Homecoming 2010!

Remember, as you're making your Homecoming plans, GTA members are re-convening for our second Annual Membership meeting during Homecoming and want YOU to be there! Since many of us will be on and around the Hilltop for tailgating and football, our GTA board would love to take advantage of this opportunity to update all members on a few key items, including: 

(1)  Upcoming events, like the DBM@80 - a celebration and networking event like we've NEVER seen before!

(2)  Our new website and its capabilities

(3)  Our GTA mission statement

(4)  Special offers to our membership for the coming year and ways YOU can help

(5)  How GTA can commemorate our beloved Kathleen Benz

So mark it on your calendars!!  

Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 12:30PM. 

We'll meet at Poulton for some coffee, bagels, doughnuts and good conversation...even hungover alumni are welcome :) 

And if you've woken up in the middle of the night itching for a hammer or a paintbrush, M&B will be loading in the day before and might appreciate some helping hands to finish the job.  I know you're out there, techies...you can't run, and you can't hide. But you CAN help those who have come after you! 

See you at Homecoming!

Candyland featuring Obehi Janice '09 at Boston Playwrights' Theater

July 29-August 14 2010

Written by Dawn M. Simmons
Directed by A. Nora Long

Featuring: Obehi Janice '09 (Kiki), Christine Power (Radio), Kathryn Lynch (Lazarus), Holly Erin McCarthy (Roxy), Bryan Daley (Cheeks), and Adam Kassim (Dustin Diamond).
Scenic Design: Christina Watka; Costume Design: Lisa Polito; Lighting Design: Bailey Costa; Sound Design: Darren Evans

Candyland is the comedic journey of a woman searching for work and identity in an economic holocaust. In a fictionalized now, Boston runs rife with dragons, zombies and karaoke. Entertainment is unearthed everywhere as long as you don’t get hit in an imaginary gunfight and end up in a time-out!

Performances will run Thursday-Saturdays, July 29-August 14 at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, located at 949 Commonwealth Avenue. Audiences can guarantee admission in advance for only $10. We continue our free/low-cost policy with a Pay-What-You-Can rush 30 minutes before each performance, subject to availability. For tickets Click Here or call 866-811-4111.

NXR invites you to join us for Sweet Talks, a dessert reception, following every performance of Candyland. Stay with us a while and mingle, have dessert, talk about the show, your day, what theatre you like to see, anything! Are you interested in making a gorgeous dessert for Sweet Talks? Email us for details.

Two Alumni Shows in July

Hello there, friends!

We have two more FANTASTIC opportunities to see productions jam-packed with Hoyas both on-stage and off!

See the information below for all you need to know about

Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband produced by Big Rodent in New York, NY,

and

War Zones, written (and directed) by Georgetown's own Laura Brienza (COL '09) and being put on for the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, DC!

These shows have almost identical runs, so pencil in the next few weeks as your chance to see some PHENOMENAL Georgetown Alumni productions, maybe even both shows!!!!

Wishing you all the best and a wonderful summer!
The Georgetown Theatre Alumni Board

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW! $2 Beer Every Night Big Rodent presents Oscar Wilde's dark and witty comedy, now set in a time of Mods vs. Rockers, Prewar vs. Postwar, and Society vs. Free Love. Greed, guilt, and love all vie to control the fate of a family, and all in time to get supper at the club! Lord Robert Chiltern is a star on the rise, a man who has everything: a promising political career, a beautiful wife, and all associated cliches. But when an old American cohort, Mrs. Cheveley, appears, Lord Chiltern must confront the single dark secret of his past, a secret that could destroy all the good he has done. He turns to his closest friend, the millionaire playboy Lord Goring, who happens to be trying to woo Lord Chiltern's sister. As all sides bicker and maneuver towards the sticky resolution, they must each decide what ends justify unsavory means. 8 Shows, 2 Weeks only. Buy your tickets today! July 15-24, Wings Theatre, 154 Christopher St, NYC Directed by Meghan Formwalt. Featuring: Adam Aguirre, Anna Bridgforth, Colleen Conroy, Alex Estrada, David Jenkins, Sarah Krokey, Joe Mathers, Nick Monroy, and Leigh Poulos. Assistant Director: Brian MacInnis Smallwood Set: Stephen Esposito Lights: Kyle McGahan Costumes: Kerry Gibbons Sound: Chrissy Farrell Stage Manager: Cait Keane Produced by Joe Gallagher, Jen Rogers, Sarah Krokey, and Big Rodent.

