What could be better than sitting around the table exchanging tall tales with friends after enjoying a good old home-style meal? Sitting around the Swamp Meadow Table after enjoying a meal, you did not have to cook or clean up, watching the Tales of Mark Twain come to life right before your eyes!

Swamp Meadow Community Theatre invites you to a charming Dinner Theatre brought to you from the front porch of the Hannibal Country Store. Twain’s Tales, written by David Taylor London, directed by Dennis Chretien and Bob Hollis, introduces you to Hannibal’s Finest as they reacquaint you with some of Samuel Clemens’ favorite stories. Enjoying the play, after a meal of Midwestern Comfort Food, you will find yourself filled with flavor, laughter, and contentment!

SMCT is making all this available to you on three days and at two locations: February 11 at 6:30pm and February 12 at 1:30pm at the Coventry Senior Center on Wood Street in Coventry and on March 3 at 6:30pm at the South Foster Fire Station on Mt Hygeia Road in Foster. Tickets are $30 for Adults and $20 for children under 10.

Paid reservations must be made by February 4th for the Coventry dates and February 25th for the Foster date. To make reservations or for more information, please call 1-888-493-7110.

The cast includes Gary Pickard, Meryn Flynn, Chris Morelli, Brian Cerullo, Bart Hollingsworth, Kaila Rubin, AnaCapri Mauro, Michelle Chretien, Emily Chretien, and Jill Cerullo.

Admission is $15/adults, $10/students & seniors, $50/family max. Come on out for a great night of entertainment and fun with lots of local talent. There will be plenty of music, comedy and more! The Foster Country Club will be open for food and drinks so enjoy yourself while supporting Swamp Meadow Community Theatre.

Click here for auditions.

Please bring any music you will be using and anything else you might need. For more info, please call 1-888-493-7110.

by Raymond Beltran, Motif Magazine

The opportunity to see young people take hold of the performing arts with enthusiasm always proves to be a rewarding experience. Swamp Meadow Community Theater’s production of William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet provides such an experience. The large cast tells the tale of the play’s two young title characters, forbidden to publicly realize their love on account of their warring families.

With the majority of cast members being in their teens, Swamp Meadow’s production has found unique ways to render the play relatable to a youthful cast and contemporary audience. There are dance-infused entrances to the Capulet’s party- Romeo (Zachary Gibb) performs a choreographed spin on Robert Palmer’s Simply Irresistible- along with other liberties. In one scene, Friar Lawrence (Andy Affleck) raps his council to Romeo, as another cast member thuds beats on a hollow box, helping him keep time. The Hip Hop inspired rendition proves an interesting way to deliver Shakespeare’s words and breaks up the lengthy run in an interesting way. So much so, the rest of the play could have easily been done in this form.

Amid the musical numbers and slapstick routines shines a smartly devised executive choice, in the way of narrative. The chorus is played by Leah Fidler, whose well-timed delivery of the plot is conveyed through the modern language of a teenager. When describing Romeo and friends’ party crashing as an attempt to go “trolling for babes,” the tone of the production becomes more clear: one that seeks to take the stuffiness out of a classic in a family-friendly way.

The runtime is lengthy, something to be expected when soaking in Shakespeare. With great satisfaction, audience members witness the houselights dim promptly at the slated start time, 7 pm. Three and a half hours later, patrons are ready to begin the journey back from Foster, Rhode Island. While this is not a chore, per se, there stand many a moment in this production which choose modern garnish over simply moving the show along. If future audience members are okay with watching a show that relies as much on contemporary adornment as it does executing the plot through character portrayal, they will find this production more than worthwhile. The cast works well within the sparse, yet versatile, set. The focus then becomes on the acting, and fine examples of such present themselves. Laura Gibb’s Lady Capulet is the definition of poise and controlled delivery in this production. Her projection is near perfect, as her genuine unravelling at the sight of her daughter, thought to be dead before her wedding. Julie Cox delivers a Juliet that hits every scripted mark, and Amanda Betchy swaps genders with great success to play Juliet’s cousin Tybalt. There is enough capability in this cast of predominately young actors to allow audience members to appreciate the production from a heterogenous standpoint, considering the varying contributions to the overall play.

Zachary Gibb’s Romeo is exceptionally well-thought-out. Capitalizing on the thread of ironic teenage undertones that saturate the production, Gibb presents a character that walks the line between dramatic youth and driven lover. He holds his character closely, choosing a micro delivery of a conflicted character, rather than a trite exhibition that can easily be extracted from the play by a less intuitive actor. Gibb’s future seems bright.

Those looking for a good-hearted and sincere approach to Shakespeare that enables a com- munity passion for performing will find satisfaction in this production.

Romeo and Juliet, Swamp Meadow Community Theatre, the Paine School Auditorium,

161 Foster Center Road, Foster. www.swampmeadow.org Runs Nov 18-20

Halloween Dance Party
Foster Country Club
Friday, October 21, 2011
7:30 – 11:00 pm
$10

Featuring:

• Costume Contest & Prizes
• Dance Music by DJ Melodie Fontenault
• “Scary-Okie” Song Set
• 50/50 Raffle

Appropriate for ages 11+

Shakespeare’s classic tale of romance gone tragically wrong has been given a thorough but respectful adaptation for this production, rendering the Bard’s philosophical musings, witty repartee, passionate poetry and bawdy humor fresh and accessible for a modern audience.

