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Ordway Blog: Stay connected here with what is happening at Ordway and take a look at what is going on behind the scenes.
Q&A with Estelle Parsons, star of August: Osage County
Thu, Mar 11, 2010 4:37 PM by Ryan Jones
The Ordway is extremely excited to have August: Osage County here from March 16- 21. For those of you not familiar with the show it has won multiple Tony Awards as well as a Pulitzer Prize and stars the Academy Award winning actress Estelle Parsons as Violet Weston the pill popping, unsettled matriarch of the family. When Violet’s alcoholic husband goes missing her whole extended family reunites for a completely shocking and oddly funny reunion that makes anyone’s family seem completely normal in comparison. Estelle Parsons is probably best known for her hilarious role as Roseanne Conner’s mom, Beverly Harris on the sitcom Roseanne but Estelle is a well known theater actress too. Making her Broadway debut in 1956, Estelle calls theater her passion and was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2004. In the Q&A below Estelle discussed this dynamic role and a few other things about her iconic career as an actress.
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Q: After appearing in the show for almost a year on Broadway, why were you so eager to go on the road with August: Osage County?
A: I haven’t had much opportunity to tour, because I was always bringing up kids. I went on the road for three months with Miss Margarida’s Way, but most of the time when I got an offer to go on the road or go to London, I couldn’t go. But I’ve always loved the idea of touring: I have this old dream of being in vaudeville.
And there are all kinds of different audiences out there. I learned that from doing summer stock. Audiences are always a learning opportunity.
Q: Actors always say that each audience has a certain personality. Do you find that affects your performance?
A: Absolutely, particularly with this play, where the audience is so dynamic and so vocal in every way – moaning, groaning, laughing, crying. The audience is really the third essential part. They’re not just sitting on their hands listening. They’re incredible and they’re always different, and as we go from city to city, I’m sure they’re going to be very different in different places.
Q: How did you wind up doing the role on Broadway?
A: Rondi Reed [who originated the role of Mattie Fae Aiken, Violet’s sister] and Laurie Metcalf, both of whom belong to Steppenwolf, are friends. I’ve worked with both of them at Steppenwolf, and with Laurie on Roseanne. We were out one night, and they said, “Deanna’s leaving. You should play that part.” I had seen the play a couple of weeks before, and I said, “What are you talking about?” And they said, “Ever since we read this play, we thought you would be perfect for the part.” And of course I’m still wondering why they thought that. Anyway, after a few days, I called Rondi and told her I was interested. She said, “Okay, I’ll put it in motion.” And she did. I went to meet the director, and they hired me.
Q: Did you audition?
A: I did. I always prefer to audition, because very often when you’re saying the words out loud, you really can tell whether you want to do a play or not. The audition was the dining room scene, which is really, really tough. So I thought, “Let me work on this for awhile, and see if this is something I really want to be up there doing.” The more I worked on it, the more I loved it. And then when I auditioned, it just came alive, like whoosh. I thought it was wonderful.
Q: You’ve said that you didn’t go into the play with the intention of making the role your own. Could you elaborate?
A: The play was a very big hit, Tracy Letts won the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award, and Deanna and Rondi also won Tonys. Quite aside from the prizes, I think that if something is a hit, then the hit should be maintained. The play wasn’t broken, so I didn’t see the need to go in there and fix it. I thought my job was to replace what was there, to do what is there. I had seen Deanna do the role, and I’ve spent my whole adult life looking very seriously and concentratedly at actors. So I just felt I was her doing the role. People laugh at me when I say that, because I’m nothing like her. But I don’t usually try to put my personal stamp on things. I try to play the play the way it’s written.
Q: What do you think of Violet? Do you like her?
A: I think she’s a wonderful person who went astray. I have sympathy for her. Do I like her as a person? It’s hard to know what’s underneath all that. I think she is basically a colder person than I am, and it’s been very exciting to work on that. But I do love her. I think she was a very smart, sensitive woman who was deeply abused as a child, and consequently bears the scars. Who knows what would happen to people if they didn’t have the background they have.
Q: Deanna Dunagan said that one of the reasons she left the Broadway production and took time off before doing the play in London, was because she was exhausted. Does the role affect you physically and/or emotionally?
