Montgomery Theater, Too

If you read our brochure this year you might have noticed that Montgomery Theater, Jr. is now Montgomery Theater, Too. Yes, that means we're growing up, but it doesn't mean the essence of what we do has changed. Just like MTJ before it, MTT offers opportunities for young people to perform in professionally-produced musicals and plays.

No matter what the name is, you always know when one of our Project Stage musicals is about to open because our office staff becomes prone to breaking out in song and the green room is filled every afternoon with rambunctious adolescent performers. The energy of these student actors pervades the whole building and reminds everyone why it's so much fun to watch young actors work. The enthusiasm and excitement these kids exhibit can't be matched by the most trained actor in the world. And following a young person through the years as she develops her skills and turns into a polished performer is hugely satisfying.

As Guys & Dolls is set to open, I've been hearing snippets of "Fugue for Tinhorns" (I had to look up the title, but I'm sure you know the song), "Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat" and of course "Adelaide's Lament" as people walk by my office. I can't wait to hear the real thing this weekend. I hope you'll join me!

You Don't Have to Go to Philadelphia for Quality Theater

by Bonnie Rankin, Montgomery Theater Board Member

When my employer transferred me back to the Delaware Valley a few years ago after a sojourn in New York, I was ecstatic to be returning to my family and friends, and thrilled to be back at our corporate headquarters. I was grumpy, however, that that the only way to see professional theater would now mean a night-time, hassle-laden trek into Philadelphia.
Or so I thought…

You see, theater and the arts (and travel, actually, except for post-work jaunts on the Schuylkill) are my great passions. Growing up in Doylestown, shows at the Bucks County Playhouse were a huge part of my life, and in college I acted in a dozen plays, travelling with friends to see dozens more. In New York, of course, there were countless opportunities, including road trips to the Stratford Festival and the Shaw Festival in Ontario, Canada. As this potential theatrical void loomed, evidently I became a bit whiney.

That’s when a dear friend (thanks, Pat!) mentioned that we should go see a play at Montgomery Theater. And so we did. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I did not realize back then that Montgomery Theater is a professional playhouse which hires Equity Actors, as opposed to being a “community theater.” Anyway, after thirty minutes in this jewel box of a theater, my heart was full again. What talent! What a venue! What positive energy! I was hooked.

The next day I phoned Tom Quinn and asked what I could do to help the theater. I remember my heart sinking when he asked if I could sew costumes. No. Or paint scenery. Umm, no… No talents in either of those areas. But I do know business and marketing and organizational development, and I know how to formulate strategies and make things happen. Might any of those things be useful? And so I was invited to join Montgomery Theater’s Board of Directors.

Now, four years later, it turns out that being involved with Montgomery Theater has become one of the great joys of my life. I’ve made wonderful, creative friends who share that sense of building something that matters. I’ve had the opportunities to help select a new Managing Director (the wonderful Allegra Ketchum) and to lead the Board and staff in the creation of a new three-year strategic plan. It’s incredibly rewarding to see our strategic initiatives in education and marketing forging ahead nicely. Currently I’m assisting in the revamping of our website so that Montgomery Theater’s image to the outside world is more like the first-class operation that we already are. And, I am working with another Board member to build an Ambassador program that will better leverage the energies of our loyal fan base in the coming years.

I describe Montgomery Theater to friends and neighbors as a little jewel in our midst, and tell everyone what a privilege to be part of this high quality organization. And I mean it. Encore!

