Monthly Archives: July 2020

trueSUFFRAGE Online on July 23

TRUE_logotrueSUFFRAGE
trueTHEATRE
July 23
Zoom & Facebook Live [Online]

With the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states that the “right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” coming up, we are honoring this historic event with a show dedicated entirely to stories of female empowerment. Be prepared to be moved and inspired at “trueSUFFRAGE”!

Now in their 10th season, True Theatre continues to produce quarterly one-night-only events featuring five people, from all walks of life, sharing true, personal stories, based on the theme of the evening.

  • Thu, July 23 at 7:30pm

Press release |

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Auditions Announced for THE SUNSHINE BOYS at Fairfield Footlighters

fflFairfield Footlighters announces the auditions for THE SUNSHINE BOYS written by Neil Simon and directed by Richard Zenk. This classic comedy concerns two retired vaudeville performers, Al Lewis and Willie Clark (aka ‘The Sunshine Boys’), who reunite to perform their famous sketch ‘The Doctor Will See You Now’ on a network TV special.

The auditions will follow these guidelines: Everyone entering the FCAC Theater at 411 Wessel Dr, Fairfield, OH 45014 must wear a face mask. Auditionees can remove their mask once onstage for their audition but must wear when in close proximity to other people. Auditionees should stay outside until they called in via text or voice call. Everyone must social distance.

Auditions will be one person per time slot. They will be held from 6:30-9 PM on both July 20 and 22. Choose an audition slot no later than July 18th: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4ea4ae29abfb6-the

Once you sign up for an audition slot, you will be emailed an audition form to complete and the audition sides. You will return the audition form along with your theater resume and headshot by July 18th.

Contact the director with any questions via the Sign-Up Genius link. The rehearsals will begin on August 8. The performances will occur on September 18–20, 2020.

CHARACTERS:

  • Willie Clark (60+ – lead) – One half of the famous vaudeville duo known as the Sunshine Boys, Willie is a cranky, fiercely independent man, not as young as he used to be, and nostalgically protective of the glory days of his glamorous past.
  • Ben Silverman (20-35 – supporting) – Willie’s nephew and only living relative, an agent, frequently driven to heart palpitations by his frustration with his uncle, whom he looks after.
  • Al Lewis ( 60+ – lead) – The former vaudeville partner of Willie, who abruptly decided to retire after 43 years of performing. Now elderly, he lives with his daughter and her young family.
  • Patient (any age – cameo) – A member of the doctor sketch, one of the Sunshine Boys’ most famous acts.
  • Eddie (20-30; cameo) – The young and efficient assistant TV director at CBS.
  • Nurse (20-35; cameo) – A young attractive woman, playing a burlesque nurse in the Sunshine Boys’ doctor sketch.
  • Registered Nurse (any age – cameo) – A sensible, brusque healthcare practitioner hired to look after Willie.

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The Know Theatre of Cincinnati Begins 23rd Season with FEAST. by Megan Gogerty

KTC_Feast promoAugust 7 – September 20, 2020
You are cordially invited to an on-line performance.

The Know kicks off their upcoming twenty-third season, “We Can Rebuild It,” with FEAST., a bespoke-online production. 

You are cordially invited to break bread, virtually, with one of the seminal monsters of literature: Grendel’s Mother, from the Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf. Share in her hard won victories and shattering griefs. Turn your collective gaze upon the wreckage of the 21st century, and find what it takes to maybe build a better world.

And have a little treat. You deserve it.

FEAST. comes from playwright/actor/comedian Megan Gogerty, whom Cincinnati audiences may remember from her solo show Lady Macbeth and Her Pal, Megan, which nabbed the Audience Pick of the Fringe Award at the 2017 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Although a version of FEAST. existed in the pre-pandemic era, Megan has retooled the script to be an explicitly made-for-digital product.

