Newsletter of Town & Gown Players, Athens, Georgia

Celebrating Over 50 Continuous Years of Community Theater

June-July 2007

In This Issue

Bet a Winning Ticket
The Trip to Bountiful on the Mainstage	What's Going On at Town & Gown
Second Stage Accepting Proposals	Audition Call: Three Sisters
Annual Banquet Date Set	"Summer of Sorta Shakespeare" Continues
Young Actors Studio Does Guest Shot	Board/Membership Meetings
Who's Serving on the Board	Contact the Envoy

Visit the Town & Gown home page!

Reservations (706) 208-TOWN (8696) · Lobby/Backstage (706) 548-3854

A Classic Win-Win Situation

• Love theater? Have friends who love theater? Volunteer for Town and Gown and see shows for free.
• Love theater? Have no friends who love theater? Volunteer and meet new friends and see shows for free with your new friends.

Visit www.townandgownplayers.org/volunteers for more information, or just click the link on our home page.

On the Mainstage:

The Trip to Bountiful

By Horton Foote
Directed by Marie Bruce

Life's a voyage that's homeward bound.--Herman Melville

Join the journey as Horton Foote paints one woman's quest to return to the past and to the place that gives her life meaning in Town & Gown Players' production of The Trip to Bountiful, running June 22-July 1.

Carrie Watts is living the twilight of her life trapped in an apartment in 1950s Houston, Texas, with a controlling daughter-in-law and a hen-pecked son. Her fondest wish--just once before she dies--is to revisit Bountiful, the small Texas town of her youth which she still refers to as "home." Unwilling to believe there is no Bountiful to go back to, Carrie manages to elude her warders and make her way towards home.

The play showcases Horton Foote's signature blend of realism and drama. The characters are crafted with humor and insight while always ringing absolutely true to life. Mr. Foote is justly regarded as one of America's leading dramatists with credits including the screenplay for To Kill a Mockingbird and his original Tender Mercies. His work has received two Academy Awards, an Emmy, and a Pulitzer Prize. The 1986 film of The Trip to Bountiful garnered an Oscar for Geraldine Page's performance as Carrie, one of the most compelling yet unique heroines of the American stage.

Town & Gown's cast boasts a wealth of experience, including Gay Griggs McCommons in the role of Carrie, Tom Tanner as her son Ludie, and Amy Miller as the snippy daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae. T&G newcomer Bonnie Romaine plays Thelma, the chance meeting who touches Carrie's heart. Supporting actors include Steve Marcotte, Rick Bedell, Donald Harris, Justin Riddick, Katie Dotson, Anna Marie Crews, Carole Kaboya and Cord Sibilsky.

Director Marie Bruce has been in the director's chair for a variety of musicals, comedies and dramas over the past seventeen years, but calls this play "the most beautifully crafted and poignant script it's been my privilege to direct."

• Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful has performances on June 22-24 and 28-30 and July 1.
• Curtain time is 8:00 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 2:00 p.m. Sundays.
• Tickets are $15 ($12 for students, seniors, and T&G members) for Friday and Saturday performances and $5 for Thursday and Sunday shows.
• Following the opening night performance, the company will host a reception.

Call 706-208-TOWN (208-8696) during business hours for reservations. Visit www.townandgownplayers.org for more information.

What's Coming at T&G

June 2007
22	Opening on the Mainstage: The Trip to Bountiful Curtain time 8:00 p.m., post-show reception Read the story
23	The Trip to Bountiful Curtain time 8:00 p.m.
24	Matinee performance of The Trip to Bountiful Curtain time 2:00 p.m.
25	Open auditions for Three Sisters, the first production of the 2007-8 Mainstage season 7:00 p.m. at the Athens Community Theater Read the story
26	Auditions for Three Sisters 7:00 p.m. at the Athens Community Theater
28	The Trip to Bountiful Curtain time 8:00 p.m.
29	The Trip to Bountiful Curtain time 8:00 p.m.
30	The Trip to Bountiful Curtain time 8:00 p.m.
July 2007
1	Matinee performance of The Trip to Bountiful Curtain time 2:00 p.m.
6	Second Stage presents the Summer of Sorta Shakespeare: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) Curtain time 8:00 p.m., post-show reception on opening night Read the story
7	Wm. Shkspr. Curtain time 8:00 p.m.
8	Wm. Shkspr. matinee Curtain time 2:00 p.m.
27	Second Stage presents the Summer of Sorta Shakespeare: A Lear and Present Danger Curtain time 8:00 p.m., post-show reception on opening night Read the story
28	A Lear and Present Danger Curtain time 8:00 p.m.
29	A Lear and Present Danger matinee Curtain time 2:00 p.m.
August 2007
4	Town & Gown's annual season-end banquet Read the story
September 2007
21-23, 27-30	Three Sisters on the Mainstage Details in a future issue of the Envoy
October 2007
TBA	Annual Meeting of Town & Gown Players More information to come

Second Stage Seeks Proposals

Any Town & Gown member may propose titles for the 2007-08 Second Stage season.

Second Stage exists to produce new works, musical or staged readings, musical revues, or other theatrical endeavors that might not be suitable for the Mainstage season. Works included in this series may be issue-oriented, modern, experimental, or controversial. Production time is short and resources are very limited. Second Stage productions are not conceived as big theatrical events with high production values; therefore, they are almost entirely script- and actor-driven.