A: It’s a very vigorous role, but I’m used to doing musicals and I’m used to doing very vigorous stuff. I wouldn’t say I’m exhausted by it. But I do think that it takes up your whole life.
Q: Everyone marvels at how you go up and down those stairs. How do you stay in shape?
A: I’ve been very physically active all my life. Dance lessons, yoga, running, hiking. I would have loved to have been a skier or a tennis player if I weren’t an actor. I run or swim or go to the gym every day, and also do yoga. I started doing weights when I got into my 60s, and have had a lot of trainers. When you get older, your strength dissipates very quickly. It probably starts in your 60s, but when you get into your 70s, if you don’t walk a mile for a couple of weeks, pretty soon it’s hard work to walk a mile. So I’ve always kept up with it, not because I thought it would be particularly helpful in my work – though I do think actors should be extraordinarily self-aware physically – I just can’t help myself. My husband is like that too. That’s our lifestyle, which came in handy when I started this show.
Q: How did the role come about in Bonnie and Clyde?
A: In 1966, I was doing the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, MA. I had seen Arthur Penn’s movies, and I wanted to work for him. I managed to get an interview with him for The Skin of Our Teeth, which he was directing that summer in Stockbridge, and he hired me. And working with him, I suddenly knew that I was in the right profession. I was [almost] 40 by that time, so I’d been in it a long time. But I always used to think, “Am I in the right profession? Maybe I should have kept on at law school, or maybe I should try something else.” But working for Arthur Penn, I realized that I was in the right place and I should be doing what I do, and how wonderful it is when I can have that kind of experience on the stage.
And then he asked me to do Bonnie and Clyde. I was just about to move to San Francisco and join a rep company, which I’d always wanted to do. And the day after he asked me to read the script, I got a phone call telling me that the funding for the rep company had fallen through. So we weren’t going. I called Arthur and I read the script, and I thought, “Why is he offering this to me?” I’m really not too interested in movies. But the more I read it, I realized it was an incredible part. And I really was excited to work with Arthur again.
Q: Did the Academy Award affect your career?
A: It did in that I could have had a lot of movie success, which I wasn’t really interested in. Looking back on it, I think that’s kind of too bad. Sam Cohn was my agent, and we were getting all these really good offers. But they conflicted with work I was doing onstage, things that really interested me. I did a few movies, but I did them when I was on vacation from a theater job. My life just wasn’t about movies: I don’t think I ever chose a movie job over a theater job. I started in cabaret. I did Jerry Herman’s first revue in a club, and two revues of Julius Monk’s Upstairs at the Downstairs. And I had my own nightclub act. Like I said, I love vaudeville. I’ve always been interested in that kind of pure entertaining. I love to entertain people. I love to hear them laugh. I love the silences, when they don’t know what’s going on – though I must say that the silences in this play kind of scare me sometimes. I think, “My God, they’re so quiet, and they’re watching every move I make.”
Q: Well, you are – she is – very frightening.
A: That’s true. She’s a great, great character. I don’t fool myself that it’s me. I know it’s me and the character. But if you don’t have a great, sound, wonderful character that reaches audiences, you can’t do it on your own.
Q: Millions of people know you from Roseanne. It was taped in front of an audience. Was the experience similar to doing a play?
A: No. The audience was there, but they were manipulated – laugh now, applaud now. So it’s not like a theater audience. It’s a completely different experience. You don’t have that long with a script. A good play is so dense that it takes you three or four weeks to figure out what you’re talking about. That’s never true in films and TV, which is cool because you’ve got to get up and do them, and there’s a certain fun in that – but not enough to make me want to do it instead of theater. It’s hard work in the theater. Eight shows a week of anything is hard work, and you give your life to it.
Q: Your character on Roseanne was allowed to develop over time, which must have been interesting.
A: Rosie seemed to love my work. She was always laughing at me. I think she was thinking up all kinds of crazy things to do to that poor mother. She was a lot of fun. We had a great time on that show.
