Archive for July, 2009

As sent to our fan page on Facebook.

Dear Friends

Allow me to first thank you all for the exuberant flood of support we have received from you and the local community regarding our project. It has been a truly heady and rewarding experience to watch this project explode from a crazy idea on a message board into a serious concept for a sustainable artistic resource for the Antelope Valley.

Our first production, “Voices,” was a big success, and we have been busy exploring and acting on our options since. As we grow, it is my goal to keep our community involved and engaged with this project. We are not just another theatre group – we are a grassroots movement of actors, techies, writers, and devotees of the austere, high-brow art (cough) of garage theatre.

Happening soon – AVT is auditioning for all roles in “Crime and Punishment”; you must schedule an appointment on August 15th with the Production Stage Manager. Also, prepare for a wholly unique experience with our Original Short-Play Expo, coming in October!.

Now that we have finally obtained the appropriate performance licenses, it is with great pleasure that I can today unveil to you our 2010 Season – a full year of three thought-provoking dramas on the theme of Law and Society.

We begin in January with Crime and Punishment.  The classic novel has been here distilled into a 90-minute psychological thriller on the nature of right and wrong, and the redemptive power of faith.

In June, we present Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, a clash of wills and morality between two lawyers with very different views on the nature of justice. Their conflicts, legal and personal, probe the nature of our criminal justice system and the dichotomy between logic and compassion.

Lastly, in September, we will retell the story of The Interrogation of Nathan Hale, a rifleman and spy for the American Revolution, captured and executed by the British almost exactly 233 years before our opening night. What is freedom? What is courage? What is the value of a life? This is a play that seeks to understand the values of our nation—their flaws, as well as their wondrous virtues.

Each of these productions will receive a three-show run. To help meet the costs of bringing these very technically involved, full-length productions to the local community, we will begin charging a nominal ticket price for admission to all shows in the 2010 Season: $7 general and $5 youth (age 12 or younger).

Beyond the excitement of our very first season, I am also pleased to report that we are well on the way to acquiring our business license and 501.(c)(3) non-profit status… which of course means that any donation or in-kind support from individuals or businesses will soon be tax deductable!

No amount is too small – but for those who donate $65 or more, we would like to show our appreciation by designating them as Patrons of AVT. Members of our valued Patrons Club will receive:

• Three first-priority-seating ticket credits, usable for any show in the 2010 Season.
• An invitation to our annual Patron’s Reception
• Recognition in the playbill and prior to each performance.
• Discounts and benefits at local businesses by showing your AVT Patron Card. (under negotiation, please see our website for the most up-to-date list)

In appreciation for their early support of AVT, all those who donated to support “Crime and Punishment” at the receptions we held after “Voices” will be grandfathered in to the new Patronage system, regardless of the amount they donated. Unfortunately, since these donations occurred before when we will be officially a non-profit, they cannot be considered tax-deductible; for this, we apologize. To ensure that all future donations are tax-deductible for you, we will gladly take pledges, but will not actually accept any donation until we receive our official 501.(c)(3) status.

Whew, ok, I’ll stop there… but you can find plenty of information, blog posts, podcasts, and any new business sponsors we acquire at our website! Thank you again for your support, and do not hesitate to use your direct line to the Producer (nalin@avthespians.org) with any feedback, ideas, complaints, or suggestions.

Regards,
Nalin A. Ratnayake
Producer and Artistic Director

We’ve made some changes to our Original Short-Play Expo, to be held October 17th.  Based on feedback from writers and crew, we have decided to make it more of a festival and workshop format.

The play submission deadline has been extended to Sept 15, in light of the changes
in format (we no longer require time to rehearse and stage each script).

Interested writers should still submit work for consideration (20 minutes / 4 actors maximum) to productions@avthespians.org. From these, AVT will select several for a series of one-hour sessions, which will consist of a reading and limited staging by actors, who will have had advance reading of the scripts to develop basic characters.  Following the reading, a panel of tech crew, along with AVT’s Artistic Director, Technical Director, and Production Stage Manager, will lead a discussion on the work.

Aspiring playwrights will receive feedback from actors, techies, production staff, fellow writers, and audience members through this expo.

Audience and guests are welcome to stop by at any time during the expo. Admission will be free. RSVP and address information will be released closer to the event, after we have selected and scheduled the works to be exhibited.

Join us for an afternoon of experimental community theatre!

Nalin A. Ratnayake, Producer and Artistic Director for AVT, lounging at Sagebrush Cafe during this podcast.

Courtney and I met up this afternoon to interview each other at AVT’s favorite coffee house, Sagebrush Cafe, on L-14 and 50th W in Quartz Hill, where we have most of our production meetings.  You can probably find me hanging out there a few times a week!