WAR ZONES

a play written and directed by Laura Brienza (COL '09)
presented as part of the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival
Assistant Directed by Samantha Northart
Technical Direction by Wade Tandy (COL '09)
starring Marjory Collado (COL '09), Robert Klein (MSB '09), Matthew McNear, & Joshua Rocchi

~

From five to fifty, one woman's life is sculpted by the bodies she loves along the way: a proud father with Alzheimer's, an abusive bulimic teen, her unwavering husband, and her anorexic son. This journey along the spectrum of masculinity brings science to life and the male body into the spotlight like never before. Sometimes the body is a war zone.

WHERE:
Fort Fringe-Redrum
612 L St, NW
Washington, DC
20001

WHEN:
Friday July 16 @ 6pm
Saturday July 17 @ 5pm
Sunday July 18 @ 11am
Saturday July 24 @ 9:30pm
Sunday July 25 @ 3pm

FOR TICKETS:
http://shows.capfringe.org/shows/375-Laura-Brienza-War-Zones.html

FOR MORE INFO:
visit www.warzonestheplay.com
or email www.warzonestheplay@yahoo.com

GTA Member Diana Cherkas hits the Big Screen!

Read below for a message from GTA member Diana Cherkas and her big screen premiere!

Dear friends and family,

I’m immensely proud to share with you that Anything For You, a feature film in which I have a supporting role, is releasing theatrically on April 23rd, for a week’s run at BIG Cinemas in five cities across the US!

This first week of showings is pivotal for the success of the film. Depending on how we do, we have the opportunity to move to more theaters and extend the run. I WOULD LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT!!! I will actually be missing the premiere itself because of another performance Friday night at Centenary Stage Company (!), but I’m going to try to attend as many showings in North Bergen, NJ as I can with those of you who'd like to join me. Showtimes, ticket and transportation info are all below in detail.

If you’re in California, Illinois, or Michigan, and can catch the film, I’d love to hear from you!

All the Best,
Diana Cherkas

Tickets, Transportation and Showtimes

Anything For You is directed by Anand Alagappan and is starring Sam Ghosh, Pooja Kumar, Juliana Fine, Diana Cherkas, & Aaron Mathias. To purchase your tickets, please visit http://www.bigcinemas.com or http://www.movietickets.com.

If you’re coming from New York City, the North Bergen location is a 15 minute trip via bus or car.

THE EASIEST ROUTE IS TO TAKE A CAB FROM PORT AUTHORITY. THE THEATER IS ONLY A FEW MINUTES FROM THE LINCOLN TUNNEL.

(by bus – $2.55): from Port Authority Bus Terminal, take Bus 127 (Union City – Ridgefield) to JFK Blvd & 32nd St or Bus 153 (Fort Lee Express) to JFK Blvd & 35th Street. Walk West on JFK Blvd. with the McDonalds on your right. BIG Cinemas Columbia Park 12 will be under the Columbia Park Center mall. For further instructions, please visit http://www.njtransit.com.
(by car): from the Lincoln tunnel, take the exit toward Kennedy Blvd. Turn right at John F. Kennedy Blvd. Make a U-turn at 32nd St./County Road 691/Hackensack Plank Rd. BIG Cinemas Columbia Park 12 will be on the right.

