August 2007
May 2008
On Stage
Stage Talk by Carol Viescas
Menu of this month's listings, stories and columns
Rachel Space memorial reading -- A fundraising reading in memory of the long-time member of the Las Cruces theater community is 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at Santa Teresa High School’s Cafeteria, 100 Airport Road in Santa Teresa. Proceeds go towards to development of a scholarship for theater students. Admission: $5 donation. Information: (575) 589-5357.
‘An Inspector Calls’ – El Paso Playhouse, 2501 Montana, presents the psychological thriller by J.B. Priestly May 2-24. Directed by Lynne DuMond. Performances are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $10 ($8 seniors, $7 military and students; $6 EPCC students with ID). Information: 532-1317, elpasoplayhouse.com.
New Play Readings -- No Strings Theatre Company presents an evening of new one-act play readings by the students of NMSU Professor Deborah LaPorte’s playwriting class at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Downtown Mall in Las Cruces. Admission is free. Information: (575) 523-1223.
Manos Arriba Puppet Theatre -- 711 Ange (at Montana). The theater presents the family show “Springtime Stories,” through May 4. Showtime is 1 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Reservations required, as seating is limited. Private parties welcomed. Admission: $6 ($5 children age 2 and older). Information: 562-2300 or manosarribapuppettheater.com.
‘The Taming of the Shrew’ – American Southwest Theatre Company presents William Shakespeare’s classic comedy through May 4, at the Hershel Zohn Theatre at NMSU. Directed by Laura Grace Godwin. The comedy tells the story of sisters Katherine and Bianca through their courtships and weddings. Performances are 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $15 ($13 NMSU faculty, seniors 60 and older; $10 NMSU students and ages 18 and younger). Information: 1-800-525-ASTC (2782).
‘Miguel’s Shakespearean Adventure’ -- Outrageous Fortune Theatre Company and the Chamizal National Memorial presents the new children’s play at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 7 and May 28, at Chamizal National Memorial, 800 S. San Marcial. The one-hour bilingual play features the meeting of two literary giants (Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare) in the dreams of a young boy as he struggles to come to terms with his grandfather’s illness. Admission is free, reservations recommended. Reservations: 532-7273 ext. 130. Information: 760-8630 outfortheatre.org.
‘The Telephone’ -- The Santa Fe Opera and Chamizal National Memorial present the new production specifically for area students 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, May 12-14, at the Chamizal theatre, 800 S. San Marcial. The 40-minute program includes a question and answer session at the end of the performance. Admission is free; reservations required as school groups have first priority in requesting seats. Information: 532-7273 or nps.gov/cham
“The Telephone” is a charming, comic piece where a young man is thwarted in his attempts to propose marriage by endless interruptions from the telephone. Although the opera was written and first performed in 1945, the story remains as possible today with the added distractions of cell phones, texting and e-mail.
‘A Night on Broadway’ -- El Paso High School Thespians will host a night of entertainment featuring musical numbers and monologues from Broadway shows at 7 p.m. Friday, May 16, in the El Paso High Grand Auditorium, 800 E. Schuster. Admission: $6 ($4 students). Information: 496-8300.
‘Snow White and the Seven Samurai’ -- Kids-N-Co. presents Carol Viescas’ new version of the fairy tale classic May 23-June 8, at Kids-N-Co. Education and Performance Center, 1301 Texas. Directed by Ron Keck. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $7 ($5 children, students, seniors and active military); available at door only, no reservations. Advance tickets available for groups of 10 or more. Information: 351-1455 or kidsnco.org.
Additional performances are 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at Chamizal National Memorial, 800 S. San Marcial.
‘The Last Five Years’ -- No Strings Theatre Company presents the musical by Tony-winner Jason Robert Brown May 16-25 at Black Box Theatre, 430 N Downtown Mall. Directed by Tom Smith. Performances are 8 p.m. Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays,7 p.m. Thursday, May 21 and 2:30 and 6 p.m. Sunday, May 25. Tickets: $10 ($9 students and seniors over 65; $7 all seats on Thursday). High school student “rush” tickets offered for $5 10 minutes before showtime, as available. Information/reservations: (575) 523-1223 or no-strings.org.