The Know’s Associate Artistic Director, Tamara Winters, who will direct the production, offered this thought on creating this exclusively digital product:

“First off, not to disrespect Zoom theatre, but this is not that. This is a story you’ll experience from the screen of your choice, but it’s not shoehorned into the medium. Megan’s script invites you in to a specially designed experience. You’re being invited into a space designed for you, by a character who has had millennia to stew and plot and plan and rage before she opens herself up to you, in this moment. Because she needs something from you. Because she has an ancient wrong to correct. Are you brave enough to accept the invitation?

The role of Agathae will be played by local stage star Jennifer Joplin. Jennifer has lit up theatres all over the region, but Know audiences will remember her as Virginie, the woods-witch/taxidermist of The Man-Beast (2018), and as Terry, the hard-bitten mother of The Girl in the Red Corner (2019). Her autobiographical solo show, The MILF Also Rises, premiered at the 2019 Cincinnati Fringe Festival to critical acclaim and packed houses.

These online performances will begin at 8 PM on Wednesday through Saturday and 3 PM on Sunday matinees. To allow for any unexpected internet outages, dead batteries, or similar technological inconveniences audience members might potentially encounter, the footage will remain available to ticketholders for 24 hours after the beginning of the performance.

The Know has heard audiences say that they miss the interactive nature of live theatre. Although the Know isn’t quite ready to reopen its Jackson Street mainstage, the production team has devised a special at-home treat to keep that in-the-room magic alive. For a small upcharge, audiences can purchase a ticket that comes with a special “party favor” that will be delivered by mail. Agathae, as the evening’s hostess, will direct those audience members with the party favor on when and how to open the package as a part of the performance. To allow for shipping time, the Know requests that tickets that include the party favor be purchased at least one week ahead of the performance date.

A major part of the Know Theatre’s mission has been its Welcome Wednesday performances, which offer discounted and free tickets every Wednesday of a show’s run. The Know is very pleased to continue to offer Welcome Wednesday programming for this online performance. Wednesday tickets are available for advance purchase for $5, with the possible add-on of the party favor. All remaining tickets for the Wednesday performances will be available for free beginning at 7 PM the day of the performance, just like regular Welcome Wednesdays at the Know. (Please be aware that due to the necessary shipping time, the party favor is not available to purchase with the free Welcome Wednesday tickets.)

FEAST. is an uncompromisingly brash reflection on devotion, grief, and the communal responsibility to stoke the fires of revolution. It’s a bold mash-up of a classical story with bracing modernity, painting a world where mythology comes crashing into pop culture.

If your blood calls out to build a better world in the names of those you love, you’ll love FEAST., running August 7 to September 20, online from the Know Theatre. 

Tickets are available now at knowtheatre.com

CAST

  • Jennifer Joplin* as Agathae
    *Member of Actors’ Equity Association appearing under a Guest Artist contract 

PRODUCTION TEAM

  • Director: Tamara Winters
  • Scenic and Lighting Designer: Andrew J. Hungerford
  • Costume Designer: Noelle Wedig-Johnston
  • Props Designer: Kayla Williams
  • Stage Manager: Meghan Winter
  • Technical Director: Henry Bateman

CALENDAR LISTING

Production:               FEAST. by Megan Gogerty

When:                        8:00 PM August 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, September 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19.

3 PM August 16, 23, 30, September 6, 13, 20.

Where:                       Online streaming.

Tickets:

  • $20 regular price tickets (no “party favor”)
  • $30 regular ticket plus party favor
  • $35 “Living Wage” ticket supporting working artists in Cincinnati, party favor included
  • $15 rush tickets, beginning one hour before performance when available.
  • FREE tickets are available on Wednesdays one hour before the performance as part of the Know’s Welcome Wednesday experience.
  • Advance tickets to Welcome Wednesday are $5, or $15 with the party favor.

FEAST. is made possible through the support of its Production Sponsor, the Morse and Betty Johnson Foundation. 

Know Theatre is Cincinnati’s Theatrical Playground. The Know showcases unexpected voices, new works, and plays that embrace the inherent theatricality of the live experience. Know Theatre seeks to be a place where artists and audiences feel welcome to take artistic risks, creating work that is cutting edge and accessible. 

