Prelude

Welcome to the site for The Shakespeareans of Tamanend Park.

Please refer to the posting "Introduction" below
and examine the end of the page for maps
and details about special events,
such as the parade
or other events
that may occur remotely
from the stage
at the Park.

Cinema Under the Stars is left at the top of the page because the films, which are intended to be shown on alternating weekends, require frequent updating.

The show-times are approximate
because of the changing sunset time and go up when it is dark enough.

You are advised to arrive early to choose a good spot in the field. We have concession items available and in the future may have blankets available for rental.

Be sure to bring insect repellent, although we do use citronella to cut back on mosquitoes, you will need to protect yourself.

Refer to the IMS Virtual Studio for a countdown to the current film showing.

In the Event of Rain;

Live Performances at the stage are canceled if the sky is not clear and the ground dry by 1:00 p.m. with no forecast of rain for the remainder of the day.

For Cinema Under the Stars the ground must be dry by 5:00 p.m. and no forecast for rain that evening.

Unless otherwise specified there is no rain date.


Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Autumn Leaves: Performance Festival

__________________________________________

The Fall performance time-slot, coined "Autumn Leaves Performance Festival"  in anticipation of future growth, has been identified as the last weekend in September and the First Weekend in October. Depending on the weather it may be appropriate to move it forward to eliminate the September dates.  The reason being that other events are occurring in close proximity.  The theory was that it would be easy to remember the change from September to October as the time for performances.  Also the shift to Halloween occurs in October so that needs to come into consideration.

I received a number of inquiries about the performance schedule for this fall, some from performers and some from audience. I had to report that a program this fall was not promoted. Simply because I have not received commitments from the performers. I explored presentation of six different programs for this fall time-slot and was unable to obtain commitments from the performers and/or performance groups. Had half of these groups been willing to commit to the dates, then we would have had a nice program.

I did convey that I would promote a performance for the upcoming weekend if I received commitments, but so far none have arrived. (it is now Tuesday) I will however be setting the stage this weekend in the event that performers & audience do arrive prepared to present and observe.  At the least I will give a Flute concert and read some lines myself.  Or if need be we will work on the sets. If we are fortunate, others will show up. and we will present.

I have to say that economics play a huge role in this, for if I had been able to raise sufficient funds, then we would have had a definite program of some sort to promote, by paying for the performers.  But this cannot happen without sufficient sponsorship, because although some people do contribute when asked to, during the performances, most people do not contribute.  That is clear from the income of "Cinema Under the Stars" as well as other performances that have taken place this year.  So fund-raising has to be increased, if next year is to prove fruitful in terms of presentations.

This year for the September dates;

 Saturday, Sept 25th we showed Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet" at the Southampton Library attendance was less than satisfactory. Considerably less than satisfactory.  Clearly, a film showing on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the fall is not a good idea. However, the space in the Southampton Community Room is well suited for film presentations, and the Library does do this every Friday Night, so I recommend attending a film showing there, if you would like to have a fun night at the movies.  We show a different type of film with "Cinema Under the Stars" outside in Tamanend Park every two weeks. I am striving for the cinema at the Park to be centered around theatre oriented films.  We are also thinking about a film festival, so keep an eye out for that.

Sunday Sept 26th was eliminated because, luckily (for me) it rained, but frankly I was too tired to push forward with it and did not have enough of a program planned.  The work on building "Cinema Under the Stars" had me focused more on succeeding with a full season of films than on planning a performance for the fall. I was counting on more actors & musicians to step up to the plate.

Saturday October 2nd & 3rd will have the stage set in the morning with anticipation that performers will be available. This will be the litmus test as to whether or not performers will show up on their own for a performance date. I rather doubt it, because I have not seen people willing to come to the Saturday & Sunday work sessions every weekend. Many people have come by the stage, some actors or aspiring actors, but few have come prepared to run lines and get serious about acting. So I have my doubts about performers with prepared material.  We will do "Spontaneous Shakespeare" as that is the easiest emergency performance program.  In terms of music, there are a few performers who can respond to the moment and if we are lucky they will be in attendance. If you are one of those performers come over Saturday or Sunday ready to rock, whether we have an audience or not it's a test of what we as performers can do together.

No comments:

Post a Comment

If you are involved in this program and would like to continue the dialogue for others to see, please join the site and comment.

If you have interest in any event or program, would like to be involved, have suggestions on how to improve it, or ideas for a new program, please, join the site and post your comments.

Please keep your comments constructive. I will edit these comments if necessary.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.