Love From a Stranger would not have been possible without the generous contributions of the following:
Daniel Baham Misty Baptiste
Bob Athey’s extended family! Michelle Burdeaux
City of Plano Cox Building Staff
Alison Davies Matthew J. Edwards
Jason Fehrm Frisco Community Theatre
Pat Henderson Liberty Christian School
Steven R. Lindsay The Nor’kirk Presbyterian
Russell Read Jason Rice
Vista Ridge Church of Christ Jim Wear
Shoppers at Albertson’s, Kroger, and Tom Thumb
who have chosen Rover Dramawerks as their Shopping Partner.
The many cast and crew of Rover Dramawerks who have
donated their stipends back to the company.
Our season ticket holders and donors.
YOU, for being in our audience! We hope to see more of you this season!
And a VERY special thanks to our season sponsors:
Special Thanks
presents
Rover Dramawerks
Assistant Director / Stage Manager Sarah Henderson
Set Designer Bob Athey
Lighting Designer Michelle Burdeaux
Costume Designer Amy Perkins
Sound Designer Nancy Lamb
Properties Designer Terrie Justus
produced by Donald McLaughlin and Ken Freehill
February 16 through March 11 Cox Theatre in Plano
directed by Jeff Fenter
Agatha Christie’s Love From a Stranger
adapted by Frank Vosper
Louise Garrard (Auntie Loo-Loo)...……………....……….....Alison Davies Mavis Wilson………………………………….………......Dawn Elisa Bauer Cecily Harrington.........................................................Alicia Dawn Bullen Bruce Lovell………………………………………............Michael Lemming Nigel Laurence……………………...…………............Jon-Paul McGowan Hodgson…………………………………………….…..............Frank Shirar Ethel…………………………………………………........Sally Ann Shepard Dr. Gribble………………………………………………...............Carl Wells
The Cast (in order of appearance)
The Scenes Act I
Scene 1 - Cecily and Mavis’ flat in Bayswater. Early March. Scene 2 - The same. Two hours later.
15-minute intermission
Act II
Scene 1 - The cottage. Six weeks later. Scene 2 - The same. September
10-minute intermission
Act III
Scene 1 - The same. A fortnight later. Scene 2 - The same. Forty minutes later.
Rover’s Mission Searching for treasures, new and rediscovered,
for theatre "off the beaten path."
Rover Dramawerks produces lost or forgotten works of well-known authors,
revives excellent scripts that have suffered from lack of exposure,
and discovers unknown gems of the stage.
Agatha Christie’s Love From a Stranger
adapted by Frank Vosper
February 16 - March 11, 2006
A young woman who has recently won the lottery enters into a whirlwind romance and marriage with a handsome stranger. But all is not as it appears, and eventually she realizes that her new husband is trying to murder her. Will she be able to stop him in time?
Adapted from Agatha Christie's short story "Philomel Cottage." Our first production in our new home at the Cox Theatre in Plano.
Act now and you can apply tonight’s ticket prices to your season tickets!
And Don’t Miss Our Season Extras at the Courtyard Theatre of Plano! One Day Only 7! and One Day Only 8!
April 22, 2006 August 26, 2006
Rover returns with TWO of our famous 24-hour play festivals! Seven short plays concept to curtain in just ONE DAY!
Tickets for this highly anticipated event are $10 but can be added to your season subscription at a huge discount!
Woman In Mind by Alan Ayckbourn
September 21 - October 14, 2006
After getting knocked out by stepping on the end of a garden rake, Susan, a housewife married to a boring cleric experiences hilarious hallucinations in which her everyday life is replaced by a fantasy where she is an ideal wife and mother with a perfect family. While her real family treats her with condescension and apathy, her fantasy family dresses in lovely white, always drinks cham-pagne and plays tennis, lives in a stately home, and tells her that she is wonderful. Eventually, the
fantasy family becomes nightmarish and Susan begins to realize that she is going mad. Our audience choice production!
The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel
June 8 - July 1, 2006
When Anna is diagnosed with Acquired Toilet Disease, a fatal new malady striking elementary school teachers, she and her brother Carl take flight to Europe. Anna is in denial and escapes into the arms of a new man every night, while Carl becomes involved in a wild Third Man-esque scheme to find a cure for his sister. But something is not quite right with the scenario, and the largest hint is dropped
when Anna shows slides of their trip that look exactly like Baltimore. Winner of the Obie Award!
PLUS Two Bonus Children’s Shows!
The Near-Sighted Knight and the Far-Sighted Dragon by Eleanor and Ray Harden
March 31 - April 9
Sideways Stories From the Wayside School a play by John Olive adapted from Louis Sachar’s Wayside School novels
July 21-30
Please join Rover in 2006 for our first season at the Cox Theatre, 1527 H Avenue in Plano
(next to the Courtyard Theatre). Name: Address: City/State/Zip: Phone: E-mail: # of seats Total Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. 2nd Saturday at 2:00 p.m. ________@ $38 $_________
Add One Day Only 7 and 8 ________@ $12 $_________ (optional) Add the two children’s shows ________@ $16 $_________ please note that times vary (optional) TOTAL $_________ You can also help Rover Dramawerks with your tax deductible donation in the amount of: $_________ Your name or business for program acknowledgement:
____________________________________________________ GRAND TOTAL ENCLOSED $_________
Regular ticket prices are $13-16, so order now! Please include a check made out to Rover Dramawerks with this form, and mail to: Rover Dramawerks Attn: Season Tickets 4206 Eastwood Drive Carrollton, TX 75010
(All plays and dates subject to change depending upon availability.)
