Original Shorts this Weekend

Theatre du Mississippi presents staged readings of the Winners of the 2014 New Play Competition

May 9, 7:30 p.m.

The End by Conlan Carter
Return engagement by Kathy Peterson
Fat Actress, Ugly Model, and Other Destructive Labels for Women by Bella Poynton

May 10, 7:30 p.m.

Return engagement by Kathy Peterson
God Always Exists Somewhere by Greg Freier
Fat Actress, Ugly Model, and Other Destructive Labels for Women by Bella Poynton

May 11 2:00 p.m.

The End by Conlan Carter
Return engagement by Kathy Peterson
God Always Exists Somewhere by Greg Freier

$5 Historic Masonic Theater
Winona, Minnesota

TheatreduMississippi.org

Final Schedule for Ibsen Fest

Here is the latest version of the Ibsen Fest Schedule. Lots of good events, with a special appearance by Jeffery Hatcher’s 11-year-old’s take on Hamlet. And of course, Hatcher’s adaptation of Brand will be featured throughout the weekend.
Ibsen Schedule of Events (PDF)

Original Shorts

Casting call for Theatre du Mississippi’s Original Shorts

Theatre du Mississippi is holding open auditions for their upcoming production, Original Shorts—staged readings of four short plays.

Open auditions: April 11 and 12, 7pm - 9pm
Masonic Theater (255 Main Street, Winona)

• TdM is looking for around 9 males and 6 females in their 20s to 60s.
• Actors may request to be cast in only one, or as many as all four short plays.
• Actors will receive a small stipend.

The performance is a staged reading with limited rehearsals beginning March 30th.

Performances May 9-11 at the Masonic Theater.

For questions please email theatredumississippi987@gmail.com

Winners of TdM’s third annual Original Shorts playwriting competition

Staged readings of the four winning plays will be held at the Masonic Theater in Winona on May 9 and 10 at 7:30pm and May 11 at 2:00pm.

Return Engagement by Kathleen Peterson

Fat Actress, Ugly Model, and Other Destructive Labels for Women by Bella Poynton

God Always Exists Somewhere by Greg Freier

The End by Conlan Carter

Honorable Mention submissions:

The Switchblade by Bella Poynton

In the Shadow of the Monste by Jacob Wrich

The Ninth Train by Jane and Jim Jeffries

Soyuz 5 by Rand Higbee

www.theatredumississippi.org

Spring is Here: Ibsen is on the way

Like pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, news of spring activity at the Commonweal means that the 2014 theatre season is on its way!

The apprentice Company presents, Tigers be Still by Kim Rosenstock.
The play runs March 20 - March 30. See the trailer below.

And then there is Iben Fest. Here is the Commenoweal's News and Notes announcing the festival:

News & Notes from Commonweal Theatre Company

March 10, 2014 Special Edition  The Commonweal Theatre in historic Lanesboro, MN is proud to announce the 17th Annual Ibsen Festival  April 11-13, 2014 a A weekend of events celebrating Scandinavian theatre, visual arts, music, dance, and food!  Featuring a world premiere adaptation of  Ibsen's rarely produced epic       The  festival line-up features Prof. Mark Sandberg, president of the Ibsen Society of America! Plus... Ibsen Adorned -- Part II Presenting the jewelry and photomontages of international award-winning jewelry designer/goldsmith Liz Bucheit. Professor  J.P. Rosensweig The Philosophy Institute: Bringing Ideas to Life Prof. Rosensweig will explore some of the philosophical issues in Brand, namely, what leads people to follow seemingly extreme religious leaders, often at the cost of developing their own individual religious identity? A Celebration of the Sámi Featuring a travel photography exhibit, costume and jewelry collection, lecture and class. Other events include Scandinavian cuisine,  a return of the Spirits of Scandinavia, artist demonstrations, kubb and more! Join us April 11-13 for the only annual Ibsen Festival in the United States!  Click here for a complete schedule of events. For more information on all of our Ibsen programming, including details on our 2015 Midwest tour of The Master Builder, visit  www.ibsenfest.org.  Or call Adrienne Sweeney, Ibsen Festival coordinator, at (507) 467-2905, ext. 208. For a sneak peek, check out the  Brand trailer! We appreciate your help spreading the word about this exciting academic, cultural and artistic weekend!  If you know someone who may be interested in the Ibsen Festival, please forward this email. And click here for a poster you can download and print. If you can't make the festival,  Brand runs through June 13.  Thanks for your support! The Ibsen Festival is  made possible with  the  support of Sons of Norway,  SEMAC, local  businesses and the   208 Parkway Ave N, Lanesboro MN 55949 800-657-7025

