From my Inbox to you:

Murder! Mystery! Miss Marple!

You are cordially invited to audition for Agatha Christie’s “A Murder Is Announced”!

If you’ve been thinking about becoming involved with the theatre, this would be a great time to come out and audition! These will be relaxed, fun auditions and you are encouraged to attend.

Audition dates and times: Sunday, March 25th at 3:00pm & Monday, March 26th at 6:30pm.

Location: The D. Geraldine Lawson Performing Arts Center (the Attic) – 7490 Roanoke Road, Fincastle, VA

Please arrive early so you will have time to complete the audition form.

The play requires a diverse cast. There are roles for seven (7) men varying in age from early 20′s to upper 50′s and roles for five (5) women varying in age from low-20′s to 70′s.

Eight (8) performances are scheduled for May 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19 and rehearsals will be held from 6:30 – 9:00 PM on weekday evenings, specific days to be determined after casting.

The auditions will include cold readings from the play script. Call backs may be needed.

Also, if you are interested in being a part of the technical team (lights, sound) or assisting the stage manager backstage, you are invited to attend the audition to share your contact information at that time.

As always, previous experience is not required: if you have talent, energy and enthusiasm, come on out!

If you’re not available on the audition dates and want to make an audition appointment, volunteer for a technical position, or if you have questions, please contact the Director, Celie Holmes by replying to this email. Thank you!

We look forward to seeing you soon at
The Attic    
540-473-1001
P.O. Box 695
7490 Roanoke Road
Fincaslte, VA 24090

From my Inbox to you:

Auditions for “57 Hours in the House of Culture” by Dwayne Yancey and directed by Charlie Boswell will be held at Studio Roanoke 30 Campbell Ave., SW
Roanoke, Virginia 24011

on Saturday and Sunday, March 24th and 25th at 2pm!

About “57 Hours in the House of Culture”
In October 2002, Chechen terrorists seized a theatre in Moscow and hundreds died during a failed rescue attempt involving poison gas. Now, night after night, the ghosts of the dead theatre-goers relive the terrifying experience of being held hostage.

Performances run May  16-27 (Wednesday-Saturdays @8pm, Sundays @2pm)

Roles for men and women available:

Eight basic characters:

*Andrei, a phlegmatic 60ish or older man who doesn’t really want to be at the theatre but isonly there to satisfy his wife. (Male)

* Svetlana, his more enthusiastic theatre-going wife (Female)

* Irina, a mother in her 40s, who is paranoid and conflicted (Female)  Read more »

From my Inbox to you:

Sweet Briar’s Fringe Festival Celebrates Arts and Landscapes
2012 lineup ‘bursting with creativity,’ Feb. 2-5

SWEET BR

The Fringe Festival will be held Thursday, Feb. 2 through Sunday, Feb. 5 at various indoor and outdoor venues across campus. With the exception of the musical “Baby,” all events are non-ticketed and free. Patrons are encouraged to spend the day on campus, enjoy a relaxing meal with or without entertainment, and visit some of the nearly two dozen shows, gallery exhibits and tours on the schedule.
The first Fringe Festival was created to call attention to the arts at Sweet Briar, said Shelbie Filson, the College’s box office manager. “We have so much going on all year, but rather than having to visit the campus over several months to attend individual performances and exhibits, we wanted to make numerous artistic events accessible over a few consecutive days.”

In 2008, the art community’s response to the call for proposals was so strong that the final schedule featured 25 events. For this year’s event, Filson and her co-organizer, associate professor of music Nick Ross, put together a diverse selection of art, including dance concerts, voice recitals, poetry readings and outdoor art workshops, as well as a guided tour of Sweet Briar House led by its 19th-century host, Daisy Williams.

Filson is particularly excited about the concert musical, “Baby,” which will be presented by Sweet Briar Theatre with a full cast and orchestra. Filson said that due to the newly introduced music theater major at Sweet Briar, the College is planning to offer more musicals and operas as part of its production schedule. Read more »

Happy New Year, everybody! Here’s my first post of 2012, courtesy of Attic Productions. — MikeA

Hi Attic Friends,

It’s time for auditions again!

Our next auditions are for the combination comedy/drama “Welcome to Mitford” based on the Mitford series of novels written by Jan Karon.

Director James Honaker has set the audition dates for January 14th at 4:00 PM and Sunday, January 15th at 2:00 PM at our theatre. This show requires a large cast so if you’ve been thinking about becoming involved with our theatre, this would be a great time to come out and audition!

There are roles for thirteen (13) men varying in ages from 16 – 70 and roles for eight (8) women varying in ages from 16 – 70. Additionally there are two (2) roles for either gender. If you are interested in being a part of the technical team or assisting the stage manager backstage, you are also invited to attend the audition to share your contact information at that time.

Eight (8) performances are scheduled for March 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31 and rehearsals will begin February 6th and most will run from 6:30 – 9:00 PM on weekday evenings.

The audition will consist of cold readings from the play script. Call backs may be needed.

If you have questions for the director or if you need to set up an alternate audition time, please respond to this e-mail and your questions will be forwarded to James.

You are encouraged to come out to the audition to have a little fun and become a part of what promises to be a wonderful show.

See you there!

Cathy Henderson
Attic Productions Artistic Director

From my Inbox to you:

Roanoke Children’s Theatre Announces Winter Auditions

RCT is seeking Equity/Non Equity adult actors and local youth for THE VELVETEEN RABBIT and GO DOG GO.