2006 Season
The Production Staff Director..........................................................................Jeff Fenter Assistant Director/Stage Manager......................Sarah Henderson Producers....................................................................Ken Freehill Donald McLaughlin Scenic Design................................................................Bob Athey Set Construction............................................................Bob Athey Alicia Dawn Bullen Alison Davies Casey Henderson Sarah Henderson Michael Lemming Jon-Paul McGowan Doug Meyer Carol Rice Jason Rice Sally Ann Shepard Frank Shirar Susan Wagner Carl Wells Costume Design.........................................................Amy Perkins Lighting Design.................................................Michelle Burdeaux Lighting Assistant......................................................Jason Fehrm Sound Design.............................................................Nancy Lamb Properties Design......................................................Terrie Justus Light and Sound Board Operation............................Vikki Hoffman Backstage Crew..........................................................Doug Meyer Kathleen Roell Publicity...........................................................Donald McLaughlin Programs………………………..…………...............…....Carol Rice Box Office Coordinator.............................................Misty Baptiste
Love from a Stranger premiered on March 31, 1936 at the
New Theatre, St. Martin’s Lane in London. The play made its U.S. debut on September 21, 1936 at the
St. James Theatre in New York. Frank Vosper, who adapted the play,
played Bruce Lovell in both opening night casts.
Please turn off all pagers, cellular phones, wristwatch alarms, and other noise-making devices. Thank you!
Love From a Stranger is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
Dawn Elisa Bauer’s most recent theatre involvement was as director of drama ministry at McKinney Fellowship Bible Church. She appeared a number of times over the years with Plano Repertory Theatre. In her younger days Dawn toured throughout Europe performing with a traveling repertory company. She is very excited to be back on stage with Rover Dramawerks. Alicia Dawn Bullen was most recently seen on the Dallas stage as an ensemble member of Studio 316’s Scrooge’s Groovy Christmas Carol and as Mrs. Brady in A Very Brady Christmas. She has been involved in many musicals and plays in the area and just finished touring with the first National tour of the 3 Redneck Tenors. Favorite roles include Emma in Jekyll and Hyde, Essie in You Can’t Take It With You, and Anna in The King and I. Alicia is a junior at SMU pursuing her B.A. in International Relations and Foreign Language, and she is thrilled to have this opportunity to work with Rover for the first time. Thanks to Jeff, Sarah, Ken, and the cast and crew, and much love to the family, friends, and Stargirl. Over the years Alison Davies has worked in theatres across the metroplex. She was seen in a production by Second Thought Theatre, The Wonder of the World. Alison is thrilled to be working with Rover again. She last performed with them in Lady Windermere’s Fan for which she won a Column Award for Best Supporting Actress. Jeff Fenter has been directing and acting around the D/FW area for close to 20 years now. He most recently was a principal in a Direct TV commercial that was shot at the Texas Motor Speedway and he just finished wrapping on a film called The Waterson Project: An Oscar Story. In May of 2003 Jeff started his own theatre company called AmeriStage Players. He would like to thank the love of his life (Elizabeth) for putting up with his "artistic" mood swings and Sarah for keeping him on track. Michael Lemming recently played Captain Von Trapp in Repertory Company Theatre’s production of the Sound of Music. In the last year, Michael also played Macduff in Frisco Community Theatre’s production of Macbeth and six different characters in Quad C Theatre’s production of Alien Voices. He is thrilled and thankful to be working with Rover and with such a talented and personable cast and crew. Jon-Paul McGowan most recently served as the assistant director for The Pocket Sandwich Theatre’s production of Blood of the Werewolf. In addition to his work at PST, Jon-Paul has also performed with Comedy Sportz DFW. He is thankful to Jeff and rest of the cast for giving him this opportunity.
Who’s Who
H eart
by Beth Henley
of the
7774 Maple Street in Frisco.
Tickets are $10 and $12 and may be ordered online at
www.friscocommunitytheatre.com.
For more information, please call 972-377-3868.
running February
10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 24 and 25
at 8:00 p.m. and
February 26
at 2:00 p.m.
The May/June session is for adults (age 18 and up) and runs for 6 weeks. Adult Acting - Tuesdays 7:00-10:00 p.m. May 16 - June 13 with June 20 Showcase From Audition to Performance, discover the interpretation that works. Cold reading preparation, script attack, monologue polishing, scene breakdown and review, improvisation, vocal and movement exercises, memorization techniques, and more! Also at the Cox Building in Plano. Space is limited! Introductory tuition is $95 for the six-week session and there are no registration or membership fees. Please visit www.roverdramawerks.com for registration information. Additional children’s and adult classes and summer camps for all ages are also in the works, so be sure you sign up for our mailing list to find out when we have the right class coming up for your and/or your child! (Suggestions are also welcome!)
Rover Dramawerks is pleased to announce our spring classes for children and adults! The April/May session is for children ages 8-17 and runs for 8 weeks. Ages 8-12 Act 1 - Tuesdays 4:30-5:30 p.m. March 7-April 18 and Saturday, April 29 Showcase Students have the opportunity to refine their acting skills by exploring projection, characters and working with a script. Improv 1 - Saturdays 10:00-11:00 a.m. March 11- April 22 and Saturday, April 29 Showcase Explore various improvisation techniques and create spontaneous characters and situations. Ages 13-17 Act 2 - Tuesdays 5:45-6:45 p.m. March 7-April 18 and Saturday, April 29 Showcase Students will study scenes from classic or contemporary scripts. In addition to character exploration, students will learn how to analyze a scene to uncover its possibilities. This course places an emphasis on character development while exploring instincts, objectives and impulse. Students learn to take risks, make bold choices and think on their feet. Improv 2 - Saturdays 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. March 11 - April 22 and Saturday, April 29 Showcase Teamwork and imagination combine to form original scenes. Since Improvisation is spontaneous acting, there is no limit to the scenes and characters that can be created on the spot. Through this class, students will learn techniques to sharpen impulse, imagination and teamwork. Classes will be taught at the Cox Building (1517 H Avenue in Plano next to the Courtyard Theatre). There will be a final showcase performance (open to the public) on April 29 in the Cox Theatre. Classes are limited to 20 students. All of our classes have an instructor and an assistant. Children will participate in group activities and have individual one on one time with instructors. Our goal is to provide a creative learning environment for each child that promotes self esteem. Tuition is $95 for the eight-week session and there are no registration or membership fees. Please visit www.roverdramawerks.com for registration information.