Posted in August: Osage County, Behind the Scenes
Fri, Feb 19, 2010 11:43 AM by Kate Scarrella
As a huge fan of dance I am extremely excited for the Ordway’s Main Stage to be graced by DanceBrazil. For those of you not familiar with the company let me give you a little background. Founded by Jelon Vieira, this company has performed for audiences for over 30 years. It was developed and is successful because of its ability to speak to a broad range of the North American community. The company was developed from Grass roots workshops at NYC and has received both critical and popular acclaim since its premiere. The style is a combination of Afro-Brazilian movement, contemporary dance and capoeira.
What is capoeira you may ask? It is a combination of traditional dance and martial arts. This style was formed in Africa and adapted in Brazil as a modern form of fighting enslavement. After studying up on the event I wanted to learn more about it and was curious about how it works so I went to the DanceBrazil website to investigate. The idea of martial arts combined with dance movement was intriguing and I was wondering what this show was really like. I was so happy to see that the website had a video and I was amazed at how beautiful the dance was. The creator Jelon Vieira is extremely talented and has really inspired his home country with his teachings. Jelon teaches in both Brazil and the United States and has taught a few famous people such as Pele the famous Soccer star as well as actors Wesley Snipes and Eddie Murphy. It turns out that Jelon choreographed a capoeira dance sequence in the movie Boomerang and that is when he taught Eddie Murphy. Unfortunately part of the movie was cut and that included the capoeira dance sequence. What a bummer, I would have loved to see that. In 1993 Jelon and the Carver Center Director Jo Long formed Ilê Bahia de San Antonio, the House of African-Brazilian Arts. This organization was formed as a professional training center to learn Afro-Brazilian style with a special emphasis on at risk, minority youth. When home in Brazil it is important for him to teach & inspire the children & youth there as well to help build their self esteem, self discipline and make them a vital part of the community
On February 19th DanceBrazil will be coming to the Ordway and debuting two new shows. The first one is entitled “Memoria” and it celebrates the African culture and its deep roots within the Brazilian culture. The second performance “Banguela” follows the spiritual preparation that capoeiristis go through before a roda; it is an interlude before the game. Also there is a pre show Ordway Extra for all ticket holders in the Marzitelli foyer that will feature local capoeira master Yoji Senna and TU Dance Members. They will discuss the history of capoeira and what it is like to dance in the style. It is sure to be a special evening.
Check out the link below to learn more about DanceBrazil and to see this amazing style of dance.
Posted in DanceBrazil, Dance
Feb Dance Master Class Series with TU Dance & DanceBrazil
Thu, Feb 4, 2010 2:58 PM by Ryan Jones
Ordway invites you to attend the February Dance Master Class Series with TU Dance and DanceBrazil. 3 classes are available and they are $10 each.1 free class in the series is available with a ticket to the public performance of DanceBrazil at the Ordway on Friday, February 19. Please contact Amy Miller with questions and to RSVP for classes at (651)282-3017 or amiller@ordway.org
Afro-Brazilian Dance with TU Dance
Thursday, February 4
Doors 4pm
Class 4:30 – 6pm
Roy Wilkins Studio #3
Downtown St. Paul (entrance on 5th Street, between the Excel Energy Center and Ordway Stage Door)
Marciano Silva dos Santos, TU Dance member, will teach an Afro-Brazilian dance class that explores the movements of orixás (Orishas) introduced outside of the sacred space of Candomblé. Elements such as jumps, turns, floor work, and rhythmic sections will be used to work on flexibility and strength. A harmonious relationship between body and sound will allow participants to note the constantly evolving dynamics in relationship to principles such as coordination, relaxation, breathing, and undulation. Afro-Brazilian dance is polycentric movement that builds concentration and has a spiritual focus.
Modern Dance with TU Dance
Thursday, February 11
Doors 4pm
Class 4:30 – 6pm
Roy Wilkins Studio #3
Downtown St. Paul (entrance on 5th Street, between the Excel Energy Center and Ordway Stage Door)
Toni Pierce-Sands, Artistic Director of TU Dance, will teach a modern dance class based on the Lester Horton technique.
Capoeira Master Class with DanceBrazil
Thursday, February 18
Doors 5:30pm
Class 6 – 7:15pm
Ordway Center, Drake Room (enter through the 5th Street Stage Door)
Company members of DanceBrazil will teach an introductory class on capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art form. No previous experience in capoeira is required.
