Auditions for "Deathtrap"

Don't miss auditions for "Deathtrap,,' being held at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 15th at the theater. Please come if you would like to participate either backstage or on stage. If you can't make either night of auditions, please call Carol at 569-1396.

"Deathtrap" is a fine thriller written by Ira Levin with some startling turns that will keep the audience jumping. There are five parts as follows:

Sidney Bruhl, approximately 50, an impressive and well-tended man, a well known mystery writer who is running out of ideas. This is a large part as Sidney is on stage almost all the time.

Myra Bruhl, Sidney's wife, slim, quiet, self-effacing and supportive of Sidney. This is a moderate part as Myra is on stage a great deal during the first act.

Clifford Anderson, an attractive young man in his twenties, also a writer who has written a fine thriller. This too is a large part. Clifford is on stage much of the time.

Helga Ten Dorp, a stocky, strong-jawed Teutonic woman in her early fifties. She has an accent and is the Bruhl's next door neighbor. This is a fairly small but juicy part as Helga is quite eccentric.

Porter Milgrim, a man of substance in his mid-fifties, he is Sidney's attorney. This is also a fairly small part and quite straight.

Do come to auditions if you would like to try for one of these parts. We are also, as always, looking for lots of help with the production of this challenging show. There are many interesting problems to be solved and we need you to help. If you would like to be involved in any way, please come to auditions Sunday, or call. This play is one that people will not soon forget and we hope as many Village Players as possible will be a part of it. The play will be directed by Carol Bense and produced by Diane Ducret.

VP Hosts PP in Our Theater

In an experiment in cooperation, The Village Players hosted the Pittsfield Players' production of a play entitled, "First Night." Several Village Players members have participated in Pittsfield productions and vice versa, but this was the first time we hosted a show produced by the Pittsfield Players. The weather didn't cooperate, but in spite of the storm, the Pittsfield Players group appeared on Friday, January 23 and presented their show to a very hardy, very small audience of 14 people. We had a little better crowd on Saturday night with 33 people attending. 'First Night" is a comedy about two people who were friends in 8th grade, and then didn't see one another for 20 years. The young man works in a video store, and the young woman, who has been in a convent for 20 years, comes in to rent a movie. They re-examine their lives and their relationship until they finally see what choices they should have made. The production starred Gerry Casey as the young woman and Ken Golner as the young man. It was produced by Mo Demers and directed by Vicki Skoog. The two groups split the box office and, although the take was small, it was lots of fun to see other folks on our stage and to participate in helping to present a different production for our audience. We hope to do it again.

Fund-Raising Committee Report

Your fund-raising committee is back in action after a short hiatus over the holidays. Thanks to the generous help and support of so many people, we have raised over $170,000.00 in cash and pledges. This is truly wonderful, but we still need to raise approximately $190,000 more in order to reach our goal. We are now working on an approach which emphasizes the value to the community of our group and of our building. We think that our work and our building are major assets to the community of Wolfeboro, and the local area and we hope that others will agree and agree to help support our renovations to the building.

Much of our funding has come from members and supporting members, but we need everyone's help if we are to raise enough funds to turn our building into a comfortable, convenient theater. If you haven't done your share yet, we sure could use your help. If you have made a pledge already, please remember to fulfill it.

Board Approves 1998 Production Schedule

The play-reading committee for 1998 has completed its work and made its suggestions to the board which approved all three selections.

The charge to the committee was to select a mystery/thriller, a comedy, and a musical, all of which would be well-known plays that would draw a large audience. The selections are:

The board also decided on the type of shows for the 1999 season:

We hope that as many of you as are able will participate in one or more of these productions. It's great fun to work on a show and we need everyone's participation.

A Note From John

John Hartog, a member and good friend of The Village Players, has sent a note to let us know of a big change in his life. He has accepted a position as resident-overseer of a large Victorian mansion, period correct, with 3 acres of terraces and gardens in Groton, Connecticut on the harbor He intends to keep his farm in Granite and maintain membership in the Village Players, but we probably won't see much of him for a while.

He says," I couldn't pass this up! A gracious thank you goes to all of you who have contributed to my entertainment calendar - I will miss you all."

And we will miss John, who often in his quiet way, stopped at the theater and completed a task that needed to be done. He helped in many ways to get the building to it's current state and "we thank you, John."

John says that any visitors to Groton are invited to see his new establishment, although he can't offer you overnight accommodations. So if you're in the area, drop in and say Hi! to John. Or if you can't get there, drop a note. His new address is: John Hartog, Avery/Copp Mansion, 154 Thames St., Groton CT 06340. His phone number is 860-445-1637.

All our thanks to John for all his help and support, and good wishes to him in his new position.

Our theater was bustling with activities for First Night on New Year’s Eve. In the afternoon a large mob of kids enjoyed making masks and having their faces painted for the Peoples’ Procession. During the evening hours there was a performance by a cowboy singer-story teller and three shows by the lively steel band, Mango Groove. An enthusiastic capacity crowd hissed the villain and cheered the hero in The Village Players’ production of a musical melodrama,”NO, NO, A MILLION TIMES NO” directed by Wayne Gehman and Helen White. The cast of country bumpkins and city slickers included Bill Janes, JoAnn Beebe, Susan Pohl, James Fraser, Sam Dunkle, Richard, Jan, Maggie and Hanna Croteau, Jenna Van Valen, Meg Brady, Aaron Hutto, Jerome Holden, and Jen Piper. Helping behind the scenes were Carol Bense, Diane Ducret, Carol Light, Michael Wilkes, Betty Sherwood and Willie and Corky Mork. The Village Players is pleased to participate in this community-wide First Night celebration. Our building is the perfect location for a variety of performances and activities to be enjoyed by a large number of people.

Membership

There are now 247 names on the Village Players mailing list. This includes 60 active members and 44 supporting members. The list also includes our program advertisers and contributors to our Building Fund. Membership dues for 1998 are due at this time. Individual memberships are $10. per year and a family membership is $18. To become an active or supporting member, checks payable to The Village Players may be sent to PO Box 770, Wolfeboro, NH 03894. If your membership card is not enclosed with this news letter, we hope to hear from you soon. Remember, your card entitles you to a $1. refund on your ticket to each of our plays when presented at the box office.

Building Committee

While we are between productions, Corky and the building committee are busy planning this year’s renovation activities. The new heating system is nearly complete, and plans are to add air conditioning for the summer season. A sprinkler system, to protect the building from fire, has been designed and approved, and will be installed in the next few weeks. And there will be some work to complete the fire safety requirements. We hope to begin work on the raked floor, so that it will be ready for the fall musical, and maybe the summer comedy. When the weather gets warmer, we will be able to hang the restored front doors, and there will be plenty of the usual sprucing up all over the building. We will need individuals who can do framing, sheet rock, and finish carpentry, but anyone willing to help will be put to work. Anyone interested in helping should contact Corky at 569-5726.

Recommendations:

Concord Community Players presents Agatha Christie’s “Ten Little Indians” at 8:00 p.m. on February 26-28 at Concord City Auditorium. Call 224-4905 for info.

Check out the movie “Waiting for Guffman” (available for rent at Clubhouse). It’s a hilarious story of a small town community theater group staging a locally written historical musical for the town’s sesquicentennial celebration. The cast features Christopher Guest, Fred Willard, Catherine O’Hara, and Eugene Levy. For those of us who have experienced community theater, it hits really close to home!