CT Wins at District Trumbauer Competition

The following were passed on from the District level to compete at the State Trumbauer Festival at the University of North Alabama in Florence 

Friday-Saturday, December 2-3, 2011

        13 Alabama Ghosts & Jeffrey

• Best in Show 
• Straight Superior Scores
•  Best Costumes
• Best Ensemble
• Best Technical Production
• All-Star Cast - Lydia Knight, Terra Phares, Matt Rogers
• Best Supporting Actor - Dylan Kyser

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Acting

 Maddie Burrell

Justin Burton

Madison Creasman

Malia Drummond

Alexis Gravlee (2)

Jake Hartley

Kendall Kelley

Dylan Kyser

Krista Long & Dylan Kyser

Kalee Mollkoy

Kelsey Mullins & Francesca Balzarini

Kelsey Mullins & Seth Greathouse

Cullen Peters & Justin Burton

Cullen Peters & Lydia Knight

Terra Phares

Terra Phares & Krista Long

Zac Prewett & Kayla Huckabee

Tyler Prisoc

Hunter Rhoades

Matt Rogers

Autumn Thompson

Anne Wolf

Anne Wolf & Kalee Mollkoy

Design

Malia Ahrens

Taylor Cordell

Andrew Cranford

Malia Drummond

Katie Englebert

Eryn Golden

Jake Hartley

Camille Karabasz

Shelby Lance

Tristan Leach (2)

Emily Manning

Katie McCormick (2)

Chloe Plyler

Aaron Sellers

Daniel Shedd

Autumn Thompson

Erin Whisenant

13 Lessons from 13 Ghosts

Our first show of this busy 2011-2012 Season, 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey, has taught this old dog a few new tricks and reminded this old dog of some old tricks.  Lessons that, of course, apply to theatre, but also lessons I hope the cast/crew/director will take and apply and remember elsewhere in life.

1. Directing an ORIGINAL show, especially a musical, is among the most difficult, but rewarding tasks.
2. Safety latches on power nail guns are a VERY good thing.
3. Believing in kids is NEVER a wasted effort.
4. Always, always, be involved with something that is bigger than yourself and serves the needs of others. 
5. It's one thing to read a story to someone, but it's quite another thing to tell a story, whether person to person or through a musical.  Personal communication can't be duplicated or replaced.
6. Text, Facebook, Email, and yes, even Blog less...communicate more face-to-face and make eye contact.
7. Kathryn Tucker Windham never cared if you believed in ghosts, just cared that we as a people would keep telling the stories and legends of those who lived long ago, thus communicating.
8. Admit that it takes a village and step aside when it serves the greater good.
9. Check you Ego at the door; then kick it to the curb.
10. Grades, GPA's, and Test Scores matter...a work ethic matters more.
11. Encourage kids to explore and think; we don't need robots to run the world.
12. Always keep the first-aid kit near Mike Putman.
13. Never, ever, underestimate a kid, especially, a CT Kid.

Just $10

Can $10 really make a difference?

Did you know that ticket sales cover a very small percentage of the theatre's operating costs?  That's why we need YOUR SUPPORT for the 2011/2012 Season!

Donate $10 -- that's all.  If everyone on the CT mailing list were to donate just $10, we'll have raised $10,000 for the upcoming season.  It's so easy....

Simply go to our website at http://www.cornertheatre.org/ and just scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Donate" and contribute $10 today!

REMINDER

Monthly Booster MeetingTuesday, September 6, 2011 6:30PM Click here to see all dates for monthly booster meetings  

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  Remember you can pay all fees online.  CT accepts Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and Discover.  Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on the DONATE button and pay the full amount or partial payment. 

Sometimes, kids won't tell you anything, but I'll tell you EVERYTHING and even put it on Facebook!

UPCOMING EVENTS and CTInfo

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I hope that everyone received some pertinent and encouraging news about the department and your child's role in CT, whether an actor or designer, from our Parents' Meeting on Tuesday. Just to give an update about current happenings in the department: 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey was cast and rehearsals began last week.  Click here to see the rehearsal schedule. 