Posted in Master Classes, DanceBrazil, TU Dance
Ordway and Elephant Eye Theatrical head to Broadway with The Addams Family
Tue, Feb 2, 2010 10:54 AM by Ryan Jones
In 2005, Ordway joined four other nationally-renowned performing arts organizations – the Wang Center for the Performing Arts in Boston, The Bushnell in Hartford, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, and the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Association in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust – in forming the producing consortium Five Cent Productions, LLC. Following this formation, Five Cent Productions joined former Disney Theatrical Productions Executive Vice President Stuart Oken and Tony Award-winning producer Michael Leavitt as a producing partner in Elephant Eye Theatrical.
Elephant Eye Theatrical is a theatrical development and production company that creates new book musicals for Broadway and beyond. The company finds and initiates projects, assemble creative teams, fund the genesis and ongoing evolution of the projects, and serve as lead producer when the projects are fully staged. While The Bushnell remains a presenting theater, producing new works allows us to have ownership, exclusivity and, ultimately, profitability from the projects we help create.
This year, Elephant Eye Theatrical and Five Cent Productions has some very exciting news to report - the brand-new The Addams Family musical will be taking Broadway by storm in spring 2010.
Tony Award winners Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth lead a talented cast taking on this bizarre and beloved family of characters, who were created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams. The book is by Tony Award-winning writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice (Jersey Boys), the score by Drama Desk award-winning composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party) and direction by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Shockheaded Peter).
The world premiere engagement of The Addams Family opens at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre in Chicago on Friday, November 13, 2009, and Broadway previews begin at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on March 4, 2010, with opening night scheduled for April 8, 2010.
To buy tickets, meet the family, and get an insider’s look a the process of creating The Addams Family, visit www.theaddamsfamilymusical.com
Please continue to stop by for new information about our producing efforts with Five Cent Productions and Elephant Eye Theatrical!
Posted in Elephant Eye, Addams Family
Fri, Jan 29, 2010 2:17 PM by Ryan Jones
Join the Ordway as we welcome dance company Bridgman/Packer Dance to our McKnight Theatre during the first week of February. They will be developing a new work, Double Expose, which they will return to perform during Ordway’s 2010-2011 season as a part of our Target® World Music and Dance Series!
Upcoming events…
Partnering Dance Master Class
Monday, February 1
7pm – 8:30pm
Roy Wilkins Studio #1
Downtown St. Paul (entrance on 5th Street, between the Excel Energy Center and Ordway Stage Door)Attendance is $10; please contact Amy Miller with questions and to RSVP at (651)282-3017 or amiller@ordway.org
The popular Partnering Workshop transmits Bridgman/Packer’s unique approach to partnering for beginner through advanced performers. The class is non-gender specific, emphasizes the release and ease as well as the strength of partnering, and builds to develop exhilarating and risk-taking partnering in duet, trio, and group forms.
Lecture and Demonstration
Friday, February 5
7 – 8:30pm
McKnight Theatre, Ordway
Short reception to follow in the McKnight Lobby
Attendance is free; please contact Amy Miller with questions at (651)282-3017 or amiller@ordway.org
Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer will share excerpts from their work and examine the relationship of video and live performance from a choreographic point of view. They will explain their creative process through their perspective as dancers, using technology to enhance their work and dance to explore identity, relationships, and personality.
"an astonishing dance/video experience, merging the real and unreal into the surreal." Janet Anderson, Philadelphia City Paper
"a jaw-dropping marvel of sound, film, movement and light… What Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer accomplish through multi-media dance is dynamic, stunning, provocative and occasionally startling… each piece teetering between moment and memory, body and illusion." Anchorage Daily News
For more information about Bridgman/Packer Dance, please visit their website at:
http://www.bridgmanpacker.org/
Posted in Master Classes, Bridgman/Packer
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is a 2010 Joyce Award Winner
Tue, Jan 26, 2010 9:20 AM by Ryan Jones
THE JOYCE FOUNDATION HONORS ARTISTIC WORK IN CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE, AND MINNEAPOLIS
2010 JOYCE AWARDS PROGRAM SUPPORTS FIVE MIDWEST CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS TO COMISSION NEW WORKS BY ARTISTS OF COLOR
CHICAGO—The Joyce Foundation is proud to announce the 2010 Joyce Awards winners in the Midwest cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis/Saint Paul. Since 2003, the Joyce Awards program has been the only granting opportunity exclusively supporting artists of color in major Midwestern cities Joyce is awarding five outstanding arts organizations grants of $50,000 each to support new works in dance, music, theater, and visual arts.
