Vlogs: A Sneak Peek

Very soon, we'll be featuring video posts! These vlogs will include interviews with the cast and designers of AC's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and a look into the world of Shakespeare's beloved comedy.

Here is a sneak peek at some of what you can expect to see!

The Pucks
(Matt Winer and Natalie Carlyle)

The Rude Mechanicals
(Top row: Keri Eastridge, Brandon O'Donnell, Jessica Welch; bottom row: Melissa Paper, Ashanti Cooper, Tom Matera).

Photos by Erin Drum.

Be sure to check back soon for the vlogs themselves!

And remember, Midsummer opens August 4th! Tickets on sale mid-July! Please visit our website and Facebook page for more info.

First Look: Midsummer Rehearsals!

Here is a first look at AC's A Midsummer Night's Dream's rehearsal process!

'Midsummer opens August 4th and runs through the 14th. For more information, visit our website or our Facebook page.

The company.

Matt Winer (Puck), Natalie Carlyle (Puck), KeiLyn Durrel Jones (Oberon).

Phyllis Stanley (Aegea) and John Sisson (Demetrius).

John Sisson, Katie Tyler (Helena), and Chris Sisson (Lysander).

Grace Anastasiadis (director).

Ashanti Cooper, Keri Eastridge, Tom Matera, Jessica Welch, Brendan O'Donnell, and Melissa Paper (The Rude Mechanicals).

Jenny Male ( John Sisson, Rachael Sinnot (Hermia), and Chris Sisson.

Katie Tyler and Chris Sisson.

Natalie Carlyle, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, and Matt Winer.

Photography by Erin Drum.

Announcing: 17th Season Line-Up!

As we here at Arts Collective like to say (quick shout-out to Steppenwolf)... TODAY IS THE DAY! Today, we are so proud to announce the Arts Collective's 17th season line-up!

We'll be posting full details for all of our shows next week, but for now you can check out all the great productions we have in store for you this season. Let us know what you're most excited about!

A Midsummer Night's Dream

August 4-14, 2011

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Grace Anastasiadis

Shakespeare's classic, comic tale of powerful and mischievous fairies and foolish young lovers comes to life as AC kicks-off it’s 17th season. Just as the pair of lovers are transported to a magical world beyond their imaginations, so too will audiences experience the journey in HCC's beautiful and very cool Smith Theatre —for a Dream unlike any other.


A Passion for Broadway: A Cabaret

October 7, 2011
Presented by the Arts Collective
Directed by Grace Anastasiadis and Jenny Male

Arts Collective brings passion to the stage this fall! Keith Tittermary will tickle the ivories for HCC's wildly gifted students, alumni and guest artists as they croon and belt their way through Broadway's most moving and passionate musical theatre hits! Visit AC’s website after September 10th to view the cast and musical numbers included in this one-night-only cabaret!

Spring's Awakening

November 10 – 20, 2011
Co-Presented by HCC’s Theatre Program and the Arts Collective
A Play by Frank Wedekind
Directed by Michael Stebbins

Frank Wedekind's lyrical, thoughtful, and provocative 1891 play reflects on the mysterious and complex passage from innocence to adulthood. Over a hundred years after being banned throughout Europe for its starkly honest depiction of adolescent emotions and sexuality, this masterpiece went on to inspire the Tony award-winning musical.


What Improv Group?!?!

December 9, 2011
Presented by the Arts Collective
Directed by Susan G. Kramer

HCC's only improv troupe, What Improv Group?!?! (W.I.G.), returns to the stage! Crafty storytelling and rich characters define W.I.G.'s distinct take on improv, featuring everything from the absurdly hilarious to the deeply touching, and everywhere in between. Visit AC’s website mid-October to view the cast and what W.I.G. is up to… just for you!


Student Playwright Showcase

February 2 - 3, 2012
Co-Presented by HCC’s Theatre Program and the Arts Collective

Following the success of last year's debut showcase, audiences are invited to once again sit back and relax in HCC’s amazing Monteabaro Recital Hall! This exciting event features readings of brand-new works written and performed by HCC students and special guest artists. Support today’s fresh voices right here at Howard Community College!


Dance Company Performance

March 1– 4, 2011
Presented by the Arts Collective
Directed by Renée Brozic Barger

Now in its 6th Season, AC's outstanding Student Dance Company will perform the stellar choreography of visiting professional guest artists and faculty. A moving celebration inside dance and imagination, following the same magic featured in last season’s Spring Forward. A tremendous experience for student dancers, local choreographers and audience alike.