Tentative dates for Second Stage performances are October 5-7, 2007; December 14-16, 2007; February 22-24, 2008; April 25-27, 2008; and June 27-29, 2008.

Submissions for the October and December slots are due no later than August 1, 2007; all others must be in no later than December 1, 2007. The December show will be picked to cater to a winter holiday crowd, so propose accordingly.

For more information and a proposal form, email Steven Carroll at secondstage@townandgownplayers.org or pick up a hard copy of the form in the theater lobby.

Audition Call:

Three Sisters

By Anton Chekhov, translated by Paul Schmidt
Directed by John Ginn

Performance dates: Sept. 21-23 and 27-30, 2007
Audition dates: June 25-26, 2007, 7:00 p.m. at the theater
Rehearsals are slated to begin around August 1.

Three Sisters is the story of four young people left stranded in a provincial backwater after the death of their father, a Russian army general. They focus their dreams on returning to Moscow, a city remembered through the eyes of childhood as a place where happiness is possible.

Mainstage shows are cast entirely by open auditions. Three Sisters calls for a cast of 9 men and 5 women, ages 18 to 80, plus musicians (guitar, piano, voice, violin, etc.). The director is also seeking technical staff and crew members. Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Prepared material, 2 minutes or shorter, may also be used but is not required. Musicians/singers bring your instruments and prepare to show off. Part of the audition may be open, so no chickens! Also, no Russian accents please!

For more information on casting requirements, audition format and so forth, send an email to director John Ginn or look for bulletins on the Town & Gown home page.

Dish:

Annual Banquet Date Announced

Town & Gown will hold its season-end awards banquet on August 4. The place, time, price and other details will come out in the next Envoy. The banquet traditionally features recognition of theatrical achievements and conversation about those not attending.

Rumor has it that the theme will concern an event we are all living through now but that won't come again in any of our lifetimes, probably.

Second Stage Presents
The Summer of Sorta Shakespeare

Part 2: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)

By Adam Long, Daniel Singer, Jess Borgeson, . . . and William Shakespeare
Directed by Joe Costello

Playing July 6-8, 2007. Curtain time is 8:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. No reserved seats; all tickets are $5.00.

Three guys. 40 plays, give or take. The greatest playwright in the English language. What the #%@! were we thinking?!?

Part 3: A Lear and Present Danger

By William Shakespeare, adapted by John Brandt
Directed by John Brandt

Playing July 27-29, 2007. Curtain time is 8:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. No reserved seats; all tickets are $5.00.

When Shakespeare's tragedy collides with the clowning of commedia dell'arte, a slapstick riot is sure to ensue!

Company's Coming:

Young Actors Studio Visits Athens Community Theater

The Young Actors Studio will be moving into Town & Gown this summer for its production of The Wizard of Oz, playing July 12-15.

For more information:
email: youngactorsstudio@gmail.com
web site: youngactorsstudio.googlepages.com

Board and Membership Meetings

The board of directors meets every month; any Town & Gown member may attend. For dates and times, or to propose business for the board, write to President Andy Garrison . . . or collar him at any opening night.

Town & Gown will hold its annual end-of-season banquet on August 4. Read the story.

The annual meeting of Town & Gown Players, Inc., takes place in October. Business at that event includes reports from departments and committees as well as elections of the next calendar year's president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. Members will receive official notice of the annual meeting by mail, and it will also appear in the Envoy nearest the date.

Board Members and Email Addresses

President	Andy Garrison	president@townandgownplayers.org
Vice-President	Terrell Austin	vicepresident@townandgownplayers.org
Secretary	Nathan Altman	secretary@townandgownplayers.org
Treasurer	Patty Freeman-Lynde	treasurer@townandgownplayers.org
Membership	Kris Schultz-Tanner	membership@townandgownplayers.org
Envoy Editor	Brooke Hatfield	envoy@townandgownplayers.org
Friends of Town & Gown/Development	Amy Miller	development@townandgownplayers.org
Facilities	Allen Rowell	facilities@townandgownplayers.org
Front of House	Kelly McGlaun Fields Amy Wildey	house@townandgownplayers.org
Second Stage	Steven Carroll	secondstage@townandgownplayers.org
Publicity	Dina Canup	publicity@townandgownplayers.org
Season Tickets	Marie Bruce	seasontickets@townandgownplayers.org
Webmaster	Eric Wagoner	webmaster@townandgownplayers.org

Town & Gown Players is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Your gifts are tax-deductible.

Town & Gown Players
P.O. Box 565
Athens, Georgia 30603
Lobby and backstage phone: (706) 548-3854
Mainstage reservations: (706) 208-TOWN (208-8696) · Please call during regular business hours

Our website includes great links, a form to place your name on our e-mailing list, a map, photographs, history, features about our upcoming shows, and lots of other information. There's even a page where you can sign up to work as an usher, sell tickets, etc.

Comments, suggestions, or questions regarding the newsletter or Town & Gown membership? Contact Membership Chair Kris Tanner or Envoy Editor Brooke Hatfield.

Brooke Hatfield edits and publishes the Envoy six times a year, more or less. Webmaster Eric Wagoner and Ben Teague designed the online version.

© Town & Gown Players 2007