Lunch Theatre

 

(Tucson, AZ – Jan. 24, 2009) Beowulf Alley Theatre Company is holding auditions for its late night and lunch time theatre series. Auditions will take place at 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28 at the theatre, 11 South 6^th Ave, Downtown between Broadway and Congress. Performance for late night will be February 20-22 and February 27-28 at 10:30 p.m. Performances for the lunchtime theatre will be February 11, 18, and 25 at 12:15 p.m. for 30 minutes of theatre.

We are seeking a variety of actors for late night:

·         Males who can play characters 20-40s

·         Female actors who can play characters in their 20s-30s

There are three plays under consideration. One play is a musical so plan to come to sing any piece you want – a capella.

We are seeking a variety of actors for lunch time:

·         Males who can play characters from mid-20s to mid-40s

·         A male who can play a character from mid-50s to mid-70s

·         Females who can play characters from mid-20s to mid-40s

·         A female who can play a character from mid-50s to mid-70s

Lunchtime theatre includes three 10-minute plays and is presented to entertain those who need a lunchtime break from work, those who have free time during the day, seniors who are retired and folks with limited resources.

Sets, props and costumes are minimal. Rehearsals are scheduled according to availability of the director, cast and crew but will begin immediately. We invite the community to get involved. What you lack in pay will be made up in creativity, collaboration and FUN! We are also building a planning committee for late night activities and lunchtime theatres so if you have ideas or want to get involved, let us know. Turn your volunteer time into play time!

 

If you can’t make these dates and times but are interested or if you have any questions, contact Michael Fenlason (Late Night) at MichaelFenlason@aol.com, Susan Arnold (Out to Lunch) at smarnold@dakotacom.net or email Beowulf Alley at theatre@beowulfalley.org.

 

Actors and Crews wanted for LNT@the Alley

Media Contact:

 

Michael Fenlason: MichaelFenlason@aol.com

Beth Dell: theatre@beowulfalley.org

 

 

Beowulf Alley Theatre

11 South 6^th Avenue · Tucson, AZ   85701

Administration 622-4460 · Reservations 882-0555

www.beowulfalley.org

theatre@beowulfalley.org

 

Actors and Crews wanted for LNT@the Alley

 

(Tucson, AZ – Jan. 20, 2009) Beowulf Alley Theatre Company is holding auditions for its late night theatre series. Auditions will take place at 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 21 and at noon until 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 24, 2009 at the theatre, 11 South 6^th Ave, Downtown between Broadway and Congress . Performance will be February 20-22 and February 27-28.

 

We are seeking a variety of actors:

·         Males who can play characters 20-40s

·         Female actors who can play characters in their 20s-30s

 

There are three plays under consideration. One play is a musical so plan to come to sing any piece you want – a capella.

 

There is no nudity involved. We’re building a late night program at Beowulf Alley and want actors who are interested in newer, contemporary plays with an edge. Sets, props and costumes are minimal and performances are 10:30 to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and 7:30 on Sundays in conjunction with our mail stage schedule for now. Rehearsals are scheduled according to availability of the director, cast and crew. We invite you all to get involved. What you lack in pay will be made up in creativity, collaboration and FUN! We are also building a planning committee for late night activities so if you have ideas or want to get involved, let us know. Turn your volunteer time into play time!

 

If you can’t make these dates and times but are interested or if you have any questions, contact Michael Fenlason at MichaelFenlason@aol.com  or email Beowulf Alley at theatre@beowulfalley.org.

 

Beowulf serves savory 'Dinner' | www.azstarnet.com ®

Beowulf serves savory 'Dinner' www.azstarnet.com ®

Accent
Beowulf serves savory 'Dinner'
By Kathleen Allen
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 01.16.2009

Grab a seat and pull it up to the table for "Dinner With Friends."
The Beowulf Alley Theatre production of the Donald Margulies Pulitzer Prize-winning play is an evening full delectable fare.

Much of that is thanks to a cast that embraces the characters and a director who lets the play breathe.
"Dinner With Friends" is about two couples: Gabe and Karen and their friends Tom and Beth.




Gabe and Karen introduced their friends to each other and pride themselves on a match well made.
But a dozen years later, Tom and Beth split apart, not very amicably. Gabe and Karen are thrown for a loop, take sides and question their own relationship and what marriage means.

