April 30 - May 16, 2009: “Loot” by Joe Orton
The 4th and final show this season is also our entry in the North Island Zone Drama Festival in May. Joe Orton's comedy with a twist, "Loot" is directed by the award-winning team of Derek and Debbie Burke.
Director Derek Burke writes, “Joe Orton’s LOOT was given the Evening Standard’s award for Best Play - 1966, and was described by the Sunday Telegraph as “the most genuinely quick witted, pungent and sprightly entertainment by a new young British playwright for a decade”. The term “Ortonesque” soon entered the language - and LOOT is the prime example of the Ortonesque play: a black farce which outrageously satirises religion, the integrity of the police force and social attitudes to death. Hal and Dennis have robbed the local bank - the urgent problem is where to hide the stolen money now that the psychopathic Inspector “Truscott of the Yard” is closing in on them. Hal’s mother is about to be buried; could they use her coffin for hiding their loot? The mother’s very religious, much-married, murderous, gold-digging nurse is sniffing around for the hidden money and also for another husband - will she ensnare young Dennis with his share of the loot, or will it be Hal’s still grieving father and his bank account? It all ends well; or does it? Appearances can be deceiving.”
The cast of “Loot” includes James Brook, Brent Ronning, Diena Tyne, Dave McGarry, Chris Arthurs and John Milne. “Loot” features a mature theme.
Tickets to “Loot” are now available from Rollin Art Centre, Echo Centre, Curious Coho Books and The Graphics Factory. Loot plays for 9 performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from April 30 to May 16, with a 10th performance on May 20 as part of the North Island Zone Drama Festival. All shows start at 7:30 pm, with theatre doors opening at 7:00 pm. Open seating at The Capitol means the earlier you arrive, the better your choice of seats.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2009
capitoltheatre@shaw.ca
http://www.atthecapitol.org
Injury Causes One-Week Delay in Opening Night of Mystery/Comedy, "Accomplice"
Port Alberni - Due to an unfortunate injury, Portal Players Dramatic Society is uncertain if Chris Arthurs will be able to perform in “Accomplice”, the 3rd play of the group's season. Show producer Mary Ellen Shimell has announced that Arthurs may be out for the count while he recovers, but in the meantime has located a full-time actor from Vancouver who will come to Port Alberni to understudy Arthurs’ role for the run of the show. As a result, “Accomplice” has postponed opening night for an additional week to prepare. “Accomplice” now opens on Thursday, February 12, at The Capitol Theatre.
In addition to Arthurs’, local actors in "Accomplice" include Yvette Van Metre & Megan Cathers, and PPDS President Elliot Drew. All have performed in PPDS shows the last couple of seasons, and are anxious to work with visiting actor Paul Delgado.
Delgado has performed numerous character roles in a variety of productions in the lower mainland, while understudying major roles in the those same plays. Producer Mary Ellen Shimell worked tirelessly to locate an actor appropriate to the role, and has been dedicated to ensuring that a quality production is put on at The Capitol Theatre for Portal Players’ audiences. Shimell has been the driving force behind having “Accomplice” produced. “We’re very fortunate that Paul Delgado is of similar build and height as Chris Arthurs - with very few adjustments, we'll be able to use the same costumes,” Shimell says. “It’s really remarkable, actually, how closely the two actors resemble each other.”
“Accomplice” is a mystery-comedy-thriller written by Rupert Holmes, who has plays, musicals and pop music hits to his artistic credit. Readers may recall “Escape, The Pina Colada Song”, a pop hit in the late 70’s, which was written and sung by Holmes. With “Accomplice”, Holmes has devised a script that contains twists-a-plenty, with a dynamic ending that no one will see coming, likely even those who watch carefully.
Many reviews have been written about “Accomplice”: "A delight. It is humorous, odd, scary, wildly dramatic, adult, adolescent in short, impossible to dislike."-Pasadena Star News; "Miss it a your peril."-LA Herald Examiner; "A breathless ride through an ever shifting series of planes."- Cleveland Plain Dealer; "Part murder mystery, part sex farce and completely entertaining. ... Suspenseful, charming and funny."-USA Today.
"Accomplice" plays on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, for two weeks opening February 12, at The Capitol Theatre; a third week of the run will skip the Friday night show, performing February 26 & 28 evenings. One Sunday matinee is scheduled, on February 15. Evening shows start at 7:30 pm, with the box office and theatre doors opening at 7:00 pm. For the matinee, doors open at 1:30 and the show starts at 2:00 pm. "Accomplice" carries a warning for brief nudity and mature themes.
Tickets are available now from Rollin Art Centre, Echo Centre, Curious Coho Books and The Graphics Factory. Adult tickets are $15.00 each, while senior (65+) and student (full time studies) tickets are $13.00 each. Charge-by-phone purchases for out-of-town buyers can be made by calling 250-723-6227 during weekday business hours. Tickets are available on show nights from the box office. With open theatre seating, audience members are encouraged to arrive early for their best choice of seats.
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Capitol STAGES Children’s Program presents “The Works” Variety Show on December 4 & 5
The students of the “Portal Players Capitol STAGES” after-school program are busy putting the finishing touches on this weekend’s performance of “The Works”, a variety style showcase of all the things they have been working on during their first semester of classes.
“Capitol STAGES” includes children from 4-16 years of age, and is focused on introducing kids to all aspects of live performance production. Program Designer and Director, Teresa Nicholson has been working with the 40 children involved since September and they are eager to show off their new skills.