Shakespeare's Birthday Celebration

April 17, 2012
Co-Presented by HCC’s Theatre Program and the Arts Collective
Director TBA

Come frolic with us on the back-lawns of HCC’s most magical performance space: Dreier Stage. This spring’s annual celebration will honor the Bard’s reflections on desire and jealousy featuring HCC students, staff, special guests and more! All are invited to this fun, free event which promises sonnets, stage combat, readings, and of course, birthday cake!

Urinetown

May 3 – 13, 2012

Presented by the Arts Collective
Music and Lyrics by Mark Hollmann, book and lyrics by Greg Kotis
Directed by Jenny Male
Musical Direction by Keith Tittermary

In this smart and hilarious satire of American business, no one – and no musical theatre genre – remains unscathed. Due to a 20 year drought, the poor are forced to scrounge for pennies to pay for the privilege to pee. Bobby Strong has the courage to stand up to a tyrannical empire, rousing the poor with musical numbers that parody Broadway’s biggest shows. Through it all, the people fight for love, justice, and the enduring hope of peeing free. Urinetown: the Musical was nominated for ten Tony Awards and won three in 2002.

From the AC Desk: Countdown to Season 17!

A Note from AC's Producing Artistic Director

July 1^st : The day when we announce Arts Collective’s 17^th season right here! We’re beyond excited to share with you AC’s most eclectic, imaginative, inspiring line-up yet! Check back on Friday!

In the meantime… we wanted to take a moment to celebrate last season; a tough act to follow, as AC’s 16^th was our most successful to date! It was a season which included a plethora of firsts: a first subscription series, a summer partnership with Steppenwolf West, a first “mainstage” co-production (1001) and a first Student Playwright Showcase with HCC’s Theatre Arts Program, a first-time experience flying actors (Peter Pan), and a first summer production—A Midsummer Night’s Dream! AC’s 16^th Season also broke many records with the number of audition opportunities offered and the overwhelming number of stellar actors, dancers and singers who came out and gave their all! AC’s still celebrating last season’s record-breaking, unprecedented audience attendance, which brought in approximately 1,500 more patrons than the year before!

We didn’t want to put AC’s 2010-2011 season to bed without taking a moment to extend armfuls of appreciation to everyone who participated on and off the stage… from the performers, crew, designers, stage managers, directors, choreographers and music directors to our supportive and enthusiastic patrons! Thank you all for always inspiring us to grow and evolve!

Susan G. Kramer, Producing Artistic Director, Arts Collective @HCC

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A Note on the Blog:

We here at AC have been toying with things for the last season, trying to figure out the best way to communicate with you, our wonderful extended family.

Which brings me to the big, awesome, blogosphere-changing news: we’re officially relaunching the blog with a snazzy new layout, new weekly features, video content, and more!

So just what can you expect from this blog to destroy all other blogs? Just in time for last season’s production of Peter Pan, we began to make a series of sweet video blogs (vlogs for my fellow nerds out there) that you can find here on our YouTube page, and found a lot of success with them. So expect lots more video content to be posted: from behind-the-scenes exclusives like interviews with cast, crew, and designers to show trailers and more.

What else can you look forward to? For this summer’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream we’ll have a weekly series of posts following the entire process from the first company meeting to the shows themselves, and everything in between. And of course, the blog will once again be your one-stop-shop for the latest AC news (like the announcement of our 17th Season and subscriptions, coming soon!), audition opportunities, workshops, and pretty much anything you’ll ever want or need to know about ANYTHING! (As long as it’s related to AC, that is. You’ll still have to go to your favorite trashy pop culture website to read about political scandals and view celebrity mug shots.)

In all seriousness, Arts Collective’s 17th season is going to be one to remember, and we want YOU to be a part of it! So keep on checking in with AC Bloggin’ and we promise to continue bringing you the exciting AC content you want.


Sincerely,
The Arts Collective Staff


P.S. - In the meantime, please find us on Facebook here, “Like” us, and then write on our page about your favorite AC productions and/or let us know what you want to see from AC in the future. You can also check out pictures and blog posts from past productions using the links on the right panel of this interweb page; view vlogs, past productions, and other fun videos on our YouTube page; and check out our ever-growing collection of pictures on our Flickr page.

Cast Member Blog - 1001 - Nick Walsh

Thanks to everyone that came out to see last weekend's run of the show! Unfortunately it's your very LAST CHANCE to see 1001 this weekend, Blogfriends! It's also your LAST CHANCE to purchase season subscriptions! [Buy tickets and subscriptions here.]