DramaClassWerks! This is Sarah Henderson’s first experience with Rover. She has enjoyed getting to know the wonderfully talented people involved in this production and hopes to again work with them. Sarah would like to thank Jeff Fenter for being one of the best directors she has ever worked with (I guess it is easy when you are so talented), Jason and Carol Rice for the never-ending support and encouragement, her husband Pat for understanding and supporting this crazy passion, her son Casey for consistently reminding her that it is never too late to start over, and her daughter Hope for reminding her that dreams really can come true. Sally Ann Shepard was most recently seen as Sister Mary Amnesia in Nunsense. She has also worked on a multitude of shows including Raised in Captivity, Follies, Seagull, Little Women, Carousel, and others, doing both acting and technical work. As a recent graduate from Stephen F Austin State University, she is eager to work with Rover and other theatres in the future. Frank Shirar is retired from a 27-year career with the U.S. Air Force and 16 years as a Defense Department civilian employee. His travels allowed him to perform with American theater companies in Europe; play guitar and sing in a west Texas coffee house; become a radio deejay; a TV weatherman; and do commercial voice-over work. Frank completed three seasons with Desert Players Theatre of Tucson and was a member of its board of directors. His recent performances include the role of Big Daddy in the Tucson Theater Ensemble production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Brabantio in the Tucson Community Theater production of William Shakespeare’s Othello. Carl Wells is thrilled to have this opportunity to work with Rover on this period piece by Agatha Christie, who is a long-time favorite writer. Carl, a “geriatrically-enhanced actor”, most recently appeared as Al Lewis in Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys at Onstage Theatre in Bedford—perhaps his favorite role. Others have been as Frank Gianelli in Over the River and Through the Woods at Theatre Arlington, and John in Forgotten Carols at Artisan Center Theatre. Carl expresses deep appreciation to his wife Nova for indulging his theatrical whims, and thanks director Jeff Fenter for the chance to become one with another cast and crew.
Rover Dramawerks’ Board of Directors:
Carol M. Rice, President Terrie Justus, VP of Business Management
Misty Baptiste, VP of Production Donald McLaughlin, Secretary Sherri Small Truitt, Treasurer
Bob Athey Shalitras Flowers Ken Freehill Penny Rathbun Jason Rice Susan Wagner
About the Playwright Frank Vosper was born in London in 1899. The son of a doctor, he came from a family that, in the preceding 200 years at least, had not a single member of the acting profession in its ranks. He was bitten by the acting bug as a boy, however, to the degree that his devotion of time and energy to amateur theatricals destroyed his academic record. At 17, in lieu of college, he joined the F.R. Benson and then the Ben Greet Players, and played small roles with each company. He served in uniform during the latter part of World War I and was lucky enough to make it into an entertainment unit, which only reinforced his devotion to the theater. On returning to civilian life, Vosper made his West End debut as a footman in The Young Visitors. He spent two years in a company that toured the Far Eastern part of the British Empire and surrounding locales, including India and China. Vosper essayed over 130 roles in his repertory, but found himself increasingly trapped in character parts, specifically as old men. He had to break out of that trap before his serious acting career began, and at that point he also started writing plays. His first, The Combined Maze (1927), was well received by critics as an outstanding piece of modern theater, and over the next few years he authored several more critical successes in everything from thrillers to comedies. At the same time, Vosper continued acting on stage, playing such roles as Orlando to Edith Evans' Rosalind in As You Like It, and started appearing in movies as well, his first being The Woman Juror (1926). Vosper soon gained the favor of Alfred Hitchcock, playing the assassin in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and that same year had a starring role in the best of Michael Powell's early low-budget thrillers, Red Ensign (1934). By 1936, Vosper seemed primed for a major career for years to come, when tragedy struck. In late 1936, Vosper went to New York to assist in mounting the American production of Love From a Stranger. On his way back to England on the liner Paris, on the last night before arrival, Vosper attended a party in the quarters of British beauty queen Muriel Oxford. Sometime late that night, he said that he was tired and wished to leave the party as unobtrusively as possible. He was last seen standing at a window on the veranda outside Oxford's room, and then was missing. His body was found off Plymouth days later. An inquiry led to a ruling of death-by-misadventure, though no one can explain why Vosper, who did not drink to excess, was not depressed so far as anyone knew, and wasn't given to irresponsible behavior, would have climbed out the window of the veranda to get to his room. The death and the mystery surrounding it consumed the British press for weeks before a judgment of accidental death was delivered. As a coda to his foreshortened career, three film adaptations of Vosper's plays -- including two different movies based on Love From a Stranger -- have been produced for the screen.
We hope you enjoy the show. As members of the league, we encourage you to visit our colleagues to discover all the joys
of Dallas theatre!
Look what’s playing through February 2006
Romeo & Juliet & Isobella… Comedy Killers January 20 – February 25 www.shane-arts.com
The Rover Dallas Hub Theater
January 26 – March 4 www.dallashubtheater.org
Junie B Jones & A Little Monkey Business Dallas Children’s Theatre January 27 – February 26 www.dct.org
Dangerous Liaisons Richardson Theatre Center
February 3 – March 4 www.richardsontheatrecentre.com
Ananse: The Spider Man Dallas Children’s Theatre February 3 – February 19 www.dct.org
Adventures In Love Flower Mound Performing Arts Theatre
February 9 – March 5 www.fmpat.org
Crimes of the Heart Repertory Company Theatre February 9 – February 19 www.rctheatre.com
Crimes of the Heart Frisco Community Theater
February 10 – February 26 www.friscocommunitytheatre.com
AIDA Uptown Players February 10 – March 5 www.uptownplayers.org
Deathtrap Labyrinth Theatre
February 10 – February 25 www.labyrinththeatre.org
Love From A Stranger Rover Dramawerks February 16 – March 11 www.roverdramawerks.com
Troilus & Cressida (Staged Reading) Shakespeare Dallas
February 17 – February 18 www.shakespearedallas.org
Curse of the Pink Planter Comedy Killers February 24 – March 11 www.shane-arts.com
Love, Sex and the IRS Pocket Sandwich Theatre
February 24 – March 25 www.pocketsandwich.com
Please visit the Dallas Theatre League website for more information: www.dallastheatreleague.com
Your ad should be here!
