The Palaver of POUND & BISHOP

Inspired by “Visits to St. Elizabeths” by Elizabeth Bishop

ManyTracks
Proudly Presents

The Man In The Newspaper Hat
Elizabeth Bishop: “How can you say such things”
Ezra Pound: “How can I: I am at war!”

Written by
HAYLEY HEATON

Directed by
KATRIN HILBE

Starring
ANNE FIZZARD* ANGUS HEPBURN*
*Performing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association.

THREE-WEEK LIMITED ENGAGEMENT
MARCH 5TH – APRIL 1ST, 2009
THE 45TH STREET THEATRE

WWW.THEATERMANIA.COM

MANYTRACKS is pleased to announce the world premiere of THE MAN IN THE NEWSPAPER HAT by Hayley Heaton, directed by Katrin Hilbe. THE MAN IN THE NEWSPAPER HAT plays a three-week limited engagement at the 45th Street Theatre (345 W 45th St). Performances begin Thursday, March 5th and continue through Wednesday, April 1st.

The Man in the Newspaper Hat is a fictionalized portrayal of what went into the creation of Elizabeth Bishop's poem, "Visits to St. Elizabeths." Bishop wrote this poem during her visits with the controversial poet, Ezra Pound who was remanded to St. Elizabeths in 1946 after having stood trial for treason where a special jury found him incompetent. Each scene is built upon aspects of Bishop's poem and follows both characters as they come together, "poet to poet”.

The production features scenic design by Elisha Schaefer, costume design by Meredith Neal and lighting design by Joan Racho-Jansen. Andy Cohen is the sound designer and Arienne Pelletier is the stage manager.

The Man In The Newspaper Hat plays the following schedule through Wednesday, April 1st:

Thursday, March 5 at 8pm
Friday, March 6 at 8pm
Saturday, March 7 at 8pm
Wednesday, March 11 at 8pm
Thursday, March 12 at 8pm
Friday, March 13 at 8pm
Saturday, March 14 at 8pm
Sunday, March 22 at 2pm
Monday, March 23 at 8pm
Tuesday, March 24 at 8pm
Wednesday, March 25 at 8pm
Sunday, March 29 at 2pm
Monday, March 30 at 8pm
Tuesday, March 31 at 8pm
Wednesday, April 1 at 8pm

Tickets are $18.00. Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.Theatermania.com, or by calling 212-352-3101. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the theater’s box office, half hour before Showtime.

For more information about The Man In The Newspaper Hat, visit www.ManyTracks.org.

Check Out Zack Calhoon's review of MUCH ADO

"[Mac] Brydon's utter physical ease and verbal dexterity made the audience instantly enamored of him. Brydon is matched by Ms. [Elizabeth] Zins's stirring performance as Beatrice."

"Ms. [Cotton] Wright plays Hero with vigour, making her a full bodied character that radiates youth and innocence which was a welcome change of pace from the wallflower portrayals of the part I've seen in past productions."

"Walter Brandes turns in one of the finest performances of his career as Don Pedro."

Read the full review at: http://zackcalhoon.blogspot.com/2009/02/much-ado-about-nothing-oberon-theatre.html

Much Ado About Nothing is playing at The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row through February 28, 2009 in conjunction with American Rapture. For more information visit: www.oberontheatre.org

Much Ado Opens Tonight!

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Written by
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Directed by
MARK KARAFIN

Starring
GABE BETTIO* WALTER BRANDES* JORDAN BROWN* MAC BRYDON* DON CASTRO* JOHN DEWEY* BRAD FRYMAN* JENNIFER GAWLINK* BILL GREEN DERRIC HARRIS* JAKE LACY ADAM PETHERBRIDGE* LORENZO SCOTT* PHILIP WATT* COTTON WRIGHT* ELIZABETH ZINS*
*Performing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association.

THREE-WEEK LIMITED ENGAGEMENT
FEBRUARY 12TH – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2009
THE BECKETT THEATER AT THEATRE ROW

WWW.TICKETCENTRAL.COM

OBERON THEATRE ENSEMBLE is pleased to announce their production of William Shakespeare’s MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, directed by Mark Karafin. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING plays a three-week limited engagement at the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (410 W 42nd St). Performances begin Thursday, February 12th and continue through Saturday, February, 28th.

Benedick and Beatrice have vowed to remain single and appear to enjoy their battle of wits too much to ever call a truce. Young lovers Hero and Claudio conspire to change their minds. A romantic comedy about winning the one you didn’t know you wanted most.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING will be presented in conjunction with American Rapture, a series that includes Hello Out There by William Saroyan & World Premiere plays by Alex Dinelaris (nominated Lucile Lortel/Drama Desks) as part of Oberon Theatre Ensemble’s Winter Rep 09.