Know Theatre’s work is made possible, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign 

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. 

Know Theatre is also supported by The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, helping to change our communities for the better through collaboration and innovation, and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, which provides a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving. 

 Know Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group and an Associate Member of the National New Play Network.

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Remote NEW WORKS FESTIVAL Announced by Cincinnati Lab Theatre

LAB is happy to announce this season we will be presenting a Remote New Works Festival 2020 August 7-9, 2020 at 7pm. The remote event will consist of three live-streamed original plays via Zoom. The three pieces in this year’s Remote Play Reading Series are:

CLT_Five Branches logo

Poster by Eric Kilpatrick.

FIVE BRANCHES by Ron Burch
Directed by Derek Snow

Set in a claustrophobic room, the five heads of the American military-Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard meet after one of them, Thompson, was approached by the President of the United States who wants them to join him in a coup of our government. They also find out that the president has dirt on each of them and is willing to use it if they don’t. While trying to come up with a unanimous decision, they discover that one of them has betrayed them to the president. Thompson figures out who betrays them and decides, using the confession of the culprit, that, despite the possibly catastrophic personal risk, to stop the coup.

CLT_Shirt Brown Honesty logoSHIRT. BROWN. HONESTY by Jason Podplesky
Directed by Elizabeth a. Harris

Part physical theater, part absurdist drama, and part stand-up comedy routine, this is the story of a woman who overcomes a serious physical trauma all while trying to negotiate the pitfalls of the American Health Care System and a romantic relationship. Through barriers to her physical state she must learn to speak, eat, walk, and love all over again in this raw, poetic, and inspiring piece of theatre.

CLT_Pirouette logoPIROUETTE by Chris Holbrook
Directed by Aaron Epstein

Pirouette is a comedy about memory, transitions and a life in the arts. Giselle is a dancer who is looking at life after dance. Judith is her sister who has already stopped dancing. When they run into a man they haven’t seen in years, it throws out of balance who and what they know about each other and their lives. As their memories of events clash, they each have to find a way to come together.

Stay tuned to our social media spaces for more festival information in the upcoming weeks including: cast announcements, artist highlights, ticket information, and a contest. We’re looking forward to sharing these pieces with you in August!

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High-Flying Circus Acts Meet the High-Energy Swing Band at KSO’s SWINGIN’ CIRQUE REVUE

7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 11, 2020
Tower Park Amphitheatre, Fort Thomas, KY

KSO_Cirque Devou

Duo Rose. Photo by Jim Faust.

A high-energy Swing Revival band provides high-octane music for high-flying circus acts, performing safely outdoors for free. Prepare to mask-up for this weekend’s SWINGIN’ CIRQUE REVUE in Tower Park. The KSO and City of Fort Thomas will be following Kentucky “Healthy at Work” requirements as musicians and audiences safely return to distanced and safe outdoor activities. Sanitizer will be available and distancing reminders will abound.

The KSO’s Devou-Doo Daddies is a 10-pc group that covers the hits and sounds of 1990s swing revival bands — Royal Crown Revue, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, The Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and more. Circus Mojo is based at the Ludlow (KY) Theater to mentor youth in the circus arts and brings together circus acts and performers from across the globe to teach and entertain. The KSO and Circus Mojo have teamed up in the past for hi-jinx and great music. “In these crazy times we decided to scale down the forces and ramp up the energy,” KSO music director James Cassidy enthusiastically announced.

The KSO’s four active subsidiary groups allow the orchestra to add area jazz, studio players and vocalists to the orchestra’s talented roster of musicians to authentically perform varied genres of jazz, fusion and pop across nearly six generations (1898-2020). The Devou-Doo Daddies came about after we put the group together to play a set at our “Jump Jive and Wail” Gala in 2015. It was simply too much fun, so we just kept adding charts and dates, remarked Cassidy.

CGO (Chief Goof Officer) Paul Miller is the mojo in Circus Mojo. A former
Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus clown for 6 years, Paul is plugged into circus acts and entertainers throughout the world. “Ten years ago the KSO helped us launch and introduce Circus Mojo to the community. Since then we’ve been fortunate to bring circus artists from 35 countries and 6 continents to Ludlow,” chortled Pauly the Clown.

