The year 2014 has arrived and brought with it some of the coldest weather we’ve had in years. I’m glad I’m retired and I don’t have to go off to a job. I can wear my comfy clothes, sip a cappuccino and read the newspaper, or go online and play Scrabble with one of my friends. My husband has caught the fever, and now has four games going at once. We enjoy playing, and it’s good brain exercise.
The Box in the Wood Theatre Guild held its January meeting on one of those extremely cold days. Eight members braved the freezing temperatures to attend. Mary Madsen, our new president, presided at her first meeting, and it was a productive one. One of the points of business was Mary’s appointment of Brandon Byng and Miriam Nelson as co-chairs of the 2014 Production Advisory Committee.
This committee approves play productions, recruits directors, reads scripts of suggested plays and periodically oversees rehearsals. This committee makes sure that rehearsals, and the play itself, are run according to our rules. This group also interviews directors who approach the guild with plays they want to direct at the Mielke Arts Center. They check the director’s credentials and also critique the script. If the material isn’t appropriate for our audience, it is rejected. This doesn’t happen very often, but it has, on occasion.
This committee is an important part of our production process. The committee’s decisions are brought before the guild members for approval. The other committee members this year are Early Fuller, Nathaniel Madsen, Cheryl Folkerts, Denise Riley, Amy Steenbock, Sandra Wehmeyer and Will Church. I’m sure when they get together, it will be a lively session.
Attention, ladies! Auditions for the comedy “The Dixie Swim Club” will be held at the Mielke Arts Center at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 6 and 1 p.m. Feb. 8. This is an all-female production with a cast of five. During the play, these Southern women are shown at ages 44, 49, 54 and 77. That doesn’t mean that you have to be 40ish and then age to 77. With makeup and wigs, all things are possible — well, almost!
The play follow the women met on their college swim team and remained friends. Every five years or so, they meet at a beach cottage and catch up, laugh and meddle in each other’s lives. Each woman has a distinctively different personality. Sheree is the health nut and group leader; Dinah is the dynamo lawyer; Lexie is forever young with the help of her plastic surgeon; Vernadette is the group’s hard luck story, but with a sense of humor; Jeri Neal is a trusting soul, and a nun. Sounds like an interesting group, doesn’t it? Come meet director Miriam Nelson and join the fun at auditions. The show will run April 25-27 and May 2-4. For more information, call 715-432-1202.
The next show will be a SCAC production, “Backstage at the Ballet,” featuring the return of dancers Marc Petrocci and Courtney Kramer of the Milwaukee Ballet Company. They will perform selected classic ballet numbers. The “backstage” part is their sharing information about their special ballet slippers, costumes, dance movements and more. Our community doesn’t get a chance to see professional dancers very often, and having the personable Marc and Courtney return is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. This program should be a must-see for our area dance studio students. (I’m dropping a big hint here to the parents and teachers.)
“Ballet Backstage” will take place at 7 p.m. March 1 and 2 p.m. March 2 in the Shawano Community High School auditorium. The reason it will be held at this venue is to provide a suitable surface on which the dancers can perform. Tickets for general seating are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Call 715-526-2525 for reservations. Tickets will be available beginning Jan. 15 at the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce, offices of the Clintonville Chronicle and Wittenberg Enterprise and at the door. For information, call Mary Beth Kuester at 715-823-5133.
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