Williamston Theatre presents A World Premiere by Joseph Zettelmaier
GRAVEDIGGER; a Frankenstein Story
Directed by John Lepard

Pay-What-You-Can: Thursday, September 25 @ 8pm
Reservations Strongly Recommended
Friday, Sept 26 @ 8pm ~ $15
Saturday, Sept 27 @ 8pm ~ $15
Sunday, Sept 28 @ 2pm ~ $15

All performances this weekend followed by a talk back
with the director and playwright.

Set in the late 1700s, in one of Bavaria's forgotten cemeteries, a lone gravedigger finds a hideously scarred man hiding in a freshly dug grave. Thus begins a journey of discovery and friendship, leading to a crossroads where both men face their shared past. From the writer ofEbenezer, And The Creek Don't Rise, and It Came From Mars, comes a seasonally haunting tale of pursuing the monster within.

Featuring Mark Colson, Alysia Kolascz,
Alex Leydenfrost and Joe Seibert
Performances run through November 2

www.williamstontheatre.com

Tickets are now on sale

Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre welcomes Joe Barros as the guest director of the thrilling October production, Carrie the Musical, which will play at the Pasant Theatre at Wharton Center from Oct 10 – Oct 19, 2014.

“I am thrilled and honored to be the recipient of the SDCF’s Guest Artist Initiative, and am so grateful for the incredible opportunity to work at MSU,” said Joe Barros. “Our Carrie is less about gore and super powers, and rather focuses on the power of bullying and how technology affects and heightens bullying. Since technology is a vivid theme in contemporary bullying, we are exploring technology in the production, both literally and metaphorically, with the presence of cell phones and state-of-the-art multimedia technology.”

According to Barros, technology will further immerse the audience into the world of the storytelling in some very innovative ways: audience members will have a chance to publically Tweet negative or positive things about Carrie before the curtain, audience members can elect to receive texts to their phones with photographs and hashtags during the performance, and a select group of audience members will join the actors on stage for the prom and Carrie's iconic destruction. It is Barros’ hope that the audience will feel the effects of Carrie's cautionary journey beyond Stephen King’s core story - frighteningly aware that the story of Carrie and others like it (Columbine, Virginia Tech, and even more recent events) have already happened.  Barros, who will direct and choreograph Carrie, concluded, “My ultimate message to the students and the community is this: If everyone is being bullied, where are all the bullies? It is my hope to ignite a change in philosophy from 'What is the world doing to me?' to 'What am I offering the world?'  In Carrie, that message is summed up beautifully: ‘What does it cost to be kind?’”

Performances held in the Pasant Theatre at Wharton Center from October 10-19.

Friday, October 10, 2014 at 8:00pm
Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 2:00pm
Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 8:00pm
*Sunday, October 12, 2014 at 2:00pm

Wednesday, October 15, 2014 at 7:30pm
**Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 7:30pm
Friday, October 17, 2014 at 8:00pm
Friday, October 17, 2014 at MIDNIGHT
Saturday, October 18, 2014 at 8:00pm
Sunday, October 19, 2014 at 2:00pm

*   Pre-Show Director Discussion Sunday, October 12, 2014 at 1:15 PM
** Post-Show Discussion on Thursday, October 16, 2014 (Following the Performance)

Tickets are available from the Wharton Center Box Office; 1.800.WHARTON; www.whartoncenter.com.
Box office at the Pasant Theatre opens 1 hour prior to each performance with house doors opening 30 minutes prior.
General Admission $20. Faculty & Seniors $18. Students $15.

Pasant Theatre at Wharton Center for Performing Arts
Michigan State University, 750 E. West Shaw Lane, East Lansing, 48824.
For more information and the entire 2014-15 season of “Power Plays” visit theatre.msu.edu

Press Contact: Dave Wendelberger – wendelbe@msu.edu – 262-853-1412

Here's RIPPLES from Riverwalk Theatre. Note the fascinating drama CHILD's PLAY is coming up, also SEA GULL Auditions.

Please prepare a 1 minute monologue from a play of your choice. There will also be cold readings from the script.
Audition Dates:
Saturday, October 11th from 1-4PM
Sunday, October 12th from 7-10PM

America’s leading expert on young performers introduces the basics to parents & teens.
 
Renowned New York Talent Scout Peter Sklar knows a thing or two about helping aspiring child stars achieve success. His list of protégés includes Sarah Jessica Parker, Reese Witherspoon, and Mischa Barton, to name a few, along with many current and former Broadway, TV, and film actors, singers and dancers. 
Reality shows like American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance have springboarded some of the most talented kids in the nation into super stardom. But with so much available talent, what really sets one kid apart from another?