Don't miss out on this epic, twisted fantasia. I mean, it has bellydancing, beheadings, behandings, and more. What more could you want from a show?

An epic storyteller himself, let 1001 cast member tell you the tale of his journey to the stage in this week's Cast Member Blog.

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[Editor's Note: This blog was written about two weeks ago. Just so nobody gets confused, the show is playing through the 21st.]

I’m not exactly the typical theater student. I’m a “Secondary Education – English” major, which is really just a fancy term for me wanting to be a high school English teacher. A love for the written word—rather than the spoken word—has blossomed in me ever since I got past my first college composition class. I only took my Acting I class at the recommendation of my advisor, as I needed an art credit and some theatrical training is generally considered a bonus when you’re a teacher. Not to mention that I had done theater in high school.

Fast forward to earlier this semester. I was in my theater class, having a lot more fun and learning a lot more than I thought I would after 4 years of theater in high school in an entry level class. Kasi Campbell, my teacher, was a lot of fun to work with and I was enjoying myself immensely. A few weeks into the class, she mentioned that the Arts Collective and HCC's Theatre Program were putting on a show, 1001, that she would be directing. She said that auditions were that week. Kasi mentioned that the show was unusual and, remembering high school theater and thinking to myself that it couldn’t hurt to audition for the show, I was intrigued and decided to audition.

I hadn’t done an audition in 4 years. Contrary to what you might think, the audition felt extremely natural and familiar to me; I felt myself slipping back into the actor’s mindset, something I’d avoided for four years. I auditioned for several parts that day, and they all felt natural to me. As I auditioned for character after character, I found myself selfishly thinking that I wanted not just A role or ONE of these roles, but ALL of them.

Turns out, I wasn’t too far off. Of the 6 roles that I auditioned for, I got 4 of them. Funny how things work out, huh?

Rehearsing 1001 has been bliss. I’ve been blessed with a cast that is funny, VERY talented, friendly…and, just maybe, has welcomed me into the fold. In Kasi I’ve found a director that I can argue with, who lets me try things, and who critiques me constantly. These are all exceptionally positive things. My own roles are truly challenging, and will be even better in a week when we open, but I doubt they will ever be complete.

This show is my triumphant return to the stage, after 5 years. I’ve thrown my everything into this play. If you want to know me, see this show.

We’re now going into tech week, a mysterious dark void from which there is no escape. When it finally spits us out again in a week, we will have been forged into something truly amazing.

Come see the show.

Thank you for your time.

Cast Member Blog - 1001 - Aaron LeKarz

It may be a dark, rainy Tuesday, Blogfriends, but I have something to brighten your day: a Cast Member Blog! This blog, from cast member Aaron LeKarz, is a look at the historical background of 1001 and some of the background behind the more belief-driven themes of the show. Oh! And there's a Delorean.

Don't forget to purchase your tickets for 1001's closing weekend, this Thursday through Sunday. Buy early and buy often as seating is limited! You can purchase tickets here.

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As I walked into the auditions for "1001" there was definitely a sense of awesome in the air. Many former cast-mates from tempODYSSEY (February 2010) were among those trying out, as well as an influx of new talent and faces with wonderful theatre backgrounds. Probably one of the more memorable moments of the casting process was my misreading of a script direction to play a role as "Vincent Price" (the voice-over for Thriller) which I confused with "Vincent Offer" (notorious TV salesman). Needless to say, a typical phrase for me to hear from Noah Bird (Shahriyar/Alan) before going on is "slap chop it up."

Besides having an amazing cast full of diverse actors and acting styles, the entire plot and production of "1001" is a mystical unfolding itself. The story, which bleeds reality and fiction in a sort of Delorean-full-of-Arabian-history-books kind of way, is both as amazing to be a part of, as well as fun to watch. It also brings to life many of the real conflicts of the Middle East, through interactions in the "present day" portions of the story. I think many people will see the show and then begin to wonder what parts of history are true, and which were preserved based on bias or popularity.

In fact, even in our current society, one of the biggest conflicts we have is, unknown to many, a difference in historical perspective. You see, both the stories of Islam and Judaism start essentially identical. God creates the world, Adam and Eve are the first human beings and on and on. Until you get to Abraham. See this is where the lineage takes a sharp split, one which has cost more lives throughout time than any other historical conflict. In Jewish history, Abraham awaiting a son to be his heir makes a decision which sends a rift through human history.

