Issue Three: February 2012

THE PROMPTER
JANUARY 2012
Absurd Person Singular Opens February 3
Three Couples, Three Kitchens, Three Christmas Eves
The dark comedy Absurd Person
Singular tells the story of three couples
on the Christmas Eves of three
successive years. Written by Alan
Ayckbourn, Absurd Person Singular
reveals numerous behind-the-scenes
Christmas party disasters as the story
unfolds for three very different
households.
Sidney and Jane (played by Scot
Colford and Michelle Bonanno): the
"lower class" but very much up-andcoming couple who appear in their
bright new gadget-filled kitchen. They
anxiously give a little party for their
bank manager and his wife and an
architect neighbor.
The cast of Absurd Person Singular: Ted Batch, Frances Vella, Scot Colford, Michelle Bonanno, Anne
Colpittes, and Steve Peters.
Geoffrey and Eva (played by Ted Batch and Frances Vella): the architect and his wife who host a party in their
neglected, untidy flat. Eva spends much of Act II trying to commit suicide in increasingly desperate ways.
Ronald and Marion (played by Stephen Peters and Anne Colpitts): the upper class couple—a bank manager and
his wife with a large, slightly modernized, Victorian-style kitchen. They face financial problems despite their
snobby appearances.
“Ayckbourn has created six wonderfully complex characters that are dealing with their own strengths and
weaknesses that seem to only be magnified by the holidays. Although it has its dark moments, the audience will
be able to identify with the trials, tribulations, and minor emotional victories that these characters go through
over the course of the script,” says the director Will Luera.
By day, Luera teaches and directs at ImprovBoston in Cambridge, where he’s been Artistic Director for eleven
years. He has also toured internationally to teach classes to actors and business people. Outside of ImprovBoston,
he most recently directed Lend Me a Tenor for the Longwood Players in November 2011.
Ticket prices range from $16-$21 and are available online or at the door.
For more information, visit Footlight.org.
Curtain at 8:00 p.m. on Fridays and
Saturdays, from February 3 to 18
617-524-3200
The Footlight Club—America’s Oldest Community Theater
Eliot Hall—7A Eliot Street—Jamaica Plain, Mass. 02130
Message from the President—January 2012
Dear Members:
Happy 2012! I hope you all had wonderful holidays and found some time to relax with family and
friends.
Our fall season finished up well:
•
Our annual operating fund fundraiser Suessical enjoyed full houses of enthusiastic
multigenerational audiences. The whimsical artist theme in the Parker Room complemented the
themes of the show, transporting our audiences into the world of “imagination” from the moment
they picked up their tickets to the energetic final number. Congratulations to the cast and crew!
•
Once again A Carol Christmas was a sold out success. This is the eleventh year for this Eliot Hall
fundraiser, which has kicked off the holiday season for many family and friends of the Footlight
Club and Eliot Hall. Eliot Hall is dressed up well for the event and, in my opinion, never looks
more beautiful! Thank you to Carol Gallagher, Charlotte Dietz, their crew, and the Trustees of
Eliot Hall for their continued success.
•
The Trustees of Eliot Hall, in partnership with UFORGE Gallery, sponsored a Holiday Craft Fair
with more than thirty local artists. Proceeds benefitted Eliot Hall and the UFORGE Gallery Young
Artists Scholarship Fund.
•
In other outreach news, we had a very successful open final dress rehearsal for Suessical where we
hosted youth from the Hyde Park Task Force and Bikes Not Bombs. We hope to continue our
outreach with more open dress rehearsals. See The Prompter article on page four for more
information.
Eliot Hall is all abustle as we rehearse for both Absurd Person Singular and Wild Party in addition to
the 7A production of The Glass Menagerie.
The Wild Party cast is the first to rehearse using our new dance mirrors. These mirrors are portable
and will be used in the Parker Room and stored in the Flat Room. Thanks to Rebecca Glucklich, who
spearheaded the effort to acquire the mirrors using proceeds from her dance classes, and the casts and
crew of Caber7A for ticket proceeds needed to purchase the mirrors.