According to Sklar, an arts career is about two things: self-image and health. He argues that these qualities outweigh looks, training, connections, and even talent. 

In “Getting Started in the Arts” a free lecture for aspiring teen dancers, singers and actors, and their parents on Saturday, October 4th, 2014, 1:00 PM at Studio 707 Productions in Lansing, Michigan. Sklar will explain why his views are in synch with the needs of top New York and Hollywood agents and casting directors.  

“The people who sit behind the table are trying to decide two things: do they like you, and do they believe you,” Sklar tells young audiences. “If you don’t feel good mentally and physically, you won’t open up and show us who you really are. When that happens- no matter how good you are, how pretty, or who you know- we’ve already lost interest.”

Alluding to a dramatic rise in self-destructive behavior, such as smoking, drinking, drugs, and eating disorders among so-called “happy” teens, Sklar marvels at how often these activities secretly co-exist with good grades, good behavior, and virtually every other outward sign of stability. 

“The kids I interview are the smartest and most talented- the highest achievers in the nation,” proclaims Sklar. “And they’re too often the most unhappy, unhealthy, and least employable.”

Sklar boasts an Ivy League pedigree, (Masters Degree in Education from Harvard University), and four decades of experience. He’s been the subject of multiple feature-length articles in the New York Times, was interviewed on E! True Hollywood Story, appeared as a guest expert on Donahue, and has had his work presented on the Bravo Channel, Good Morning America, and dozens of other media outlets. 

He’s currently developing an original musical based on his experiences entitled “The Kid Who Played the Palace”, to be directed by William Martin, (Broadway’s “The Lieutenant”, recipient of five Tony Award nominations).

“Getting Started in the Arts” is open to teenagers, young adults, older children, and parents. There is no charge for admission, but reservations are strictly required. Nobody under age seven (7) will be admitted with or without a parent, and nobody under age eighteen (18) will be admitted without their own mother or father. (Please note carefully that a substitute temporary guardian, such as a friend’s parent, will not be permissible.)

WHEN: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4th 1:00 PM   

WHERE: STUDIO 707 PRODUCTIONS   2722 EAST MICHIGAN AVENUE    LANSING, MI

RESERVATIONS petersklar.eventzilla.net. For more information: (517) 295 - 0544

MORE INFORMATION:  www.petersklaronline.com  www.gettingstartedinthearts.com  

(Lansing, MI;September 17, 2014)--Ixion Ensemble Opens its 2014-2015 Season with the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks September 27-October 4. Performances are in AA Creative Corridor, 1133 S. Washington Ave. Lansing, MI. Tickets are $15 and can be reserved by calling 517.775.4246 or emailing ixionensemble@gmail.com. For more information visit Ixion on facebook, twitter, Google+ or www.ixiontheatre.com.

Performances are Saturday September 27 @ 8 p.m.; Sunday September 28 @ 7 p.m.; Friday October 3 @ 8 p.m. and Saturday October 4 @ 8 p.m.

Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks received the Pulitzer Prize in 2002. It is the story of two African American brothers, Lincoln and Booth, trying to get by in a one bedroom flop house. They struggle with a past of being abandoned by their parents, petty crime and broken relationships. Like the 3-Card Monte game they practice, their story is filled with feints, half-truths and misdirection, while they struggle with racism, alcoholism and lack of work. 

Named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Innovators for the Next New Wave,” in 2002 Suzan-Lori Parks became the first African American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for her Broadway hit Topdog/Underdog. A MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient, she has also been awarded grants by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts. She is recipient of a Lila-Wallace Reader’s Digest Award, a CalArts/Alpert Award in the Arts (Drama) for 1996, a Guggenheim Foundation Grant and is an alumnae of Mount Holyoke College and New Dramatists. (Excerpted from Ms. Parks's website,www.suzanloriparks.com). 

Topdog/Underdog is directed by Paige Dunckel, who recently appeared in Ixion's debut production, The Four Disgracers. Featured as Lincoln is Second City alumnus, stand-up comedian and local favorite, Rico Bruce Wade. Joining Mr. Wade on stage is the talented local actor for stage and screen, Sineh Wurie.

9/21-28 - Local star of the movie BUFFALO , William McCallum, invites all to go see this movie at Celebration - it starts Sunday and runs thru the following Sunday. The local Filmmaker/director is his son, Michael McCallum and he is extremely talented! If any of you saw Fairview Street - this is the same guy.They are good at what they do and could use your support. Look here for dates/times and the trailer.

https://celebrationcinema.com/movie/Buffalo/9-21-2014