2006

Well, we’re on the radar now!

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Here’s the link to our listing on ShowbizRadio.net: http://www.showbizradio.net/maryland/outoftheblackbox/

From there, you’ll see the link to our review!

There’s another one coming soon, from the Greenbelt Express.

Five performances left, including a matinee this Sunday, at 2pm.

In the immortal words of Bob Barker, “C’mon down!”

Comment:

From: patches023 2006-07-10 10:19 pm (local)

Maug and I and maybe Lisa D. will be there on July 22. I am sorry we can’t go before then.

Painting tomorrow at GAC

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Anyone interested in wielding a paintbrush in the cause of theatre should come to the theatre around noon-thirty tomorrow (Sunday) for some prime painting time.

No experience necessary – nothing terribly fancy being done here.

If you’re planning to show up, or just thinking about it, drop me a line or call my cell just so I know I should expect to see you.

Thanks!!!

Just a quick reminder, in case you’ve forgotten…

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Hi, all!

Don’t forget to make your reservations for George Herman’s A Company of Wayward Saints, directed by Betsy Marks Delaney, produced by Jo Rake.

Opening Friday, July 7 for eight performances at the Greenbelt Arts Center in Old Greenbelt.

Performances will be Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm, Sunday afternoons at 2pm through July 22nd.

Tickets are $12 ($10 Seniors/Students) and are available to reserve now. Seating is limited.

For more information, please visit http://www.OutOftheBlackBox.org/ or call 301-441-8770.

Thanks! Hope we see you there!

New Policy for O2B2 future productions

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Effective immediately: Actors who audition for parts in any future O2B2 production should not expect to be cast if their plans for the rehearsal process include more than three planned missed rehearsal dates. There will be no exceptions.

This policy will be added to audition information forms for future productions, immediately following the close of A Company of Wayward Saints.

That is all…

Swimming in a sea of water and glue…

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But at least the masks are FINALLY getting done!

We have a full layer over the noses now, after some experimentation with the clay-style papier mache stuff (FashMache, I think it’s called).

I’m ready to mix up a bunch of the stuff tomorrow, much wetter than today’s batch, and just use that as a final layer. Doing the paper shred version was a major pain. At the very least, I think that’s how we’ll finish the insides of the masks.

We still have one more to sculpt (the nose for the second Capitano mask), and I’ve got the casing for a bone in the last bodice to sew, but that’s going to wait until tomorrow morning.

All of which is to say, it’s finally time to start pimping the show.

What show?

Why, A Company of Wayward Saints, of course! What did you think I was talking about??? (http://www.o2b2.org/wayward/)

And while I’m pimping the show (opens July 7, runs through 7/22 – Friday & Saturday nights at 8pm, Sunday afternoons at 2pm, tickets $12/10 Seniors and Students – flyer online, feel free to print and distribute as necessary, et cetera, et cetera…), we could also use folks to help with the box office and concession sales as well.

We have two more rehearsals at Jo Rake’s house and then we move into the theatre.

Saturday night, Equus strikes. I’ll be at the theatre around 10:30, to make sure they don’t take down more set than we want them to. Sunday, we head over to Jo Rake and pick up all the set pieces, props and costumes and move them (lock, stock and barrel) to GAC. Then we construct the set and get about the process of making whatever adjustments will have to be made.

Monday will be our first rehearsal in the new space. YAY!!!

If you want to participate in the move-in process, or you’re willing to help during the run of the show as a house manager, usher, or box office assistant, PLEASE let us know ASAP!

Email to info at o2b2 dot org will do the trick!

Hope we’ll see you there, one way or the other!

Well, it’s about TIME!!!

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Bowie performing arts center agreement signed

By ANNETTE ESTERHELD Staff Writer

No curtains were raised or house lights darkened, but it’s official – the Joint Use Agreement for the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts has been signed.

Three of the four parties involved, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the city of Bowie and the BRAVA board, all signed the document more than a year ago. The fourth party, the Board of education, voted to sign it last Thursday night at a meeting.

Al Golato, BRAVA president, the local group that was formed to oversee the construction of the center, quietly drove to the county school board office with other BRAVA members Friday to meet with schools chief JohnDeasy to pick up the agreement signed by Bea Tignor, school board chairman, at her home earlier Friday.

With the same lack of fanfare, Golato met with City Manager David Deutschlater the same day for the official city signing. Then Monday M-NCPPC’s Barbara Funk of the department of parks and recreation, arts and cultural heritage picked up the signed agreement from BRAVA Vice President Mary Nusser at the center.

“Now that the JUA has been signed by all parties, we will be releasing the last of the funds, which should occur shortly,” Funk told the Blade-News. Those funds, which Funk said would be handled in a wire transfer, total approximately $900,000 and will be used to complete the construction at the building.

Golato said he expects the final construction and purchasing of items will take approximately four to six months to complete. There will be a governance board consisting of representatives from the four groups,and the center’s day-to-day operations will be handled by a facilities director/manager who will be an employee of the Board of Education. The governance board will consist of two members from the school board and one each from BRAVA, the city and M-NCPPC.

The center, located adjacent to Bowie High School, is the outgrowth of a vision the community had of a regional performing arts center, and the BRAVA group was formed in 1995 to help make the vision a reality.

