The regular monthly meeting of Union Street Players will be Monday, February 13 at 7:00 p.m. in room 201 of the Pella Community Center. Meetings are open to the public.
Union Street Players is proud to announce the cast of Ayn Rand‘s “The Night of January 16th.” The show will be directed by Anne McCullough Kelly (Cheaper by the Dozen) and Produced by Tom Vander Well. The courtroom drama, in which audience members serve as jurors and determine the outcome of the play, is the first play of USP’s 25th Anniversary Season. The show will be performed March 29 – April 1, 2012.
Karen Andre ……………………..Jana DeZwarte
District Attorney Flint…………. Doug DeWolf
Defense Attorney Stevens……… Denise Gregory
Judge Heath (yet to be cast)
Bailiff/Court Clerk………………. Vicki Hicks
Stenographer…………………….. Nancy Moreland
Dr. Kirkland……………………… Mark Moreland
Mrs. John Hutchins……………. Cyndi Atkins
Homer Van Fleet………………… Dayrel Gates
Elmer Sweeney…………………… Mark Schaefer
Jane Chandler……………………. Cammie Nelson
Magda Svenson………………….. Deb Linn
Nancy Lee Faulkner…………….. Ashly Kocher
John Graham Whitfield………… Arvin Van Zante
Siegurd Jungquist……………….. Karl Deakyne
Lawrence “Guts” Regan………… Tom Vander Well
Roberta Van Rensselaer……….. Wendy Vander Well
Posted in Night of January 16th | Tagged Cast, Community Theater, Community Theatre, Iowa, Night of January 16, Pella, Union Street Players, USP | Leave a Comment »
Union Street Players will be holding open auditions for Ayn Rand’s courtroom drama “The Night of January 16th” tonight, Monday, January 16th at 7:00 p.m. in the Pella Community Center. No roles are precast and no experience is necessary. If you’ve thought it might be fun to get on stage and try out for a show, this is a GREAT opportunity! Many roles for adult men and women! Call backs and additional auditions will be held Thursday night, January 19th, if necessary! For more info call Anne McCullough Kelly at 641-621-1576. For more information visit www.unionstreetplayers.com.
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Starting with January 2012, Union Street Players will hold our regularly scheduled membership meetings on the SECOND Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. USP has traditionally met the 1st Monday of each month. Because production weekends often fall around the beginning or end of a month, the Board of Directors regularly moved the meeting back a week. In addition, holidays such as the 4th of July often necessitated moving the meeting date. By moving our regular monthly meeting back to the 2nd Monday of each month, the Board of Directors hopes to avoid having to move the meeting date so often.
USP meets in Room 201 of the Pella Community Center. Meetings are open to the public though only members are allowed to vote in the meeting,
Posted in News & Updates | Tagged IA, Meeting, Pella, Union Street Players, USP | Leave a Comment »
For actors on stage, there is nothing quite as unnerving and distracting as audience members who refused to turn off their phone or insist on talking, moving and squirming in their seats. During his recent acclaimed turn as Shakespeare’s Richard III, Kevin Spacey has taken matters into his own hands. While staying in character as the wretched monarch, Spacey has broken the fourth wall to chastise audience members and point them out for ridicule. Read the article from The Huffington Post.
Posted in News & Updates | Tagged Acting, Audience, Kevin Spacey, Richard III, Shakespeare, Stage | Leave a Comment »
proudly announces auditions for
The Night of January 16th
A play by Ayn Rand
March 29th – April 1st, 2012
Bjorn Faulkner has swindled millions of dollars from investors, investing cash he did not have in order to control the gold trade. In the wake of a crash, he is facing bankruptcy despite borrowing money from Mr. John Graham Whitfield, a prominent banker whose daughter, Nancy Lee, married Faulkner shortly after the loan. On the night of January 16th, Faulkner and Karen Andre, his secretary and lover, are in the penthouse at the top of the Faulkner Building in New York when Faulkner falls to his death. Shortly thereafter Karen Andre is accused of murdering him and is put on trial. But did she kill him? Did he commit suicide rather than face his financial troubles? Or did someone else have a motive for ending his life? Only YOU, the jury selected from our audience, can decide the fate of Karen Andre! Come witness (and maybe be a part of) the trial, shift through the evidence, and render a verdict – is Karen Andre guilty or not guilty?
Directed by Anne McCullough Kelly with assistance from Cyndi Atkins
AUDITIONS ARE OPEN TO ADULTS AGES 18+ YEARS
NO ROLES ARE PRE-CAST
6-9 parts for adult women, 9-11 parts for adult men
Auditions scheduled to take place at the Pella Community Center on:
Saturday, January 14th 1:00-3:30pm
Monday, January 16th, 7:00-9:30pm
Callbacks, if needed on Thursday, January 19th, 7:00pm
Perusal Scripts will be available in the Pella Community Library from December 19, 2011 – January 19 2012
Also looking for people to fill the following technical and backstage roles:
Stage Manager Costuming (play is set in late 1920s to early 1930s)
Light and Sound Design Prop Design
Light and Sound Board Operators Make-up Coordinator
Set Construction
For questions or to volunteer for technical/backstage positions, please contact Anne McCullough Kelly at 621-1576
Posted in Auditions & Talent Calls, News & Updates | Tagged Auditions, Community Theatre, Iowa, Night of January 16th, Pella, Union Street Players | Leave a Comment »
This past weekend was Christmas in Pella. The Pella Garden Club and the Convention and Visitors Bureau sponsored a fantastic Tour of Homes and our local chamber rolled out the red carpet for visitors. Union Street Players once again did our part with performances of “A Tinkerman Christmas Eve,” an original play by USP’s Beverly Graves.