While we are very fortunate to have Eliot Hall as our home, the upkeep of the hall can be very time
consuming and expensive. The main infrastructure of our roof is well over 100 years old and has
reached the point where temporary patches and repairs are no longer effective and do not make
financial sense. In the coming months you will be hearing more about our plans for fundraising and for
a major roof restoration that will start in the spring/summer of 2012.
I look forward to seeing you at Absurd Person Singular.
Regards for a happy and healthy 2012!
Maria
Next Season
The nation’s oldest community theater presents season 136—as I write those words I become excited
and humbled. As a theatrical organization we've come through so much. And we have more to
accomplish. This season the Play Reading Committee worked hard to choose shows that are familyoriented with lots of roles to offer you a chance to come and be a part of this exciting family of artists
and friends.
To begin the season, we will produce Thornton Wilder's classic Our Town. With its kind humor and
poignant message, you'll be reminded of the subtle way we make our way through life centered on
family, friends, and community. It runs September 14 through September 29, 2012.
Next we present another modern classic, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew
Lloyd Weber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics). Based on the story in Genesis, this tells of another
family and their growth to become whole again. It opens November 3 and runs through November
17, 2012.
In the middle of our chilly season in Jamaica Plain is Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott. This
suspenseful offering will spice up your night at the theater February 1 through February 16, 2013.
Join us and share the scare.
And, with great excitement and anticipation, our spring musical is Parade with book by Alfred Uhry
and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. This true story, sensationalized by the press of Georgia
in 1913, is retold with a brilliant score and intriguing book. This is a show that should not be missed.
It runs March 29 through April 13, 2013.
And finally, we chose The Tempest, William Shakespeare's brilliant script of revenge and final
redemption. With its magic and glorious language we offer what is considered Shakespeare's penned
farewell to theater. It runs from May 31 through June 15, 2013.
Please join us for the Footlight Club's 136th season. On stage, back stage, or in the audience you can
become part of our community. Welcome.
Troy Siegfreid
Director of Artistic Committees
An Evening in Whoville for JP Youth
Our successful run of Seussical kicked off with a
special dress rehearsal for the young clients of two
local not-for-profit organizations.
On Friday, November 4, The Footlight Club welcomed teens and volunteer staff from Bikes Not
Bombs and the Hyde Square Task Force to enjoy a
fun and educational night out at the theater.
The evening included a reception, a tour of the
building, and a question-and-answer session with
the Footlight Club’s Productions Director Brian
Moyer.
“Seussical was such a pleasure to watch, and I know
that the youth were inspired by the actors’ energy,
enthusiasm, and dedication to their roles. It was a
great experience!” said Youth Literary Theater Program Coordinator for the Hyde Square Task Force
Matt Gelman.
Many thanks to the Seussical team and to The Footlight Club volunteers who put together this event:
Judi Cook, Patrick Cook, Kristen Calnan, David and
Sherilyn Levy, Kristin MacDougall, and Carol
Pyper.
About Hyde Square Task Force
The Hyde Square Task Force is a not-for-profit organization
that develops programs for Jamaica Plain youth and families
that not only help them advance at school and in careers, but
also help create positive relations and opportunities to take
pride and action in our community. For more information,
visit hydesquare.org.
About Bikes Not Bombs
Bikes Not Bombs is a not-for-profit, Jamaica Plain based project that recycles donated bicycles, trains young people to fix
their own bikes and become employable mechanics, and sends
thousands of refurbished bikes to communities in countries
such as South Africa , Ghana, and Guatemala. Bikes Not
Bombs also offers bikes for sale through its Jamaica Plain
shop. For more information, visit: bikesnotbombs.org.
Footlight Club Raises Funds for Bikes Not
Bombs
Our Seussical hat sale fundraiser brought in $276.11 for
the local charity Bikes Not Bombs.
