FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: October 21, 2009

CONTACT: Jayme Kilburn, 443-874-4917, jkilburn@strandtheatercompany.org

The Strand Theater, 1823 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201

Please join us in creating a Free Fall mural at the Strand!

PLEASE BE ADVISED: Graves in the Water, an original piece adapted from Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology has been CANCELLED (October 30th-31st, 2009).

On Friday, October 30th and Saturday, October 31st, 2009 the Strand will open its doors for a Free Fall Community Art Project. All participants will be given a smock, paint brush, and paints and will be offered a piece of the Strand interior wall to create a small mural, doodle, or drawing. The mural created by the community will then be used as the set for the Strand season production of [sic] by Melissa James Gibson in November. All participants will receive a credit in the program as set contributors for their art work. There will be no censorship on the art work. The Strand invites creativity and enthusiasm!..and of course, clothes that can get dirty.

The Strand will once again feature David Keltz, performing as Edgar Allan Poe. David will perform The Tell-Tale Heart, one of Poe’s most notable works. David recently received acclaim for his performance of Poe at Theater Project. “We are very excited to once again be part of Free Fall Baltimore. Free Fall is a wonderful and necessary opportunity for the Baltimore community to see art, and provides the artists themselves the means to present it” states Jayme Kilburn, Artistic Director.

The Strand Free Fall Community Art Project will take place on Friday and Saturday (October 30th and 31st) from 7pm-9pm. David Keltz will make a special appearance on October 31st at 11pm. The Hexagon will feature a free dance party on Halloween (next door to the Strand) in conjunction with this event. This event is absolutely free.

Please call 443-874-4917 or visit the Strand website for more information: www.strandtheatercompany.org. No reservations are necessary.

Free Fall Baltimore is made possible by a grant from Mayor Sheila Dixon and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts. Special thanks to Free Fall Baltimore media sponsors: The Baltimore Sun, The Urbanite, Maryland Public Television, WBAL-TV, WJZ-TV, WMAR-TV, WUTB-TV, WBFF- TV, CW-Baltimore, WYPR-FM, 92Q-FM, Magic 95.9-FM, WWIN-AM, WOLB-AM.

The Strand Theater is a community theater dedicated to providing opportunities for women artists, writers, designers and directors. With a focus on producing original works, the Strand hopes to foster a love of theater for a new generation of patrons.

www.strandtheatercompany.org

Spotlighters release

Auditions for The Prevalence of Mrs. Seal
Spotlighters Theatre – Oct. 30 / Nov. 22, ’09
Directed by Michael Spellman
SPOTLIGHTERS Theatre (817 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202)
Second Round of Auditions:
Wednesday – August 12, 2009 – 7pm
Thursday – August 13, 2009 – 7pm
Contact : tesoromio@comcast.net

Seeking:
Harry, 18, Good looking male ingenue. Middle class British accent; who then becomes
Mrs. Seal, 60’s. Upper class British accent.

Dr. Porteous, 50’s. Heavy set, affable scientist. Middle class British accent; who then becomes Mr. Smith, 40’s. A vampire, Transylvanian accent.

Mr. Smith, 40’s. A vampire, Transylvanian accent who then becomes
Dr. Porteous, 50’s. Middle class British accent.
Graves, ancient. The butler. Very, very British.

Synopsis:
A screwball comedy about a very rich, very old woman who tries for immortality by having her brain transplanted into a young body. But things go awry and one brain transplant leads to another until many of the cast members’ brains end up in different bodies. The challenge is that each of these actors will have to play his/her original character and then the character(s) whose brains are switched into their body. There are all kinds of gender, age and class exchanges. Sound confusing? It’s not. It’s utter chaos.

To add to the fun the play will be set in the 1930’s as befits a screwball comedy.
We’re looking for actors with great comic sense and the talent to mimic the other cast members. You’ll have to switch with another character’s accent and mannerisms. No makeup, no costume, no time…. just switch.

Auditions will be held at Spolighters Theatre – 817 Saint Paul Street
Actors should bring headshot and resume and be prepared to read from sides with other actors, as various characters.

Spotlighters Theater release

The Prevalence of Mrs. Seal
Spotlighters Theater – Oct. 30 / Nov. 22, ’09
Directed by Michael Spellman
SPOTLIGHTERS Theatre

Auditions: Saturday – Aug 1, 2009 – 2-5pm
Sunday – Aug 2 – 6-9pm
Contact : tesoromio@comcast.net

Synopsis:
A screwball comedy about a very rich, very old woman who tries for immortality by having her brain transplanted into a young body. But things go awry and one brain transplant leads to another until many of the cast members’ brains end up in different bodies. The challenge is that each of these actors will have to play his/her original character and then the character(s) whose brains are switched into their body. There are all kinds of gender, age and class exchanges. Sound confusing? It’s not. It’s utter chaos.

To add to the fun the play will be set in the 1930’s as befits a screwball comedy.

We’re looking for actors with great comic sense and the talent to mimic the other cast members. You’ll have to switch with another character’s accent and mannerisms. No makeup, no costume, no time…. just switch.

