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ACT is supported in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency, through its regional arts funding partnership, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA). State government funding to the arts depends upon an annual appropriation by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. PPA is administered in this region by the Pennsylvania Rural Arts Alliance. |
Beyond Therapy
PERFORMANCES
Although ACT was just showcasing BEYOND THERAPY at last weekend’s Eastern States Theatre Association’s regional festival, the performance went very well and some in the audience who had seen it a few weeks ago at the state festival thought our presentation was even tighter and more concise than before. Our adjudication was favorable overall and we received two of the five performance awards presented by the judges. Congrats to Karen Volpe and Jonathan O’Harrow on their individual accomplishments, as well as to the rest of the cast and crew for once again confirming the quality of work for which ACT has developed a reputation regionally over the years. Congratulations to ACT member Karen Volpe, who received accolades and an Outstanding Performance Award at last weekend’s PACT-Festival in Wilkes-Barre, where ACT presented a cutting from Christopher Durang’s offbeat comedy BEYOND THERAPY. Karen was singled out for her portrayal of a wacky “feel good” therapist who barked encouragement to her patients through her stuffed dog Snoopy and rolled around on the floor shrieking “anti-Homosexual epithets.” ACT also received the Stage Manager’s Award (for the second year in a row) which was awarded by Festival Stage Manager Judy David (who also served in that capacity last year). She told us afterwards that she was impressed both years with how well we handled our Load-In, Set-Up and Tech Rehearsal … we were organized and well-prepared, brought along efficient crew members who knew what they were doing and made good use of our rehearsal time. She even suggested that sometime we might consider leading a festival workshop about how to prepare technically to take an entry to competition. Thanks and congratulations to everyone involved with BEYOND THERAPY for representing ACT well ... co-director and performer Jonathan O’Harrow, performers Karen Volpe, Bill Markley, Rachel Volpe and Tom Coy, Stage Manager Cindy Baney and Crew Members Julie Settle and Sarah Slep. ACT’s entry actually kicked-off the festival as the first performance of the opening session of the three-day event and was clearly an audience favorite. The winning production of the festival was Blue Ridge Theatre Guild’s presentation of I’M HERBERT, with second place going to Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre for ART and third place going to the Bracken Theatre of Wilkes-Barre entry COLOR BLIND: THE KATRINA MONOLOGUES. Also presented during the weekend were cuttings from THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) by Barnstormers of Ridley Park and the musical THE SPITFIRE GRILL by Pennsylvania Theatre of Performing Arts, plus an excellent showcase production of Harold Pinter’s THE DUMB WAITER by last year’s winner, Gas Light Theatre of Wilkes Barre. |