Support Rover Dramawerks by buying an ad in our program!
Prices start at just $50 for a quarter page, and discounts are available if
you purchase ads for multiple shows.
Please call 972-849-0358
or send e-mail to [email protected]
for more information.
Donations are also gratefully accepted, and show sponsorships are available. Rover Dramawerks is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation,
so your donations are tax deductible!
All of the musical selections used in this production were by composers popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The “Jewel Song” from Gounod’s enormously popular grand opera Faust, opens the show. This opera was the first of Gounod’s works to bring him fame throughout the general population. It premiered in 1859 and stayed in the regular repertory of companies all over Europe and England for the next fifty years. Mavis even mentions it in Act I. Classical composer and pianist John Field was born in Dublin in 1782 and died in his adopted home of Russia in 1837. During his lifetime his music was under the very long shadow of Chopin, except in the British Isles, where he was better known and more frequently performed. In Act I and Act III, we are using excerpts from several of his short solos for piano, which included fantasies, variations, rondos, and nocturnes. Illinois-born Zez Confrey hit his stride early in his long career, writing rags, novelty numbers and classically influenced popular music used in silent films, early talkies and on piano rolls, as well as in live theatre and dance halls everywhere. Some of his pieces from 1911-the early 20’s are used in Act II and Act III. You can hear the influences of Grieg, Ravel and Chopin along with those of Gershwin and Joplin. Arthur Sullivan is best remembered as the collaborator with W. S. Gilbert, the famed lyricist. Their operettas were immediate hits in the final decades of the 19th century and are still performed today. Sullivan also wrote a great deal of incidental music for orchestral performance during plays, choral music and solo songs. Part of one of his pieces for Shakespeare’s Henry VIII graces the scene change during Act II.
About the Music
The Near-Sighted Knight and the Far-Sighted Dragon by Eleanor and Ray Harden
March 31 - April 9 Fridays at 7:30 p.m.
Saturdays at 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
(additional Sunday performance at 5:00 p.m. on April 2)
and
One Day Only 7! Seven short plays concept to curtain in just ONE DAY!
April 22 at 8:00 p.m.
Up Next For Rover
Rover Dramawerks Donors Business and Foundation Donors
Individual Donors
Rover would also like to thank all of the cast and crew from previous shows who donated their stipends
back to the company.
Anonymous Misty Baptiste
Rebecca Bremer Booth Ron Chapman Andie Comini
Amy Lynn Guerra Margo Lynn Hablutzel
M. Shane Hurst Jennifer Hutchinson
Jerry and Gladys Justus
Terrie Justus David A. Miller
Victoria Osborne Bill and Angi Parr
Jason and Carol Rice Michael Roe
Nancy Roberts Jamie Thompkins
Susan Wagner
Contact Us We would love for you to get involved with us at Rover Dramawerks! Onstage, backstage, on our board - however you want to be involved, we can use your talents. Or if you just want to watch the show, that's great! We need you and hope to see you in our audience again soon. Be sure to order your 2005-2006 season tickets so you don’t miss anything! Please e-mail us at [email protected] or call 972-849-0358 to be added to our mailing list or to buy an ad or to volunteer your services or to sponsor a show or to audition or for information about individual and season tickets or to sign up for classes…. And visit our website at www.roverdramawerks.com!
Albertson’s Anonymous
California Pizza Kitchen Chick-Fil-A CiCi’s Pizza City of Plano
Einstein Bros. Bagels
Kroger Mervyn’s Pizza Hut Starbucks
Target Tom Thumb
Wal-Mart
Shop and Support Rover! Rover Dramawerks has been added to Albertsons' Community Partners program, Tom Thumb's Good Neighbor program, and the Kroger Share Card! If you shop at Albertson's, you can record us on your Preferred Savings Card by going to: http://www.albertsons.com/abs_inthecommunity/. Click the "Community Partners" link at the bottom right hand side of the screen. Enter your Preferred Savings Card number (on the back of your card), and then you can enter Rover Dramawerks as one of your community partners! Our 11-digit Community Partner ID # is 49001002586. Finish up confirming, and you're done! Now every time you shop at Albertson's and use your Preferred Savings Card, Rover Dramawerks will get a small donation, just from your taking the time to set that up! It's that easy! Another way to help while shopping is through the Good Neighbor Program via your Reward Card at Tom Thumb or Simon David. Just fill out an application at the store's Courtesy Booth including our account number 10965. Then every time you make a purchase at any affiliated store, a small donation is made to Rover's account. If you shop at Kroger, just pick up a Kroger Share Card as you leave the theatre tonight and have the cashier scan it when you shop! Little bits add up fast and Rover will be very grateful for your help! (A side note, you can even save money while helping Rover by using your Preferred Card or Reward Card at the gas pump! Save three cents per gallon most places!)
Barbara & Doug Luke, Cole Smith, Brad Hartliep, & Jolyn Janis
$12 for adults; $10 for students, seniors 55+ and STAGE members with ID; $8 for children 2-6. Sunday & Thursday prices are $10 for adults, seniors, and students; $8 for children ages 2-6.
Mesquite Community Theatre presents
On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson
February 24 - March 11, 2006 Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.
Thursday March 9 at 8:00 p.m. Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
Mesquite Arts Center Black Box
Theatre, 1527 N. Galloway in Mesquite
Reservations or more information: 972-216-8126, www.mctweb.org
Rover Dramawerks Donors Business and Foundation Donors
Individual Donors
Rover would also like to thank all of the cast and crew from previous shows who donated their stipends
back to the company.
