Weekly Update 6.26.09

June 26th, 2009
The Foundry is officially open!
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Instructor Anna Valendez with members of NVA’s first Summer Camp: Evan, Makena, Jack, Hannah, Sean, Connor, Hutson, Jonah and Tristan!
 
We have named the new part of New Village Arts The Foundry, and two kids classes started there this week.  In the mornings, we had the five year olds creating the fairies from THE TEMPEST and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM with Aletha Barthell’s KIDS ACT and in the afternoons the rogues gallery you see above working on improv, Shakespeare and even some killer yoga warm-ups with Anna Valendez.
 
There is a great energy in the building and we are so glad to see the education program starting up.  I think this will be a wonderful addition to NVA as we grow the programs - to after school programs and different types of outreach.  Ensemble Member Daren Scott is coming in today to take some photos of the kids which we can use to help keep the programs growing.
 
Next week, the Drama Camp run by Joan Missett Gambil comes in as well as the Carlsbad Community Theatre.  You can check the website for all the opportunities.
 
We are also signing up artists to take over the studio spaces in the front portion of the building.  We expect to have the artists moving in by July 15 and have the space open to the public on August 1.  The front portion will include an art gallery, 6 working studio artists and an open area for 6 additional artists to do their work.
 
The plan is to have a big Open House/Season Kick Off party on August 22 - hope you all can join us!
 
FOUR DOGS: FINAL WEEKEND!
Only four performances of FOUR DOGS remain - tonight at 8, Saturday at 3 and 8 and Sunday at 2.  Last night’s show was fabulous - with a great audience that makes the show so much fun to perform.  We knew this was the riskiest show in Season 8 - and I’m proud to say that we haven’t had any walk-outs and only two pieces of unhappy mail (usually when we do a show with a lot of coarse language, I get at least 3-4 emails in complaint).  It’s been a good ending to a great season - and I’m so excited to get started with Season 9!
 
Strike for the show is on Sunday at 3:30 - anyone who can stop by to help is most welcome.
 
THE FIRST ANNUAL SUMMER COMEDY FESTIVAL
The Summer Comedy Festival starts rehearsals on Tuesday.  The mainstage show is called TIME FLIES by David Ives and it is a series of hilarious short plays that have a common theme of “time”.  The first play deals with two romantically inclined may flies who have only 24 hours to live - it’s a lot of fun.  The show will preview July 30 & 31 and open on August 1.
 
Also as part of the Comedy Festival, we will have another David Ives’ short play, SURE THING, matched up with one of the winners from this year’s Playwright’s Project Festival of Plays by Young Writers, PROM NIGHT.  Written by Bishop’s student Emily Reit, PROM NIGHT takes every young woman’s big fear - her parent’s on her prom night - to the extreme.  It’s a great cast and a funny, clever story that I hope you all can experience.  And if you have kids aged 11 and up, they will probably love the show as well.  That one runs August 2 -12 on Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:30 PM.
 
GOOD PRESS
We’ve had some good articles in the press lately about the new space - here’s a link to the North County Times write-up about The Foundry:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2009/06/24/news/coastal/carlsbad/z9c83f15c78a9b68b882575df006d0c80.txt
 
YOU’RE INVITED
If you’d like to see the work of the kids in our Summer Camp program, they will do their final performance next Friday, July 3rd at 4:00 PM in the Foundry.  It would be fun for them to have a nice audience, so please come by to see the work they have done!
 
CORPORATE CONNECTIONS???
Alex and I are starting to go out and meet more local corporations and business people to keep spreading the good news about NVA and building support for the theatre.  Please let us know if you have a good connection with someone we could meet and let them know all about NVA.
 
ENSEMBLE/STAFF NEWS
Congrats to Ensemble Member Amanda Morrow for being cast in Culture Shock Dance Theatre’s AFTASHOCK dance troupe.  We look forward to seeing her pop, lock and drop it on stage.
Other Ensemble shows: Wendy Waddell in BUTCHER OF BARABOO with Moxie Theatre (at Diversionary), Tom Zohar in TWIST at Diversionary, Amanda Sitton in DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER at North Coast Rep, and Adam Brick, Tim Parker, Rachael VanWormer and Joshua in TIME FLIES here at NVA!
Also, Box Office Manager Kelly Iversen was just cast in WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF at Compass Theatre and Tech Director Becky Pierce has a sweet summer gig at La Jolla Playhouse!
 