Not earthshaking subject matter — plays and movies often cover this territory.

But Margulies does it with such a sharp wit, well-drawn characters and rich dialogue that it feels fresh.
And this production, directed by Susan Arnold to clip along at a contagious rhythm, is rich with laughs balanced by some serious relationship issues.

Art Almquist and Carrie Hill's Gabe and Karen have such a strong rapport, and are so well-rooted in their characters, that they make the snappy dialogue, little glances and constant back and forth seem like the most natural thing in the world.

Watch how they pass a bottle of wine. Or make a bed together. They are two people who revel in their domestic bliss.

Rick Shipman and Rhonda Hallquist's Tom and Beth give such a tension to their relationship that it's difficult at times to watch them.
As this marriage falls apart, so do the friendships. And the reasons they were ever friends in the first place come into question.

Because this solid script has a cast and director who are so invested in the material, don't be surprised if you leave the theater paying a bit more attention to your relationships.

"Dinner With Friends" sneaks up on you, hangs with you for some time and leaves you fully satisfied.

Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128.


review
"Dinner With Friends"
• By: Donald Margulies.
• Presented by: Beowulf Alley Theatre.
• Director: Susan Arnold.
• When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 1:30 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 25.
• Where: Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 S. Sixth Ave.
• Tickets: $20. Discounts available if purchased online, www.beowulfalley.org
• Information: 882-0555 or www.beowulfalley.org
• Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes, with one intermission.

Tucson Weekly : Arts : On Commitment

Tucson Weekly : Arts : On Commitment

PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 15, 2009

Thoughtful casting and fine writing lead Beowulf's 'Dinner With Friends' to success
By JAMES REEL

"Beowulf Alley Theatre Company has just opened a strong production of Dinner With Friends, deftly directed by Susan Arnold."

Donald Margulies won a Pulitzer for his play Dinner With Friends, but that doesn't mean it's either an epic or a spectacle in the tradition of such winning plays as August: Osage County, Rent, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches or The Kentucky Cycle. It's a smaller, tighter work more in the manner of Doubt, Proof and Wit.

Indeed, at first glance, the subject of Dinner With Friends seems mundane: how four people are affected by divorce. What makes Margulies' comedy/drama Pulitzer-worthy is its slightly unusual angle: This is not so much an account of how relationships fall apart as a consideration of how they might hold together.

Beowulf Alley Theatre Company has just opened a strong production of Dinner With Friends, deftly directed by Susan Arnold.

The lights come up in the dining room of Gabe and Karen as they're trying to entertain their longtime friend Beth with an exquisite meal and too much detail about their recent culinary trip to Italy. But Beth has something on her mind other than avoiding the verbal slideshow, and finally blurts it out: Her husband, Tom, is leaving her for another woman.




Rick Shipman, Carrie Hill, Art Almquist and Rhonda Hallquist in "Dinner With Friends."

Nobody knows quite how to deal with this--not Beth, and not Gabe and Karen. Shocked, they can't do much more than pry a few details out of Beth and assure her that she and Tom are their closest friends. And then they stare at each other across the table, frozen in the headlights of oncoming danger.

Gabe and Karen introduced Beth and Tom to each other a dozen years before. Both marriages have seemed placid and conventional, but if Beth and Tom can split without warning, how fragile might Gabe and Karen's own complacent marriage be? Besides which, there's the usual quandary when a couple sees friends get divorced: Which friend will they get custody of? Will they be able to retain them both as friends, or will they lose them both?

Tom, who was unable to attend the dinner, is distraught when he learns that Gabe and Karen have gotten only Beth's side of the story. And, as the play progresses, it's clear that Tom has valid complaints of his own. Identifying the victim here is no easy task. Also, what role might Gabe and Karen have played in the marriage's demise? After all, we see in a flashback that they're the people who brought the two together in the first place, and it was clear then that Beth and Tom most certainly were not made for each other.

Through the play, Margulies tests the bonds within the couples, between the couples, between the women, between the men. The success of a production depends on casting; director Arnold made an unusual choice or two, but it all turned out for the best.

As Margulies writes him, Tom would seem to be some sort of middle-aged stud-manqué, yet at Beowulf Alley, he is portrayed by Rick Shipman, more roly-poly and cuddly than studly. As Shipman plays him, Tom is a man whose success with women lies mainly in the past; marriage has made him soft, and he yearns for firmness--of body, of character, of intent.