Starring Carrie Oliver and Cade Surface, the play chronicles a young couple’s romance in a unique way: her story starts at the end of their relationship; his begins on the day they met. A struggling actress’s relationship with an up-and-coming novelist is the core of the story. Brown won Drama Desk Awards for both Best Music and Best Lyrics.
Currently featured in thetheatregallery is “Las Cruces in Mixed Media,” works by Margaret Bernstein. Gallery is open one hour prior to performances or by appointment.
‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ -- El Paso High School Thespians present Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 17-18, at El Paso High School Auditorium, 800 East Schuster. The production includes the Area Champion Cast under the direction of Dr. Charles Woodul. Musical numbers from Broadway will also be performed after the presentation. Admission: $6 ($4 students). Information: 496-8300.
Pinos Altos Opera House -- Melodramas are performed at 8 p.m. Saturdays at the Grant County mountain village, seven miles north of Silver City on NM 15. Information, reservations: (575) 388-3848 or pinosaltos.org.
The 2008 season features “I’ve Got Brains that Jingle, Jangle, Jingle.” The evening begins as a sing-a-long as audience members are encouraged to actively participate by booing the villain, cheering the hero and throwing popcorn to their heart’s delight. Full bar service is available before and during the performance.
‘Noises Off’ – El Paso Playhouse, 2501 Montana, presents Michael Frayn’s high-speed comedy June 6-28. Directed by Chet Frame. Performances are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $10 ($8 seniors, $7 military and students; $6 EPCC students with ID). Not suitable for children. Information: 532-1317, elpasoplayhouse.com.
Auditions & classes
‘Brilliant Traces’ auditions -- No Strings Theatre Company will host auditions for the “kooky and off-kilter play” by Cindy Lou Johnson at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 4, in the Black Box Theatre, 430 N Downtown Mall in Las Cruces. Directed by Ceil Herman. Set in Alaska, the play deals with issues of love and family. Needed are one male and one female actor (ages 25-35). Auditions consist of readings from the script. A perusal copy of the script is on reserve at the Branigan Library Reference Desk. Performance dates are June 6-22. Information: (575) 523-1223 or nstcbbt@zianet.
Adult acting classes -- EPStageBusiness will host acting classes for adults Saturdays, May 17-June 7, taught by Ted Karber, Jr. founder of Aardvark Theatre. The classes provide actors the opportunity for in depth analysis and rehearsal of monologues and acting scenes, in one-on-one or duet acting scenarios.
Cost: $100 for four-weekend session, class size limited. Information/location: 775-1157 or EPStageBusiness@aol.com.
Class times offered are 10:30 a.m. to noon, 1 to 2:30 p.m. and 2:30 to 4 p.m.
OFTC auditions -- Outrageous Fortune Theatre Company is seeking a mature male actor for its 2008 Shakespeare in the Park even in August. The chosen actor will be park of the professional ensemble cast for a deconstruction of Lear. All performances and rehearsals will be paid. Information/appointments: 760-8630 or ContactOFTC@aol.com. Web: outfortheatre.org.
UTEP Summer Theatre Camp -- The UTEP Department of Theatre, Dance and Film will host its 2008 summer camps 9 a.m. to noon for beginners and 1 to 4 p.m. for intermediate and advanced students Monday through Friday, June 9-27 for ages 8-18 in the Fox Fine Arts Center Wise Family Theatre (2nd floor) Each session ends with a performance for family and friends. Tuition: $175 by June 1 ($200 after); scholarships available. One-stop registration offered noon to 5 p.m. Friday, May 2 and Friday, June 6, at the Academic Services Center. Information: Adriana Dominguez, 747-6213 or theatre.utep.edu.
