News stories tagged with "acting"

(03/28/12) SUNY Potsdam's Department of Theatre and Dance will present the play Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss this week. The show opens in the College Theater in Satterlee Hall tonight at 7:30 pm. Marat/Sade is set in a French insane asylum in the early 19th century. The characters are the inmates in that asylum who also become the actors in the Marquis de Sade's play.

The play-within-a play takes place during the turmoil of the French Revolution, as seen through the eyes of de Sade. It dramatizes a debate between de Sade, the staunch defender of the old regime, and Jean-Paul Marat, the radical advocate of revolutionary change. Written in 1963, and long associated with the upheavals of that decade, director Don Mandigo told Todd Moe that Marat/Sade is ever more resonant in 2012.

Note: this show is not recommended for young children.

(02/08/12) The Grasse River Players' winter production of The New York Idea opens in Canton Thursday night as part of the annual Winterfest. Todd Moe talks with Libby Brandt and Carole Berard, two long-time members of Canton's community theater group, about the show.

The drawing room comedy was a Broadway hit back in 1906. It's been updated for modern ears by David Auburn. The play offers a slice of Manhattan's upper crust and tackles social change and those who can and cannot adapt. Carole and Libby talk with Todd about the joys of community theater and this latest production, starting with the play's opening scene.

(11/23/11) Theatre Kingston has welcomed its new Artistic Producer on board this season. Brett Christopher has been an active member of the Canadian theater community for more than a decade. Most recently he was Artistic Associate at the Thousand Islands Playhouse. Christopher is perhaps best known for his performance in I Am My Own Wife in 2009. Founded in 1990, Theatre Kingston is Kingston, Ontario's professional theater company. Todd Moe spoke with Christopher about his goals, which include collaboration and community connections to keep local theater vibrant.

(11/11/11) There are support groups for service members and spouses, but what about the children of 10th Mountain Division soldiers sent overseas? Last spring, a theater class at Indian River High School teamed up with a local playwright to produce a very personal look at how teens respond to their parents' deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. In response to positive reaction, the play, In My Shoes, will be performed again tonight in Sackets Harbor and Saturday night in Clayton. Todd Moe met the students and creative team last June.

(10/26/11) The Grasse River Players fall production opens Thursday night (7:30) in Canton and includes a cast of more than a dozen youngsters from three area school districts. There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom is based on Louis Sachar's book that's found on many middle school reading lists. The plot involves Bradley, a troubled fifth grader; his school counselor, Carla and classmate Jeff, and how they tackle some of the mysteries of growing up: friendship, self-esteem and respect for others.

Todd Moe spoke with three young actors and their director, Karen Wells, who says that although the cast is mostly tweens, the play has a message for adults, too.

(09/27/11) Todd Moe talks with one of the actors in the Lake George Dinner Theater's regional premiere of Skin Deep - a show that explores physical beauty, self-acceptance, dating and family connections. Emily Mikesell, who plays the central character, "Maureen", calls the play "funny and sweet".

(09/21/11) Vermont Stage Company has a new leader as it opens it's 18th season with Photograph 51 on October 5th at the FlynnSpace in Burlington. The new season also includes The Clean House, Shirley Valentine, As You Like It, and Winter Tales. Todd Moe spoke with newly hired producing artistic director Cristina Alicea about her debut season with Burlington's longest-standing, professional theatre company. Alicea succeeds Mark Nash at the theatre's helm. They talked about some of the challenges and opportunities under the theme "Reinvention".

(09/01/11) A visiting theater group returns to Saranac Lake on Saturday night to put a new twist on a classic Shakespeare play. Acted out as if being performed by a traveling band of gypsies, Theater Group Dzieci's performance of "Makbet" includes words, gestures, chants and dance-like movement. Organizer Jason Brill told Todd Moe that three actors will play all the characters and the "stage" is the Union Depot train station. For ticket reservations, email Jason Brill: jbrillslk@gmail.com

(06/15/11) The Lake Placid Film Forum kicks off tomorrow, with four days of movies, panel discussions and workshops and a student filmmaking contest. The event is an intimate setting that offers locals a chance to see rare art films and to meet with some of the industry's most creative men and women -- directors, actors, writers. Todd Moe talks with Kathleen Carroll, co-founder and Artistic Director of the Lake Placid Film Forum.

(06/08/11) There are support groups for service members and spouses, but what about the children of 10th Mountain Division soldiers sent overseas? A theater class at Indian River High School teamed up with a local playwright to produce a very personal look at how teens respond to their parents' deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. The play, "In My Shoes", will be performed in the school's auditorium on Friday night. Todd Moe stopped by to meet the students and creative team.