A Day in the Life of a Typical Montgomery Theater Assistant Stage Manager

by Paul McEntegart

What a lot of people don’t consider when they come to see a show at the Montgomery Theater is what goes on behind the scenes or back stage during the show. So let me take you through a typical night at the Montgomery Theater. First of all, let’s assume nothing goes wrong. I won’t forget to set any props, and there won’t be any wardrobe malfunctions. It’s a Friday evening. I arrive at the theater at 7:00--an hour before curtain. Now it’s time to make the coffee. When it’s done brewing, I pour it into a large percolator that is placed stage right on top of what appears to be a heater. Next to that, I place eight cups. A stack of four, a stack of two and a single cup by itself for Joe. Typically, I would have already set the trash on the desks, taped Charlie’s paper to the blackboard, and wrote “Welcome Parents” on it, reset Mary’s desk, and reset the crayons and field trip activity papers after the last show. It is during this time that I make sure that I haven’t forgotten anything. I check to make sure that two catechisms are placed upstage in the first stage left desk, as well as the first center stage desk, a bag of pistachios is placed backstage left, Mary’s note for her students is placed in the right pocket of her jacket located back stage center, and Mother Regina’s green folder is placed backstage right. The flowers and violin are always located backstage right, because after each show, one of the first things I do is retrieve them from the desks that they end up on. Before I am done, I set a coconut glazed donut into a donut box located on a stage right desk. Something a lot of people don’t realize is that everything is set exactly the same every night, even the trash on the desks. On one of our dress rehearsals, I took pictures of the trash on my phone, in order to make sure that every cup and napkin is placed in the exact same position it was the night before. Now I make my way up to the dressing rooms. I wipe off the chalk marks on Joe’s jacket, blazer and pants, so as to create the illusion that Joe has never had any contact with the blackboard located in Mary’s classroom. During the show it is my job to strike the donut box, cups, napkins, plates and coffee percolator after the first scene. I signal Father Stanley to enter during scene two, just before Mary and Joe kiss (they don’t kiss). I strike Father Stanley’s janitor jacket, mop, and erase the blackboard during intermission. I signal Mother Regina to enter in scene one of act two, and place (spoiler alert!) Mary’s suit cases center stage just after the first scene in act two. That’s it. Honestly, anyone could do this. It’s probably one of the easiest jobs I ever had, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I feel like I have a family at the Montgomery Theater, and although the stage has transformed from a kitchen, to a trailer park and now to a classroom in the time that I’ve worked there, it will always be my home.

Serendipity on the Set of Hail Mary!

Hello Montgomery Theater fans! I'm Rebecca, I'm playing Sister Felicia in MT's current production, "Hail Mary!". When I first got cast in this play, I couldn't help think how ironic it was that I was to play a nun after 12 years of Catholic school, where it was not exactly uncommon for me to be "asked to step out" of the classes most often taught by the nuns. (Like our heroine, Mary, I too had a "big mouth," but that's all a story for another blog.)

Anyway I was anxious and excited to start rehearsal, and at our first read-through I discovered even more ironic circumstances regarding this production. As it turns out Sarah Gliko (who plays Mary) and I grew up in neighboring towns and went to the same church. Sarah and I had met before but hadn't really had a chance to get to know each other. Through all of us sharing our church-related experiences, we found that we shared a lot more than that.

My father taught CCD for Holy Savior parish in Linwood, PA for a few years in the 90's. I, being already in Catholic school, would go to class with him after mass because I loved to watch him teach, and to be his "assistant," which basically meant handing out prizes went someone answered a question correctly. Although I was not one of his students, can you guess who was? That's right, our own Sarah Gliko. She was a couple of school years ahead of me, and it's very possible that I once gave her a piece of candy or a prayer card for correctly reciting the Apostle's Creed.

Now, 15 years later, here we are. Sarah and I are working together in a play about Catholicism, with Sarah playing a character who is fighting for a lot of the same ideals my father taught his classes. Dad passed away this past Halloween, but I know he's in the audience every night, watching Sarah and me play and talk religion again.

From the Cast of Hail Mary!. . .