Anonymous Misty Baptiste
Rebecca Bremer Booth Ron Chapman Andie Comini
Amy Lynn Guerra Margo Lynn Hablutzel
M. Shane Hurst Jennifer Hutchinson
Jerry and Gladys Justus
Terrie Justus David A. Miller
Victoria Osborne Bill and Angi Parr
Jason and Carol Rice Michael Roe
Nancy Roberts Jamie Thompkins
Susan Wagner
Contact Us We would love for you to get involved with us at Rover Dramawerks! Onstage, backstage, on our board - however you want to be involved, we can use your talents. Or if you just want to watch the show, that's great! We need you and hope to see you in our audience again soon. Be sure to order your 2005-2006 season tickets so you don’t miss anything! Please e-mail us at [email protected] or call 972-849-0358 to be added to our mailing list or to buy an ad or to volunteer your services or to sponsor a show or to audition or for information about individual and season tickets or to sign up for classes…. And visit our website at www.roverdramawerks.com!
Albertson’s Anonymous
California Pizza Kitchen Chick-Fil-A CiCi’s Pizza City of Plano
Einstein Bros. Bagels
Kroger Mervyn’s Pizza Hut Starbucks
Target Tom Thumb
Wal-Mart
Shop and Support Rover! Rover Dramawerks has been added to Albertsons' Community Partners program, Tom Thumb's Good Neighbor program, and the Kroger Share Card! If you shop at Albertson's, you can record us on your Preferred Savings Card by going to: http://www.albertsons.com/abs_inthecommunity/. Click the "Community Partners" link at the bottom right hand side of the screen. Enter your Preferred Savings Card number (on the back of your card), and then you can enter Rover Dramawerks as one of your community partners! Our 11-digit Community Partner ID # is 49001002586. Finish up confirming, and you're done! Now every time you shop at Albertson's and use your Preferred Savings Card, Rover Dramawerks will get a small donation, just from your taking the time to set that up! It's that easy! Another way to help while shopping is through the Good Neighbor Program via your Reward Card at Tom Thumb or Simon David. Just fill out an application at the store's Courtesy Booth including our account number 10965. Then every time you make a purchase at any affiliated store, a small donation is made to Rover's account. If you shop at Kroger, just pick up a Kroger Share Card as you leave the theatre tonight and have the cashier scan it when you shop! Little bits add up fast and Rover will be very grateful for your help! (A side note, you can even save money while helping Rover by using your Preferred Card or Reward Card at the gas pump! Save three cents per gallon most places!)
Barbara & Doug Luke, Cole Smith, Brad Hartliep, & Jolyn Janis
$12 for adults; $10 for students, seniors 55+ and STAGE members with ID; $8 for children 2-6. Sunday & Thursday prices are $10 for adults, seniors, and students; $8 for children ages 2-6.
Mesquite Community Theatre presents
On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson
February 24 - March 11, 2006 Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.
Thursday March 9 at 8:00 p.m. Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
Mesquite Arts Center Black Box
Theatre, 1527 N. Galloway in Mesquite
Reservations or more information: 972-216-8126, www.mctweb.org
Your ad should be here!
Support Rover Dramawerks by buying an ad in our program!
Prices start at just $50 for a quarter page, and discounts are available if
you purchase ads for multiple shows.
Please call 972-849-0358
or send e-mail to [email protected]
for more information.
Donations are also gratefully accepted, and show sponsorships are available. Rover Dramawerks is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation,
so your donations are tax deductible!
All of the musical selections used in this production were by composers popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The “Jewel Song” from Gounod’s enormously popular grand opera Faust, opens the show. This opera was the first of Gounod’s works to bring him fame throughout the general population. It premiered in 1859 and stayed in the regular repertory of companies all over Europe and England for the next fifty years. Mavis even mentions it in Act I. Classical composer and pianist John Field was born in Dublin in 1782 and died in his adopted home of Russia in 1837. During his lifetime his music was under the very long shadow of Chopin, except in the British Isles, where he was better known and more frequently performed. In Act I and Act III, we are using excerpts from several of his short solos for piano, which included fantasies, variations, rondos, and nocturnes. Illinois-born Zez Confrey hit his stride early in his long career, writing rags, novelty numbers and classically influenced popular music used in silent films, early talkies and on piano rolls, as well as in live theatre and dance halls everywhere. Some of his pieces from 1911-the early 20’s are used in Act II and Act III. You can hear the influences of Grieg, Ravel and Chopin along with those of Gershwin and Joplin. Arthur Sullivan is best remembered as the collaborator with W. S. Gilbert, the famed lyricist. Their operettas were immediate hits in the final decades of the 19th century and are still performed today. Sullivan also wrote a great deal of incidental music for orchestral performance during plays, choral music and solo songs. Part of one of his pieces for Shakespeare’s Henry VIII graces the scene change during Act II.
About the Music
The Near-Sighted Knight and the Far-Sighted Dragon by Eleanor and Ray Harden
March 31 - April 9 Fridays at 7:30 p.m.
Saturdays at 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
(additional Sunday performance at 5:00 p.m. on April 2)
and
One Day Only 7! Seven short plays concept to curtain in just ONE DAY!
April 22 at 8:00 p.m.