If you're coming out to NJ, I may be able to

New Jersey

North Bergen - Big Cinemas Columbia Park 12, 3125 Kennedy Blvd., North Bergen, NJ 07047
Fri 04/23/2010 2:00PM 4:20PM 6:30PM 8:45PM*
Sat 04/24/2010 2:00PM 4:20PM 6:30PM 8:45PM
Sun 04/25/2010 2:00PM 4:20PM 6:30PM 8:45PM
Mon 04/26/2010 2:00PM 4:20PM 6:30PM 8:45PM
Tue 04/27/2010 2:00PM 4:20PM 6:30PM 8:45PM
Wed 04/28/2010 2:00PM 4:20PM 6:30PM 8:45PM ($5 TICKETS!!!)
Thu 04/29/2010 2:00PM 4:20PM 6:30PM 8:45PM

New Jersey
Edison - Big Cinemas Movie City 8, 1655 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ 08820
Fri 04/23/2010 5:00PM 7:30PM 9:45PM
Sat 04/24/2010 4:30PM 6:45PM 9:00PM 11:15PM
Sun 04/25/2010 5:30PM 7:45PM
Mon 04/26/2010 5:15PM 7:30PM
Tue 04/27/2010 5:15PM 7:30PM
Wed 04/28/2010 5:15PM 7:30PM ($5 TICKETS!!!)
Thu 04/29/2010 5:15PM 7:30PM

California
Fremont - Big Cinemas Fremont 7, 39160 Paseo Padre Pkwy, Fremont, CA 94538
Fri 04/23/2010 3:35PM 5:45PM 8:05PM 10:15PM
Sat 04/24/2010 12:15PM 2:15PM 4:15PM 6:15PM 8:15PM 10:15PM
Sun 04/25/2010 12:15PM 2:15PM 4:15PM 6:15PM 8:15PM
Mon 04/26/2010 4:35PM 7:30PM
Tue 04/27/2010 4:35PM 7:30PM
Wed 04/28/2010 4:35PM 7:30PM
Thu 04/29/2010 4:35PM 7:30PM

Illinois
Niles - Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5, 9180 West Golf Road, Niles, IL 60714
Fri 04/23/2010 2:00PM 4:30PM 6:30PM 8:30PM 10:30PM
Sat 04/24/2010 2:00PM 4:30PM 6:30PM 8:30PM 10:30PM
Sun 04/25/2010 2:00PM 4:30PM 6:30PM 8:30PM
Mon 04/26/2010 2:00PM 4:30PM 6:30PM 8:30PM
Tue 04/27/2010 2:00PM 4:30PM 6:30PM 8:30PM
Wed 04/28/2010 2:00PM 4:30PM 6:30PM 8:30PM
Thu 04/29/2010 2:00PM 4:30PM 6:30PM 8:30PM

Michigan
Novi - Big Cinemas Novi Town Center 8, 26085 Town Center Dr, Novi, MI 48375
Fri 04/23/2010 5:00PM 7:00PM 9:00PM 10:55PM
Sat 04/24/2010 5:00PM 7:00PM 9:00PM 10:55PM
Sun 04/25/2010 5:00PM 7:00PM 9:00PM
Mon 04/26/2010 5:00PM 7:00PM 9:00PM
Tue 04/27/2010 5:00PM 7:00PM 9:00PM
Wed 04/28/2010 5:00PM 7:00PM 9:00PM ($5 TICKETS!!!)
Thu 04/29/2010 5:00PM 7:00PM 9:00PM

M&B Presents: The Taming of the Shrew

Love the 50s? Love Shakespeare? Wish you could be on the beach?

YOU'RE IN LUCK. Don't miss The Mask & Bauble Dramatic Society's Spring Production

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

By William Shakespeare

April 15-17, 22-24 at 8 | April 18 and 25 at 4 | Poulton Hall Stage III | Georgetown University

TICKETS HERE

Mask & Bauble and The Taming of the Shrew Company are proud supporters of Relay For Life. Donate to Relay in the screen that appears immediately after your ticket purchase.

FUN FACT: M&B last put up The Taming of the Shrew almost exactly 10 years ago!

Read the latest GTA Newsletter!

Georgetown Theater Alumni
December 2009 Newsletter

In this newsletter: Alumni Story: Steve Esposito | Reasons to Support GTA |GTA Origins

Message from the GTA President

Happy Holidays!

