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Birmingham Village

Players — Birmingham’s

BEST Live Theater!

Village Players upcoming pro-

duction, “Songs for a New

World”, opening October 24, is

a musical for music lovers.

The piece, often called a “song

cycle”, features fourteen songs

that draw on pop, rock, jazz,

and gospel — and almost every

genre in between. Each song

tells a story, and each introduc-

es the audience to a new char-

acter, a new place, or a new

era.

Tony Award winning composer

and lyricist Jason Robert Brown

weaves these seemingly unique

stories together around a com-

mon theme: the change that

can occur in one moment.

“In just one moment,” says

director Laura Quinn, “life may

throw you a curveball you did-

n’t see coming and regardless

of what path you choose to

move forward, it is clear noth-

ing will ever be the same again.

With each new song the char-

acters we meet come upon a

new moment in their lives with

a new set of circumstances

where each will learn to sur-

vive in a new world – even

against seemingly overwhelm-

ing odds.”

Quinn describes the challeng-

ing score as breathtaking, and

believes the Village Players’

production of these vignettes-

in-song (there is no dialog) will

be exceptionally good, thanks

to a cast whose vocal and

acting talents, as soloists or

Upcoming Events:

October 6 and 20—Playwrights

@ Work meeting, 7 p.m. in the

Green Room. Visitors welcome.

October 7 — Board of Trustees

Annual Meeting, 7 p.m., in the

auditorium.

October 12— Board of Direc-

tor’s Meeting, 7 p.m., Green

Room.

October 24, 8 p.m. — Songs for

a New World opens. Perfor-

mances weekends through

November 9.

October 25, 10:00 a.m.—

Director presentations for 2015-

2016 season, Baldwin Library.

See article on page 5.

October 26, 1:00 p.m. — Con-

cert reading, “A Real Romance”,

Baldwin Library. See article

page 2.

October 30 — Halloween Party,

7n—10 p.m., auditorium, lobby.

November 2, 14, and 16 —

Auditions for VPs winter

shows. See announcements on

pages 7 and 8.

Opening Soon 1

Playwrights @ Work 2

Benefits, Parties 4,6

Upcoming Season 5

VP Auditions 7,8,

VP members on stage 6

Auditions Elsewhere 5

Director Application 9

Inside this issue:

Jazz, gospel, pop: Music, dance tell stories

in VP’s upcoming “Songs for a New World”

The Prompter

October 2014

92nd season, Issue 2

TALENTED TROUPE — The talented singers and dancers of “Songs for a New World” take

a break for a photo. Pictured are Patrick Daniels (front), Cassandra Gauthier, Cassie Najor,

Allison Goodsell, Angela Tomaszycki (kneeling, left to right), Bronwen Hupp, Aubrey Fink,

Dez Walker, Josh Allor, Leah Cooley, and Lindsey Brenz (standing, left to right).

See “SONGS” on page 2


Performance dates for “Songs for a New

World” are October 24, 25, 31 and No-

vember 1, 7, and 8 at 8 p.m.; October

26, November 2 and 9 at 2 p.m.

or as an ensemble, “will blow your

mind.” The acting of the three men

and three women who make up the

ensemble is itself so strong it will com-

pletely “make up for the lack of dia-

logue.”

Although the show does not require

choreography, Quinn engaged the

talents of dancers Cassie Najor, Allison

Goodsell, Cassandra Gauthier, and

Angela Tomaszycki to add a “visual

counterpoint” to the vocals.

Quinn says she is “excited and grateful

to the Board of Directors” for offering

her the opportunity to direct the

show, and describes the BVP produc-

tion team as “some of the best folks

around town.”

“We are working to make sure we

fully entertain you and you leave our

production feeling hopeful that you

too will be able to navigate through

any moment thrown into your life to

discover a new, beautiful world.”