Up Next For Rover
About the Playwright Frank Vosper was born in London in 1899. The son of a doctor, he came from a family that, in the preceding 200 years at least, had not a single member of the acting profession in its ranks. He was bitten by the acting bug as a boy, however, to the degree that his devotion of time and energy to amateur theatricals destroyed his academic record. At 17, in lieu of college, he joined the F.R. Benson and then the Ben Greet Players, and played small roles with each company. He served in uniform during the latter part of World War I and was lucky enough to make it into an entertainment unit, which only reinforced his devotion to the theater. On returning to civilian life, Vosper made his West End debut as a footman in The Young Visitors. He spent two years in a company that toured the Far Eastern part of the British Empire and surrounding locales, including India and China. Vosper essayed over 130 roles in his repertory, but found himself increasingly trapped in character parts, specifically as old men. He had to break out of that trap before his serious acting career began, and at that point he also started writing plays. His first, The Combined Maze (1927), was well received by critics as an outstanding piece of modern theater, and over the next few years he authored several more critical successes in everything from thrillers to comedies. At the same time, Vosper continued acting on stage, playing such roles as Orlando to Edith Evans' Rosalind in As You Like It, and started appearing in movies as well, his first being The Woman Juror (1926). Vosper soon gained the favor of Alfred Hitchcock, playing the assassin in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and that same year had a starring role in the best of Michael Powell's early low-budget thrillers, Red Ensign (1934). By 1936, Vosper seemed primed for a major career for years to come, when tragedy struck. In late 1936, Vosper went to New York to assist in mounting the American production of Love From a Stranger. On his way back to England on the liner Paris, on the last night before arrival, Vosper attended a party in the quarters of British beauty queen Muriel Oxford. Sometime late that night, he said that he was tired and wished to leave the party as unobtrusively as possible. He was last seen standing at a window on the veranda outside Oxford's room, and then was missing. His body was found off Plymouth days later. An inquiry led to a ruling of death-by-misadventure, though no one can explain why Vosper, who did not drink to excess, was not depressed so far as anyone knew, and wasn't given to irresponsible behavior, would have climbed out the window of the veranda to get to his room. The death and the mystery surrounding it consumed the British press for weeks before a judgment of accidental death was delivered. As a coda to his foreshortened career, three film adaptations of Vosper's plays -- including two different movies based on Love From a Stranger -- have been produced for the screen.
We hope you enjoy the show. As members of the league, we encourage you to visit our colleagues to discover all the joys
of Dallas theatre!
Look what’s playing through February 2006
Romeo & Juliet & Isobella… Comedy Killers January 20 – February 25 www.shane-arts.com
The Rover Dallas Hub Theater
January 26 – March 4 www.dallashubtheater.org
Junie B Jones & A Little Monkey Business Dallas Children’s Theatre January 27 – February 26 www.dct.org
Dangerous Liaisons Richardson Theatre Center
February 3 – March 4 www.richardsontheatrecentre.com
Ananse: The Spider Man Dallas Children’s Theatre February 3 – February 19 www.dct.org
Adventures In Love Flower Mound Performing Arts Theatre
February 9 – March 5 www.fmpat.org
Crimes of the Heart Repertory Company Theatre February 9 – February 19 www.rctheatre.com
Crimes of the Heart Frisco Community Theater
February 10 – February 26 www.friscocommunitytheatre.com
AIDA Uptown Players February 10 – March 5 www.uptownplayers.org
Deathtrap Labyrinth Theatre
February 10 – February 25 www.labyrinththeatre.org
Love From A Stranger Rover Dramawerks February 16 – March 11 www.roverdramawerks.com
Troilus & Cressida (Staged Reading) Shakespeare Dallas
February 17 – February 18 www.shakespearedallas.org
Curse of the Pink Planter Comedy Killers February 24 – March 11 www.shane-arts.com
Love, Sex and the IRS Pocket Sandwich Theatre
February 24 – March 25 www.pocketsandwich.com
Please visit the Dallas Theatre League website for more information: www.dallastheatreleague.com
Rover Dramawerks is pleased to announce our spring classes for children and adults! The March/April session is for children ages 8-17 and runs for 8 weeks. Ages 8-12 Act 1 - Tuesdays 4:30-5:30 p.m. March 7-April 18 and Saturday, April 29 Showcase Students have the opportunity to refine their acting skills by exploring projection, characters and working with a script. Improv 1 - Saturdays 10:00-11:00 a.m. March 11- April 22 and Saturday, April 29 Showcase Explore various improvisation techniques and create spontaneous characters and situations. Ages 13-17 Act 2 - Tuesdays 5:45-6:45 p.m. March 7-April 18 and Saturday, April 29 Showcase Students will study scenes from classic or contemporary scripts. In addition to character exploration, students will learn how to analyze a scene to uncover its possibilities. This course places an emphasis on character development while exploring instincts, objectives and impulse. Students learn to take risks, make bold choices and think on their feet. Improv 2 - Saturdays 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. March 11 - April 22 and Saturday, April 29 Showcase Teamwork and imagination combine to form original scenes. Since Improvisation is spontaneous acting, there is no limit to the scenes and characters that can be created on the spot. Through this class, students will learn techniques to sharpen impulse, imagination and teamwork. Classes will be taught at the Cox Building (1517 H Avenue in Plano next to the Courtyard Theatre). There will be a final showcase performance (open to the public) on April 29 in the Cox Theatre. Classes are limited to 20 students. All of our classes have an instructor and an assistant. Children will participate in group activities and have individual one on one time with instructors. Our goal is to provide a creative learning environment for each child that promotes self esteem. Tuition is $95 for the eight-week session and there are no registration or membership fees. Please visit www.roverdramawerks.com for registration information.
