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A Message From Actors CircleÕs
President
As incoming President, I am honored and delighted to welcome you to our 35th
season at Actors Circle at the Providence Playhouse, and again thank you for
your loyal patronage. Looking back on the past year, I can first
express on behalf of our entire board heartfelt gratitude to John McInerney for his dedication, guidance, and gentle manner
as President the last 3 years, ending in June. I must also note that this
same year we accepted the resignation of longstanding Board member, Janet
Loewe, who for 25 years has delighted and impressed our audiences with her
talent and professionalism on stage. In JanetÕs honor, we are
establishing a special award bearing her name,
to be bestowed annually upon a worthy actor at seasonÕs end. We
have also rejoined NEPTA (Northeastern Pennsylvania Theatrical Alliance), after
a hiatus, and this past April, a number of our 2014 - 2015 season
productions, directors, casts, and crews were nominated for NEPTA AWARDS, and
came away with 4 of them. We also introduced two productions of original
material, called Summer Shorts, and Seasoned Stew. We inaugurated our new
Òwhite screenÓ this summer by showing vintage movies on Saturdays at
2:00. Our goal was to utilize the theater as much as possible, even when
we donÕt have a mainstage production running.
To that end, we will continue to present movies, videos of past productions,
and special programs, including, we hope, a ÒSalute to Vaudeville.Ó Our theater
will also be available for rental by groups who want to present programs
of various kinds, during the off season and in between our shows.
As usual, however, we will focus most intensely on our 35th seasonÕs
productions, which you will find described briefly on the back cover of the
program. You can also find more detailed information about these shows and
their themes on our website at actorscircle.org,
and on Facebook. These productions not only promise to entertain
you but also to challenge and provoke you. Theater is an interactive art
form that creates a kind of conversation between the audience and the actors on
stage, so as audience members we become a part of the production ourselves. It
often forces us to explore thoughts and ideas that differ from our own. We
leave the theater talking about what we just experienced — laughing over
funny moments, questioning the playwrightÕs intention, disagreeing with the
playÕs conclusions — all of which fosters a sense of community.
One of our key objectives for Actors Circle is to encourage the development of
skills in theatre arts. We do this by inviting amateur and professional
up-and-coming actors, writers, directors, designers and technical staff to
create these performances. Often, when people think of a theater
production, the director, the actors, and the audience quickly come to mind. In
reality, it takes a small army of dedicated volunteers --- our
community --- often working behind the scenes, to create an evening of
magic. Countless hours are spent, not only by actors, directors,
costumers, set, light and sound designers to craft the mood and environment,
but also by volunteers stuffing programs before the show; greeting patrons;
serving coffee; and by a dedicated crew who clean the theater late into the
evening one-day prior to opening night. We are honored that our volunteers
share their time with us, and that you, our audience members, do the same. For
in todayÕs world of competing forms of entertainment, live theater plays a
special role. So it goes: here at Actors Circle, a presence in the community
for 35 years, we continue to provide not only the classics, but also new and
original productions fostering uplifting, moving, gut chuckling theatre for all
ages. So, whether you are new to Actors Circle, or an old friend, weÕre
glad you are with us for this season.
Cordially,
Patricia Purcell