“The Works” will include monologues, short original scripts, twisted morality stories, and classical poems. Much of what you will see comes straight from the very creative minds of our students, and all of it is great fun.
This show plays Friday Dec 4th and Saturday Dec 5th, with doors opening at 5:30 pm. The curtain goes up at 6:00 pm each night, and admission is $10 at the door.
Spots Open for 2nd Semester
The Capitol STAGES program will have a few spaces open for our January to May semester, and anyone interested in enrolling their child can contact Theatre Manager Elliot Drew for more details during regular box office hours at (250) 723-1195, or by email at capitoltheatre@shaw.ca .
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Auditions for
“Rocky Horror Show”
Announced
After much eager anticipation, we are announcing the dates for Richard O'Brien's "The Rocky Horror Show" auditions, as follows:
#1 - Sunday, June 21 at 7:00 pm, at The Capitol Theatre.
#2 - Tuesday, June 23 at 7:00 pm, at The Capitol Theatre.
Callbacks will be held on Thursday, June 25 at 7:00 pm, at The Capitol Theatre. If you are unable to attend either of the first two auditions, you may be given a chance to audition on this third date. Please contact director Cindy Solda directly if you plan to audition on June 25.
Minimum age for participation in this show is 16, with the production committee to approve any exceptions.
Auditions are open to stage crew and other behind-the-scenes hopefuls as well - if you are interested in joining the crew, please come to auditions.
If you are auditioning for a part in the cast or chorus, please come prepared with either a song from this production, or a song of your own choosing. Bring a CD or sheet music for piano to accompany you.
The performance dates are over three weekends: October 30 and October 31. The show on October 31 will be a later than usual start. Then the following two weekends on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights (Nov 5 - 7 & 12 - 14).
To prepare for these auditions, please bring a pen or pencil to fill in the official audition form. You will be asked to list your previous experience in stage productions, and any other relevant experience. You'll be asked to list off your other extracurricular activities in which you're currently involved. And, we'll want to know if you've seen the movie. Please note that the name of the stage production does NOT include the word "Picture", which refers only to the motion picture.
The production team for this musical includes:
Peter Wienold - Producer
Cindy Solda - Director/Co-Producer
Terry Switzer - Stage Manager
Nick Barrett - Technical Director
Alison Cowan - Choreographer
Sarah Falls - Musical Director
Wendy Karpuik - Set Design
Diena Tyne - Lighting Design
Barb Kevis - Costumes Design
Teresa Nicholson - Make Up
Holly Massop - Publicity
Denis Levasseur & Linda Whiteman - Sponsorships
For any other information, please contact Director Cindy Solda: info@soldaspromotions.com
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Portal Players Dramatic Society Announces Hiring of Elliot Drew as Capitol Theatre Manager
Port Alberni, July 21, 2009 - Portal Players Dramatic Society, owner/operator of The Capitol Theatre in Port Alberni, has created a staff position to oversee administration and management of The Capitol Theatre, and to manage membership services for the non-profit community theatre group.
Interim President Peter Wienold announced Tuesday that Elliot Drew has been hired as Theatre Manager for Portal Players. "We are very excited that Elliot has chosen to take on this new role with Portal Players. His knowledge of the theatre facility and background with Portal Players, along with his administrative & promotional skills will be a great benefit to the group," Wienold said. Drew resigned from the Portal Players board of directors this past spring in order to be a candidate for the job. He has most recently served on the board as President for nearly three years, and as Treasurer for three years prior to that. He leaves his sales position at The Alberni Valley News in order to take on the new job.
"I'm pleased to have been chosen the successful candidate as The Capitol Theatre manager," said Drew. "I'm very confident that I'll be able to help Portal Players become an even more dynamic group, become more well-known in the community & region, and continue to fulfill the promise of The Capitol Theatre being the Home of the Performing Arts in Port Alberni." The Portal Players board of directors has been operating The Capitol Theatre as a volunteer management team for the majority of the time it's owned the facility, and through a number of impressive renovations.
In order to increase use of the facility by outside groups and to relieve increasing administrative duties from volunteers, the board and general membership agreed to move forward with hiring a manager. "Many of the board members were finding their volunteer duties to be like having part-time jobs. The fun-factor of being involved in a community theatre troupe was starting to wane. Our members were suffering from burnout, so the timing seemed right to hire a theatre manager now. It's something the board has discussed regularly over at least the past couple of years," said Wienold. "Some good opportunities for generating revenues and offering some consistency of access to the theatre were also being missed, so we plan to capitalize on those by having Elliot on site for regularly scheduled public hours."
The Capitol Theatre box office will be open mid-days, Tuesday to Saturday. All of Portal Players' ticket sales, and many rented theatre event ticket sales, will now be handled through the uptown Theatre box office. Costume rentals will start again very soon, just in time for Halloween. And, Portal Players will release details next month on a new after-school drama program for children, set to start in September.
Mr. Drew's official start date is August 4; season ticket sales for Portal Players Dramatic Society's 2009-2010 series of shows will be on sale at the box office starting in mid-August. The season opens on October 30 with the first of eight performances of Richard O'Brien's "Rocky Horror Show", a cult classic and campy musical, which is well-known to many through the movie version of the show. Portal Players will announce the rest of this season's upcoming plays soon, along with details about season ticket sales and pricing.
In 2009, Portal Players is celebrating its 30th Anniversary, and its 20th Anniversary as owner/operator of The Capitol Theatre in Uptown Port Alberni.