Antelope Valley Thespians

It’s been several months since AVT’s last podcast… but now that our productions are starting to ramp up again for the 2011 Season we have much to talk about! This latest installment in our podcast series features actors Sarah Allen and Mathew Gruca, both working with AVT for the first time this year. They talk about their experiences with AVT so far and discuss their roles in our upcoming production of THE AMERICAN CENTURY.

Podcast #15: Sarah Allen and Mathew Gruca on THE AMERICAN CENTURY [ 14:11 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (376)

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The play runs May 13-22 on weekends at the Antelope Valley Winery. Ticketing will be available online starting in a couple of weeks.

We hope you enjoyed this podcast episode. You can download or stream our entire podcast archive directly from our blog. You can also subscribe to our podcast RSS feed, find us on Blubrry, or search for “Antelope Valley Thespians” in the iTunes podcast directory!

AVT invites local and regional playwrights of all experience levels to join us at a concept workshop next Thursday, March 31st from 6pm to 8pm at Sagebrush Cafe in Quartz Hill. Directors and company members will be on hand to discuss your works in progress or questions you may have regarding your scripts or ideas.

This is a concept workshop intended for early-stage or planned works. Please come prepared with a summary of plot, themes, characters, etc if possible.

This is also a great launching point for ScriptFrenzy! in the month of April, if you will be participating in that.

Please see our Playwrights Page for more information about how we work with local writers. For any further questions, please contact productions@avthespians.org.

Hope to see you there!

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This weekend, from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, Quartz Hill hosts it’s annual Almond Blossom Festival. Join us as we help celebrate our hometown’s heritage with arts, crafts, live music, food, and fun!  AVT will be in the parade (along 50th St. W in Quartz Hill) Saturday morning, and have a booth in George Lane Park (55th W and Ave. L-8) both days. We will have our makeup design staff on hand for exceptional face painting fit for any budding young actor or actress!  Check out our Oliva McCollum, former (AVT-sponsored) Little Miss Leona Valley Gymkhana Queen:

And that’s just one example of the magic our makeup artists can create. Be sure to stop by our booth for face-painting, and to learn about our season, patronage, subscription, playwright opportunities, and membership in the company.

Congratulations to Mathew Gruca, Sarah Allen, and Dean Berg for earning spots in AVT’s production of THE AMERICAN CENTURY. All displayed a fine ability to take direction and make creative vocal and physical choices with various given circumstances. Thank you to all who auditioned!

One of the main goals of AVT is to produce original work by playwrights local to Quartz Hill and the Antelope Valley. Seeing your play undergo the production process gives you a great insight into how your script might be interpreted by a director and actors.

This season, we will be bringing to the stage our first production written by a local playwright, HUNGER FOR PARADISE. Check out our 2011 Season for more information.

If you are a local playwright looking to write for the stage, please join us Saturday, February 26th at 1pm at Sagebrush Cafe in Quartz Hill.  AVT will hold a Writer’s Briefing to describe the nature of our company and to discuss upcoming events with local writers.  We will also have our directors available for Q&A on what we are looking for and why.

You can find out more information about how we work with playwrights on our Playwrights page.

Auditions for AVT’s production of THE AMERICAN CENTURY will be Sunday, February 27th, from 4pm to 7pm in AVT’s Garage Blackbox studio. Address will be sent via email to all auditioners. Backup auditions may be scheduled on February 28th and March 1st at the discretion of the directors. All roles will be cast through a cold-reading open audition.

Show Dates: MAY 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22 at AVT black box spaces in the Antelope Valley Winery. Approximately 3 hours of rehearsal per week are expected, in addition to all nights of tech week prior to the opening night, as well as line and character work expected of all actors on their own time.

Synopsis:
World War II has ended and Tom, just discharged from the Army, returns to his young wife, Margaret, full of hope, enthusiasm, and dreams of a bounteous future. But suddenly they are joined by a brash young stranger who, to their amazement, proceeds to make himself very much at home. He is, he explains, one of the children they will have, and he fills them in so completely about their past and present lives—and the future which awaits them—that Tom and Margaret soon find themselves moving from incredulity to panic. In the most casual, blithely humorous manner, the stranger tells of a world gone mad in this hilarious and intelligent satire of our modern American lives.

Setting:
Postwar American Suburbia.

Characters:

TOM – A mid- to late- twenties soldier back from the war, excited to begin a new life with his best girl by his side. A direct man, who believes in hard work and badly wants to be in control of the situation… especially when things are not going according to plan.

MARGARET – A mid- to late- twenties housewife, excited to have her man back from the war and to be his best girl. Kind, loyal, open, and accepting… even when strange events begin to happen.

TOMMY- An early- to mid- thirties loser from the “future”; a fine example of  the whiny and jaded “Me Generation”.

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Please send an email to productions@avthespians.org if you intend to audition. You may include a brief theatrical resume if you wish, though this is not required. Headshots are not necessary.We hope to see you there!

Nalin A. Ratnayake, Producing Director
Kara McCollum, Artistic Director
Phillip E. McKaughan, Production Stage Manager