Longtimeboard member Golato said that completing the negotiations and signingthe JUA was his goal when he was elected president of BRAVA a littleover a year ago.

Golato said heappreciates all the hard work of BRAVA members and its 17-member boardand the executive committee, which voted overwhelmingly in favor of the agreement.

“I thank them for their patience and for bearing up under numerous obstacles in getting the center finished,” he said. Golato said he especially wanted to acknowledge the hard work of board members Nusser and Hugh Reams.

“Mary’s historical counsel, administrative and all-around assistance have been invaluable,” said Golato, “as has been our construction chairman, Hugh Reams, who offered professional and technical knowledge.”

Golato also praised the work of founding president Gordon Stewart, who led the BRAVA organization through its first decade.

Funk said the M-NCPPC is looking forward to planning and scheduling arts programs at the center once the final construction details are completed.

Golato said making the center fully operational is “not an overnight process.”

He noted that “during the transition period, some testing events need to occur to check final systems installations that will also assist in the training of the permanent staff that will be hired by the governance board.”

“The Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, aside from filling a sizable state-of-the-art cultural and entertainment venue gap in the Bowie area and also permitting Bowie High School students to have an auditorium, will serve as an economic development catalyst for the revitalization of the Route 450 corridor through Bowie,” said Golato.

Published 06/08/06, Copyright © 2006 The Bowie Blade

http://www.bowieblade.com/vault/cgi-bin/bowie/view/2006B/06/08-27.HTM

Production meeting tonight at Jo Rake’s house

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If you need to be there, you should have gotten email already. If you’re working on tech for Wayward Saints, you should be there tonight.

And a quick reminder that our Annual Meeting and Barbeque is scheduled for June 17, 2006. Signs point to having the event at my house, so just for folks who care, if you need directions, you need to let me know. I won’t post them on the web for any reason.

Thanks! See some of you tonight, some of you at the meeting, and all of you at the show when we open. (Right???)

See you at the faire?

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Hi!

Just a brief posting to let folks know we’ll be at the Maryland Faerie Festival this weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 10-6pm. Look for us under the green and white awning in the Educational Outreach area of the site. For more info about the fest, visit: http://www.marylandfaeriefestival.org/

(And if you’re interested in helping work the table, please give us a call or drop us a line: http://www.outoftheblackbox.org/contact.shtml)

Hope we see you then!

New web site art and some announcements!

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Hi, folks!

No idea who’s stopping by these days, but just in case you happen to wander through here, I thought I should mention some useful and important stuff.

1. We’ve updated the graphics on our site. You may ooh and ahh here: http://www.OutOftheBlackBox.org/

2. On the home page, you’ll notice that reservations are now being accepted for A Company of Wayward Saints. To reserve your tickets, call the Greenbelt Arts Center at 301-441-8770. I forget which option you should choose. I think it’s #4, but don’t quote me. Tickets are $12 each ($10 for Students and Seniors). Performances are Friday-Sunday, 7/7 – 22. All performances are 8pm except Sundays at 2pm.

3. We now have a membership form (and membership rates)! Go here (http://www.outoftheblackbox.org/membership.pdf), print the form, fill it out and mail it with your check. Or not…

4. Our nominations are closed for the upcoming Board election (June 17, see below), but there’s space for write-in candidates. We need a minimum of six board members, and we’ve only got five names. They are presently: Betsy Delaney, Jo Rake, Lise Mendel, Steve Kramer and Penny Martin.

Please note that nominees/members-elect must agree to serve before they’ll be recognized, so no nominating Mickey Mouse! You need to be a member to vote, but the good news is, if you join before the meeting, your membership will extend all the way to next year. (Consider it a two month gift from us to you!)

5. Our Annual Meeting will be held at a location to be announced shortly. Become a member and we’ll let you know, or just contact us: http://www.outoftheblackbox.org/contact.shtml

6. We’re in the process of developing our Standing Rules (the day-to-day operations rules by which we’ll exist and function). If you want to have a say in our purpose, activities and governance, now’s the time to join the organization! We’re open to everyone (even kids), and anyone who’s 15 and older may vote on our business. We even have a junior board rep position, to help represent our younger members.

7. Suggestions for future projects are being accepted now! Here’s a small sample of our wish list of potential future projects, for which we’re looking for directors/production teams, and time slots. (We will eventually attempt to gain the rights to produce all of these.):

  • Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead (Ideally, in the coming 12 month period, to coincide with the region-wide Shakespeare Festival coming soon!)
  • The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (I can dream, can’t I?)
  • Tonight We Improvise (Pirandello – again!)
  • Techies
  • Noises Off
  • Gypsy
  • Kiss Me Kate
  • Pippin
  • Your MetaTheatre Idea Here!

Got an itch to direct? To act? To costume or design? Let us know your pet project, and as long as it’s theatre about theatre (in any form), we can talk!

That’s all for now. (And it’s a lot!)

Hope we see you on the 17th of June, if not before!

Comments:
From: Kat D 2006-05-08 03:35 pm (local)

Metatheatre, huh? *plots*

I’ll get back to you on that.

~Sor