The money will help fund travel to the Youth Bike
Summit for Bikes Not Bombs youth representatives.
Pictured: Bikes Not Bombs representatives Abdul Hussein
and Will Gifford selling hats during intermission for
Seussical.
Nomination Committee Update
The Footlight Club Nominating Committee (Susanna Crampton, Kristin MacDougall, Christopher Nadeau, Brian
Ott, and Carol Pyper) would like to inform members of upcoming elections for open Board of Director positions.
Job descriptions as presented in the bylaws are listed below. If you are interested in running for one of these
positions, please contact the Nominating Committee for a more detailed job description and to have your name
presented to the membership in the invitation to the meeting and on the ballot. Please e-mail the committee at
[email protected] or call Nominating Committee Chair Kristin MacDougall at 617-699-6469.
At the Spring Meeting June 11, 2012, Active Members will vote to fill the following positions: President, Vice
President, Front of House Director, Technical Director, and Volunteers Director.
President (two-year term) shall be executive officer of the corporation and of the Board of Directors. He/She shall
preside at all meetings of the corporation and the Board of Directors. Except where otherwise provided in these
bylaws, the President shall appoint the chairmen of all standing committees and the members thereof upon the
recommendation of each chair. He/She shall be ex officio member of all standing committees. He/She shall
oversee any outside partnerships and shall delegate responsibility of managing those partnerships as appropriate.
He/She shall make a full written report of the affairs of the club for the preceding year at the Annual Meeting, and
may recommend such measures, as he/she or the Board of Directors deems advisable.
The Vice President (two-year term) shall perform the duties of the President in the absence or incapacity of the
President. In the event of a vacancy in the office of President, the Vice President shall assume that office with no
other action by the Board of Directors or the membership. The Vice President shall organize and schedule each
year the first meeting of the Nominating Committee and shall serve as chairperson of the Bylaws Committee.
He/She shall advise the Board of Directors of the requirements of the bylaws in any actions the board might take
and shall perform such duties as the President may from time to time designate. The Vice President will coordinate
and be the primary contact for any fundraisers, grants/funding for The Footlight Club, Eliot Hall, and the Trustees
of Eliot Hall.
The Front of House Director (three-year term) shall supervise the sale of all tickets and the seating of audiences
including: reservations, group sales, and the seating of members. He/She shall coordinate and arrange for purchase
of refreshments. He/She will arrange staffing and supervise the work of reservation takers, box office personnel,
ushers and hospitality personnel. The Front of House Director shall report to both the Board of Directors and to a
show’s producer(s) on ticket figures for each show. He/She will also accept and consider requests for
complimentary tickets from recognized groups and grant such requests according to the policy of the Board of
Directors.
The Technical Director (three-year term) shall be responsible for the management and maintenance of all
equipment and materials related to the production of the show, including: lights, properties, costumes, makeup,
sets, permanent stage structures, and temporary technical equipment. He/She shall act as liaison between the Board
of Directors and the Trustees of Eliot Hall in regard to the use or alteration of the building.
The Volunteers Director (three-year term) shall act as personnel director for the corporation, organizing and
supervising a systematic method of recruiting, identifying, and contacting members and others for volunteer help
for the club’s activities.
Not a ham sandwich!
Next time you visit
Fiore’s Bakery in
Jamaica Plain, check out
The Footlight Club
sandwich. It is turkey
bacon, avocado, red leaf
lettuce, tomato, and
mayonnaise.
THE FOOTLIGHT CLUB
AMERICA’S OLDEST COMMUNITY THEATER
2011/2012 Season
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
by Tom Stoppard
September—October 2011
Seussical
Music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, book
by Ahrens and Flaherty
November 2011
(This is The Footlight Club fundraiser)
Absurd Person Singular
by Alan Ayckbourn
February 2012
The Wild Party
by Andrew Lippa
based on Joseph Moncure March’s 1928 poem
March─April 2012
Three Sisters
by Anton Chekhov, adapted by David Mamet
June 2012