Commonweal Theatre Company | Lanesboro, Minnesota | (800) 657-7025 | (507) 467-2525 tickets@commonwealtheatre.org

Tigers Be Still

You've gotten to know them on stage and off. The Commonweal could not function without them. And now, they take center stage.

The 2013-14 Apprentice Company is set to open Tigers Be Still by Kim Rosenstock.

All we can tell you is that the play opens with a minor crisis: a tiger has just escaped from a local zoo. That crisis connects four people in a very unexpected way. You'll just have to see for yourself where the action goes from there.

Performance times are Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 1:30pm, March 20-March 30. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for students and Season Pass Holders. Our MDC members are welcome free of charge.  

Visit the Commonweal for schedules and tickets: Commonweal Theatre (www.commonwealtheatre.org)

It’s 1936 Radio at Masonic Temple

Christmas Radio Show: "The Mystery of the Puzzling Patient"

Written and directed by Steve Anderson
Theater du Mississippi

When I agreed to run sound for Theatre du Mississippi’s Winter offering, I didn’t know that I would be working with one of the pioneers of the revival of old time radio performance, Steve Anderson. Anderson’s play, “the Mystery of the Puzzling Patient,” is live theatre with very few nods to any technology from the 2nd half of the Twentieth Century. (As the sound designer, I have some leeway in technology, but I have to keep it mostly out of sight). Steve, a long-time player in the Twin Cities theatre scene has a love of old radio shows. His productions pre-date A Prairie Home Companion. In fact, Tom Keith, the A Prairie Home’s long-time sound effects man, borrowed Steve’s sound effects collection each weekend for the first couple years of the show.

Steve also is a fan of old telephones, so I found myself accompanying him to the Shangri-La of vintage phones: Phoneco in Galesville, WI. As we were driving over there, he told me that he had stumbled across the place in the 70s and had been there once since, probably 20 years earlier. I had my doubts that it would still be there. But there it was: the old phone company building in Galesville, now collecting and restoring old telephones. Who buys old telephones? Well movie and theater production companies do. And people who simply like the feel and elegance of holding and talking into a work of art.

It has been an interesting trip. And tonight, I find myself near the ceiling of the Masonic Temple, waiting for the start of the second performance of the Radio Show. It is really a great show, watching the sound effects guys perform is worth the price of admission. And each night, the mystery baffles me: who is that man? I can see why live radio shows are so intreaguing to Steve—I’m hooked. I’m even thinking I should probably downgrade my home telephone to something with some semblance of style!

You can still get in if you are looking for a place to go on a cold December night. You can come tomorrow afternoon, too.

Left, The basement storage area of Philco in Galesville, WI. The basement went on and on and on. Phones and phone parts to the ceiling! Right, restored vintage pay phones ready to go. (My apologies for the fuzzy cell phone pics; I didn’t expect the trip to be a photo opp.)

Theatere Du Mississippi and Winona Radio presents “Christmas Radio Show: The Mystery of the Puzzling Patient.” December 6, 7, 8

Theatre du Mississippi accepting scripts Original Shorts Playwriting Contest

Theatre du Mississippi is now accepting scripts for their Third Annual Original Shorts Playwriting Contest. Winners shall receive a $50 prize and will be given a staged reading over the second weekend in May 2014.