The production features scenic design by Kathryn Veillette and lighting design by Jessica Hinkle. Dee Dee Katchen is the stage manager.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING plays the following schedule through Saturday, February 28th:

Thursday, Feb 12 at 8pm
Friday Feb 13 at 8pm
Monday, Feb 16 at 7pm
Tuesday, Feb 17 at 8pm
Wednesday, Feb 18 at 2pm
Saturday, Feb 21 at 8pm
Sunday, Feb 22 at 3pm
Wednesday, Feb 25 at 8pm
Thursday, Feb 26 at 8pm
Friday, Feb 27 at 8pm
Saturday, Feb 28 at 2pm

Tickets are $20.00 and $13.75 students/seniors. Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.TicketCentral.com, or by calling 212-279-4200. Tickets may also be purchased in person at Theater Row’s box office, open daily from 12pm-8pm.

For more information about Much Ado About Nothing and Oberon Theatre Ensemble’s Winter Rep 09, visit www.OberonTheatre.org.

"Incongruity is the heart of the comic."-Moliere

IN DEPRESSION-ERA NEW YORK CITY – SOCIALITES GET DUPED BY CON MAN!

Proudly Presents

TARTUFFE
Adapted and Directed by
JEFF COHEN

Featuring
KEITH BUTERBAUGH*, CHRISTINA DECICCO*, &
TOM FORD*

With
KATIA ASCHE* AARON COSTA GANIS* MARK DEFRANCIS
DEANNA HENSON* SUSAN JEFFRIES* BRIAN LINDEN*
ROB MAITNER* JASPER SOFFER

*Performing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association. AEA approved showcase.

FOUR-WEEK LIMITED ENGAGEMENT
MARCH 6 – APRIL 5, 2009 @SEAPORT! (210 Front Street)

OPENING NIGHT IS MONDAY, MARCH 9 AT 7 P.M.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT SMARTTIX.COM

Tartuffe is one of Moliere’s funniest and most controversial comedies. Although it was banned by the Church and led to the playwright’s imprisonment, Moliere, as he did in many of his comedies, wrote the play as an indictment of the bourgeoisie, not religion.

According to director and adapter Jeff Cohen, Tartuffe is a swindler who could have donned the mantle of any role to dupe his victims. That he picked religion in this instance is due to how easily his bourgeois victim – Orgon – is duped by his pious charade. It is Orgon who Moliere is bent on skewering, not the Church.

Jeff Cohen’s new American adaptation, written in verse and rhyming couplets, sets the play in New York City in an earlier depression-era - the 1930s. His adaptation seeks to employ a particularly American idiom - transposing Moliere's social satire to its American equivalent. In our own present time of outlandish wealth, dashed fortunes, and George Madoff-like swindlers, what better era to look back on than the Great Depression of the 1930s. Moliere spun his comedy from the stock characters of Commedia, and Mr. Cohen spins his from the golden era of American comedians and films.

TARTUFFE plays the following schedule through Saturday, April 5:

Friday, March 6 @ 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 7 @ 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 8 @ 7 p.m.
Monday, March 9 @ 7 p.m.
Friday, March 13 @ 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 14 @ 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 15 @ 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 18 @ 8 p.m.
Friday, March 20 @ 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 21 @ 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 22 @ 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 25 @ 8 p.m.
Friday, March 27 @ 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 28 @ 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 29 @ 7 p.m.

Tickets for all performances are $18. There is also a “Seaport Season Pass” for $40, which is good for admission to every performance at the South Street Seaport Winter Theatre Season and can be purchased at www.dogrunrep.org.

For tickets, call Smarttix at 212-868-4444 or on the web at www.smarttix.com.

For information and a complete performance schedule, go to the Dog Run Rep website at www.dogrunrep.org.

Thanks to the generous support of General Growth Properties.

The "Wheels of a Dream" are rolling for RAGTIME!

Change, it seems, whether we believe in it or not, is always rumbling beneath the surface, and this Ragtime doesn't just encourage us to look for it. It compels us to see it. – Curtain Up

Ingenious...wonderfully intimate... a triumph...streamlined and fascinating set design...Listen closer, you'll hear Ragtime reborn. - Back Stage

I strongly suggest you get to see it any way you can - by car or by subway. Even if you have to walk, it would be worth it. What an incredible achievement. It’s a triumph on every level...To be moved and entertained by a troupe of so many creative and talented people. The Astoria Performing Arts Center has created something magical and memorable. Go. – Talk Entertainment

***********

RAGTIME plays the following regular schedule through Sunday, February 22:

Thursdays at 8 p.m. | Fridays at 8 p.m. | Saturdays at 8 p.m. |
Sundays at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $15 in advanced and $18 at the door. Available online at www.apacny.org or by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre Box Office, 30 minutes prior to showtime. TDF vouchers accepted.