Winners in each artistic category include:
- DANCE: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (Saint Paul) to commission African American choreographer Uri Sands to create a new dance work inspired by the paintings of African American artists Ernie Barnes;
- MUSIC: Old Town School of Folk Music (Chicago) to commission the African American stringband the Carolina Chocolate Drops to create "Kingdom Coming," a new multimedia collaborative performance piece that celebrates black heritage from Vaudeville;
- THEATER: Steppenwolf Theatre Co. (Chicago) to support a new play based on the biblical book of Job by African American playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney;
- VISUAL ARTS: The Milwaukee Art Museum (Milwaukee), in partnership with the Chipstone Foundation, to support news woAfrican American visual artist Theaster Gates for a multimedia exhibition/installation that includes pottery, sculpture, video and music;
- VISUAL ARTS: Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Minneapolis) to commission Iranian American artist Ali Momeni to create two new media installations to launch the museum’s inaugural year of contemporary art programming.
"The Joyce Foundation is proud this year to grant five Joyce Awards to very talented artists and the vibrant cultural institutions that will present these works," stated Ellen S. Alberding, president of the Joyce Foundation. "Their artistry illustrates the diversity and creativity that lies within our area and is part of what makes the Great Lakes region so special"
Since its inception in 2003, the Joyce Awards has supported cultural institutions in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Award winners have not only presented their works to the institutions’ traditional audiences; they have also worked with community groups, school children, and public art projects. The goal is for these commissions to produce vivid, new works of art that strengthen cultural venues and draw people of diverse backgrounds to experience the rewards of participating in the arts as well as elevate the visibility of creative works by minority artists.
Applications are reviewed by independent arts advisors from outside the Midwest and reviewed and approved by the Foundation’s bard of directors. Joyce Awards of $50,000 are made directly to arts organizations and are awarded in dance, music, theater, and visual arts. Each award supports the work of the individual artist as well as significant community engagement efforts. Organizations have up to three years to complete their proposed projects.
DANCE
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Uri Sands
Established in 1985, the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is recognized as one of the nation’s leading nonprofit performing arts centers. It produces and presents a wide variety of performances throughout the year showcasing American musical theater, world music, dance, family events, and educational programs, and is home to three important resident companies, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, and the Schubert Club.
Uri Sands’ choreography has received national recognition for his fusion of classical with contemporary. A native of Miami, Sands performed as a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey for five years and with the North Carolina Dance Theatre. His recent choreographic commissions include VocalEssence, Penumbra Theatre, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Sands has several film and television credits and has taught dance extensively throughout the United States and Europe. He was awarded a 2004 McKnight Artist Fellowship, a recipient of the inaugural Princess Grace Award in choreography in 2005, and was selected as one of “25 to Watch” in 2005 by Dance Magazine. In 2004, Sands and his wife Toni (also a former Ailey dancer) founded the St. Paul-based dance company, TU Dance.
The Joyce Award will support Sands during the creation of a new dance work inspired by the paintings of African American artist Ernie Barnes. Sands plans to bring the movement of Barnes’ work—much of his imagery reflects urban life and dance—from the canvas to the stage through his choreography and R&B music of the 1960s. The premiere performance of this work—performed by TU Dance—would be during Ordway’s 2010–11 season.
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For more information on applying for a 2011 Joyce Awards or to learn more about the Joyce Foundation, please visit www.joycefdn.org or call 312.782.2464.
Based in Chicago, the Joyce Foundation supports efforts to strengthen public policies in ways that improve the quality of life in the Great Lake region. Cultural funding supports projects that bring diverse audiences together to share common cultural experiences and encourage moe people to see the arts as integral parts of their lives. The Foundation also makes grants in the areas of Education, Employment, Environment, Gun Violence Prevention, and Money and Politics.