Abraham's wife Sarah had been barren for most of her life, so Abraham decides (according to the Judeo-Christian view) that he must sleep with a concubine (Hagar) and thus produce an heir, Ishmael. Later, after three angels appear to Abraham and tell him he is to have a child with his wife, Sarah bears a child, Isaac. According to the text, Abraham is 100 years old when this happens. Therefore it isn't actually as rushed as some may have thought for him to have a child with a concubine to be the heir to his nation. Isaac later has several children, one of who, Jacob, becomes known as Israel, whose lineage was God's chosen people.

Now rewind. Imagine that you took the right of "firstborn" to imply the actual first born of Abraham and not the first born of his first marriage. According to Islam, Ishmael had these rights. And as such the infamous sacrificing of Abraham's son to God to show his loyalty would have been Ishmael instead of Isaac on the altar. For those who might not know, he ends up sacrificing a lamb rather than his son, and the son of the story's choosing goes on to become the start of the Jewish or Islamic (known first as Arabian) Nation.

Many people disassociate the conflicts in the "infamous" territory of Gaza with a land allocation from World War II, or the attempt at a cessation of fighting. But truly the battles in Israel have been going on since the times of Isaac and Ishmael, with both the Qur'an, the Bible, and other historical accounts at least agreeing that fighting for territory had always been going on. It is almost silly to think of ideals like peace in the Middle East, because truly short of the second coming of Christ or the islamic Last Judgement neither side would have the interest in throwing their version of the past five thousand years in the fire. Even more, I would be doubtful if, even in the face of whichever the "true" God may be, that even those with opposing viewpoints would clutch onto whatever version of history they have believed their whole life; people are more likely to want to die believing in something than thinking they died having lived in vain.

Thinking about the infamous historical conflict created by a seemingly simple historical detail like "who is the true descendant of Abraham" really comes full circle in a play like "1001" where you get to see both sides of the story told and untold. Ideas of time, history and places being linear dissolves into the thought that maybe all these things are cyclical, continuous or maybe even indescribable by our current natures of understanding. Needless to say, if you are looking for an outstanding play that will make you think about the nature of storytelling and it's part in history, then be sure to see 1001, where you will find the ideas around storytelling unfold in both entertaining and thought-provoking ways.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Arts Collective at HCC.

cast Member Blog - 1001 - Naomi Place

They did it, Blogfriends! [Cue the confetti cannon.]

Last night, the cast and crew of 1001 finally had the pleasure of letting the outside world into the fascinating and complex world of Jason Grote's fantastic play. Of course if you missed it last night, you still have 7 more chances to see this show, however seating is limited and tickets are selling fast, so buy them now. No seriously. Now. Here.

Now of course opening night and inviting the audience in for the run of this show is, in many ways, what theatre is all about; this production, however, has been months and months in the making. As a treat for you, Blogfriends, and in thanks and gratification to the incredibly talented folks who have worked so hard on this show, I present to you today's 1001 Cast Member Blog. Join cast member Naomi Place as she takes you on a journey to the journey of 1001. Too meta?

Take it away, Naomi...

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Hello! My name is Naomi and I am a featured belly dancer and ensemble member in 1001. Although this is my first experience participating in a performing arts production at Howard Community College, I am not by any means new to the stage.

As you may know, the play 1001 is about storytelling. Whether the story takes place in the past, present, or future is irrelevant (as playwright Jason Grote has shown in this work). I wanted to use this entry to tell a little story about the demands of a performance of this caliber, and about the outstanding crew who is organizing it, as they simply are the backbone of this show.

Each individual scene is blocked and meticulously tweaked by our amazing and extremely patient director, Kasi Campbell. Dancers attend an additional 2 or more rehearsals per week to learn and polish choreography. The entire cast meets together at least 3 times a week (for a minimum of 3 hours) to run through the show in its entirety. The average cast member contributes 20+ hours per week to rehearse this play. Add to that the fact that we are all full time students, and many of us are involved in concurrent productions, and/or have jobs, children, pets, et cetera.

Our crew is the best. Not only do they put in the time and dedication as the cast does, but they help organize everything from schedules to sets, costumes, music, props, audio-visual and more. For me personally, one of the greatest pleasures has been to work with stage manager Erin Drum. She has shown to be the most level-headed, patient, and organized professional I have worked with in quite some time. I’m sure the entire cast will agree. Thank you Erin!

The story I tell may not be the most exciting one, as it happens behind the scenes where no one is looking; however, it is one of the most important, and it needed to be told. I hope you, your friends, and family make it to the play and get to see how our phenomenal crew has perfected the task of making something so challenging, look simple and beautiful! See you there!