Greetings, Players!

Sideman will be performed on Feb. 8, 9, 15, 16, 17 (matinee), 22, and 23. Directed by Mike Jacobs and Produced by Gail Gauthier, this touching, hard hitting drama about a jazz sideman and his difficult relationships with his family in the waning days of the big bands will be a powerful production; don’t miss it! Be aware that this play contains adult themes and language. The cast includes Robert De Vivo, Larry Jay Tish, Gordon Ellis, Mark Baumhardt, Mark Soucy, Lida McGirr, and Meghan Snowden.

Producers Lillian Anderson, Jiffy Read, and Sheryl Blair report lots of interest in both auditioning for, and attending, our decennial production of Little Women. The show opens April 19th, and they are planning an Opening Night Party with former casts and crews. They will be sending invitations to everyone in the middle of February, but the party promises to be very special, and therefore tickets to opening night will be hard to come by. So if you want to exchange your tickets for opening night, email Corinne Kinsman Also, email Lillian if you want to participate in any area of production.

The next Concord Players informal play reading, which will be Noel Coward’s
Blithe Spirit, will be held on Sunday, February 10th, at 3:00 PM in the Greenroom at 51 Walden. Refreshments will be served, as usual, and we expect it to be a most enjoyable and relaxing way to spend a winter Sunday afternoon. Rik Pierce or Leslie Wagner would appreciate hearing from all those individuals who think they can make it, so they can have an idea of how many people will be coming. All members are welcome. Anyone who would
like to be on the “Informal Play Reading Notice” e-mail list should e-mail Rik, and they will get an e-mail each month notifying them of the details.

Orchard House, The Concord Players, The Wright Tavern Center, and Concord/Carlisle Adult Education are sponsoring a panel discussion series which will be held on three Tuesday evenings at First Parish in Concord. The dates are: April 9th (on the influence of Little Women on the characters of the panelists); April 30th (on the influence of Emerson, Thoreau et al on Louisa May Alcott); and May 7 (on how Little Women resonates today with
young people). Tickets are $15 per evening. Also, on Wednesday, March 20th, Kate Henchman will present a film lecture concerning the different views of women and their role in society in each of the Little Women films. Look for more information in the next newsletter.

We send condolences to Gisele Ganz, whose mother, Irene Giard, passed away January 14th after a long illness. If you want to send a note or card, Giselle’s address is 13A Summer Lane, Framingham, MA 01701. The family requests donations to the Alzheimers Foundation in lieu of flowers. The Concord Players also wish to extend their sincere sympathy to member
Adele Skinner on the recent loss of her husband, Jim. Her address is 18 Oxbow Road, Concord, MA 01742.

Stefanie Cloutier has a new e-mail address, which is StefanieAC@att.net.

Eric Ruben will be performing the role of Sir Marmaduke in the Sudbury Savoyards production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Sorcerer. Performances are Feb. 22, 23, 24, 28, and March 1 and 2, at the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. In this delightful comic opera, a love potion is surreptitiously administered to an entire village, resulting in hilarious
mismatches. Will the sorcerer be able to set things right again? In this production, the audience will vote on how the show ends! See Sudbury Savoyards, or call 978-443-9811 for more information.

Danny Rooney and Katherine Horlitz, who recently did such fabulous jobs in Honk, will be appearing in the Concord Carlisle High School production of Anything Goes; Danny as Moonface Martin, and Katherine as Erma. These offspring of Concord Players members are also in the cast: Travis Minor, Jack Kavanaugh, and David Ballard. Performances are March 1, 2, 8, 9, and 10. See www.ccpops.org for more details.

We have a two new members: Sheryl A. Blair, email : sheryl.blair@prodigy.net. Sheryl is one of the producers for Little Women. We also welcome Niela Miller, e-mail: artyme@aol.com. Niela sends us this background information on herself: “I majored in Creative Arts with an emphasis on theatre at Antioch College. I have also done singing and song writing for years. I did graduate work in education, communications and post-grad study in humanistic psychology and organization development. I combine all of these in my work as consultant/ trainer/ coach/ mentor/ therapist/ workshop leader.” I’m sure we’ll all look forward to getting to know Sheryl and Niela; they are bound to be real assets to the Players!

EMACT is offering a couple of workshops that some of our members might be interested in. “Lighting With Gobos” will take place on Feb. 9, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Aidekman Hall, Tufts University, in Medford. Their brochure says “A workshop/demonstration will show you how designers are shaping, texturing, and shadowing light in new ways. The leader will demonstrate how gobos can be used to create such effects as fire, rain, moving clouds, and changing foliage colors. Opportunity will be given for you to experiment with the products.” The workshop is free. Also, on March 9, there will be a workshop/matinee performance at the American Repertory Theatre on Brattle Street in Cambridge. The workshop is 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., led by the A.R.T.’s technical director. From the brochure: “You will be able to walk the stage of the production of Peter Weiss’ Marat/Sade, discuss technical matters, ask questions, and tour the facility. After a break for lunch, we will return to the theater for a matinee performance at 2:00 p.m.” The fee is $20 for EMACT members, $36 for non-members. If you are interested in either workshop, call 781-646-8538 or e-mail bjweaw@aol.com to reserve a space. If paying a fee, send the check, made out to EMACT, to B.J. Williams,74 Old Mystic St., Arlington, MA 02474.

Please send your news to me at sara@sb.org, or to Sara Ballard, 34 Aurora Lane, Concord, MA 01742. The next newsletter deadline is February 22.