Curtain Call 14.4 March 2009

Curtain Call Volume X1V

Quarterly Newsletter of Theatre in the Woods, Ltd.

March, 2009

The Terminal Wonder Dialogue Claudia Schmidt & Kevin Kline March 6 at the Quam by Carolyn Burnett

We say historic, they say histeric! Claudia Schmidt - wonder woman of inventive, dynamic vocal range from moodful musings to roller coaster rides of scat rhymes and rhythms - has played to capacity audiences in Theatre in the Woods’ Erika Quam theater several times. She will be joined will by masterful storyteller Kevin Kling for his first time in our venue on Friday, March 6. To have these two incredible entertainers on stage together is, in today’s jargon, ‘to die for’.

storyteller has been heard on National Public Radio and seen on the Guthrie stage in Minneapolis. Together, Schmidt and Kling take the audience on a journey into the improvisatory potential of stories and songs. In their show The Terminal Wonder Dialogue the twosome share their enchantment with the strengths and fragilities of our species. These two are masters of their craft and the stage is their natural habitat. Be ready Friday, March 6 at 7:30 for an emotional ride which will have you holding your sides from laughter and perhaps wiping a tear from your eye as well.

Claudia Schmidt has performed here in North America and in Europe in settings as intimate as our theater in Shell Lake, and as vast as a festival stage in front of 25,000 listeners. Kevin Kling, na- Admission is an affordable $13 for this magical duo. Reservations tive of Osseo, MN, a nationally may be made at 715 468 4387 recognized playwrite, actor and

Spotlight on Lighting at Quam Days by Bob Olsgard

‘Ever wondered about those lights that hang over the stage or how they work? With our new equipment its easier than ever to bring our stage to life using light. We’ve scheduled two lighting workshops to take you from the basics of how the lights work and where to put them, to programming sequences and special effects with our new automated controller. On March 14 from 1 to 3 pm, the mysteries of our new lighting setup will be revealed. Come back on May 2 from 1-3 pm to learn how to program the new system. If you’ve yearned for an artistic “behind the scenes” role at the Quam, these workshops are for you!

QUAM DAYS March 14 & May 2 The social and culinary highlights of the season!! Starting around 9 in the morning, continuing through a provided lunch (you can look at it as free if you wish) and petering out around 3, friends, neighbors, people you wish you knew, some you hope to know better, maybe even family members will be out in the spring air clearing away the debris of winter, making our joint home all fresh and neat and recovered from the dark days. Inside work lurks as well. There'll be tasks suitable to all interests. Techies will want to participate in Bob’s lighting workshops (see left, below). Don’t miss out! Saturday March 14. Wear green to celebrate St. Pat's Day early! You'll have so much fun that you'll immediately look forward to Saturday, May 2 when another free lunch is scheduled. See you on March 14 & May 2 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Come when you can. Stay and work as long as you can (or wish). Bring a pal. Bring someone new to TITW to share the fun!

Vol. XIV

Curtain Call

March, 2009

Shakspeare Revisited: Choosing the play

terrific set of interchanges between each character is a strong contribuBeatrice and Benidick. There are tor to the whole. Additionally, we several interesting female charac- expect, intend, and will plan for as ters and we could envision creating much fun as we can possibly fit more. We could set it in any time into both the rehearsal process and by Karen Kaufman & Carolyn Burnett period. The main characters could the final product. be in the general age range of most Ever wonder how a director We are looking forward to getting of our actors. Whereas neither of chooses a particular play? In the as many people involved in this case of Theatre in the Woods revis- us had been overly enthusiastic about Dream initially (it seems to production as possible. We will be iting William Shakespeare the diholding a reading of the play on be The One done by amateur rectors had a rough go of it. We (Carolyn Burnett and Karen Kauf- groups) we found ourselves com- Saturday April 4th at the Erika man) had decided, as we did when ing up with a good list of pros and Quam Memorial Theatre from 9 a.m. to noon. We welcome choosing 12th Night several any and all to participate by years ago, to limit our Announcing: reading or just listening. choice to one of the comeIn the spring of 2010, dies. We narrowed the seTiTW will be producing Watch for future articles as lection to four, eliminating the process of bringing those comedies with multiMuch Ado Shakespeare back to TITW ple twin characters, too few About Nothing develops. We anticipate trips good female roles, and probby William Shakespeare. to other productions, worklematic (to us) plot lines. shops, movies, and whatever This left Much Ado About else we can Dream of to make no really major cons. With Much Nothing, Taming of the Shrew, As Ado we knocked off the cons one Much Ado about Shakespeare at You Like It, and Midsummer the Erika Quam Theater. by one. We went round and Night's Dream. round. At one point we considered (for about 15 seconds) doing them Anyone interested in more informaWe both reread each of the four both in repertory format or switch- tion about this project or wanting to and evaluated them based on a become a part of the general pronumber of criteria. Eventually we ing to a darker choice such as eliminated Shrew and As You Like Macbeth, King Lear, or Merchant duction crew, please contact CaroIt. Then the two of us met and dis- of Venice. Eventually we flipped a lyn at 354-3803 or [email protected] or Karen at cussed the pros and cons of the re- coin. Then we went for two flips 635-7641 or out of three. maining two plays. Dream is a [email protected]. strong ensemble production. The We expect to carry some of what humor is light. We could envision a we liked about Dream into Much dream-like setting. We could imagine having children, teens, and Ado. Notably, we will be striving adults in the cast. Much Ado has a for an ensemble production where December 9, 2009 TiTW Xmas Party

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Vol. XIV

Curtain Call

Burnett & Fox Attend Arts Board Seminars by Patti Fox

This past December 2nnd and 3rd, TitW officers Carolyn Burnett and Patti Fox attended a series of Wisconsin Arts Board seminars at the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center. The training was made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Our community was also represented at the workshops by Shell Lake Arts Center directors.