“Shorts & Sweets” festival draws

“A Real Romance,” an original comedy in two acts by VP/P@W’s Joe Feinstein will be performed as a concert reading at 1 p.m. Sun-day, October 26 at Birmingham’s Baldwin Library. The free event features the talents of VP members Cathie Badalamenti and Steve Suss-man, and frequent VP actor Alan Canning, under the direction of Art Tucker. “Although this is a concert reading,” Tucker

says, “this show is not a bunch of people standing in a row behind music stands. It is never static. The interaction between the talented cast members is sure to hold audience attention.” In the light-hearted comedy, would-be Broadway entrepreneur Ross (Canning)finds himself in trouble – and in hiding – when he uses his charm and his way with women to find financing for a Broadway

dream. Ross’s cynical take on love is turned around by his naïve target for seduction, Virginia (Badalamenti), and his older brother Laurence (Sussman), a successful Park Avenue psychoanalyst. An audience critique and Q & A will follow the performance. Light refresh-

ments will be served.

Free concert performance of original comedy

scheduled for October 26 at Baldwin Library

A record audience of about 125 people turned out Saturday,

September 27 to see, and critique, six short plays presented at

the fall edition of Playwrights at Work’s Shorts & Sweets festival.

Featured plays last week were “In the Garden” by first-time

playwright Maggie Garza, directed by Pam Dundas; “Two Pints,

Please” by Ann Forsaith; “The Gift” by Steve Sussman; “For Better

and Worse” by Joe Feinstein; “Paintings and Pumpkins” by My-

ron Stein; and “Old Man in a Bottle” by Barbara Schmitt. Except

for “In the Garden” all plays were directed by Diane D’Agostino.

Appearing in the staged readings were Laura Bradshaw, Bryan

Conroy, Chris Crossen, Diane D’Agostino, Kathleen Duffy, Mike

Dundas, Pam Dundas, Will Farah, Jude Purcell, Sterling Orlowski,

and Steve Sussman. Josie Thomas ran lights.

A dessert and snack buffet that included a variety of store-

bought and home-made cookies, chips, dips, fruit and other

treats followed the free event.

To order tickets by phone, call 248-644-

2075, or order on-line at birminghamvil-

lageplayers.com.

SONGS — Continued from page 1

ALL TOGETHER NOW — The talented actor/singers from “Songs for

a New World” get in character at a recent rehearsal. From left, Pat-

rick Daniels, Aubrey Fink, Josh Allor, Leah Cooley, Lindsey

Brenz, Dez Walker, and Bronwen Hupp.


Nuns—Tess Eschebach, Mae Ken-nedy, Zoe Phillips, Jamie Trepeck; Captain George von Trapp—Quinn Moran; Liesl von Trapp—Pelagia Pamel; Friedrich von Trapp—Mitchell Mollison; Louisa von Trapp—Noel Stanley; Kurt von Trapp—Aaron Warrow; Brigitta von Trapp—Ryan Balberman; Marta von Trapp—Ellie Haenick; Gretl von Trapp—Pasha Lumelsky; Rolf Gruber—Griffin Siegel; Max Det-weiller—Justin Nelson; Herr Zeller—Kayleigh Smith; Bron Elber-

feld—Zoe Phillips; New Postulant—Nina Hansen; Admiral von Schreiber—Tess Eschebach; Trio of the Saengerbund or Herwegen—Grace Hupp, Sydney Arnkoff, Anna Forberg; Fraulein Schweiger—Elena Pfeiffer; Ensemble (Lonely Goatherd, Party Guests, German Officials)—Brooke Bell, Margaret Hillard, Lauren Kupelian, Mahla Machesky, Libby Neuwirth, Talia Rubin.

Tickets for the December produc-tion are on sale now.

A cast of 32 was announced October 1 for the Youth Theater’s production of “The Sound of Mu-sic”, scheduled for December 11, 12, and 13 at 7:00 p.m. and De-cember 13 and 14 at 2:00 p.m. Winning roles at the September 27 auditions were (in order of appear-ance in the show):

Maria Rainer—Haley Spencer; Sister Berthe—Natalie Siegel; Sis-ter Margaretta—Hannah Manela; The Mother Abbess—Andi Free-land; Sister Sophia—Katy Zink;

VYT announces cast for December’s “Sound of Music”

Actors needed: Eleven roles available at November

auditions for “Brighton Beach” and “Virginia Woolf” A total of eleven roles for men and women from age 13 to age 60

will be open next month, when Birmingham Village Players hosts

auditions for both its January and its March productions:

“Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf”.

