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Festival Theatre Holds One-Act Play Contest

7/28/2015

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PictureSummer Company - Winning One Act Plays will be produced, directed and performed by staff, summer company and community actors.
On Wednesday, August 12, at 7:30 P.M., St. Croix Festival Theatre will hold its fourth annual One-Act Play Contest.  This year four plays have been selected for reading by members of Festival Theatre’s acting company.  The plays are all original submissions by playwrights with origins in or ties to Wisconsin and Minnesota, were selected based upon originality, quality of plot and dialogue, and creativity.  At the reading first, second and third place winners will be chosen by the four member reading committee who made the original selections and Festival Theatre’s Artistic director, with input from the audience members in attendance at the reading.

The four plays cover a broad range of subject matter.  “Postage” by Portia Turner, (Wauwatosa, WI), is the story of three young professionals working in the mailroom of a publishing house, each with aspirations of moving upstairs. 

In “Not Any More” by Paul Tinsley (Glenview, IL), Alan’s wife, Amy, has died and Alan can’t help replaying several scenes from their married life together.

“When Cows Attack” by Andy Davis (La Crosse, WI), a bovine tragedy with romantic overtones, relates what unfolds when a neighbor’s bull is inexplicably eaten by the rogue cow it was meant to inseminate.

In “Roxanne” by Deanna Strasse (North Prarie, WI), a ventriloquist pleads with her dummy who refuses to go on stage with her.

Several of the playwrights will be in attendance at the reading and following the judging of the plays the audience will be invited to engage with the playwrights in discussing what they have experienced.  Because of the adult nature of some material, it is recommended that only high school age and older audience members attend these readings.  It promises to be an interesting and enlightening evening at Festival Theatre and all are invited to attend.  There will be a ten dollar admission charge and reservations are recommended.


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A Streetcar Named Desire opens this Saturday 

7/28/2015

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PictureMark Baer, former Managing Director of Festival Theatre, directs A Steetcar Named Desire opening Saturday Night at Festival Theatre at 7:30 PM
On Saturday, August 1st, Festival Theatre will open the fourth and final production of the summer, “A Streetcar Named Desire”.   One of American theatre's best loved plays, “A Streetcar Named Desire” has been celebrated, studied and produced all over the world for nearly seventy years.  From the dramatic artistry of Tennessee Williams, this show won Williams the Pulitzer Prize in 1948.
 
A Streetcar Named Desire is a play full of poetic images and clashing brutal coarseness, centered on one of theatre's most iconic women, the fading Southern belle, Blanche DuBois, played by Artistic Director, Jaclyn Johnson.  Blanche moves in with her sister, Stella and brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski, played by guest artist, Josiah Laubenstein.  Marlon Brando played the role of Stanley Kowalski on Broadway from 1947 – 1949 and later received an Academy Award nomination for reprising the role in the 1951 film adaption of A Streetcar Named Desire.
 
The rest of this creative cast is made up of Rachel Kuhnle, Kimberly Braun, Steven Czajkowki, Abi Leveille, Andrew Bradford Benson, David Holmes, Jerry Kurek, Liz Athas, Elizabeth Albers, Megan Clark and two community actors, Sydney Paredes and Edward Moersfelder.
  
Directed by Mark Baer, who also served as the Managing Director at Festival Theatre from 2002-05, Baer also directed Festival’s productions of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, To Fool The Eye, Once Upon a Mattress and Man of La Mancha.   When asked about A Streetcar Named Desire, Mark says,” Tennessee Williams has more in common with Shakespeare, his words are poetry; characters live very close to the surface.  They speak their thoughts and feelings as they feel and think them and that’s what makes watching and performing Tennessee Williams’ plays an intense, emotional experience.” says Baer.
 
 Accompanying Baer’s creative style is the production team of Peter Weber as Stage Manager and Light Design, David Holmes in Scenic Construction, David Markson in Scenic Design, Laura Seed as Properties Designer, Lis Athas as Scenic Dresser, Kim Murphy as Costume Design, and Emma Kravig as Costume Design Assistant.
 
The production expenses for A Steetcar Named Desire have been underwritten by two Festival Theatre patrons in honor of Jaclyn Johnson and Peter Weber for their tireless work and fierce dedication to the mission and vision of St. Croix Festival Theatre.  This show is also being sponsored by Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
  
Tickets for A Streetcar Named Desire can be purchased at festivaltheatre.org, by calling the box office at 715-483-3387 or emailfestivaltheatreboxoffice@gmail.com.  Please be advised that this show contains adult content and situations and may not be suitable for everyone.

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Josiah Laubenstein plays Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire
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Festival Theatre Conservatory for Young Performers;Improv for YOUth

7/8/2015

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PictureSteven Czajkowski, Lis Athas, guest artists and Improv performers work with the YOUth Improv Artists: Jenna Driscoll, Jerry Eisen, Brita Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Lucy Herman, Addie Koenig, Ella Middleton, Frankie Miller, Stephen Rice, Claire Scharfenberg, and Sienna Shoop
Festival Theatre Conservatory for Young Performers (FTCYP) cast is currently in rehearsal with members of the 2015 summer company.  This year Festival is doing something a little different with the FTCYP.  This year the youth cast will learn the art of Improv.  