Contest Rules

1. Plays must be original, un-produced scripts. Previous readings are okay.
2. Scripts must be short plays, approximately 20 minutes to 60 minutes in run time and having only one act. Please, no 10 Minute plays.
3. Playwrights must reside in the tri-state area of Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Iowa. Our mission is to foster area playwrights and our area is the region described. For the purposes of this contest a ‘resident’ is anyone with a postal mailing address in the tri-state area.
4. Submissions must be ‘blind.’ No name or email or any author-identifying signature attached to the script. Playwrights should clearly identify themselves and the name of the attached script in their cover letter or email.
5. Any genre or style of play is acceptable. We are not offended by foul language, but neither are we enamored by it. Use it wisely if you must use it.
6. All scripts will be read by a minimum of two readers. Those scripts passing both readers will be forwarded on to our panel of judges.
7. For a list of judging criteria, please check our web site (www.theatredumississippi.org). We value the qualities that make for strong drama.
8. Deadline for Submissions: All scripts must be sent to TdM before 11:59pm on January 15, 2014. Emailed scripts must show that the email was sent before this time. Postal mailed scripts must have a postmark before this date/time.
9. Winners shall receive a $50 prize and will be given a staged reading. Winning scripts will be assigned a director who shall determine casting and rehearsals. The cast will perform the plays, with script in hand and with minimal production values. Our intent is that the audience (and hopefully the playwrights) get to focus on the words and the story and not the ‘production.’ The plays will perform a variety of times over the second weekend in May.
10. We accept nearly any format for submissions.
    Electronic submissions may be sent to:
    theatredumississippi987@gmail.com
    
    Hard copies should be mailed to:
    Theatre Du Mississippi Original Shorts,
    PO Box 184,
    Winona, MN 55987.
    
    Scripts will only be returned if accompanied by a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope. Electronic submissions may be in txt, word, mobi, epub, pdf, or just about any other electronic format. If we can’t open and read it, we will let you know.

Adventure Theater Festival

This weekend and next, the Jon Hassler Theater is hosting 5 theater companies doing short, experimental plays. (Their slogan: “13 performances. 5 companies. 2 weekends. 1 epic adventure.”)

Last night, I saw plays from two companies: Suitcase by Sandbox Theatre and Four Humors’ Lotita: A Three Man Show by Four Humors.

Suitcase

Five short 1-person plays with actors   Derek Lee Miller and Amber Bjork (Bjork wrote one of the shorts; Miller wrote two others). The plays all had whimsical elements as well as poignant endings. Perhaps the most interesting was “A True Story” which actor Derek Lee Miller narrates and plays several of the characters while dressed as a 28-year-old Japanese woman named Takako Konishi in fashionable mini-skirt, boots, and coat. The play is based on a short film about Takako’s death, which news reports connected to the movie Fargo: Japanese woman dies looking for Fargo money.

All five shorts   are interesting plays and well worth seeing.

Lolita: A Three Man Show

The Four Humors’ take on Lolita picks up on the movie theme. Their short description of the play reads: “A one hour stage play, based on the two and a half hour movie by Stanley Kubrick, based on the five hour screenplay by Vladimir Nabokov, based on the 300 page novel by Vladimir Nabokov, as told by 3 idiots.”  The description doesn’t leave much else to say, really. The play deals with Lolita with an unexpected depth, even while making fun of itself and the book and films with predictable, but superbly acted slapstick.

It was a fun night at the theater, and my only regret is that I won’t be able to see the other three companies (Live Action Set on Sunday and SunsetGun Productions, Dangerous Productions) next weekend.

Adventure Theater Festival, August 16 - 26

Jon Hassler Theater

Plainview, MN

For more information visit adventuretheaterfestival.com.