Last year, I heard that Arnold was having trouble casting the role of Gabe; she considered several other strong actors before settling on Art Almquist, who turns out to be a fine choice for a couple of reasons. First, he shares with Shipman a certain boyishness that makes it impossible for them to represent men as entirely selfish villains. Second, he has a comfortable, offhand rapport with Carrie Hill, who plays Karen with the sternness and backbone the male characters lack. Almquist and Hill are thoroughly convincing as a longtime couple casually in sync, whether recounting their trip in counterpoint or simply making a bed together.

Then there's Rhonda Hallquist as Beth, undergoing the deepest transformations over the course of the play, from distraught in the opening scene, to ditzy in the flashback, to radiant in the end; in her last scene, she somehow looks younger. It's called acting, not makeup.

If anything is missing from the performances, it's the last bittersweet measure of regret. Hill handles this very well at play's end, and Almquist has a nice little speech about passing time and a growing awareness of mortality, but otherwise, the balance tilts toward the comedy rather than the drama.

Scenically, Dinner With Friends is more ambitious than Beowulf Alley's norm, and Joel Charles has come through with fine sets, including a pair of paintings (presumably by Bill Galbreath, credited with "special scenic artistry") that look like a cross between Van Gogh and Anselm Kiefer--a perfect manifestation of what the dialogue describes as Beth's "neo-psychotic" art style.

Before the play begins, the usual admonition to turn off cell phones and pagers includes a new directive: No texting during the performance. I understand that rampant text-messaging nearly disrupted a performance at another theater recently. Come on, people: Sit down, shut up and pay attention. That's the least you should do, whether your commitment is to an evening in the theater, or a lifetime in marriage.

Dinner With Friends
presented by Beowulf Alley Theatre Company
7:30 p.m., Thursday-Saturday; 1:30 p.m., Sunday, through Jan. 25
11 S. Sixth Ave.
$20
882-0555
beowulfalley.org

Stanislavski Workshop Wants YOU!

 

 

Philip Bennett (L) and class of students at Beowulf Alley.

Still a Few Slots Available in the Stanislavski Ultimate Technique Workshop

Taught by ActingLab@the Alley Instructor, Philip Bennett

“How do spectators understand a play? Through consecutive, logical and expressive actions.”  Sonia Moore

Actors, directors or writers who wish to experience Stanislavski’s Ultimate Technique can still register for a three hour workshop taught by Philip Bennett at Beowulf Alley Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 17^th 10 a.m.   Participate ($25) or observe ($15), but don’t miss this opportunity to study ‘Active Analysis’, so powerful as to have been suppressed for over 30 years!

Sign up at http://www.beowulfalley.org/html/stanislavski_s_ultimate_acting.html 
or call 882-0555.

 

Drama depicts the reality of marriage after the honeymoon

Drama depicts the reality of marriage after the honeymoon

January 14, 2009, 9:10 a.m.
CHUCK GRAHAM
Tucson Citizen

Drama depicts the reality of marriage after the honeymoon

One thing about the institution of marriage, it will surely make you thoughtful. Donald Margulies explores some of the deeper thoughts in his play "Dinner With Friends."




Rick Shipman (from left), Carrie Hill, Art Almquist and Rhonda Hall star in "Dinner with Friends."
Photo by Scott Griessel/Creatista, courtesy of Beowulf Alley Theatre Co.

Susan Arnold has put these ideas on stage at Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, directing four actors through a strong, clear production that will affect anyone who has been married. Now that society has decided it's OK if people have active sex lives without being married, some of the play's questions feel even more poignant.

But doesn't it seem remarkable that, after several hundred thousand years of human evolution, the solution to preserving permanent relationships hasn't been figured out? How difficult can it be? A couple of people meet, enjoy each other, have fun and say, "This is so great, let's do it forever."

Then when difficulties ensue, the people in trouble can check on what thousands of other people did with exactly the same problem.

Why don't the solutions that work out pretty well get passed along to the next generation? This is where Margulies comes in. He suggests there may be times when keeping the marriage together really isn't the most important part.

On the other hand, maybe he's wrong. Should two people even think about getting married if they aren't committed to sticking it out?