THE VELVETEEN RABBIT is adapted by James Still with music by Jimmy Roberts.

GO DOG GO!  is by Steven Deitz and Allison Gregory. Pat Wilhelms’ directs.

Adult actors paid. All ethnicities encouraged to audition.

Auditions will be held at the theatre inside the Taubman Musuem of Art  on January 7th  from  11am-4pm.  Sign-ups are on a first come first served basis and begin at 10am for youth. 

Adult auditions are available by appointment, please call (540) 309-6802 to secure a slot.

Auditioners are asked to  prepare a 1 minute memorized monologue or poem and 16 bars from a song (if a singer.)

Callbacks for THE VELVETEEN RABBIT will be held January 7th, 2012 from 4-6pm and callbacks for GO DOG GO will be on January 8th, 2012 from  1-3pm.

Please Bring a  headshot (or school picture) resume and sheet music.

For more information call (540) 309-6802 or check out our website at roanokechildrenstheatre.org

 

From my Inbox to you, from Attic Productions:

Auditions for our 2012 youth ensemble production will be held on Sunday, December 4th from 1 – 3 PM in the theatre auditorium. The play will be “Heaven Can Wait” which requires a large cast of talented young men and young women. Middle school and high school aged students are encouraged to audition with the maximum age limit of 18. The audition will consist of cold readings from the play. Performance dates for the show are February 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

This comedy/fantasy in three acts set in the 1930’s centers around prize fighter, Joe Pendleton, who is plucked from his crashing airplane by Messenger 7013 before he can experience what will most assuredly be a painful death. Unfortunately for Messenger 7013, Joe was not supposed to die and a major problem results as now a new body for Joe must be found! What follows is a hilarious chain of events that involve a number of fun characters and promises to be a lot of fun for all.

If you have questions, you may call the director, Cathy Henderson at 540-473-2282.

We would love to have a large number of people auditioning and hope to see you there!

Cathy Henderson
Attic Productions Artistic Director

In this instance, we’re not talking about “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” though a remake of that classic of terrible cinema was shot in Roanoke earlier this year. In this case we’re talking about “Vanguard,” a film screened at Studio Roanoke’s Guerrilla Cinema in June that the theater actually advertised as “The Worst Movie Ever Made.”

The response to director Sean Klisiewecz’s “Vanguard,” or maybe sheer chutzpah on the part of the film’s creators, appears to have inspired a sequel. In fact, they plan a four-film series. If you want to get involved, here’s how, courtesy of Rani Lankford of Wormwood Films:

Filming continues for Sean’s upcoming movie–the 2nd in the tetrology! His first film Vanguard has played in Martinsville at the Rives Theater, and Roanoke, Virginia at Studio Roanoke, and it has a nice following.

Here’s the website address (click link to visit) and follow us on Facebook.

The upcoming film shoot is set for November 11-13 at our home in Meadows of Dan, VA.

Interested actors, actresses, artists, and musicians should contact us at 276-952-6444 or at wormwoodfilms@hotmail.com.

Food provided for all volunteers (and spectators)!

Thanks,
Rani

Just a reminder that open auditions for the folk opera “Miss Lucy,” based on the life of Roanoke educator Lucy Addison, take place  10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, October 8 at Community High School in its new location at 302 Campbell Ave. SE in Roanoke. Needed: principals and a 20-plus-singer chorus, both adult and youth. For more information, contact Les Epstein at les@communityhigh.net.

When Pat Dungan produced her applique quilt titled “Affairs of the Heart” for last month’s annual show by the Peaks & Pieces Quilt Guild, other members said among themselves, “there’s the best in show winner.”

Using applique “is meticulous, time-consuming,” said Sydney Schatz, the guild’s publicity chairwoman. It’s not her favorite approach, but many of the other quilters enjoy it, she said.

Based in Bedford, the Peaks & Pieces Quilt Guild was founded in 1989, and Schatz was one of the original seven members. She left the region to live in Albuquerque, N.M., for 12 years, but has returned and rejoined. The guild now boasts about 40 members.

Schatz, a high school librarian, said she’s one of the members lucky enough to have a “quilt room” at home. “For me it’s just a place to be creative,” she said. “I just love watching the little pieces get built back up into something different.”

The guild has held its annual show for 15 years, this most recent one at the Bedford Public Library. All participants in the show are members of the guild, Schatz said.

The prizes were awarded based on votes from visitors. Dungan’s quilt did indeed win best in show.

Click here to read the rest of the column.

From my Inbox to you:

Auditions for Attic’s upcoming production of “Dearly Beloved” will be held Sunday, August 14th from 2-4 PM at the theater. If you are unable to audition at the scheduled time, please contact Wyatt Ewell, the director, to make alternate arrangements (wwewell@aol.com).

“Dearly Beloved” is the prequel to last year’s production of Christmas Belles, so many cast members will return. However, several roles must be recast and several new characters will appear. Following are descriptions of the available roles:

• Frankie Futrelle Dubberly – female, aged 35-45
• Dub Dubberly – male, aged 35-50
• Gina Jo Dubberly – female, aged 18-25
• Wiley Hicks – male, aged 50-65
• Nelda Lightfoot – female, aged 50 +

Performances are scheduled for October 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 & 15. For more details, please visit Attic’s website (www.atticproductions.info) and the playwrights’ website (www.joneshopewooten.com/dearly-beloved.html).