Topics include: theater etiquette, basic stage positioning (blocking), projection and articulation techniques, stage fright management, improvisation games and techniques, self-confidence exercises, audition and casting process, memorization and character work.
Kids-N-Co. Summer Camp -- Kids-N-Co. will host its 2008 theater summer camps beginning in June at Kids-N-Co. Education and Performance Center, 1301 Texas. Registration begins May 15, space is limited. limited. Enrollment is on a first come, first served basis. No camps held July 4. Information: 351-1455 (afternoons), or kidsnco.org.
A Kinder Camp two-week sessions for ages 5-7 are 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, June 16-Aug. 15. Students will learn to focus their natural ability to “make believe” through creative theatre games. Each session is self-contained and ends with a different play. Cost: $150/per session.
Production Camp four-week session for ages 8-15 is 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 16-Aug. 17. All phases of theater are taught, ending in a fully staged afternoon production the Saturday and Sunday afternoons following the final week. Students learn and develop the techniques of stage movement, voice, character development, group dynamics, basic costuming and makeup, set construction and stage lighting. No experience is necessary; auditions are held for roles in the play, and students can choose to do tech only. Cost: $250/per session.
STAGE TALK by Carol Viescas
By the sound of its title, the next show at El Paso Playhouse should be one of its staple murder mysteries. But “An Inspector Calls,” by J.B. Priestly (also a novelist, screenwriter and journalist), directed by longtime thespian Lynne DuMond, offers more food for thought than the standard mystery. Indeed, the cast of the first London production in 1946 included English powerhouses (later Sir) Ralph Richardson as Inspector Goole, Margaret Leighton as Sheila Birling, and (also later Sir) Alec Guinness as Eric Birling.
Set in real time in 1912 in the dining room of the wealthy Birling family, the story revolves around the questioning of the family by Inspector Goole (pronounced like “ghoul,” hmm …) about the suicide of a young woman that the Birling family knew. Each family member becomes implicated in her death.
The plot involves more literary techniques and dramatic devices than most classics; indeed, it is often studied as part of upper-level schoolwork in England. Some of the dramatic conventions include dramatic irony (sure the Titanic is unsinkable, and no, there will be no war with Germany), foreshadowing and a twist at the end. And at the end of each act, Priestly has the inspector drop a bombshell of information that the audience is “forced” to think about during intermission.
“It is a very old show,” DuMond said, but its message “needs to be brought out again and looked at a bit more closely.”
That message? It shows the interconnectedness of people in the drama of human existence, and the importance of duty and individual conscience, focusing on individuals voluntarily helping others.
DuMond’s cast has a lot of familiar theater names: Twain Ross, who has worked at Aardvark, Kids-N-Co. and the El Paso Playhouse, is Mr. Birling; Darci Georges, who has done many shows at the Playhouse, is Mrs. Birling; Erica Moellar, UTEP and Playhouse, is Shelia Birling; Playhouse Vice President Kate Keyser is the Inspector; Patrick Marshall, who did a number of shows for Aardvark, is Gerald Croft; and Rita Raush plays the maid, Edna. The only new face is Caleb Sattlemeier as son Eric Birling.
Working with DuMond are David Villanueva as co-director and Ivan Sandlin as the set designer. Working with those two, she said, has been a delight.
DuMond should know. She has been in community theater for about 25 years. She worked with the old SRO in the ’80s until it closed. She also has worked with the New Group Theatre Troupe, MTEP, UTEP Dinner Theatre, UTEP’s Black Box Theatre, Theatre Inc., Aardvark Theatre and “back where I started from,” El Paso Playhouse.
She remembers fondly three roles she has played: “‘Pasta’ at SRO, because I could become another person completely; ‘Agnes of God’ at Aardvark gave me the opportunity to test myself and see my religion in a different light; and ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ at Aardvark, for the challenge.”
Carol Viescas is a veteran of community theater and teaches journalism at Bel Air High School.
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