First up on November 2 are auditions for Neil Simon’s funny and

touching semi-autographical portrait of a Jewish-American family,

“Brighton Beach Memoirs”. The award-winning play opened on

Broadway in 1983, and ran for over 1,000 performances. Michael

Gravame will direct the VP production which opens in January.

“Brighton Beach Memoirs”-- with “Biloxi Blues” and “Broadway

Bound”-- forms part of Simon’s Eugene trilogy: three stand-alone

plays that follow the life of Eugene Jerome. “Brighton Beach,” the

first of the series, is set in the Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn, in

1937.

Roles are available for two teenage girls, ages 13 and 16, and two

teenage boys, ages 15 and 18 (or older actors who can pass as

teens). Two adult women in their 40s are needed, as well as one

man, age 40 to 50.

Auditions for Edward Albee’s darkly comic look at marital dysfunction,

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” are scheduled for November 16 and

18.

The Tony-Award winning play, which has been revived repeatedly and

was made into an Oscar-winning film starring Richard Burton and Eliz-

abeth Taylor, has been lauded as one of the best plays of the twenti-

eth century.

The play, which deals with themes of reality and illusion, is fast-paced

and full of tongue-twisters. The roles, especially those of the depend-

ent but destructive couple ,George and Martha, are some of the most

challenging, and rewarding, in American theater, according to on-line

sources.

Dan Kanter will direct the VP production of the play, which opens in

March.

Formal audition announcements for both plays are at the back of this

edition of the Prompter and can also be found on the VP website.

Elections for three Board of Trustees positions will be held October 7,

when Village Player’s Board of Trustees holds its annual meeting at

7:00 p.m. in the playhouse auditorium. All VP members are invited

to attend.

Nominated for the three positions for the 2014-2017 term are cur-

rent trustees Tim Wittlinger, Jude Purcell, and Diane D’Agostino.

Nominations will also be taken from the floor.

Reports from the Treasurer, President, the House and Grounds Com-

mittee, Village Youth Theater, and Marketing Committee will be pre-

sented.

New business will also be addressed at the meeting.

Board of Trustees Annual Meeting scheduled for Oct. 7


When the short film “On the Line” premi-

ered at Village Players on Friday, Septem-

ber 26, it broke new ground for the 92-

year old theater on many levels: It was

the first time an original movie premiered

at Village Players; it was the first time

playwright Barbara Schmitt saw her work

given the big screen treatment; and—

amazingly—it was the first time VP’s Ger-

trude Fox, 93, appeared in a film, alt-

hough the theater veteran has been

acting on stage for over 70 years.

In addition to racking up numerous firsts,

the benefit performance also raised

roughly $1,000 for Village Players.

The stars of the of the film, Marc Rosati

and Gertrude Fox, were given a Holly-

wood-type greeting as they arrived, with

author Barbara Schmitt, at the theater’s

north entrance. A trio of photographers

snapped photos as the three stepped out

of a pink 1950’s Pontiac Chieftain and

onto the red carpet.

The two-hour event included an informal

reception, the half-hour film, a trailer for

another movie (also with a VP connec-

tion) by director Alan Canning and his

partner at A2 Creative, Denver Rochon, a

blooper reel, a talkback session, and a

meet and greet. With the film makers,

author, and the stars. Steve Sussman,

who produced the benefit event with the

aid of co-producer Diane D’Agostino,

termed it “a magical evening.”

Fox admitted during a talkback after the

presentation that while she enjoyed mak-

ing the film, her heart belongs to live

theater. “It felt very odd to act without

an audience,” she said. Fox’s perfor-

mance received a standing ovation from

an enthusiastic audience.

Fox’s co-star Marc Rosati, who lists work

on stage and screen on his acting resume,

also missed the energy of having a “live

audience to feed off.” But, he noted, film

gives an actor “the opportunity to get it

right, perfect your craft, with various

takes.”

Director Canning stated he was “very

pleased” with the warm response his film

received.

Based on Barbara Schmitt’s one-act play

“Twilight”, the film centers on an elderly

woman, being forced by her son to leave

her home and move into an adult care

facility, when a phone call from an unex-

pected source changes everything.