Similar to the show Whose Line is it Anyway, Improv is the art of making things up on the spot with some basic rules and no script.  After many successful years of Sew Good Improv on Friday nights at Festival Theatre, Festival has received much interest in opportunities for youth actors to learn about and practice improv.  Combining this interest with the FTCYP means an in-depth learning experience for our middle and high school performers and a whole lot of fun for our audience.

Improv artists from the Twin Cities and beyond have taught these youth everything they know.  Developing their own style and show format, the youth performers will appear in a weekend all their own, and as special guests at selected Friday night Sew Good Improv shows along with summer guest artists and interns,”this is not just a performance technique, these are life skills.” says guest artist and Improv performer, Elizabeth Albers ,”Improv helps cultivate these young performers to listen, accept others, and to respond positively.”

Jenna Driscoll, Jerry Eisen, Brita Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Lucy Herman, Addie Koenig, Ella Middleton, Frankie Miller, Stephen Rice, Claire Scharfenberg, and Sienna Shoop make up the group that will be performing in Improv for YOUth. “My daughter loves learning improv it has really enhanced her social skills and confidence.” explains a parent of one of the young performers.

Directed by Jen Scott, a Twin Cities theater artist and resident artist at the Pillsbury House and Theatre in Minneapolis, MN, Jen has been teaching for over a decade, at the Brave New Workshop, Children’s Theatre Company, Park Square Theatre, and HUGE Theatre.  ”Jen was one of my favorite Improv coaches from the cities,” says Jaclyn Johnson, Artistic Director about working with Jen,” She is energetic, positive, kind, and hilarious!  Always knowing how to create a supportive team environment, Jen has a way of focusing energy and giving specific and clear feedback to the improvisers she works with.  The teams she leads always have a dynamite way of working together, something we value very much at Festival Theatre and in our Youth & Family programming."

Festival Theatre would like to thank the Royal Credit Union for being the lead sponsor for all of Festival’s Youth and Family programming and High Test Travel as a supporting sponsor of the 2015 FTCYP.  

Tickets are $13.50 for adults and $8.50 for students under 25. Patrons only have four opportunities to see Improv for YOUth and with limited seating in our Elbow Room, these shows will sell out quickly.  Show dates and times are Thursday, July 23rd at 7:30 PM, Friday, July 24th at 9:00 PM, Saturday, July 25th at 7:30 PM, Sunday, July 26th at 2:00 PM.


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Jen Scott, Director of Improv for YOUth
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Festival is set to open 2nd show of the season at 2:00 PM on July 4th

7/8/2015

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PictureThe cast of Complete Works, Jerry Kurek, Josiah Laubenstein, and Andrew Bradford Benson
This Saturday, July 4th at 2:00 PM, Festival Theatre will open the hilarious comedy The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised] By Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield.  The show features three overachieving actors attempting to perform renditions of all thirty-seven of Shakespeare’s plays in just ninety-seven minutes.  Fast paced, witty and physical, it’s sure to leave audiences aching from laughter, be they Shakespeare lovers, haters or know-nothing-ers alike.

With affection for its source material, and razor sharp wit, playwrights and role originators Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield of the Reduced Shakespeare Company have fashioned a hilarious and energetic homage to one of the greats using modern pop culture as a sounding board.  Be ye a know-nothing or a know-it-all, this show promises all amounts of theatrical hijinks and fast paced fun.

The stage is set in Festival’s street level Elbow Room and has limited seating, and will fill fast.  Complete Works is directed by Rachel Kuhnle, who is making her debut here at Festival Theatre this season,”I've never laughed more during a rehearsal process. The script leaves a lot of room for playfulness and improv and the guys have really made the show unique to them and our audiences. Anyone who's a fan of improv or sketch shows will love this show. Fast paced, a lot of heart, some startling act two revelations--you may even accidentally learn something.".  Complete Works is performed by three of Festival’s funniest actors; Andrew Bradford Benson, Festival’s Development Director, and returning guest artists Josiah Laubenstein and Jerry Kurek. "To cast a show like complete works you need actors who are incredibly focused, super-charged with energy and passionate about good theatre and off-the-wall comedy,” says Jaclyn Johnson, Artistic Director,” this trio executes all of those demands with grace and charm and a whole lot of sass.”

Theatre tickets are $26 adults/$13.50 students ages 5-25.  Little Shop of Horrors will be playing in rep with this comedy, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised]; the drama, A Streetcar Named Desire; and the fun, Festival’s conservatory for young performers, Improv for YOUth.


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St. Croix Festival Theatre
​Franklin Square Black Box, 125 N. Washington St.,  PO Box 801, St. Croix Falls, WI, 54024                 
715.483.3387
 festivaltheatreboxoffice@gmail.com  


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