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Mike Putman will direct this show with Debra Reeser assisting, Pat Putman as musical director, Barry Austin as choreographer, and David McNeeley as music arranger.  Click here to purchase tickets for this show or season tickets for all shows.

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Stephen Webb, acting coach and award-winning Kennedy Center playwright, has begun planning out actor's Trumbauer events and working with the playwrights, novice and veteran.

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Daniel Martin, costume and make-up consultant, has assigned Arsenic and Old Lace as the designer's first class project.  Then he will begin discussing with Trumbauer events with each designer.

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Mike Putman will begin next week training sound designers and scene designers for their Trumbauer events, and Kirstie Crumly arrives on Tuesday to train lighting designers.

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Debra Reeser will direct the next show of the season Bethlehem or Bust! with Mike Putman assisting.  We will also incorporate a children's choir led by Pat Putman.  Click here to purchase tickets for this show or season tickets for all shows.

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Remember you can pay all fees online.  CT accepts Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and Discover.  Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on the DONATE button and pay the full amount or partial payment. 

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Monthly Booster Meeting

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

6:30PM

Click here to see all dates for monthly booster meetings

  

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Last but not least, Jake Hartley's parents won the Zaxby's Family Meal Package from Tuesday's meeting!  Congrats!

The Day the Earth Shook

By now, everyone knows that much of the Eastern coast of the U.S. suffered a 5.8 magnitude earthquake yesterday.  Certainly not to make light of the damage suffered, especially to national monuments including the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral, and the nuclear reactor that was "tripped", i.e. shut down....however.....

We felt the tremors all the way to CORNER THEATRE; well, maybe not, but it seemed like it.  Yesterday, we had a record number of new auditionees in the department trying to make their way into the first two shows of the season, 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey and Bethlehem or Bust!.  And you've never seen so much shaking and nerves in our little hamlet of Corner.  But just as I told them, you'll survive and be better for it.

Guess what?  Auditions went on with no injuries from falling catheral spires, no casualties of any kind, just maybe a little quaking in their boots/shoes/trip pants.  Now that they have survived the audition process, we're looking forward to casting both these shows, and we're sure you'll love seeing them!  So go now and order your season tickets at http://www.cornertheatre.org/ .

2011/2012 CT Season

October 28-29, 2011

In a small southern town at a house on Royal Street there is said to be a ghost. One Halloween night a group of young people dare to find out and meet an eccentric old lady who opens up their world with her ghost stories. What they learn from this most unlikely of persons is a lesson about life and love. Are the ghosts that haunt us figments of our imaginations or are they real? Only this treasured lady from Selma knows for sure. From Kathryn Tucker Windham's beloved book comes the exciting stage adaptation, 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey ... a haunting new musical.

Book and Lyrics by Don Everett Garrett

Music by Kevin Francis Finn

Directed by Mike Putman & Debra Reeser

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                                              December 9-10, 2011

Animals are caught up in the first Bethlehem Star competition. Ned the narcissistic camel believes it's all about him and he and his friends get caught up in self-centeredness until they become humbled by the Christ child.

Directed by Debra Reeser

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                                            February 17-18, 2012

 

Set deep within the mysterious Tombigbee Swamp, WILEY AND THE HAIRY MAN centers around a young fatherless boy, his conjure-woman Mother, his faithful dog, and the Hairy Man who haunts Wiley's days and dreams.

 

Written by Susan Zeder

Directed by Mike Putman

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                                                April 27-28, 2012

Though considered a good man by his friends, Charlie Brown can't seem to win the heart of the Little Red-Haired Girl, nor his friend Lucy, her crush, the piano-playing Schroeder. Meanwhile Snoopy and Linus daydream and the rest of the friends battle with kites, school, baseball and misunderstandings before finally coming to realize what makes them truly happy.

Directed by Mike Putman & Debra Reeser

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May 4, 2012

CT 10-Minute Play Festival and our Annual Film Festival...One Night Only

What is he thinking?

