The Holiday season is well behind us and we have been busy working on the 2010 Players season...
From The President
Hello and welcome to another edition of the Calumet Players newsletter!
The Board has already been busy working on both the spring and fall productions and if you read on in this newsletter you will be informed of those selections.
Last summer a lot of work was done on the Players Building. If you drive by you will see the new cornice, windows, and newly painted doors. These are the results of the façade grant we received and matched dollar for dollar last year and the donation of time from a wonderful painter in Calumet. I would also like to say a special thank you to Benita and Tom Maksimchuk for the great window displays that have been put up over the last few months advertising our shows and welcoming the seasons. I would like to remind you, if you have not already done so, to renew your membership in the Players for this year. The Players are a 501-c3 tax exempt corporation and your donation may qualify as a tax deduction, and any donation would be greatly appreciated.
We have once again applied for a mini-grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs to assist with the expenses of the fall musical. If you remember last year these funds were cut significantly because of the budget problems in the State and we encourage you, when ever the opportunity presents itself, to remind all State Legislatures how important it is to the support the Arts in Michigan
Lastly, I want to thank our Board of Directors for all of their work behind the scenes and their dedication throughout the year. Without their help, we wouldn’t be able to do the quality performances that we have in the past 31 years.
Sara Perfetti
President
What do you get when you have a silent king, an unmarried prince, and a temperamental queen? An entertaining tale of finding the right princess ...
“Once Upon A Mattress”
A TRIP TO Medieval Times...
The Calumet Players are thrilled to announce that our fall musical will be Once Upon A Mattress; book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer, and Dean Fuller, music by Mary Rodgers, and lyrics by Marshall Barer. Auditions will be held on June 28th, 29th & 30th at the Calumet Players Building. Everyone who auditions will be asked to sing a song of their choice and to read a part. There may also be some dancing required.
The show will be directed by Players Veteran, Mike Aubin, vocal direction by Joan Petrelius, and orchestral direction by Tom Maksimchuk. Show dates will be September 10th, 11th, 16th, 17th, and 18th. This is a great musical telling of the tale “The Princess and the Pea” There are parts for ages 14 and up. If you are interested in working back stage in any area, please come to the auditions to sign up. We hope to see you there!
Theatre Humor...
An actress, a costumer and a stage manager found an old bottle in a pile of junk backstage. The actress rubbed it against her sleeve, and poof! A genie appeared.
"You got me fair and square," the genie said. "So you each get one wish."
"I want a world tour in a starring role," the actress declared."Granted," said the genie, and poof! The actress was off on her tour.
"I want a yacht and unlimited funds to cruise the exotic ports of the world," wished the costumer."Granted," said the genie, and poof! The costumer was off on his cruise.
The stage manager rubbed his chin, thought for a minute and said, "I want them back after lunch."
They’re ba-ack...
At the request of members of the local community, the Calumet Players will once again be presenting “Nunsense” The show will take place at the Lake Linden-Hubbell High School Auditorium on Thursday, April 22nd and Friday, April 23rd at 7:30p.m. and a matinee on Saturday, April 24th at 2:00p.m. Tickets for the show are $10.00 and a concession stand will be available for snack during the intermission.
To get into the Auditorium you need to go into the school entrance directly across from the Lake Linden Post Office entrance. Parking is available on the street or in the school parking lot (which is between St . Joseph’s church and the school).
Come and see the zany antics of the 5 sisters from Mt. St. Helen’s school as they are trying to hold a fundraiser for their convent in the school auditorium. (If you haven’t seen the show, wait until you hear the reason for the fundraiser!) Tickets are available at all branches of the Range Bank – 2 in Calumet, Houghton, and Lake Linden, the Community Arts Center in Hancock, and at the door.
We hope to see you there!
It was a dark and stormy night...
When we decided to do a Spring show for 2009, no one on the Calumet Players Board knew for certain if a stage play had been adapted from the book by Robert Traver (pen name for John D. Voelker). Elihu Whiner wrote the play, which differs in many ways from Otto Preminger's movie that opened in 1959.
I liked the tie-in with the 50th anniversary of filming the story in the Marquette, Big Bay, and Ishpeming areas. I also liked the story's deep roots in the Upper Peninsula and it's origins in a true crime/courtroom story. The Board liked the possibilities for generating interest from our regular patrons and some who have never seen a Calumet Players production. They were willing to take a chance and let me direct the production.
As with Agatha Christie's Mousetrap, we needed to do something unusual and new to make the production more memorable, so we decided to ask for audience volunteers to be the jury members. As we hoped, enough volunteers stepped forward each night to full our jury gallery, and were rewarded by a fine round of applause from their fellow audience members. Having the jury in the first two rows (center) tied the audience closely to the courtroom drama on the stage.
I was blessed with a wonderful cast of veteran Calumet Players (see the Web site for all their names) and the ever-confident, competent, and energetic Players stage crew. Special thanks go out to the Trudells for the use of their basement for rehearsals during cold (and snowy) evenings. Everyone performed so well, my job was simplified, making direction a pleasure.
Cast members were challenged by the sometimes stilted dialog -- a result of drawing dialog so closely from the actual transcripts and court records. Although many cast members were asked to go to difficult emotional places to bring the often repetitive testimony to life and to make the story ring with the truth of the original murder and trial, they performed superbly, giving me all I could ask for and much more. I was grateful and thankful to see and hear their intrepid performances.
Audience attendance was heartening and seems destined to promote additional spring shows. Thanks to everyone who bought a ticket and enjoyed the fruits of our labors. For more information about Anatomy of a Murder, check out the Anatomy of a Murder link on our home page - cplayers.org
~ Mick McKellar, Director
Seventy Six trombones led the big parade...
A great big JOB WELL DONE to all persons involved with the Calumet Players' production of The Music Man. After two months of acting, vocal, and musical rehearsals, the cast and crew of this production put together a terrific show.
This was the second Players show for director Sara Perfetti, and she would like to say thank you to our new Vocal Director Joan Petrelius, Orchestra Director Tom Maksimchuk, Propmistress m, Debbie Manderfield, Choreographer Patti Perfetti, Stage Manager Dennis Racine, Set designer/builder Sandy Lewin, Lighting Designer David Crowley, Sound & Technology Coordinator Ken Olkkonen and everyone else who worked so hard to see the show come to a successful end.
Thank you also to everyone who auditioned for the show. We saw many new faces and a lot of familiar ones and it was wonderful to see how everyone bonded between the first read-through and opening night. From the fly-loft, to the sound and lighting crew, to those in the orchestra pit; the show never could have happened without the commitment and dedication from the 50-55 people involved. Thank you for giving up your nights during July and August and for your willingness to help put together a show that the whole community was able to enjoy!