Curtain Call

is published quar-

terly by: Theatre in the Woods, Limited 605 First Street P.O. Box 156 Phone (715)468-4387 Carolyn Burnett, President, 354-3803 Carolyn Seehafer, Vice President Kathy Mitchell, Secretary Patti Fox, Treasurer Margaret Olsgard, Curtain Call Editor, (715) 635-8171 Bob Olsgard, Curtain Call Tech Guru SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Curtain Call is published in March, June, September and December. Copy deadline is on the 15th of the previous month. Submit text as a simple, unformatted e-mail or attached Word document. Photos or other artwork should be sent as an attached file, preferably JPEG. Send to:

[email protected]

Check out our our website: titw.org including the new interactive beta site. Sign in and let us know what you think! Shawn Tisdell, Webmaster. (715) 822-3222

The first day’s Grant Proposal Writing workshop was all new information for Fox but mostly review for Burnett, who has been the primary grant writer for TitW since our first application. TitW has been a recipient of WAB grants in the past, including most recently a $2500 ‘Creation & Presentation Grant’ in 2008. The deadline for our 2009 grant application was February 20th, and Burnett (with minor assistance from Fox) put in dozens of hours on the WAB eGrant website completing the on-line application for funding. Burnett has stated that she would like this to be her last year on this effort, and Fox has volunteered to be her ‘under-study’. Burnett, who has been a key leader with TitW since its first play in 1989, has also expressed an intention to retire from key TITW responsibilities within the next few years. For this reason the second workshop of the day “Succession Planning”, was a timely offering. When asked at the workshop about ‘term limits’ Bill Taubman, SLAC board member, stated it was his understanding retirement was accepted only with presentation of a death certificate. Many recommendations were put forth as means of managing leadership succession, most important of which was the pronouncement “don’t wait until it’s too late”.

March, 2009 The December 3 workshop was on Program Evaluation. The WAB has found that section on most grant applications to be a weak area. Using recommendations and examples provided in this workshop, TitW will be doing more to develop methodologies to measure whether or not we are meeting our short and long term goals. Your anecdotal input would be very welcome, and we will likely be working to systematically collect feedback in the form of surveys, questionnaires and letters of support. According to a follow-up email from Karen Goeschko of the Wisconsin Arts Board, everyone who participated in all 3 workshops in the series essentially received the equivalent of a $1,500 technical assistance WI Arts Board grant . Wisconsin Arts Board is the state agency that nurtures creativity, cultivates expression, promotes the arts, supports the arts in education, stimulates community and economic development and serves as a resource for people of every culture and heritage. All the handouts provided during the workshops can be found on the following website: http:/ www.artsextensionservice.org/ index.php/training-consulting/ evaluation

WISH LIST 1. TiTW is seeking the donation of an electric kitchen range with working oven for such events as Pizza and Play, Quam Days, and strike pot lucks. 2.TiTW is also seeking a volunteer to produce a good quality DVD work sample to use in future grant applications. 3

Vol. XIV

Curtain Call

ERNEST in LOVE

Small Potatoes

APRIL 2, 3 & 4 LYRICS BY ANNE CROSWELL MUSIC BY LEE POCKNESS

No, that’s not a typo. Maybe we should say “Much Ado about Brunch”. Here’s why: “Pizza and a Play”- that social event where we sit around a table and read aloud for enjoyment the words of some playwright - is scheduled for Saturday, April 4, from 9 am to 12 noon - or until the end of Act V. As pizza for “elevenses” doesn’t quite appeal, it will be “Brunch and a Play” for that day. Jacquie Manning & Rich Prezioso are no small potatoes! Hear this entertaining and sought-after musical duo at their April 25 concert at the Quam Theater 7:30 pm.

Upcoming Events at Erika Quam Theater Call 468-4387 to Reserve March 6 March 9 March 14 April 2 & 3 April 4 April 4 April 14 April 25 May 2 May 12 June

Munch Ado… April 4 by Carolyn Burnett

Join us at Erika Quam Memorial Theater for a delightful trip back in time to Victorian England. This musical theatre event of the season is based on Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy of manners, The Importance of Being Ernest. Showtimes are Thursday, Friday & Saturday April 2,3 and 4 at 7:30 p..m. with a New – Never Been Tried Before by TiTW - Saturday Matinee on April 4th at 4:00 p.m. Admission $10.00, with a special $7.00 Senior Matinee Admission.

March, 2009

Kevin Kling/Claudia Schmidt 7:30 p.m. TitW Monthly Meeting 7 p.m. Quam Day & Lighting workshop 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ernest in Love 7:30 p.m. Brunch & a Play: Much Ado reading 9:00 a.m. Ernest in Love 4 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. TitW Monthly Meeting 7 p.m. Small Potatoes in concert 7:30 p.m. Quam Day & Lighting workshop 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. TitW Monthly Meeting 7 p.m. Youth Theater Production TBA

Much Ado about Nothing is, as you may have just read (see page 2), the selection for TITW’s second ever Shakespeare production. We’re getting an early start on the exploration, understanding, and enjoyment of this comedy, famous for the Beatrice and Benedick exchange of barbs. Please join us. Unleash your inner Elizabethan or just munch and listen. Come to the basement of the Quam where the table will be spread, the scripts will be available, and the company select.

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