That’s it for me this week - I hope you all have a wonderful, safe week!
 
Kristianne


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Weekly Update 6.19.09

June 19th, 2009
Greetings NVAers!  Another eventful, busy week here at the theatre.
 
FOUR DOGS AND A BONE
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Pictured: Joshua Everett Johnson and Amanda Sitton.  Photo by Daren Scott.
 
Performances have been going well - we had good houses for the entire second weekend, and this weekend is looking good.  We still have seats left for Father’s Day - and this play is so quick and funny it would probably work as a good Dad’s Day gift!  Here are some review bits:

“Woof. Growl. Grrrr. Who let the dogs out? Or, who let ‘em in? They’ve made their mangy way into New Village Arts Theatre, nipping at the heels of “The Little Dog Laughed,” which recently ran at Diversionary Theatre. This Shanley play is yet another comic skewering of Hollywood denizens, perfectly funny, light summer fare. And NVA gives it a delectable going-over.” - Pat Launer, www.sdnn.com

“Johnson directs with brisk pace and an eye toward amusing detail, and both he and the other actors follow that lead, with Poppick delivering an agile and rich comic performance —- both verbally and physically —- and Kurner and Sitton delivering lines with funny twists and a fierce intelligence. The quick-moving performance ends as it reaches its peak, leaving us in the mood for more —- especially if we are willing gluttons for punishment this funny.” - Dan Bennett, www.nctimes.com

AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE (Alex wants me to put it on the wall above my desk)…

“Kristianne Kurner…is a mongrel bitch driven towards insanity by the hellhounds of fame…” - Welton Jones, www.sandiego.com

No further comments needed, I think…

NVA FOUNDRY

We are officially calling the new space THE FOUNDRY, and it will be open this Monday!  Alex and some volunteers (Jason Medina!!!) have been busy putting up walls and doors to get the space ready for our first round of Acting camps.  The gallery and working artists portion of the space will be completely open as of August 1.  I hope you have all had the chance to come by and see it - it is a great addition to NVA.  Alex could still use help this weekend getting the space in order - please let him know if you are available!

 
ENSEMBLE NEWS
 
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Ensemble Member Jack Missett is currently enjoying New York City, where he was able to take in a performance of GOD OF CARNAGE (which he said was amazingly funny).  Tony winning actress Marcia Gay Harden was nice enough to stop after the performance to help “Support NVA”.  Nice!

 
Be sure to check out Ensemble member Wendy Waddell in The Butcher of Baraboo at Moxie Theatre (thru June 28) and Tom Zohar in TWIST at Diversionary Theatre (running thru July).  www.moxietheatre.com and www.diversionary.org.
 
BIRTHDAYS!!!
 
Sunday, June 21: Ensemble Member Ron Choularton celebrates 60 years!
Tuesday, June 23: Laura Kurner’s Birthday!
Friday, July 10: Gram’s 100th Birthday (my grandmother, Laura’s mom)
 
Quick update on Jonah: His baseball team (the Oceanside American Little League Red Sox) goes into the finals for the regional championship on Saturday, and he made the All Star team which plays July 1-15!  He also cut off all his hair in honor of the wins - it looks really good!
 
PICTURING MY SISTER
Our world premiere reading of Renee Moreno’s play went wonderfully - we had a great house and are very excited to keep working on the play to get it ready for a full production in the near future.
 
GENERAL AUDITIONS
NVA’s general auditions will be held this Monday, June 22nd from 6-10 PM.  We are already full up to 9 PM, so we should see a lot of new people!
 
A NOTE TO OUR DADS…
 
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Thank you to all the Dad’s out there who have helped NVA so much.  I consider myself incredibly lucky to have a Dad who I admire so much - he is so generous with his time, love and talents and he has more integrity and honor than any man I know.  We have a great group of Dad’s here - have a beer or a pepsi on NVA on Sunday and know that you are greatly appreciated.
 
And a shout out to this lady as well, who celebrates her birthday on Tuesday.  Boy, are we glad she was born - NVA quite honestly wouldn’t be here without her.  Happy Birthday, Mom!  (Not to mention that she’s an amazing mom to me and Susanna - and grandmother to Jonah).
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That’s it from me this week.  Have a great weekend - send a “go Red Sox” thought to Jonah’s team on Saturday and have a fun, relaxing Father’s Day!
 