On the third hand, suppose these two determined people keep compromising their individual dreams of happiness so they can stay married. It is 50 years later and what have they gained?

You can sit in coffee shops and see lots of senior citizen couples sharing a table but staring off in different directions, oblivious to each other. Wouldn't both of them rather be somewhere else?

Margulies insists on asking "When is enough, enough?"

Carrie Hill and Art Almquist play Karen and Gabe, the bouncy couple who stay together because she talks all the time and he listens. Gabe maintains his dignity by occasionally making fun of Karen, who doesn't seem to notice because she's too busy thinking of what to say next.

But everyone considers Karen and Gabe the perfect couple, especially their friends Beth (Rhonda Hallquist) and Tom (Rick Shipman). After all, it was Karen and Gabe who first introduced Beth and Tom one summer long ago on Martha's Vineyard.

So when Beth and Tom split up early in Act One, Karen and Gabe are shocked. Karen immediately takes Beth's side, while Gabe suggests a more reasoned approach.

Then the story skips around in time, going back almost 13 years to the rosy beginning of this troubled marriage - then leaping ahead to five months after the couple's initial split. All that time-shuffling strengthens our appreciation of the issues. We can be reflective, while the characters struggle onstage to decide which is more important - stability or the opportunity for change.

All four actors feel modern and real, giving their dialogue delicate shading and subtle nuance. They live upscale, civilized lives and use big words in their arguments.

Their conversations, whether humorous or conflicted, are well-balanced and fully expressed. Each cast member gets several sympathetic moments as the power in their relationships keeps shifting.

The marriage of Beth and Tom provides all the trauma in the middle portions. Karen and Gabe are the emotional bookends who set up the conflict, then get to dramatize its final resolution.

The only odd note was that on opening night the other actors kept saying Karen's name was Carrie. That should be cleared up by this weekend.

Dinner with Friends Opening Night Was Lively!

 

 

OPENING NIGHT of DINNER WITH FRIENDS WAS TASTY

(Tucson, AZ) Toasts continued following the opening night performance of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies, directed by Susan Arnold, starring Art Almquist, Rhonda Hallquist, Carrie Hill and Rick Shipman at a glorious reception provided by Pastiche Modern Eatery and Beowulf Alley’s Board of Directors.  Succulent shrimp, mouth-watering salmon and decadent chocolate fondue took center stage as audience, cast and volunteers celebrated a delightful performance of the newest offering at Beowulf Alley Theatre.

“My husband and I … drove all the way from SaddleBrooke.  The play was well worth the effort… We will tell our friends.”

“We attended opening night…We think you have another hit run on your hands. My wife and I both enjoy [the] experiences we have with your Company. We pin (y)our flyers …up at our work places, and encourage friends and family to try and make your theater part of their entertainment…The lighting was really great and plays an important part…The stage hands are really busy…and handled everything great…The entire cast and crew are setting a new bar for…plays and performances.” 

If you missed opening night, not to worry. Pastiche Modern Eatery will be working their magic again for the Primavera Foundation benefit performance with reception to follow at the theatre on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m.  The additional $10 added to the price of your ticket goes directly to Primavera Foundation. Primavera sows the seeds of change by strengthening lives, building communities, and advocating for social justice. To address their mission, Primavera's innovative programs and services provide a full range of opportunities to help people transition from poverty to greater well-being and security.

While tickets are selling quickly for the next two weekends of performances, good seats are still available - there are no bad seats in Beowulf Alley's 95-seat theatre! Thurs.-Sat., 7:30 p.m. and Sun. at 1:30 p.m. Visit www.beowulfalley.org today to purchase your discounted tickets or call 882-0555! The general ticket price is $20.

Thanks to all the Beowulf family of volunteers, especially the talented young people from The University of Arizona School of Theatre Arts Department of Technical Design and Production and the Tucson High Drama Program.  We’re here for the future of theatre in Tucson!

***

Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies

Cast members: Rick Shipman, Art Almquist, Carrie Hill and Rhonda Hallquist

 

Reality bites pair's vision in 'Dinner' | www.azstarnet.com ®

Reality bites pair's vision in 'Dinner' www.azstarnet.com ®


Accent
Reality bites pair's vision in 'Dinner'
By Kathleen Allen
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 01.09.2009

Put yourself in Gabe and Karen's place, two of the four characters in Donald Margulies' Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Dinner With Friends," which Beowulf Alley Theatre opens Saturday.