Directions to the theatre: Take the N or W Subway to 30th Avenue. Walk down 30th Ave. to Cresent St. (Mount Sinai Hospital is on the corner.) Walk one block South to 30th Road.

Like Mother, Like Daughter?

Ann Wedgeworth's acceptance speech at The Tony Awards (1978) for Best Performance-Featured Actess in Neil Simon's Chapter Two. Her offspring Diánna Martin is appearing in Oberon Winter Rep's AMERICAN RAPTURE.

AMERICAN RAPTURE plays a three-week limited engagement at the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (410 W 42nd St). Performances begin Saturday, February 14th and continue through Sunday, March, 1st.

Check it out http://www.oberontheatre.org

Confronting the economic divide...

Wreckio Ensemble
Proudly Presents the World Premiere of

ROOFTOPS
Don't eat the chicken!

Written by
KARLY MAURER

Starring
RANDI BERRY , KATIE BRADEN, MIKE BRADLEY
DECHELLE DAMIEN, TARA GRIECO, JESSICA KELLY
LAUREN TURNER KIEL, ANNA LAMADRID, BETH MCGREGOR
AL MIRO, MIKA PORRO, BENJAMIN SPRADLEY
MERET OPPENHEIM

Directed by KIMBERLEA KRESSAL

FOUR-WEEK LIMITED ENGAGEMENT
MARCH 5 – MARCH 28, 2009 AT THE MILAGRO

OPENING NIGHT IS SATURDAY, MARCH 7 AT 8 P.M.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT WRECKIO.COM

WRECKIO ENSEMBLE is pleased to announce the world premiere production of ROOFTOPS, directed by Kimberlea Kressal. ROOFTOPS will play a four-week limited engagement at The Milagro at Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center (107 Suffolk Street, New York, NY 10002). Performances begin Thursday, March 5 and continue through to Saturday, March 28. Opening Night is Saturday, March 7 (8 p.m.).

ROOFTOPS is a satiric commentary on the economic divide present in American society. When Crane is ripped from her world of comfort and convenience and catapulted on to “the Tops”, she is introduced to a world of women living and working in a futuristic “debtors prison”. These women, under constant sedation, unlivable conditions, and government experimentation, are quickly deteriorating both mentally and physically. As she learns the rituals and rules of her new home, including a regimented diet of fast food chicken and an expectation to breed with the rooftop's male watchdog, Crane's hope of ever returning to her old life seems impossible. When an Arab-American man, who is demonized by the media as a terrorist, offers Crane a chance to end the suffering of the rooftop dwellers, but possibly sacrifice herself in the process, Crane is forced to question the worth of one human life versus the freedom of thousands.

ROOFTOPS plays the following regular schedule through Saturday, March 28th:

Mondays at 8 p.m.
Thursdays at 8 p.m.
Fridays at 8 p.m.
Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Sundays at 3 p.m.


Tickets are $20 and are now available online at www.wreckio.com or by calling 917-626-1369. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theater’s box office ½ hour prior to the performance.

*90 minutes*

Social Networking and Theater Goers--some statistics:

A Survey from Situation Marketing:

Here are a few important points about the survey. We [Situation Marketing] had a little over 1,250 surveys completed in full. We offered no incentive for those to complete it and it ran across a variety of Broadway show websites along with email lists to past ticket buyers. The surveys were completed in October through December of 2008.

Onward with the information…

Social Networking Usage of Theatergoers
The first bit of research I wanted to share was some information we learned on the social networking front. Social networking, particularly Facebook, is a very hot topic right now and will continue to be over the next year. So, we wanted to dive in and see what actual ticket buyers are doing in the social networking space.

When we asked the 1,250 folks, “Are you part of a social networking website such as MySpace or Facebook?”, 45.3% answered “Yes” while 54.7% said “No.” Interesting, huh? Well, let’s make it a lot more interesting by looking at the age breakdown by usage.

Social Networking Usage by Age
18-24 years old (95.3%)
25-34 years old (71.1%)
35-44 years old (48%)
45-54 years old (30.5%)
55-64 years old (21%)

So, before I continue, let’s keep in mind that these percentages are most likely higher than the ‘average person’ because these people are completing the survey online (meaning they are more online savvy to begin with). With that being said, these numbers pretty much paint a direct correlation by age and usage of social networks. No major surprise to me here – but, the big question you must ask yourself is if the usage percents are high enough to justify you using investing in participating in the social nets in a way that justifies the expense. When I say expense, I mean the time, commitment and actual costs that are required to have a meaningful presence.