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View the full press release >>
Posted in Press Releases, Announcements
A New Year of Joy for the Ordway
Fri, Jan 15, 2010 10:24 AM by Kate Scarrella
I can’t believe it, it seems like yesterday we were welcoming 2009 and wondering what the year would bring. Now it is 2010 and we are feeling the same bit of excitement and anticipation. There are a lot of great things going on at the Ordway this year; a busy February with the Target World Music and Dance Series, the highly anticipated August: Osage County will be here in March, the 2010-2011 Season Announcements in February and the classic South Pacific will sail into town in May. But one of the biggest things is the 25th Anniversary Celebration.
The first show to take place on the Ordway stage was A Chorus Line; can you believe the Ordway has been around for 25 years? In honor of this I thought it fitting to share some facts about the Ordway that you may not have known about.
- The wood in the lobbies is made out of Honduran mahogany, which is now endangered.
- The show Les Miserable’s is the production that has graced the Ordway stage the most. It has come to the Ordway for a total of 11 engagements.
- In the hallway behind the main hall lobby the Ordway has a “Wall of Fame” that has signed photos with notable performers including Bob Hope, Sandy Duncan, Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, Aaron Neville, Emmy Lou Harris & Leotyne Price (she also happened to be the first performer on stage at the Ordway).
- For Ordway’s grand opening party in 1985, plants were shipped in from South America to decorate the lobby, but didn’t arrive until opening day. The plants were rushed into place before guests arrived. The staff discovered Gecko lizards living in the plants and spent the rest of the night trying to catch them before the party guests noticed the unexpected visitors!
- It’s not uncommon for marriage proposals to occur either prior to a show or during intermission. Ushers might bring in flowers or present the ring on a pillow or help in other ways. I know we had at least one marriage proposal during the holiday production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and before the proposal the cast was even involved in making the day extra special.
- To help keep the lines moving at intermission, there are 131 toilets in Ordway Center.
Please join us to help celebrate our 25th anniversary on Sunday January 17th. The Ordway doors will be open to everyone to come and enjoy performances from the Ordway, Minnesota Opera, The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and The Schubert Club, take backstage tours and participate in a once and a lifetime opportunity to stand on the Ordway stage and have your 25 seconds of fame. I don’t know about you but I am looking forward to watching this! We would love to hear about your favorite Ordway memories either on our blog or stop by and record your message in the Ordway Memory Booth. It is located in the lobby and is available to use any time the box office is open as well as if you are here for a show or on the day of the 25th Anniversary Open House. The response has been wonderful and it sounds like we have some great videos from people (and some funny ones too). We truly hope you all can make it and look forward to celebrating this milestone with everyone all year.
For more information on the 25th Anniversary Open House please visit ordway.org/25years >>
Posted in 25 years
Beauty and the Beast on Twin Cities Live
Fri, Dec 18, 2009 11:03 AM by Ryan Jones
For the past seven weeks, KSTP-TV’s Twin Cities Live has followed the creative process of putting together Ordway’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast with weekly broadcast segments. Watch the videos below to see the show evolve from designing the sets to the final production.
Disney's Beauty and the Beast runs now through Jan 3. Tickets >>
Posted in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Behind the Scenes, Musicals
Tue, Dec 15, 2009 2:40 PM by Elke Brumm
Do you have a pet at home? Is it a little Beauty or a little Beast? Thinking about my parents' tom cat, he is a bit of both. When he is hungry, he follows you everywhere meowing and when he is happy he is the nicest lap cat. From my volunteer work at a local food shelf, doing the monthly donation report, I know that the demand for human food has been constantly on the rise since the recession started. Also the demand for food and supplies for cherished pets is growing. People who lost their jobs, have had to give up their pets, because they can't afford their food or vet bills any more. Recently a lady, who we knew had a dog at home, started crying when picking up her monthly grocery bag from the food shelf because we offered her a big bag of dog food that was donated the day before.
During all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, like getting presents for loved ones, decorating and baking cookies, organizing the trip home to family members or preparing one's own home for the holidays, let's remind ourselves of the families in need. This December the Ordway has teamed up with Second Harvest Heartland and The Pet Project for a food drive. So when you come to the Ordway to enjoy Disney's Beauty and the Beast or Sister's Christmas Catechism, participate in our food drive and bring some non-perishable food items and/or pet food.