Art Almquist, left, Rick Shipman, Carrie Hill and Rhonda Hallquist star in Beowulf Alley Theatre's production of "Dinner With Friends."
Scott Griessel / Courtesy of Beowulf Alley Theatre

Gabe and Karen were just newlyweds when they introduced Tom and Beth to each other. Tom and Beth married, and the four of them became great friends, doing everything together.

So when Tom and Beth announce they are getting a divorce, Gabe and Karen are thrown for a loop. Wouldn't you be?

And they begin to question their own relationship. Wouldn't you?
"Gabe and Karen introduced this couple, created them, in a way, into a vision of the perfect couple," said Susan Arnold, director of the production.

"That sustained them. In life, we have a vision of how it's going to go. When that vision is upset, we adjust. I think that process is very interesting to look at."

In any other hands, "Dinner With Friends" might become a one-note piece.
In the hands of Margulies, it's a much different beast.

"I love the way he writes and the way he examines the human condition," said Arnold.
"He's very even-handed with his characters."

Consequently, he makes a piece about a break-up something more, she added.
"It's more about the shock waves that emanate from all four characters. It speaks to our perceived notions about the way life should be."

And it's a play that Arnold hopes will stick with audience members.
"I've always felt theater is a wonderful vehicle for examining the human condition and raising questions, for getting people to think," she said.

"I would like the audience to walk out of the theater and talk to each other about what they saw and what they heard."

"It's more about the shock waves that emanate from all four characters. It speaks to our perceived notions about the way life should be."

Susan Arnold,
"Dinner With Friends" director

● Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com.

Families ring in New Year at downtown First Night | New Year's Eve party

Families ring in New Year at downtown First Night New Year's Eve party:

"Families ring in New Year at downtown First Night"

December 31, 2008, 11:14 p.m.

TEYA VITU
Published: 01.01.2009

Downtown threw a family-friendly New Year's Eve party and plenty of families showed up.
And had fun. Downtown.
Droves of families got out of the house for the last night of the year or, rather, First Night, as organizers dubbed the event that brought entertainment of all sorts to a half-dozen indoor and outdoor venues.
"Normally, we'd be at home watching TV. This is way better," said Manny Ramirez, who was at the Tucson Children's Museum with his sons, Fabian, 6, and Ian, 2, and his wife, Brenda. "The kids will be burned out and we can stay up to midnight without them."
About 2,000 people checked out the inaugural alcohol-free, family-friendly First Night put on by the Downtown Tucson Partnership.
"I loved it," said Andy Nix, 6, who had just seen "Stories that Soar!" at Beowulf Alley Theatre. "I liked the puppets and the ghost popping and everything."
Andy went to First Night with his sister, Annabeth, 8, and his father, David Nix.
David Nix said he took the kids bowling last New Year's Eve and First Night was an improvement.
"Oh, yeah, it's been great," Nix said. "We went to three programs already. They loved them."
First Night buttons - $12 for adults and $6 for kids - got people into events at the Leo Rich Theatre, the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Beowulf, the Fox Theatre and the children's museum.
Free outdoor entertainment was available at La Placita Village, outside the children's museum and in front of the Tucson Music Hall.
Local singers Lisa Otey and Diane Van Deurzen usually perform at private parties on New Year's Eve.
"The whole concept, it's family," Van Deurzen said after their first set at Beowulf. "We love downtown. We like the idea the whole night is music."
Three-generation groups were common. Laura and Chuck Freebairn went downtown with their son, Kyle Freebairn, 25, who brought his son, 6-month-old Owen.
"This is our first year out," Laura Freebairn said. "We're from the Northeast Side. We were willing to make the drive. We're hearing great music. We're happy."
Chuck Freebairn suggested the next First Night have more outdoor bands and Kyle suggested organizers consider a family price when setting admission fees.
Cox Communications gave out small, blinking blue lights which people wore to give the evening extra sparkle.
Laurie O'Brien was tending to her daughter, sleeping 4-month-old Caitlyn, outside the children's museum while husband Mike had 5-year-old twins Michael and Jack at the nearby free puppet show.
"We're having fun," she said.