Finally, one more bit of research that I think you’ll find interesting on this topic. When asked which social network that they used, a whopping 83.4% said Facebook with MySpace coming in a far second at 37.6%. There was nothing even close after that and we listed at least another ten so-called popular social networking platforms.

Beware of the hype surrounding social networking – it’s the Wild West right now as there are a lot of false promises and, quite frankly, ‘scare tactics’ that your brand needs to be on Facebook. The reality is, your marketing plan and goals will determine that – not hype. Know “the what” you are getting into first and fully understand “the why” before jumping in – I’ve seen it backfire in a bad way if you don’t.

Text Messaging Usage of Theatergoers
You know my stance on mobile marketing, so I couldn’t possibly offer up some research that didn’t include data on mobile marketing. When asked, “Other than making phone calls, which of the following do you use your cell phone for?” take a look at the % of respondents by age that say they use their phone for text messaging.

Text Messaging Usage By Age
18-24 years old (92.3%)
25-34 years old (84.9%)
35-44 years old (81.3%)
45-54 years old (69.5%)
55-64 years old (52.4%)

So, it’s not just kids text messaging. The bigger question here is which mobile marketing concept/application makes the most sense for which age group. I have my hunches here based on campaign performance we’ve been seeing as of late, but want to do more research to try and support those hunches.

I hope you found this helpful. There was a lot of other interesting information we have from the survey which we will be talking about in client meetings over the coming weeks. We will have (what I think will be) even more interesting data to share next quarter as we expand our research efforts. If there are specific issues or research you would like to see from us, please don’t hesitate to send me a note. Your feedback is helpful.


Thank you for this insightful information--I hope that I have credited you properly.

Decline of Theater Critique--National Crisis?

L.A. theater leaders decry elimination of arts writers and editors
From The Los Angeles Times' Culture Monster blog, 1/18/09
The recent reports of the elimination of theater critic, writer and editor positions at the Los Angeles Daily News, LA Weekly and the Daily Breeze came as a blow to Los Angeles' stage community. Late Thursday, Culture Monster received a letter signed by Gilbert Cates of the Geffen Playhouse, Sheldon Epps of the Pasadena Playhouse and Michael Ritchie of Center Theatre Group -- decrying the decline in voices and calling on the arts community to keep the conversation going. "It may seem somewhat ironic that leaders of arts institutions would come out in favor of further criticism. It would be like fire hydrants getting together to come out in favor of more dogs. But, as artistic leaders who run three of the larger theater organizations in Los Angeles, we've recently become worried. Over the last few months there has been a conspicuous disappearance of arts writers and editors in our local papers. Two more significant layoffs were confirmed this week. It's time for us to speak up." While the artistic directors offer no solutions, their real purpose could serve as a call to the theater community to unite to find ways to draw attention to diverse offerings on L.A.'s many stages and to the city's arts and culture in general. Read the full text of the letter here.

Chicago critics discuss "The Incredible Shrinking Arts Media"
Posted by Time Out Chicago critic Kris Vire on the blog Storefront Rebellion, 1/15/09
Earlier tonight I sat on a panel [of arts journalists] for an audience of arts administrators and PR folks about the challenges being faced by arts coverage in print media, and new directions that the arts orgs can take to reach audiences. We spent a lot of gas talking about online initiatives and social networking. Because let's face it: as I said tonight, Time Out Chicago is slimming down a bit in the new year; the Reader announced this week that it's cutting its print listings way back; the Sun-Times has been moving many reviews to online-only; and the Tribune famously cut down its news hole last year. You just can't expect print coverage as some kind of birthright at this point in time. I was struck by the remarks of a gentleman representing a theater company, who seemed particularly frustrated by the panel's focus on the web. I'm paraphrasing here, but his question was something like, "What do you do when 90% of your audience is not online?" Um...your organization dies? I don't mean to seem glib, and I didn't get to answer this person's question as thoroughly as I'd hoped in the moment. But if you intend on remaining complacent with the audience you already have, and you're not attempting to attract new audiences: You. Will. Die. It's not about feeling like oppressed artists. But we can't do your marketing job for you. As journalists and as critics, I promise we're all trying as hard as we can afford.

Thanks Cott Mail for the daily info...

Mommy is so PROUD:

Check out this article by Amy Wilson in this month's Baby Talk:

Baby Boy-Crazy!
This mom's home and heart were filled with trains and trucks, skinned knees and SpongeBob. Was there room for a girl?

By Amy Wilson, Babytalk