As the end of year approaches, our board has gathered on our cell phones across the country, concocting plans and hatching plots for the upcoming year. Regional events as you’ve seen during Homecoming and Opening Night celebrations are just the beginning! And that’s where your help comes in. Read the newsletter below for the kind of support you can provide; not only to students on campus who need our help right now, but also opportunities for us – the older alumni. As one of my favorite Georgetown gals liked to say – We Do Things! Or maybe I should say We Will Do Things! With your help, of course…

We’re thinking of planning larger events this coming year, and welcome any and all your ideas. Different brainstorming sessions have yielded: regional midnight theatre competitions, meet-and-greet networking events, speakers, happy hours, ice skating, discounted theater tickets and more! But we’d love your input. After all, we’re here for YOU! We want to volunteer our time – crazy, right? The only question is how to put our time to use, and that’s where your ideas are worth a million bucks (and a million bucks ain’t bad, either).

Just email us at gutheatre@gmail.com!

From your fellow Georgetown Theatre Alumni: Enjoy the nostalgic look into the past in the stories below, as we finish up the first decade of the third millennium!

Love,
Sarah

P.S. Visit our blog!

Alumni Story: Steve Esposito

Many Georgetown alumni discovered a life-long love of theater during their undergraduate years and made life-long friends while working on shows at Georgetown. And many stay involved in theater their whole lives, no matter where their careers and lives take them. We recently sat down with one such alumnus, Steve Esposito (SFS ’02) to hear his story.

I did a bit of set design and set building in high school, and I really enjoyed it. The school had a decent-sized theater and they gave us a lot of leeway to be creative and take leadership roles on their productions. When I got to Georgetown, I went to the M&B “O Show” during orientation and dropped by the party afterwards. I liked the group, and eventually wound up working on shows. Once I did, I was amazed at the talent and energy of the group, and I was hooked.

Friends from Georgetown theater are still my closest friends. We usually get together for a weekend each year at the Cape, and, as a matter of fact, I just went to Jason Yarn’s annual Christmas party last weekend. Do you know what he calls the party? Horkfest!

We did some incredible work, especially considering that Georgetown was just forming its theater program back then. We even took Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia” on the road to Washington, VA. I did everything. I liked lighting and sound, but what I really loved was set construction and set design. I was TD my senior year. The Board that year was awesome. Fun people who worked really, really hard and put together an amazing season. I also worked on a couple of Nomadic shows. Fun times.

After graduating, I didn’t work on any shows for a couple of years, but I really missed the challenge and the excitement. So, in my free time, I started working with a group whose shows I’d seen with my family growing up: the Village Light Opera. They have a loft in TriBeCa with rehearsal space upstairs, a scene shop and costume shop downstairs, and a very scary sub-basement storage area. It’s just like Poulton Hall! And the sub-basement is like that horrible storage space in the Alumni Square basement.

I started by just going to work calls, but have been TD for the past three shows and served on the Board of Directors for two years. And I’ll be designing and building the set for “Fiddler on the Roof” in the spring. The group has been trying to get the rights for the show for 20+ years, and we’re really excited to finally have the chance to do this classic. We’ll be performing at the Schimmel Center at PACE University in Lower Manhattan, which is a 700+-seat theater. They actually film “Inside the Actors’ Studio” there. Auditions are in January, and the show is in May. I encourage any Georgetown theater alums who are in the city to audition. They can visit our website (www.vlog.org) for more information. And, of course, everyone should go see the show!

SUPPORT GTA!

Dear Fellow Georgetown Theatre Alum,

The 2009-2010 Georgetown theatre season is well underway, and within Poulton Hall, Walsh Black Box and the Davis Center, a new generation of students is putting its own stamp on the Georgetown community and the legacy of great theatre.

No matter where our post-graduation life has taken us, we continue to carry that bond with Georgetown student theatre through the lifelong friendships that were formed, lessons learned and maybe even a career in theatre.

With your help, we can continue to give today’s students the resources they need to maximize their Georgetown theatre experience and support alumni across the country.

We are setting a goal to raise $10,000 by February 24, 2010, the beginning of the Donn B. Murphy One Acts Festival. This amount will help the students on campus with their wish list:

• Updated picture frames for the Poulton Hall lobby: $75-$100
• New sets of power tools: $500
• New risers: $20,000

Can you make a holiday donation to Georgetown Theatre Alumni to help make these wishes a reality?