All the best-
 
Kristianne
 


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Weekly Update 6.5.09

June 5th, 2009
FOUR DOGS
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Eric Poppick and I in the first scene of FOUR DOGS.  Photo by Adam Brick.
 
Best First Preview audience EVER!!!  We were basically sold out last night, which is a definite “first” for NVA (for the Thursday night preview).  And what a great audience it was!  They laughed like crazy and gave an enthusiastic curtain call.  All of us actors know there are still some kinks to work out, but it was a very successful night.  One more preview performance tonight, then the big opening.
 
For those of you who aren’t as familiar with theatre, we use preview performances to try the show out in front of an audience - before any theatre critics can come and judge the work.  It lets the actors feel how the show works with the audience, the design team work out any last minute fixes and the director watch the overall arch of the piece.  Saturday night will be the first round of critics - they are a bit spread out for this show because there are three other openings around town on Saturday night.
 
Here’s one early audience review I received via email this morning:  “Just wanted to let you guys know again how much myself and my friends enjoyed the show.  We laughed our asses off!  Shanley’s script is so wonderfully caustic and you and the rest of the cast really run with it.  I know a first preview can be stressful (all the last minute details & doubts that come to the surface behind the scenes) but for me it was all laughter and joy.  Having just left Hollywood, there were even extra giggles for me.”
 
Hope we see many of you on Saturday or Sunday!
 
NEW SPACE
 
We have been prepping the new space to look pretty for opening weekend.  Our excellent set designer, Tim Wallace, brought in a number of his paintings to grace the walls in the gallery portion of the space, and we put up past NVA show banners on the theatre side.  It’s exciting to think of all the possibilities there.
 
GALLERY OPENING TONIGHT!!!
 
We will open Brendan Sheppard Missett’s art show, MAPQUEST: VALHALLA tonight with a reception from 5:30 - 7 PM.  The reception is free and a great chance to meet Brendan, check out the work and hear his thought’s on it.  All of us working on FOUR DOGS have enjoyed watching it build through the weeks - and have had many good discussions about what we think it means - which is one of the great purposes of art - to make you think and respond.
 
FLAVORS OF THE VILLAGE: TASTY
 
The Flavors of the Village came through NVA on Sunday.  We had a good number of people come by the theatre for dessert and to check out the lobby - again, many new people who weren’t aware of us that plan to come back to the show.  I heard that the whole event was very well run - I was in tech so not able to take part - but people enjoyed good food and great company.
 
SEASON PASSES
 
Passes for Season 9 are moving quickly.  If you purchase a pass before the end of June, you get a limited edition bottle of NVA wine - in your choice of merlot, cab or chardonnay.  We did test the wines to make sure they were decent - a nice chilean 2007 vintage with NVA label.  Even better than that, you get great theatre.
 
GIVE 15
 
I’m printing the programs for FOUR DOGS this afternoon or tomorrow morning.  Please consider joining the GIVE 15 club now - then we can include your name in the program to show everyone else how much you support NVA - Alex and I are both members and would love to have more of you join us.  It’s only $15 per month - you know you can do it.  Seriously, though - we really appreciate your consideration.  It means a lot to NVA.
 
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SOMEBODY’S GOT A BIRTHDAY
Sending good bday wishes to Managing Director Alex Scollon, who celebrates the big day on Tuesday, June 9.  The photo above was taken by Daren Scott at our Season 9 Soiree.
 
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Tonight, 5:30 - 7 PM: Gallery Opening and Second Preview of FOUR DOGS (at 8)
Saturday, June 6 at 8 PM: Opening of FOUR DOGS, party starts at 9:15
Sunday, June 7 at 2 PM: Matinee opening of FOUR DOGS, reception starts at 3:15
Tuesday, June 9: Alex’s Birthday
Monday, June 15: PICTURING MY SISTER at 7:30 - world premiere playreading.
Thursday, June 18: Board Meeting
Monday, June 22: General Auditions for Season 9 at NVA; also first session of SUMMER CAMP begins
 
Have a great week!  See you at the theatre…
 
Kristianne Kurner


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