Having recently figured out how to embed podcast capability into our blog posts, we thought it would be a great idea to start posting spontaneous interviews with cast, crew, fans, and innocent bystanders.  So… here we go!  The first installment in what I hope will become a series of interesting podcasts, focused on personal experiences with the AVT project.

AVT's Business Manager and genius behind the podcast recordings, Courtney Marietta.

Don’t worry, we still intend to listen and call in occasionally to  Community Theatre Heroes, a weekly podcast on theatre happenings in the Antelope Valley.  These podcasts we are doing here are solely focused on the AVT project, and our cast, crew, and fans.

 AVT Podcast #1 [13:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (139)

This first podcast is about how the project got started and where we are right now.

I’m not sure why it took me this long, but we finally have a Facebook Group.  Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=240209065453!

A few big changes coming down the line at AVT!  We’re expanding our plans and operations very quickly, and I wanted to make sure I posted an update on all the goings on.  We have had a great run of strategery meetings these last few weeks.  Some of the major outcomes are:

• The format of the Original Short Play Expo has changed.  Look for another post shortly about this.
• AVT is obtaining a business license, non-profit status, and food/beverage permit (more on this later from Courtney).
• An entire 2010 Season is being defined, of which Crime and Punishment is only the first of three.  Once we have performance licenses confirmed with the publishers, we will release the season brochure.
• As of Crime and Punishment, ticket prices will be charged.  However, we expect the cost to be far less than the going community theatre rate.
• We are forming a patronage system, in which Patrons of AVT who donate above a certain level will receive free show tickets, discounts at local businesses, and other benefits. Details will be released with the 2010 Season Brochure and on our website at the same time.
• Courtney Marietta has been moved from the role of Production Stage Manager to the new role of Business Manager.  She will be tracking our finances and budget, managing the patronage system, and overseeing our business relationships.
• Karen Gruca has joined the team as the new Production Stage Manager, and will be functioning in that role starting with Crime and Punishment auditions next month.
• The AVT Operational Plan has been updated to version 2.1 to reflect the position changes and some revisions to  all sections of the document.
• With our new ability to embed podcasts and videos in our blog posts, we would like to begin interviewing production team members, actors, and fans about AVT and their experiences with the project.

That is the major summary for now, look for additional posts about the Expo and about AVT’s business side!

I was invited to call in to BlogTalkRadio’s “Community Theatre Heroes” again last night to talk about the AVT project.  For those of you who don’t know, local thespians Chris Murphy and Phillip McKaughan have a weekly podcast on Wednesday at 8pm that discusses theatre auditions, theatre people, and theatre happenings in and around the Antelope Valley.   I think it’s a great resource, and moreover it’s just really cool that there is a vibrant enough arts culture in the AV to support our own local theatre podcast!

You can listen to last night’s episode on demand from their website.  I called in around 10 minutes into the show… and accidently entered the queue earlier than I expected!  I thought the interview went well though, and I’m glad we have such good support from them.

AVT is pleased to announce auditions for Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”, a drama by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus, and produced by special arrangement with Dramatic Publishing.

Please contact the Production Stage Manager, Karen Gruca (karen@avthespians.org) to schedule an appointment for Saturday, August 15th.  The format will be cold reading.

Rehearsals will be at most weekly, beginning in mid to late September. There will be three performances, two on Saturday January 16th, and one on Sunday January 17th.

We are looking for:

• One male for the lead, Rodion Raskolnikov.  Lots of lines, on stage almost continuously for 90 min.  The character is dark (metaphorically), disturbing, fidgety, and psychologically off-balance.  Primary desired quality is intense depth of character.
• One male to play Porfiry Petrovich (a detective), as well as minor roles Marmeladov (a drunk) and Koch (town citizen).  We need a versatile actor to play multiple, very different characters.
• One female to play Sonia (a prostitute), as well as minor roles Alyona (a miserly pawnbroker), Lizaveta (an innocent victim), and Mother (a saintly figure).  We need a versatile actress to play multiple, very different characters, with little time in between switching roles.

Due to the subject matter and a few instances of profanity and violence, this play is not deemed suitable for youth actors.

This new, award-winning adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s literary masterpiece Crime and Punishment is set in 1860’s St. Petersburg, where Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov relives the thoughts, ideas and feelings that drove him to his horrible crime. This “conversation on the nature of evil” becomes a dark journey into the mind of a killer and his search for redemption. Raskolnikov speaks directly to the audience at times, putting his case to them, so that the audience becomes another character in the telling. This is an intense psychological and spiritual journey which seeks to unveil hidden dimensions of the human condition, and the power of faith to heal even the gravest and most disturbing wounds of the soul.