More background on Charm

About the author:   http://www.kathleencahill.org/

DMN Reviewo f the play:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-charm_1115gd.State.Edition1.3f77188.html

Stage review: 'Charm' offers modern, and charming, take on 19th-century heroine
By LAWSON TAITTE / The Dallas Morning News ltaitte@dallasnews.com

Charm has, well, charm.
Kathleen Cahill's play is about Margaret Fuller, an early 19th-century American journalist and philosopher whom few in her own era would have called charming. Educated far beyond what society deemed acceptable for women, Fuller struck people as bold and even freakish.

....More on the website....

Background info on production

‘Charm’ takes on the question: ‘What do women want?’
New plays, Orlando theater, Regional theater — posted by Elizabeth Maupin on November, 11 2009 4:56 PM

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Here's a story that's running in Sunday's Sentinel:

By Elizabeth Maupin
Sentinel Theater Critic
Henry David Thoreau is obsessed with bugs. Nathaniel Hawthorne has a serious case of writer’s block. And Margaret Fuller — the journalist, critic and advocate for women’s rights — is trying to imagine a life for herself in a world where all the intellects of the day are men.

That’s the world of Charm, Kathleen Cahill’s comedy of manners about the great American thinkers of the 1840s, which Orlando Shakespeare Theater will present in a workshop production Nov. 19-22. Charm had a public reading last winter at Orlando Shakespeare’s Harriett Lake Festival of New Plays, or PlayFest, and its popularity there led the theater to take it farther down the line.
In Cahill’s quirky view, Fuller is the woman who inspired The Scarlet Letter — “a sexually vibrant woman in a puritan age. It is also a comedy, and it is also like a painting by Rousseau in which the magical and extraordinary coexist with the ordinary. It’s a fantasia on American history with a woman at the center.”
Director Meg Gibson says she has long been a “huge fan” of Thoreau, Hawthorne and their circle, but she was “completely unaware” of their friend Margaret Fuller.
“She’s not part of our common education,” says Gibson, a New York-based director and actor. “Not only was she this amazingly bright woman, but she was up against the most impossible situation. [Charm] is about what do men want, and what do women want, and what do we want when we want each other.”
Charm — which had its genesis in the fact that playwright Cahill grew up swimming in Walden Pond — has had a couple of previous workshops, in New York and in Washington state, and it will have a first full production in Salt Lake City in the spring. As Cahill pointed out earlier this year, the script may be difficult to produce because it has “some special requirements — like a dress that grows, and leaves that fall and become sheets of paper, and a woman’s feet that sparkle.”
In fact, Charm is a play about real people that’s not at all realistic. That’s fitting, Gibson says, for a script about 19th-century writers who were ahead of their time.
“If you’ve read The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne was very cinematic,” Gibson says. “Cahill is too.”
Gibson, who is also a playwright, got involved in Orlando Shakespeare’s workshop production because she will direct the full production in Salt Lake City.
“I jumped at it,” she says. “It’s a play that requires some extensive improvisation by the actors. And I think the Transcendentalists were the first great intellects of our country.”
Appearing in Charm in Orlando will be Katherine Michelle Tanner (Laura in Orlando Shakespeare’s Glass Menagerie) as Margaret Fuller, Brandon Roberts as Thoreau, T. Robert Pigott as Hawthorne and Nicholas Wuehrmann as Emerson, along with Michael Gill, Kevin E. Kelly, Allison DeCaro and Melissa Mason.
In a workshop, actors move about the stage but have their scripts in hand, and playwrights may add or subtract from their scripts from one performance to the next.
“What’s great for an audience is they get to do a lot of the imagining,” Gibson says of the workshop process, which usually involves minimal props and rudimentary costumes and sets. “They get to focus on the actors and the play.
“It’s a marvelous float between the page and a full production,” she goes on. “Readings tell you some things. But only when a play is up on its feet can you see what kind of legs a play is going to have. I think Charm is going to have some gorgeous legs.”
‘Charm’
What: Orlando Shakespeare Theater workshop production of Kathleen Cahill comedy.
Where: Lowndes Shakespeare Center, 812 E. Rollins St., Orlando.
When: 7 p.m. Thursday Nov. 19, 8 p.m. Friday Nov. 20 and Saturday Nov 21, 2 p.m. Sunday Nov. 22.
Cost: $10.
Call: 407-447-1700 Ext. 1.
Online: Orlandoshakes.org.
What else: A talkback with the playwright, director and actors will follow each performance.

Elizabeth Maupin can be reached at emaupin@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5426. 

Photos: Top right: Melissa Mason and Katherine Michelle Tanner in Charm. Below left: Meg Gibson. Photos courtesy of Orlando Shakespeare Theater.

Kitchen Dog Theatre show FRIDAY!

Directed by: Christopher Carlos
Featuring: Cindy Beall, Michael Federico, John M. Flores, Martha Harms, Christopher Hury, Tina Parker, Jeffrey Schmidt And Brian Witkowicz
"Funny yet beautiful, Charm is a visionary show that breathes life into literary icons." – The Daily Utah Chronicle
The Play: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau get knocked off their respective pedestals by free spirit Margaret Fuller. Magical, surreal, and transcendentally goofy, Charm has been captivating audiences around the country with its humorous look at societal expectations and the ridiculous rules of love.
The Playwright: Kathleen Cahill's work in theater and musical theater has been seen across the country at the Kennedy Center, Porchlight Theater in Chicago, Signature Theater in Arlington, TheaterWorks in Palo Alto, Barrington Stage Company, and Salt Lake Acting Company, among others.