Please make out your check to “Georgetown University” with a note specifying that the amount go toward Georgetown Theatre Alumni. You will receive information regarding your tax deductible gift following receipt of the donation. Donations should be sent to the following address:

Ron Lignelli
Administrative Director
Dept of Performing Arts
Davis Arts Center, Rm 108, Box 571063
Washington, DC 20057-1063

In addition to the resources we can provide for current students, your donations will go toward you: the Georgetown Theatre Alumni. In recent months, we have held reunions in New York and Washington, D.C. that were great successes and we look forward to future events and updates via our website (http://georgetowntheatrealumni.blogspot.com/) and email newsletter. If you have an idea of how we can better serve you, please don’t hesitate to contact the GTA Board at gutheatre@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continued support – we cannot do it without you.

Sincerely,

Sami Ghazi
Donor and Fundraising Chair
Georgetown Theatre Alumni

P.S. We also encourage you to volunteer your time. Current students and young alumni in particular are eager to learn from and network with alumni who have gone on to become leaders both inside and outside the theatre. Contact us atgutheatre@gmail.com for more information on how you can help!

GTA Origins
By Jenn Raley Miller (F ’98) and Cristina Aquino (C ’97)

On a sunny fall afternoon in 1999, a group of alumni and a few students gathered in the Suber Room in the then-Jesuit Residence. Some were old friends, particularly the well-represented contingent from the early ‘80s. Others of us had graduated within the past few years, still lived in the DC area, and still had close ties to the current student groups and their student leaders. A few were alumni from as far back as the ‘60s who shared stories that were, to most of us there, an exotic glimpse into days gone by. We gathered with a common background and purpose: all of us had been active in student-run theatre at Georgetown in our undergrad years, and all of us were committed to ensuring that GU continued to have a thriving student-run theatre community. The room hummed as we connected (or re-connected) with others who’d had a Georgetown experience similar to our own, and we shared bits of history of M&B, Nomadic, BTE, Georgetown Players, and other groups.

Two important topics were the catalyst for the meeting that day, giving us a conviction that a formally-organized group was needed to create more cohesion among the alumni of Georgetown’s student-run theatre groups. Both topics had generated an increasing amount of “buzz” over recent semesters – one excited; the other more apprehensive.

The first was the upcoming milestone anniversary. Mask & Bauble was founded in 1852, and we all recognized that we should not let the year 2002 go by without marking the 150th anniversary – not just of Mask & Bauble, but of all student-run theatre at Georgetown. One purpose in organizing the alumni was to involve as many “generations” as possible in celebrating the accomplishments and evolution of Georgetown’s student theatre groups, which we hoped would also have the effect of keeping us connected on an ongoing basis.

The second reason for the meeting was a reaction to the University’s plans to build a new theatre – and, along with it, a formal academic theatre department. One thing we all had in common was that our experiences doing student-run theatre had formed us, given us opportunities we didn’t get in our coursework, and developed us into leaders. We shared a collective sense that there is a unique aspect to student-run theatre that we weren’t sure faculty-led productions would provide. We felt that the alumni were uniquely positioned to provide a voice to advocate for the student groups through the planning and creation of the new theatre and department.

After much spirited discussion but overall agreement of purpose, Georgetown Theatre Alumni was born that day on Saturday, October 23, 1999. Though we did not yet have a formal constitution or by-laws, we elected a handful of alumni to board positions to steer the group through its formative stages, and to plan the 150th Anniversary Gala.

Fast-forward to the weekend of October 11-13, 2002. Nearly 200 alumni representing six decades came together to attend student group performances, participate in workshops by alumni who had been successful in performing arts careers, and celebrate with a gala event that included inaugural inductions into the Donn B. Murphy Georgetown Theatre Hall of Fame. The sesquicentennial of theatre at Georgetown was also the debut party of the Georgetown Theatre Alumni!

Ten years after that original meeting, GTA continues to connect us to each other, and to commemorate and support student theatre at Georgetown University. The landscape of theatre at Georgetown has changed, but the spirit has not. Students graduate each year – with degrees in business, biology, and now theatre; and with as much experience as ever in the joys and heartaches of doing theatre – and are welcomed into the GTA family.

(Jenn Raley Miller, F’98, was Communications Chair of GTA from 1999 to 2003. Cristina Aquino, C ’97, was Co-Chair of the GTA Board from 1999 to 2004.)