Character Description:
Mrs. Seal (who later becomes Harry then Igor then Dr. Skeffington)
Mrs. Seal, able to play 90’s+. Richest woman in the world. Upper class British accent; who then becomes:
Harry, 18. Male ingenue, Middle class British accent; who then becomes
Igor, 18. Fabricated body, automaton. Flat accent; who then becomes
Dr. Skeffington, 50’s. Affable scientist, Scottish accent.

Harry (who later becomes Mrs. Seal)
Harry, 18, Good looking male ingenue. Middle class British accent; who then becomes
Mrs. Seal, 60’s. Upper class British accent.

Igor (who later becomes Harry)
Igor, 18. Good looking laboratory assistant. Flat accent; who then becomes
Harry, 18. Male ingenue, Middle class British accent.

Dr. Porteous (who later becomes Mr. Smith)=2 0
Dr. Porteous, 50’s. Heavy set, affable scientist. Middle class British accent; who then becomes
Mr. Smith, 40’s. A vampire, Transylvanian accent.

Mr. Smith (who later becomes Dr. Porteous)
Mr. Smith, 40’s. A vampire, Transylvanian accent who then becomes
Dr. Porteous, 50’s. Middle class British accent.

The following roles suffer no brain transplants and the actor plays only one character;

Belinda, 18. Pretty ingenue. Middle class British accent.

Mrs. Pilgrim, 40’s. An American Evangelist. Mid-west accent.

Mr. Murdstone, 60’s. The lawyer. Upper class British accent.

Graves, ancient. The butler. Very, very British.

Fells Point Corner Theatre release

G-Man by Rosemary Frisino Toohey (a veteran BPF playwright) will receive its world premiere in Baltimore but has already been selected as the top prize winner of the National Towngate Award offered by the Ogelbay Institute of Wheeling, West Virginia and has also been selected as a finalist in Futurefest, a Dayton Playhouse new play event in Ohio!  The G in G-man stands for Garbage (not a spoiler) and Ms. Toohey suggests that while garbage collection is not high on the list of prestigious career listings, what would we do without them?  Directed by veteran Miriam Bazensky (founder of Uncommon Voices, a theatre company that ONLY does plays within the Baltimore Playwrights Festival), the play focuses on Larry, the garbageman, happy with his life and content until he finds something disturbing . . . .  Larry is going through a lot of family strains (as he has throughout his life), but proudly proclaims: “I’m in environmental relocation.”  Bazensky comments: “It’s an important play about endless possibilities!”

G-Man: 410.318.8895 or mirdrama@yahoo.com

At Fells Point Corner Theatre, 251 S. Ann Street, Baltimore, MD 21231, upstairs

July 29 – August 9; Thursday – Saturday at 8 pm; Sunday at 7 pm (discussion 2nd Sunday after play)

Tickets: $15 / $13 Seniors & Students; Thursday, pay as you can.

————

High resolution versions of all these photos are available at http://www.baltimoreplaywrightsfestival.org/28-plays/gman.htm

Contact information for the press:

G-Man:

Playwright – Rosemary Frisino Toohey – wtoohey@hotmail.com 410-821-1907

Director – Miriam Bazensky – mirdrama@yahoo.com 443-756-2762

Producer – Miriam Bazensky — same

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Strand Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: July 5, 2009

CONTACT: Jayme Kilburn, 443-874-4917, jkilburn@strandtheatercompany.org

The Strand Theater, 1823 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201

Gone/In the Middle two new plays by Kyle Jackson

The Strand Theater opens its doors to Kyle Jackson’s theater company Alaiyo Theater Movement with their original production of Gone/In the Middle. Mr. Jackson is a native of New Orleans and LA. He is a Senior Urban Arts Production/Theatre major at Coppin State University. As an actor, he has been seen in A Raisin in the Sun, The Face of Emmett Till, St. Lucy’s Eyes, Flight, Insurrection: Holding History and The Amen Corner. As a playwright, his play In the Middle won second place at the National Academy of Speech and Dramatic arts One-Act play festival in Dallas TX.

Gone/In the Middle are two one acts, with the central theme being the two major issues that infect the lives of the African-American community in Baltimore: HIV and drugs. “Gone” follows a drug addicted young man, from the street corners of Baltimore City, to the home that he left when he became addicted. “In the Middle” intertwines the stories of three African-American women from different walks of life who are infected with HIV, and places us right in the middle of each of their situations as they learn that they have more in common than they think. This play is a depiction of the real life situations that affect people’s lives everyday, and is being produced as an effort to raise awareness of these issues, and to bring them into the community light.

Production dates:

Friday, July 24th at 8pm

Saturday, July 25th at 8pm

Sunday, July 26th at 3pm

Tickets are $12. Students and Seniors are $10. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Strand box office: 443-874-4917 or online ($1 surcharge applies) at https://www.ticketturtle.com/index.php?theatre=stran or www.strandtheatercompany.org under events. Tickets are available one hour prior to each performance at the Strand box office.

The Strand Theater is a community theater dedicated to providing opportunities for women artists, writers, designers and directors. With a focus on producing original works, the Strand hopes to foster a love of theater for a new generation of patrons.

www.strandtheatercompany.org