Schmitt said it was “exciting” to see the

film makers’ interpretation of her play.

She called the acting of stars Rosati and

Fox “exceptional. “ Schmitt herself made

a cameo appearance in the film, as did

VP members Ralph Rosati and Steve

Sussman.

The next screening of the film will be at

the Mitten Movie Festival, to be held at

the Main Theater in Royal Oak. Direc-

tor Canning hopes to enter the film in

several other festivals, both local and

regional, after the Royal Oak event.

Canning and Rochon are now finishing

work on another short film, “Matzoh

Brei” based on the play by P @ W

member Steve Sussman, first shown at

P @ W’s 2011 One Act Festival.

VP wins big with gala film premiere, benefit

honors Gertrude Fox, raises almost $1,000

RED CARPET TREATMENT —

The stars of the short film “On

the Line” from left, Gertrude Fox

and Marc Rosati, pose with play-

wright Barbara Schmitt as they

make a grand entrance at the

September 26 benefit perfor-

mance. At right, Gertrude Fox

and film director Alan Canning

respond to audience questions

during a talkback after the film

premiere. The September 26

benefit performance raised

roughly $1,000 for Village Play-

ers.

Ten shows under consideration for 2015-2016 season;

Interested directors should submit at Oct. 25 meeting


Ten shows — four musicals and six plays — will be con-sidered for performance for Village Player’s 2015-2016 season. Only five shows will be selected.

The following shows are candidates for next season:

MUSICALS Sweet Charity Sweeney Todd The Addams Family South Pacific NON-MUSICALS Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Noises Off To Kill a Mockingbird Crossing Delancey Night Watch Good People

Directors interested in helming one of the productions are invited to make a formal submission to the Board of Directors at a special meeting at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Oc-tober 26, at the Baldwin Library in downtown Birming-ham. Directors should contact Susie Gardiner at [email protected] to scheduled a time to present.

The final slate for next year’s season will be based on the shows for which directors make presentations, the

number of directors presenting for each show, and direc-tor availability during the next season.

Board President Susie Gardiner stresses that directors need not have extensive experience to receive considera-tion, although experience as a director or at a minimum assistant director is preferred. A director need not be a member of Village Players to submit.

Each director will be given 15 minutes to make a presentation, and convince the Board of Directors not only that he or she should direct a certain show, but that the particular show would be the best fit for VP’s new season.

Potential directors should be prepared to discuss their vision for the play, any special set or costume require-ments, lighting and sound requirements, any special musi-cal needs, and the names of choreographers or musicians with whom they would work (if known) . Directors should also be able to show how a particular show will attract both VP and new talent to auditions, involve the VP mem-bership, and attract an audience outside VP.

Directors should come prepared with an estimated show budget.

A Director’s Submission Form is included on pages 9 and 10 of this month’s Prompter, and may also be found on-line.

Ridgedale Players, Troy, “Little Mermaid” (youth theater production). Auditions

Saturday, October 4, from 2 to 5 p.m. For information, contact Peggy Miller-Zelinko at

[email protected]..

St. Dunstan’s Theater Guild, Bloomfield Hills, “Next to Normal.” Sunday and Mon-

day, October 12 and 13. Registration and auditions are scheduled by character begin-

ning at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, with additional auditions and callbacks on Monday at 7 p.m..

See stdunstanstheatre.com for further details.

Grosse Pointe Players, Grosse Pointe, “Litttle Women”. Auditions Friday, October 24

from 7 to 10 p.m., and Saturday, October 25 from 6 to 9 p.m..

Farmington Players, Farmington, “Miracle on South Division Street” Auditions Sunday, November 9. For more

information, go to farmingtonplayers.com.

Stagecrafters, Royal Oak, Second Stage, “Spring Awakening” Auditions Saturday, November 15. Registration at 8

to 9 a.m., auditions at 8:30 a.m. NOTE: Registration for actors auditioning for the role of the Adult Man and Adult

Woman only will be at 12:45 p.m., with auditions beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Auditions elsewhere


A Spooktacular Show! Halloween Party planned

On stage, off stage, on dance

floor, VP’s members share talents

Come out for a Spooktacular Time!