He doesn't think sometimes, but he surrounds himself with capable adults and talented students, and they cover a multitude of his sins; just remember he always has a method to the madness we call CORNER THEATRE...why am I talking about myself in third person?  Anyway, CT is tackling her most ambitious season yet:  five shows....two musicals, another show with music, a swamp on stage, and then our film and 10-minute play festivals.  Those shows alone are only half of what goes on in that department:  Trumbauer, scholarship auditions, SETC, day-to-day maintenance of the costume shop, scene shop, theatre....the list goes on.  The directors, actors, and designers are going to get quite a workout this  year. 

So I say all of that to really say this:  CT Kiddies, Boosters, Parents at large, it takes a village, and this has never been, nor shall it ever be Mike Putman's and/or Debra Reeser's department.  As I say to the kids almost daily:  it is OUR department, or OUR show, or OUR theatre.  Everyone has a job from sweeping the floor to singing on stage to hanging lights to selling fish fry tickets....again, the list goes on.  So get ready for some work, but also get ready for some great rewards!  This will be the best year yet!  MP

I Remember a Little Girl.....

She graduated from Corner High School tonight as a veteran in CORNER THEATRE, and a theatre scholarship recipient, and yes, a teacher's pet, ready to tackle the world and replace me someday at Corner as producer/director.  But when she and I first met when she was in the 8th grade, and I was in my early 40's; we were both in very different parts of our lives than we find ourselves tonight.  She wasn't making the best decisions about boys (by her own admission many times), and I found myself in a period of discovery about myself as a mentor and father.  I say this to tell you that some stories do have happy endings. 

I know she has found her passion in acting and directing.  After her training, she'll far surpass me with her ability to get an actor or designer to dig deeper, dream bigger, and/or go further.  I watched her tonight as her star is rising and as mine gets closer and closer to dawn.  Thank you, Haley.  Thank you for constantly challenging me to be better, leaning on me for that fatherly advice, and growing into an adult that I can now call friend, instead of student. 

However, if you and students like you are in my future, you might just have to wait on that CT position longer than you may have planned orginally!!!!  

Martinis...Anything But Dry!

The Martini Shakers return to CORNER THEATRE this Saturday at 7PM.  They were here last in January where they were a sensation engaging the audience to the end, having people come up on stage and sing, and also having people dancing in the aisles of CT. 

Buy tickets at the website http://www.cornertheatre.org/ or at the door.

Press Release
This humble trio rekindles the raw nerve and unrestrained swing of Memphis rockabilly the way it sounded in 1955! Throughout the evening you'll hear songs by a host of great artists such as Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Hank Williams, Eddie Cochran, Roy Orbison, and much more.

Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes

BUNCO! BUNCO! BUNCO!  For someone who just 48 hours ago knew nothing about this game, I had quite the education on Saturday night.  Thanks to Nancy Mullins and other boosters for running the Bunco Night. Because of my ignorance concerning Bunco, my job was to do all the introductions, pass out candy to anyone who yelled, "Bunco!" (a bunco occurs when the 3 dice all hit the same number), and pick as many pockets as I could for CT.  Glad the boosters knew my strengths....talking, candy, and then a combination of the two:  eating candy while talking people out of money!

I met some interesting characters from the community that aren't our usual theatre patrons.  Apparently Bunco has a loyal and competitive following (rivaling any sport in any school) in our little hamlet:  Phyllis, who was so convinced that I didn't have her number in the hat while I was drawing for door prizes that she asked to look in the hat;  Debra (Reeser), who stood up and danced when she threw a Bunco or a Birdie (still not sure what a Birdie is; but she kept calling it a "turkey"); and of course, the nameless savvy and sassy players who yelled things like, "Come home to Mama!"; "Eat my Dirt!"; and "Baby needs a new pair of shoes!" as they threw their dice.  The lunchroom was loud and full of laughter.  But for me as a spectator and candy deliverer, I was thrilled that a work night for me turned into such a fun night, where I met some interesting folks who gave me more laughs in that lunchroom than I can ever remember!