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Circus Mojo (silks and fire). Photo by Jim Faust.

Audiences will enjoy many acts backed up by the Daddies, including Dizzy Lizzy of the National Circus Institute of Australia, dancer/unicyclist extraordinaire Eddie Moffit, Ft. Thomas’s own juggler Damien Berkheimer and from Chicago, the international trapeze artists Duo Rose.

The KSO appreciates the generous support of the following local corporate sponsors: St. Elizabeth Health Care, Duke Energy, Bircus Beer, The Milburn Family and the Wohlgemuth-Herschede Foundations, and the City of Fort Thomas for hosting the KSO’s 2020 free series of family-friendly and safe summer programs. Seniors and others who wish to avoid even distanced crowds are invited to attend the Saturday 10:30 a.m. dress rehearsal at Tower Park. Others can join the program streamed live at 7:30 on Facebook Live.

Join the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra Saturday at 7:30 p.m. — July 11 at Tower Park in Fort Thomas. Food trucks will be on-site. Bring blankets, picnics or lawn chairs. For more information, registration and directions, visit the KSO at www.kyso.org or call (859) 431-6216. $5 (per person) suggested donation. Free parking in Tower Park (though it is
limited).

Song | As performed by: | Artist | Act

Jumpin’ Jack | Big Bad Voodoo Daddy(BBVD) | Band | —
Go Daddy-O | BBVD | Ensemble | Intro Parade
Bedbugs | Squirrel Nut Zippers (SNZ) | Karen Lukes | Clown
The Curly Shuffle | Back in the Saddle Band | Circus Mojo Kids | Globes
You & Me & the Bottle… | BBVD | Damien / Pauly | Juggling
The Jitters | BBVD | Tate West | Tight Wire
Hey Pachuco | Royal Crown Revue (RCR) | Hope Miller | Silks
Zoot Suit Riot | Cherry Poppin’ Daddies (CPD) | Casey Crowe | Gym Wheel
Ding-dong Daddy… | CPD | Pauly | Ladder
Mambo Swing | BBVD | Dizzy Lizzy | Hula Hoops

— Intermission —

Mr. Pinstripe Suit | BBVD | Jameson Pellegrino | Cyr Wheel
The Contender | RCR | Damien Berkheimer | Juggling solo
I Wanna Be Like You | BBVD | Dizzy Lizzy | Hoops
Hell | SNZ | Karen Lukes | Clown
In the Mood | Glenn Miller | Eddie Moffit | Unicycle
King of Swing | BBVD | Band | —
Please, Baby | BBVD | Duo Rose | Trapeze
Mugzy’s Move | RCR | Ensemble | LED Cyr Wheel/Hoops
Goin’ Back to New Orleans | BBVD | Ensemble | Fire Act

KSO Devou-Doo Daddies:

  • Reeds: Dwayne Irvin, Paul Batchelor Glader
  • Trumpets: Hank Mautner, Matt Anklan
  • Trombone: Dave Ashley
  • Rhythm: Ben Tweedt, (Keys), Brian Deyo (Gtr), Mike Sharfe, (Bass), Brian Malone (Drums)
  • Vocal: Troy Hitch

Circus Mojo Artists:

  • Shiann Carpenter-Allen
  • Taylor Baresel
  • Damien Berkhiemer
  • Casey Crowe
  • Dizzy Lizzy
  • Cherie Haas
  • Karen Hinrichs Lukes
  • Hope Miller
  • Lucas Miller
  • Paul Hallinan Miller
  • Eddie Moffat
  • Jameson Pellegrino
  • Krissie Roberts
  • Sam & Sylvia Rose
  • Libby Sparks
  • Cass Stewart
  • Emmanual Tawiah
  • Tate West
  • Sebastain Woodward

Additional Summer Program Support provided by
The Milburn Family Foundation
The Wohlgemuth Herschede Foundation

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