Please join us for a Halloween Party

on October 30 from 7-10 at the theater. Fun

music, refreshments, and costumes galore.

Theater people love to dress up, and what

better excuse is there than Halloween?

$10.00 for two tickets. Check the weekly

email blast for more details as we get closer

to the party!

Questions? Email Coleen Genette

at [email protected]

VPers are on stage, in the direc-tor’s chair, and on the dance floor this fall. Laura Bradshaw-Tucker will be helping out at St. Dunstan’s, serv-ing as AD on St. D’s , “Dial M for Murder,” opening October 10 (performances weekends through October 25). VP’s President-Elect Paul Gillin will appear in “Dial M” as Ameri-can writer, Max Halliday. Dale Feldpausch will appear as Christopher in the play Tribes by Nina Raine, opening at Stagecraft-er's Second Stage October 10 (performances weekends through October 19) for a two-weekends. Kathleen Duffy takes the lead as Nelly Forbush in the Player’s Guide of Dearborn’s production of “South Pacific,” running Novem-ber 14 to December 7. Joe Gadon takes the director’s chair for the Birmingham Temple’s dramatic production on Sunday,

November 2 at 7:30 PM. Four short plays, totaling approximate-ly one hour, will be presented. Sofia Malinowskyj participated in

a dance competition on August

24, placing first in a group for-

mation dance number, third in a

solo routine, and won an award

for “Most Animated Routine.”

She also appears in a commercial

for the Arthur Murray Dance Stu-

dio, now showing at the Maple

Theater.

READY TO PITCH IN — After every show the cast

and crew help strike the set and leave the stage

ready for the next show. While it is a good idea to

wear some work clothes in this dusty job, there are

no dress requirements as you can see. This is actor

Christiana Perrault from "Women on the Verge of a

Nervous Breakdown", who was happy to pitch in and

get the job done regardless of her nice, clean dress

and high-heeled shoes!

mailto:[email protected]


AUDITION NOTICE

BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS

Sunday, November 2, 2014 Sign in – 6:00 PM Auditions – 6:30 PM Call Backs Tuesday, November 4, 2014 7 PM

Michael A. Gravame—Director 248-506-0885; Sue Chekaway—Asst. Director; Bryan Conroy—Producer;

Coleen Genette—Asst. Producer Please email the director at [email protected] with any questions you may have.

Monologues: Anyone auditioning will need to prepare a selected monologue of the characters (preferably memorized.) Audition mono-

logues and reading cuts can be picked up at Village Players beginning September 25th. Please contact Michael Gravame, if you’d like them

emailed to you. Readings: Readings will be from the script (these do not need to be memorized)

Please Come Prepared.

Performance Dates: January 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, 31 - 8:00 PM January 18, 24, 25 & February 1, 2015 - 2:00 PM

Rehearsal Schedule: Please be prepared to indicate all possible conflicts on your audition form.

Character Descriptions:

Eugene Morris Jerome: (must be able to appear and play 15) A normal 15 year old boy who has recently discovered girls in a big way.

He is obsessed with the female anatomy, which he’s never seen, and with his other love, which is baseball. He wants to be a baseball player,

but if that does not work out, he’ll settle for being a writer. He keeps a detailed journal of his family’s eccentricities. The play revolves

around his memoirs. He is the central character and speaks both to the characters in the play as well as to the audience. He is energetic, lika-

ble, engaging, and a conversationalist, with a smart aleck wit and lots of imagination. He must be truthful in his delivery and must never

play for the laughs.

Kate Jerome: (40s) Eugene's typical NY Jewish mother. She assumes the strong matriarch role of taking care of everyone because she

feels it is her job to do so. She puts her family’s needs before her own and by doing so holds the family together and solves the hurts and

problems of all of them. This stress and burden eventually causes her to break. She is opinionated, loud, and very verbal, but also loving,

caring and does have a tender side that creeps out once and awhile. Must be able to portray a wide variety of emotions.

Stanley Jerome: (must be able to appear and play 18) Eugene’s older brother. For financial reasons he must work a factory job and tries

to please his parents the best he can. He tries to teach Eugene a thing or two, when it comes to the subject of the opposite sex. He is caring,

impulsive, street smart, knows his way about town and stands up for his principles.