Audiences were delighted with the four performances and word of mouth had audience members scrambling to snatch up available seats for the final two performances.
According to Producer Pat Moriarity, the estimated attendance figures for “A Tinkerman Christmas Eve” were:
Thur Dec 1: 157
Fri Dec 2: 123
Sat Dec 3: 239
Sun Dec 4: 202
Thanks to Producer Pat Moriarity, Director Beverly Graves, Cast and Crew for another great production!
Posted in Tinkerman Christmas Eve | Tagged Beverly Graves, Christmas, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Garden Club, Iowa, Pat Moriarity, Pella, Tinkerman Christmas Eve, Union Street Players | Leave a Comment »
Darrell Dobernecker and Bev Graves in "A Tinkerman's Christmas Eve"
Union Street Players‘ production of the musical “A Tinkerman’s Christmas Eve” opens Thursday, December 1st and runs through Sunday, December 4th. “Tinkerman’s Christmas Eve” tells a heartwarming story of a family missing their family member deployed in Afghanistan. The original script by USP Walk of Fame member, Bev Graves, is packed with all of your favorite Christmas songs and carols and is perfect for the whole family. Graves also directs and stars in the show along with Pella’s outgoing Mayor, Darrell Dobernecker. The cast includes several USP veterans along with a host of newcomers making their USP debuts.
The musical will be performed at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights with a Sunday afternoon matinee at 2:00 p.m. Tickets ($7 for adults; $5 for students) may be purchased at the door of any performance and, as of Wednesday evening, tickets are available for all shows. The show will be performed on the stage of the Joan Kuyper Farver Auditorium in the Pella Community Center (712 Union Street, Pella, IA).
Posted in Tinkerman Christmas Eve | Tagged Bev Graves, Community Theatre, Darrell Dobernecker, Iowa, Pella, Union Street Players | Leave a Comment »
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On the evening of October 15, Union Street Players gathered at Monarch’s on the Molengracht for our Fourth Annual Awards Dinner to honor Deb Linn as this year’s inductee into USP’s Walk of Fame. Pati Van Zante introduced Linn, commenting on her long list of credits with Pella’s award winning community theatre including actor, director, producer, board member and program ad salesperson extraodinaire. She becomes the seventh member of the Walk of Fame joining Dottie McGee, Pat Moriarity and Arvin Van Zante (2008), Bev Graves and Peggy Moriarity (2009), and Shelley Buhrow (2010).
The annual awards dinner was attended by USP members, faithful supporters along with family members celebrating with Linn. USP celebrated another successful year of productions (Annie!, Vintage Hitchcock, Once Upon a Mattress) with a slide show of photos from all three shows. Three USP members were also honored for receiving awards from the Iowa Community Theatre Association (ICTA). Mark Moreland and Jonathon Gregg were awarded for excellence in character acting for their roles in Vintage Hitchcock. Jana DeZwarte was awarded Outstanding Actress in a Featured Role for her turn as Miss Hannigan in Annie!
2012 represents USP’s 25th Anniversary season with three productions planned. A Tinkerman Christmas Eve is an original musical by USP founder and Walk of Fame member Bev Graves and will be performed the first weekend of December. Ayn Rand’s The Night of January 16th is a courtroom mystery in which audience members make up members of the jury to decide the play’s end. It will be produced in March and will be directed by Anne McCullough Kelly. The children’s favorite Jungle Book will be produced next summer and directed by Lisa Morgan. The grand finale of the 2012 season will be Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat directed by Pat Moriarity.
Posted in Walk of Fame | Tagged Community Theater, Community Theatre, Deb Linn, ICTA, Iowa, Iowa Community Theater Association, Pella, Union Street Players, USP, Walk of Fame | Leave a Comment »
by Joseph Kesselring
Production dates: 7:30 p.m., Oct. 7, 8,13, 14 and 15; 2 p.m., Oct. 9
Directed by MaryThompson and Skye Westendorf
Did you know that murder by poison can be hilarious?It is in the case of Arsenicand Old Lace, the black comedy that will invite you overfor a nightcap this October. Mortimer Brewster – a role made famous onfilm by Cary Grant – initially thinks his biggest problem is whether ornot to get married. But that’s nothing when he learns that his brother iscrazy, another relative is crazier yet and his aunts … well, you’reunlikely to meet a sweeter pair of psychopaths! The cast won’t justtickle your funny bones – they might bury them in their basement, too!
Cast
Abby Brewster – Judy Richmond
Rev. Harper – Keith Isley
Teddy Brewster – Larry Daft
Officer Brophy – Arvin Van Zante
Officer Klein – Emigdio Lopez-Sanders
Martha Brewster – Katherine Craig
Elaine Harper – Jennifer Esrey
Mortimer Brewster – Kelly Peavey
Mr. Gibbs – John Dougan
Jonathan Brewster – Lonnie Appleby
Dr. Einstein – Scott Schaeffer
Officer O’Hara – John Dougan
Lt. Rooney – Pat Moriarity
Ms. Witherspoon – Julie Schaeffer
Posted in News & Updates | Leave a Comment »
@UnionStPlayers
- USP Meeting Monday Feb 13 @ 7 p.m. http://t.co/wl5aWKtU 1 week ago
- Cast Announced for "The Night of January 16th" http://t.co/VfWZljQV 1 month ago
- Auditions for "Night of January 16th" Tonight (Monday) http://t.co/KFmd182O 1 month ago
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