DramaClassWerks! This is Sarah Henderson’s first experience with Rover. She has enjoyed getting to know the wonderfully talented people involved in this production and hopes to again work with them. Sarah would like to thank Jeff Fenter for being one of the best directors she has ever worked with (I guess it is easy when you are so talented), Jason and Carol Rice for the never-ending support and encouragement, her husband Pat for understanding and supporting this crazy passion, her son Casey for consistently reminding her that it is never too late to start over, and her daughter Hope for reminding her that dreams really can come true. Sally Ann Shepard was most recently seen as Sister Mary Amnesia in Nunsense. She has also worked on a multitude of shows including Raised in Captivity, Follies, Seagull, Little Women, Carousel, and others, doing both acting and technical work. As a recent graduate from Stephen F Austin State University, she is eager to work with Rover and other theatres in the future. Frank Shirar is retired from a 27-year career with the U.S. Air Force and 16 years as a Defense Department civilian employee. His travels allowed him to perform with American theater companies in Europe; play guitar and sing in a west Texas coffee house; become a radio deejay; a TV weatherman; and do commercial voice-over work. Frank completed three seasons with Desert Players Theatre of Tucson and was a member of its board of directors. His recent performances include the role of Big Daddy in the Tucson Theater Ensemble production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Brabantio in the Tucson Community Theater production of William Shakespeare’s Othello. Carl Wells is thrilled to have this opportunity to work with Rover on this period piece by Agatha Christie, who is a long-time favorite writer. Carl, a “geriatrically-enhanced actor”, most recently appeared as Al Lewis in Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys at Onstage Theatre in Bedford—perhaps his favorite role. Others have been as Frank Gianelli in Over the River and Through the Woods at Theatre Arlington, and John in Forgotten Carols at Artisan Center Theatre. Carl expresses deep appreciation to his wife Nova for indulging his theatrical whims, and thanks director Jeff Fenter for the chance to become one with another cast and crew.
Rover Dramawerks’ Board of Directors:
Carol M. Rice, President Terrie Justus, VP of Business Management
Misty Baptiste, VP of Production Donald McLaughlin, Secretary Sherri Small Truitt, Treasurer
Bob Athey Shalitras Flowers Ken Freehill Penny Rathbun Jason Rice Susan Wagner
Dawn Elisa Bauer’s most recent theatre involvement was as director of drama ministry at McKinney Fellowship Bible Church. She appeared a number of times over the years with Plano Repertory Theatre. In her younger days Dawn toured throughout Europe performing with a traveling repertory company. She is very excited to be back on stage with Rover Dramawerks. Alicia Dawn Bullen was most recently seen on the Dallas stage as an ensemble member of Studio 316’s Scrooge’s Groovy Christmas Carol and as Mrs. Brady in A Very Brady Christmas. She has been involved in many musicals and plays in the area and just finished touring with the first National tour of the 3 Redneck Tenors. Favorite roles include Emma in Jekyll and Hyde, Essie in You Can’t Take It With You, and Anna in The King and I. Alicia is a junior at SMU pursuing her B.A. in International Relations and Foreign Language, and she is thrilled to have this opportunity to work with Rover for the first time. Thanks to Jeff, Sarah, Ken, and the cast and crew, and much love to the family, friends, and Stargirl. Over the years Alison Davies has worked in theatres across the metroplex. She was seen in a production by Second Thought Theatre, The Wonder of the World. Alison is thrilled to be working with Rover again. She last performed with them in Lady Windermere’s Fan for which she won a Column Award for Best Supporting Actress. Jeff Fenter has been directing and acting around the D/FW area for close to 20 years now. He most recently was a principal in a Direct TV commercial that was shot at the Texas Motor Speedway and he just finished wrapping on a film called The Waterson Project: An Oscar Story. In May of 2003 Jeff started his own theatre company called AmeriStage Players. He would like to thank the love of his life (Elizabeth) for putting up with his "artistic" mood swings and Sarah for keeping him on track. Michael Lemming recently played Captain Von Trapp in Repertory Company Theatre’s production of the Sound of Music. In the last year, Michael also played Macduff in Frisco Community Theatre’s production of Macbeth and six different characters in Quad C Theatre’s production of Alien Voices. He is thrilled and thankful to be working with Rover and with such a talented and personable cast and crew. Jon-Paul McGowan most recently served as the assistant director for The Pocket Sandwich Theatre’s production of Blood of the Werewolf. In addition to his work at PST, Jon-Paul has also performed with Comedy Sportz DFW. He is thankful to Jeff and rest of the cast for giving him this opportunity.
Who’s Who
H eart
by Beth Henley
of the
7774 Maple Street in Frisco.
Tickets are $10 and $12 and may be ordered online at
www.friscocommunitytheatre.com.
For more information, please call 972-377-3868.
running February
10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 24 and 25
at 8:00 p.m. and
February 26
at 2:00 p.m.
The May/June session is for adults (age 18 and up) and runs for 6 weeks. Adult Acting - Tuesdays 7:00-10:00 p.m. May 16 - June 13 with June 20 Showcase From Audition to Performance, discover the interpretation that works. Cold reading preparation, script attack, monologue polishing, scene breakdown and review, improvisation, vocal and movement exercises, memorization techniques, and more! Also at the Cox Building in Plano. Space is limited! Introductory tuition is $95 for the six-week session and there are no registration or membership fees. Please visit www.roverdramawerks.com for registration information. Additional children’s and adult classes and summer camps for all ages are also in the works, so be sure you sign up for our mailing list to find out when we have the right class coming up for your and/or your child! (Suggestions are also welcome!)
Please join Rover in 2006 for our first season at the Cox Theatre, 1527 H Avenue in Plano
(next to the Courtyard Theatre). Name: Address: City/State/Zip: Phone: E-mail: # of seats Total Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. 2nd Saturday at 2:00 p.m. ________@ $38 $_________
Add One Day Only 7 and 8 ________@ $12 $_________ (optional) Add the two children’s shows ________@ $16 $_________ please note that times vary (optional) TOTAL $_________ You can also help Rover Dramawerks with your tax deductible donation in the amount of: $_________ Your name or business for program acknowledgement:
____________________________________________________ GRAND TOTAL ENCLOSED $_________
Regular ticket prices are $13-16, so order now! Please include a check made out to Rover Dramawerks with this form, and mail to: Rover Dramawerks Attn: Season Tickets 4206 Eastwood Drive Carrollton, TX 75010
(All plays and dates subject to change depending upon availability.)