Blanche Morton: (30-40) Kate’s younger widowed sister who suffers from asthma. Mother of Nora and Laurie. She is indecisive,

dependent, and at times helpless. She wants to have a life for herself and her daughters, but she does not know how or where to begin and

doesn’t always know what the best thing to is. She feels frustrated, lonely, crippling, and as if, she was buried with her husband. She is

struggling to develop her own independence and with the ability to make the right choices.

Jack Jerome (late 40s-early 50s) The overworked Jewish father of the Jerome family. He appears older than he really is. Jack is tired,

patient, sensible, and a very hard worker. He sometimes feels the pressure of supporting an extended family by working two jobs. In addi-

tion, all family members turn to him for advice and answers. He is often the voice of reason and makes the best of situations, which is a

tough job all on its own. He worries about how the world’s events will affect his family and will do anything to provide a better future for

them especially the children.

Nora Morton: (must be able to appear and play 16) Blanche’s older daughter, Cousin to the Jerome boys. She is an attractive, vivacious

and ambitious 16 year old girl with dreams of Broadway. She is often resentful of her younger sister. She misses her father terribly and

wishes he could be around to guide her during difficult times as she doesn’t feel her mother does that very well. She feels stifled and cooped

up in the crowded house.

Laurie Morton: (must be able to appear and play 13) Blanche’s younger pampered daughter, Cousin to the Jerome boys. She is a studious,

yet quietly mischievous; 13 year old who is all ears around the adult situations. Laurie is quite possibly the smartest child in the house and is

very in tune with what is going on in the family, even though she can’t always relate to them. She often uses her illness to her advantage.

The age ranges listed are the characters’ ages, and not necessarily, the ages of the actors. Looking to cast actors that can look like a real fam-

ily and who can adapt and emulate a believable Brooklyn accent. These roles are not caricatures.


AUDITION NOTICE

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Sunday, November 16, 2014 Sign in – 1:00 PM Auditions – 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Tuesday, November 18, 2014 Sign in – 6:00 PM Auditions – 6:30 PM - 10:00 PM

Dan Kanter –Director 248-217-3814 Bryan Conroy–Producer – Nicole Jones – Asst. Director Carol Aaron - Stage Manager

Please email the director at [email protected] with any questions you may have.

Show Synopsis

Fun and games begin when tenured-professor George and his wife Martha welcome a young ambitious professor new to campus and his wife over for after-party drinks. Using wit, word-play and free-flowing cocktails, the hosts take turns humiliating each other as entertainment for their bewildered guests. As more drinks are poured, it's the guests' turn in the cross-hairs, coerced to share core secrets. Now celebrated as one of the great American dramas, Edward Albee's award-winning play is a brutally comic love story that explodes notions of commitment and self-delusion in a loving relationship.

Monologues: Anyone auditioning for Martha, George or Nick will need to prepare a pre-selected monologue from the play

(preferably memorized). Those auditioning for the part of Honey will use pre-selected readings. Audition reading cuts can be

picked up at Village Players beginning October 21st. Please call ahead for availability at (248) 644-2075, or by email at vpofbir-

[email protected] , and please put "V. Woolf Readings" in the subject-line.

Readings: Readings will be from the script (these do not need to be memorized)

Please Come Prepared.

Performance Dates: March 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21- 8:00 PM March 8, 15, 22, 2015 - 2:00 PM

Rehearsal Schedule: Please be prepared to indicate all possible conflicts on your audition form. Rehearsals begin January 4th.

Character Descriptions (Age ranges listed are the characters’ ages, and not necessarily the ages of the actors):

Martha: (Age 52) Provocative, frustrated, alcoholic, loving wife of George, playful and dangerous in her volatility and bit-ing tongue. She hides her self-contempt behind her gin and fantasy as she teases her young guests. Daughter of the college presi-dent. Depending upon the light, looks younger than her age. Tries to act it, too.

George: (Age 46) Once brimming with potential, now a failure of a college history professor. Beaten down, yet devoted

and enabling husband to Martha. Tired, with a bit of paunch. Haunted still by incidents from long ago. Seems passive and com-placent, yet he proves he gives as good as he gets.