Second Harvest Heartland operates the fourth largest Feeding America food bank in the US and delivers food donations to soup kitchens, shelters and food shelves, just like the one I volunteer for in Northern Washington County. The Pet Project helps the same people in need to keep their beloved pets and provides them with pet food and supply donations.
For more information on these charities and ideas for donation items, please visit their websites: www.2harvest.org and www.thepetprojectmn.org.
Please help make the food drive a success by suggesting to anyone who might be going that they bring some non-perishable food items or pet food! Thank you!
Posted in Sister's Christmas Catechism, Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Did you know about Ordway Playmakers?
Fri, Dec 4, 2009 2:05 PM by Kate Scarrella
It is that time of the year again; the busy holiday season is upon us. I know personally I have a hard time coming up with new gift ideas for the people on my list. The Ordway has a great idea for a gift for someone you care about, Playmakers!
What is Playmakers you may ask yourself? Well, it is a great way to be a part of the creative team. Playmakers is a cool and inexpensive opportunity to sponsor actual props and costumes from a show and to be listed online as an official part of the creative team. Right now, both Sister’s Christmas Catechism and/or Beauty and the Beast props and costumes are available for sponsorship. When I say inexpensive I really mean it. Some examples of the items available are the Tankards that Gaston and the guys drink out of for $10 or the torches the townspeople carry when storming Beast’s castle for $15. Seriously, when would you ever get the opportunity to sponsor a photo of the Pope for only $25? And if you are feeling very generous and want to sponsor the Beast himself for $500, not only will you get to have your name listed on the website as his sponsor but you will get the opportunity to walk onstage and have your photo taken in front of the set holding a special rose handed to you by an Ordway stagehand! What an amazing holiday gift to give someone you love! You can sponsor an actual cast members like Belle, Lumiere & Cogsworth as well as the Beast. Whether it’s the Beast’s rose ($200) or Sister’s “Ruler Chair” ($50), you can sponsor an item in honor of a special someone or even sponsor something for you!!
Playmakers has had great success in the past and many people have sponsored items that meant something to them. On the website you can see past sponsorships from previous productions, some of the examples you will see are parents sponsoring items for their kids, fans of specific actors sponsoring items they associate with the characters they play and my favorite one, a just-married couple sponsored the wedding cake for Singin’ in the Rain. Do you have a daughter who spends every waking moment watching Beauty and the Beast? What a unique opportunity to make her holiday joyful!!
I know for me every time I watch the movie Beauty and the Beast I wish I had a pretty yellow dress like Belle’s to wear. Obviously I don’t have any “fancy dinner parties with a prince” to wear it to so I could settle for the next best thing…sponsoring it! To see all the items available for sponsorship go to ordway.org/playmakers >>
Posted in Playmakers, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Sister's Christmas Catechism
This blog is a group effort by Ordway staff, actors, artists, musicians, dancers and all those involved in the creative process of performances, programs and events at the Ordway to provide a behind the scenes look at what happens onstage, backstage and in support of the work presented at the Ordway. We also hope to discuss pertinent topics in our industry.
The purpose of this blog is to engage with you in the blogosphere. We wish to let you know that our posts do not go through any official editorial process for spelling, grammar or fact checking, therefore errors may occur – please be kind! Every blog post is open for public comment, questions or suggestions and the Ordway chooses not to pre-screen these responses. That being said, we do reserve the right to remove any offensive, illegal, or inappropriate content at the Ordway’s sole discretion.
As part of our new branding initiative surrounding the joy provided by performing arts, by posting a comment, question or suggestion you provide the Ordway with the right to use your submission for marketing and promotional purposes. (I know, I know, I promise to not make future posts as boring as this one!)
Phew! I’m done talking “legal jargon.” Thanks for stopping by and reading our blog!
@theOrdway on Twitter
Check out the great Q&A with August: Osage County star Estelle Parsons at
http://www.ordway.org/blog/.
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Come see why we have to say Mature Themes. A play gritty and raw with reality. August: Osage County at the Ordway. One week only!!
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We're excited too! Get your tix now- 1 week run. RT @ArtsOrbit Six days out: "August: Osage County" @TheOrdway
http://tcdailyplanet.net/arts
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“My wife takes pills and I drink. That's the bargain we've struck”. August: Osage County at the Ordway!