Attendance to show- 50 points
Critique of show- 50 points

http://www.kitchendogtheater.org/


Directions:
From Downtown
Take Akard St. or Olive
towards Woodall Rodgers
Turn right at the first
light on McKinney Ave. (North)
Just past the light atOak Grove,
the road will curve to the right
Turn righ immediately
following "La Tour" high rise
 
From N. Central Expressway:
Take 75 South
Exit 1B Haskell/Blackburn, Lemmon & Hall St.
Turn right at Hall St.(third light)
Turn left at the first light onto Oak Grove
The MAC is one block down on the right, (a blue brick
building, first right after Bowen

The Show starts at 8 p.m., arrive NO LATER than 7:30 p.m. (otherwise you will not get in)

Anouncements for October

Wednesday, Oct. 27: Los Vendidos in the "Pit" at 10:30 a.m. or 12:45 p.m.


Thursday, Oct. 28 Library Instruction day- Arrive at The Eastfield Library NO LATER than 9:30 a.m. Role will be taken.

Tuesday, Nov. 2: Critique over Romeo and Juliet due for 10 points extra credit
Follow Link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6zKB6_mo_M
This is Part one, You will need to watch All 14 parts for your critique

Tueday, Nov. 9: Presentations begin: If you do not go on your assigned day, you recieve an "F" for the presentation part of your project.
Presentation: 75 points (Graded on Content, Accuracy, Visual Aides, and Quality)
Paper: 50 points (Graded on Content, Accuracy, and Organization)

Nov. 9:  Antony, Charles, Conner, David K., Denise, Martha
Nov. 11: Aquilla, Lorenza, Jessica R., Rachel F., Elise, Rachel M.
Nov. 16: Jacob, Katie, Jessica M., David D., Erika M., Ayla Ruuska
Nov. 18: Omar, King, Nathan f., Netysha

Paper is due on your assigned presentation date.
There will be a quiz over the presentations, so it would be in your best interest to attend all the dates.

Theatres in Dallas Area

WaterTower Theatre is dedicated to keeping the art of live theatre accessible to all members of the community, and is now offering a "Pay What You Can" performance for each main stage production in the 2010/2011 season.

For these performances, seating is general admission on a first come, first served basis. Advance reservations are not available. Box office will open 1 hour prior to showtime. We look forward to seeing you at the theatre!

Our Town: Sunday, September 26, 7:30pm
The Lieutenant of Inishmore: Sunday, January 9, 7:30pm
The Traveling Lady: Sunday, April 3, 7:30pm
Shooting Star: Sunday, May 29, 7:30pm
Little Shop of Horrors: Sunday, July 24, 7:30pm

Many students at the high school and college levels are required to see outside performances as a part of their curriculum. While it is not always possible for teachers to put together student groups, rush tickets are an affordable way for students to fulfill this requirement. Fifteen minutes prior to curtain, the best available seats are made available to students with valid ID for only $12.

Theatre 3 Dallas

http://www.theatre3dallas.com/education/studentRush.html

Theatre Three offers two ways for students to receive discounted tickets to any of our productions.

Students who make advanced reservations can receive $3 off the regular ticket price. Reservation can be made at 214-871-3300. High school and college students must show a valid ID at the ticket window.

Students can also receive a $10 standby ticket half-an-hour before showtime. Tickets are subject to availability and are on a first come, first serve basis. High school and college students must show a valid ID at the ticket window.

Students are welcome to call the ticket office on the day of a performance to check on the likely availability of rush tickets. 214-871-3300

Dallas Theatre Center

http://www.dallastheatercenter.org/

Kitchen Dog Theatre
http://www.kitchendogtheater.org/

Bath House Cultural Center

http://www.dallasculture.org/bathhouseculturecenter/

Rover Dramawerks
http://roverdramawerks.com/

Repertory Company Theatre
http://rcttheatre.com/Home_Page.html

Pocket Sandwich Theatre
http://www.pocketsandwich.com/

Tartuffe Part 1 (04/19/08)

Neoclassicism in Theatre

An 18th-century Neoclassical theatre in Ostankino, Moscow

Neoclassicism was the dominant form of theatre in the 18th century. It demanded decorum and rigorous adherence to the classical unities. Neoclassical theatre as well as the time period is characterized by its grandiosity. The costumes and scenery were intricate and elaborate. The acting is characterized by large gestures and melodrama.
Theatres of the early 18th century – sexual farces of the Restoration were superseded by politically satirical comedies, 1737 Parliament passed the Stage Licensing Act which introduced state censorship of public performances and limited the number of theatres in London to just two.

Historical Background Notes:

• Classicism is a philosophy of art and life that emphasizes order, balance and simplicity.
• Ancient Greeks were the first great classicists - later, the Romans, French, English and others produced classical movements.
• the Restoration period marked a Neoclassical movement (1600 to 1700), modeled on the classics of Greece and Rome.
• reason and restraint became the standard for writing.
• John Dryden became the leading poet, critic and dramatist - upholding common sense, moderation and conformity as the ideal.
• Charles II encouraged new playhouses to be built and a renewed interest in drama.
• noted for elaborate scenery, costumes and lighting.
• women for the first time were allowed on stage to act!
• actors employed highly particular ways of standing, speaking and gesturing.
• two types of drama: 1) the heroic tragedy and 2) the comedy of manners.

The Heroic Tragedy

• heroes and heroines faced exaggerated conflicts between love and honour.
• characters expressed noble ideals in high sounding speeches (couplets).
• example: Dryden, All for Love, based on Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.

The Comedy of Manners

• pictures the carefree, immoral world of the aristocracy.
• brilliant, witty comedies.
• "virtue" comes form succeeding in catching a lover or cuckolding a husband without getting caught
• "honor" comes from reputation, not integrity.
• "witty"—saying things in clever ways.
• influenced by the comedies of Moliere in France.
• example: Tartuffe, by Moliere; or The Country Wife, by Wycherley.