2006 Season
The Production Staff Director..........................................................................Jeff Fenter Assistant Director/Stage Manager......................Sarah Henderson Producers....................................................................Ken Freehill Donald McLaughlin Scenic Design................................................................Bob Athey Set Construction............................................................Bob Athey Alicia Dawn Bullen Alison Davies Casey Henderson Sarah Henderson Michael Lemming Jon-Paul McGowan Doug Meyer Carol Rice Jason Rice Sally Ann Shepard Frank Shirar Susan Wagner Carl Wells Costume Design.........................................................Amy Perkins Lighting Design.................................................Michelle Burdeaux Lighting Assistant......................................................Jason Fehrm Sound Design.............................................................Nancy Lamb Properties Design......................................................Terrie Justus Light and Sound Board Operation............................Vikki Hoffman Backstage Crew..........................................................Doug Meyer Kathleen Roell Publicity...........................................................Donald McLaughlin Programs………………………..…………...............…....Carol Rice Box Office Coordinator.............................................Misty Baptiste
Love from a Stranger premiered on March 31, 1936 at the
New Theatre, St. Martin’s Lane in London. The play made its U.S. debut on September 21, 1936 at the
St. James Theatre in New York. Frank Vosper, who adapted the play,
played Bruce Lovell in both opening night casts.
Please turn off all pagers, cellular phones, wristwatch alarms, and other noise-making devices. Thank you!
Love From a Stranger is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
Louise Garrard (Auntie Loo-Loo)...……………....……….....Alison Davies Mavis Wilson………………………………….………......Dawn Elisa Bauer Cecily Harrington.........................................................Alicia Dawn Bullen Bruce Lovell………………………………………............Michael Lemming Nigel Laurence……………………...…………............Jon-Paul McGowan Hodgson…………………………………………….…..............Frank Shirar Ethel…………………………………………………........Sally Ann Shepard Dr. Gribble………………………………………………...............Carl Wells
The Cast (in order of appearance)
The Scenes Act I
Scene 1 - Cecily and Mavis’ flat in Bayswater. Early March. Scene 2 - The same. Two hours later.
15-minute intermission
Act II
Scene 1 - The cottage. Six weeks later. Scene 2 - The same. September
10-minute intermission
Act III
Scene 1 - The same. A fortnight later. Scene 2 - The same. Forty minutes later.
Rover’s Mission Searching for treasures, new and rediscovered,
for theatre "off the beaten path."
Rover Dramawerks produces lost or forgotten works of well-known authors,
revives excellent scripts that have suffered from lack of exposure,
and discovers unknown gems of the stage.
Agatha Christie’s Love From a Stranger
adapted by Frank Vosper
February 16 - March 11, 2006
A young woman who has recently won the lottery enters into a whirlwind romance and marriage with a handsome stranger. But all is not as it appears, and eventually she realizes that her new husband is trying to murder her. Will she be able to stop him in time?
Adapted from Agatha Christie's short story "Philomel Cottage." Our first production in our new home at the Cox Theatre in Plano.
Act now and you can apply tonight’s ticket prices to your season tickets!
And Don’t Miss Our Season Extras at the Courtyard Theatre of Plano! One Day Only 7! and One Day Only 8!
April 22, 2006 August 26, 2006
Rover returns with TWO of our famous 24-hour play festivals! Seven short plays concept to curtain in just ONE DAY!
Tickets for this highly anticipated event are $10 but can be added to your season subscription at a huge discount!
Woman In Mind by Alan Ayckbourn
September 21 - October 14, 2006
After getting knocked out by stepping on the end of a garden rake, Susan, a housewife married to a boring cleric experiences hilarious hallucinations in which her everyday life is replaced by a fantasy where she is an ideal wife and mother with a perfect family. While her real family treats her with condescension and apathy, her fantasy family dresses in lovely white, always drinks cham-pagne and plays tennis, lives in a stately home, and tells her that she is wonderful. Eventually, the
fantasy family becomes nightmarish and Susan begins to realize that she is going mad. Our audience choice production!
The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel
June 8 - July 1, 2006
When Anna is diagnosed with Acquired Toilet Disease, a fatal new malady striking elementary school teachers, she and her brother Carl take flight to Europe. Anna is in denial and escapes into the arms of a new man every night, while Carl becomes involved in a wild Third Man-esque scheme to find a cure for his sister. But something is not quite right with the scenario, and the largest hint is dropped
when Anna shows slides of their trip that look exactly like Baltimore. Winner of the Obie Award!
PLUS Two Bonus Children’s Shows!
The Near-Sighted Knight and the Far-Sighted Dragon by Eleanor and Ray Harden
March 31 - April 9
Sideways Stories From the Wayside School a play by John Olive adapted from Louis Sachar’s Wayside School novels
July 21-30
Love From a Stranger would not have been possible without the generous contributions of the following:
Daniel Baham Misty Baptiste
Bob Athey’s extended family! Michelle Burdeaux
City of Plano Cox Building Staff
Alison Davies Matthew J. Edwards
Jason Fehrm Frisco Community Theatre
Pat Henderson Liberty Christian School
Steven R. Lindsay The Nor’kirk Presbyterian
Russell Read Jason Rice
Vista Ridge Church of Christ Jim Wear
Shoppers at Albertson’s, Kroger, and Tom Thumb
who have chosen Rover Dramawerks as their Shopping Partner.
The many cast and crew of Rover Dramawerks who have
donated their stipends back to the company.
Our season ticket holders and donors.
YOU, for being in our audience! We hope to see more of you this season!
And a VERY special thanks to our season sponsors:
Special Thanks
presents
Rover Dramawerks
Assistant Director / Stage Manager Sarah Henderson
Set Designer Bob Athey
Lighting Designer Michelle Burdeaux
Costume Designer Amy Perkins
Sound Designer Nancy Lamb
Properties Designer Terrie Justus
produced by Donald McLaughlin and Ken Freehill
February 16 through March 11 Cox Theatre in Plano
directed by Jeff Fenter
Agatha Christie’s Love From a Stranger
adapted by Frank Vosper