Hi everybody out there in the Blog-o-sphere. I’m Bob McDonald, currently playing Joe in Hail Mary! The theatre asked us if anybody wanted to blog, and since I have a tiny experience with it I thought I would give it a shot. Now, What should I talk about?
First off let me say how awesome it is to be back here at Montgomery Theater. I was here once before in the musical, I Love My Wife. That experience was completely different from this one. Mostly because it was a musical and this one is not. Most of the work I have done has been in the musical arena. I was really happy when I was cast in this play. Yes! I get to work at a theater I love and expand my craft doing something out-of-the-box for me! Awesome!
Speaking of “out-of-the-box,” this has been the show for that. In the show my character is in the process of learning something new. I don’t want to give anything away, but I had to try that same thing myself, which is why I love this career so much. It constantly challenges me to step out of my comfort zone, and then I see that anything is possible.
If you have seen the show and know what Joe “performs” at the end of the play, then know that I accomplished that feat with only 1-2 weeks of rehearsal. Trying new things is very scary, but as an actor you are sometimes required to do things you’ve never tried before. Now, I have a new skill (I think) and it just goes to show that anything is possible. I will never stop learning. Theatre challenges me in such wonderful ways! I love my job!!
All right I think I have said enough. I hope you come and see the amazingly talented cast I get to share the stage with, and the magic that happens here at Montgomery Theater.

To get to Hail Mary! you have to say goodbye to the Trailer Park

by Tom Quinn, Artistic Director

What a great time we had here with The Great American Trailer Park Musical. As a co-production with Philadelphia’s 11th Hour Theatre Company, we enjoyed a truly successful collaboration. Once the musical had closed on a Saturday night, props, costumes, wigs and assorted equipment were boxed up in preparation to move the show downtown. On Sunday, the set was taken down, almost as if it were an archeological dig, with each piece carefully marked and copious notes taken for the reconstruction of the set in June. All these essentials were loaded into a 17 foot U-Haul and packed into a storage unit to go into slumber mode while it awaits another escort, only this time to the Arden Theatre in Old City.

This was our second co-production with 11th Hour, the first with a mounting of Reefer Madness, the Musical two years ago. Both great experiences. Shared costs and resources is the immediate realized benefit. But the shared artistry is without question its greatest reward.

The Final Countdown. . . (Cue Music)

By Jessica Bedford, MT’s Director of Education

It’s no secret that Montgomery Theater has a devotion to the playwright. The word on the page is the seed that gives life to Florida trailer parks, Catholic school classrooms, Second Avenue apartments, and all the other miniature worlds we create on our Main Stage. Loyal MT audience members know our long relationship with Chicago based writer James Sherman. (We’re doing the East Coast premiere of his latest work Jacob and Jack this fall!) But, when I came on board last summer, I noticed that we haven’t given a lot of love to writers from our own community in Southeastern Pennsylvania and the surrounding area. And so, inspired by Tom’s adaptation of Alice in Wonderland for the Project Stage last season, the Adaptation Competition was born. The call went out to universities, graduate programs, writers’ groups, and bulletin boards all over the area: send us your original adaptation of a story in the public domain, appropriate for a multi-aged cast and a family audience! Okay, so maybe it’s not the catchiest call to arms, a bit on the long side, but, nonetheless, it worked. It’s my pleasure to announce to you the finalist for Montgomery Theater, Too’s first-ever Adaptation Competition:
• Sleeping Beauty (And Friends) This classic fairy tale is given a peppy new update by Philadelphia favorite Kim Carson.
• Fairy Tale High School Hans Christian Anderson meets Glee! (well, minus the music) and asks, “What happens when all the characters from the classics have to go to school together and get along?” Bill D’Agostino, Education Director at Act II Playhouse, penned this delightful tale.
• Don Quixote The literary classic is given a zany treatment by Adam Danoff. If Adam’s name rings a bell, it means you caught his quirky and side-splitting performance as the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.
• Once Upon a Time Worlds collide in this charming fractured fairy tale also by Kim Carson.
• Shifting for Himself Michael Schwartz took a break from his duties as MT’s go-to dramaturg to pen this adaptation of a novel by Horatio Alger, Jr.
• Under the Sea New Jersey playwright Walt Vail has adapted a Inuit myth and reset it in the warm waters of Mexico.
The next round of the competition asks the finalists to submit a draft of their completed work to the MT offices by June 1, 2011. Tom Quinn (Artistic Director), Allegra Ketchum (Managing Director), the members of our Education Committee and I will then pick a winner from these drafts. The winning writer will have his or her show produced on the Project Stage as part of our Montgomery Theater, Too series this October. So join me in keeping fingers crossed for our writers and keep your eyes peeled for when we announce the winner in late June!