Nick: (Age 28) Ambitious, bright, former athlete, clean-cut Midwestern blond assistant professor, new to campus. Married Honey because she said she was pregnant. Too accommodating to Martha's flirting.

Honey: (Age 26) Naive, frail, submissive wife of young professor Nick. "Slim-hipped" and a dim bulb with a weak stom-

ach. Escapes into a bottle of brandy to survive the night's gauntlet.

Please Bring: A non-returnable head-shot (or a photo will be taken of you at the audition). Acting resumes preferred. A list of all personal schedule conflicts between January 4th and our opening night, March 6th.


DIRECTOR SUBMISSION FORM

Please fill out this form or you are free to create your own document. You can also submit any additional

materials, papers, etc. for your presentation. Please make sure these questions are covered in any and all

materials you submit and be prepared to address them during your presentation.

You will get 15 minutes to present followed by a 5-minute Q and A by the board of directors.

Name: Address:

City, State, Zip Code:

Phone:

E-mail Address:

Member of the Village Players? _______ If yes, since when? __________

Previous directing experience: [or submit resume]

Please list shows you have been a part of [where you were not the director]

Show Information: Show or show(s) you are submitting for? ___________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

(If submitting for more than one show, please fill out the following information for each submitted show.)

Are there any slots in which you could not direct? □No If “Yes”, please specify :

What slot do you prefer (if possible)?

□1 (Generally opens in September) □4 (Generally opens in March)

□2 (Generally opens in November) □5 (Generally opens in May)

□3 (Generally opens in January)


DIRECTOR SUBMISSION FORM (Continued)

What is your overall vision or concept for the show?

How do you think this show will attract talent and involvement of the membership as well as attract new

membership to The Village Players?

Special Technical Requirement for show:

Lights:

Sound:

Special Effects:

Costumes:

Props:

Make-Up:

Set Dressing:

Describe Set Requirements:

Why do you want to direct this show?

Budget:

We know calculating a clear concise budget this early in the process is an estimated guess, because you

never know how much a show might really cost until after casting or when you really start your planning,

but please estimate your budget needs in order to produce this show at Village Players?

What are the warranted budgetary factors for said production? (i.e. I need this budget because it has Period

costumes for a cast of 15 people, the set requires a double staircase, a revolving floor is needed, etc.)

Other information you would like the Board of Directors to consider:

Neither musical play nor revue this show is a very theatrical

song cycle by composer/lyricist Jason Robert Brown. With

music styles ranging from light spirituals to funk to rock we meet unrelated characters

and situations who each face a unique moment in life when

everything seems perfect and then suddenly disaster strikes.

This collection of song stories is about surviving those moments

and how we each regroup to survive in a new set of

circumstances - a new world - even against seemingly

overwhelming odds.

October 24, 25, 31,

November 1, 7, 8, 2014 at 8 pm

October 26,November 2, 9,

2014 at 2 pm

To order tickets of $20 each:

www.BirminghamVil lagePlayers .com or 248 -644 -2075

Birmingham’s Best Live Theater is located at 34660 Woodward Avenue Birmingham, MI 48009

SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

All authorized performance materials are supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019 Phone: 212-541-4684 Fax: 212-397-4684 www.MTIShows.com

January 2015 March 2015 May 2015

Music and Lyrics by Tony Award Winning Composer

Jason Robert Brown

34660 Woodward Avenue

Birmingham, MI 48009

P @ W Meeting, Monday, October 6; Monday, October 20 [7 pm]

Board of Directors, Sunday, October 12 [7 p.m.]

Board of Trustees Annual Meeting,

Tuesday, October 7 [6:30 p.m.]

“Songs for a New World” opens, Friday, October 24 [8 p.m.]

Auditions “Brighton Beach Memoirs” Sunday, November 2

Auditions, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” Sunday, November 14,

Tuesday November 16

Directors’ presentations 2015-2016 season,

Saturday, October 25, Baldwin Library

Prompter deadline, November 24 www.calendar.yahoo.com/vp_calendar

jazz, gospel, pop: music, dance tell stories€¦ · 92nd season, issue 2 page 4 when the short...

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