Romeo and Juliet will be played by Zach Gibb and Julie Cox. The Capulets and Montagues will be played by Dale Miller and Laura Gibb, Gary Pickard and Amy Juker, along with Jake Wolf-Jensen, Brian Wolf-Jensen and Amanda Betchy. They will have the ear and support of their confidants and attendants: Judy Kerkoff, Andy Affleck, Alex Cerullo, Katie Lewis, Jake Farnum, Jon Howe, and Sarina Resnik. The Town of Verona will be brought to life by Meryn Flynn, Zach Farnum, Janice Dionne, Chase Lurgio, Dacia Cruz, Emily Carter, Sandy Arnold, and Julia Arnold. Providing narration and commentary on all the comings and goings will be the one-person Chorus, Leah Fidler.

All of them will be under the direction of Chris Brostrup-Jensen with the assistance of Fight Choreographer Frank Perrin and Dance Choreographer Annette Hebard.

Performances are scheduled for November 11, 12, 13 and 18, 19, 20.

Mr. Toad’s Mad Adventures is currently under production.  The show is adapted from the classic children’s book The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and focuses on Mr. Toad’s impetuous and perilous romance with the automobile.  We have many talented young actors and actresses returning from past summers as well as quite a few newcomers, whom we welcome to the Swamp Meadow family!

Performances will be:

• August 17th @ 7pm
• August 18th @ 7pm
• August 19th @ 7pm
• August 20th @ 2pm
• August 20th @ 7pm
• August 21st @ 2pm

Click here for more information.

• August 1, Romeo & Juliet only – 6:30-9 pm. Note updated time!
• August 3, Remaining Cast – 6:30-9 pm. Note updated time!

No prepared monologues are required. Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script.

Foster Town House
181 Howard Hill Rd, Foster RI.

Performance dates are tentatively set Nov. 11, 12, 13, 19, 20, and 21.

• Chorus – (any age, either gender) The Chorus is a personable, bright, engaging narrator who helps guide the audience through the play with helpful background information, humor and editorial comments in modern speech.
• Vendors (3) – (any age, either gender) Street vendors unwillingly caught up in the Montague/Capulet feud.
• Gregory — (15-50, male) Servant of the Capulet clan, a decent guy, not especially bright, but good with his fists and knife. He tends to let Sampson do his thinking for him, with unfortunate results. Involves a little dancing and fighting.
• Sampson – (15-50, male) Chief Capulet servant, a braggart and instigator who counts on Gregory’s muscle to get him out of the troubles he brings on himself. Involves a little dancing and fighting.
• Abram – (15-50, male) Member of the house of Montague, easily angered. Involves a little dancing and fighting.
• Balthasar – (15-30, male) Servant of the house of Montague who shares Romeo’s exile to Mantua. Involves a little dancing and fighting.
• Benvolio – (15-20, male) Romeo’s cousin and companion. He is generally peaceable and well-meaning, which doesn’t always save him from trouble. Involves sword fighting.
• Tybalt – (20-30, male) Juliet’s cousin and a renowned sword-fighter with a very short temper and deep hatred for all things and persons Montague. Involves sword fighting.
• Capulet – (60+, male) The patriarch of the Capulet clan. His powers are beginning to fade, but he is an old warhorse and can still be terrifying when angered. Juliet is his last surviving child. Involves some dancing and strong emotions.
• Lady Capulet – (30-50, female) Capulet’s considerably younger current wife. Juliet is her daughter and only child. She struggles with the duel responsibilities of curbing Juliet’s youthful willfulness and her husband’s sometimes erratic and explosive behavior. Involves some dancing and subtle characterization.
• Montague – (40+, male) Leader of the house of Montague and Romeo’s father. Impatient and not the best “people person”, he is baffled by his romantic, moody son.
• Lady Montague – (30-50, female) Montague’s wife, she is somewhat more sympathetic to her son’s impulsive emotionality than is her husband.
• Prince(ss) Escalus – (40+, either gender) Ruler of Verona and father (mother?) to Paris. The Prince is very frustrated with the vendetta between the Capulets and Montagues and takes extreme measures to try to end it, measures which ultimately get not only Romeo and Juliet, but also his own son Paris, killed.
• Romeo – (15-20, male) A passionate, impulsive young man with great talents and charisma, but poor judgment. Our romantic hero. Involves sword fighting, kissing and the ability to openly express great passion and emotion.
• County Paris – (18-25, male) Son of Prince(ss) Escalus, and a Count in his own right, he courts Juliet after gaining her father’s permission. He is a good match and a good chap, but a bit conventional and straight-arrow for the strong-minded, fiery Juliet.
• Anthony/Antonia – (any age, either gender) A servant of the Capulets; a bit of a wise guy/gal.
• Nurse – (40+, female) Juliet’s former wet-nurse, now her personal servant. She is common and crass, but loves Juliet and knows her better than anyone. Even so, she ultimately fails to understand her well enough to guide her wisely through her tragic dilemma. Some raunchy lines and actions.
• Juliet – (16, female) The female half of the doomed couple, Juliet emerges as a strong-willed, clear-eyed tragic heroine with a fiery spirit. She has lived a very protected life, but when the time (and Romeo) comes, she breaks out completely beyond anyone’s ability to control or save. Involves kissing, strong passions, emotional intimacy, dancing.
• Mercutio – (20-30, male) Romeo’s friend and mentor, and something of a surrogate big brother. He has a wit and cleverness to match Romeo, but also a hot temper, which helps to feed some of his friend’s impetuousness. Involves swordfighting.
• Potpan – (15-50, either gender) Capulet servant, good humored, sidekick to Anthony.
• Friar Laurence – (30+, male) A priest, Romeo’s confessor and confidant. He has a good rapport with the young lovers, but ultimately abandons his role as advisor and counselor in favor of fully supporting and enabling Romeo’s reckless passion, contributing significantly to its tragic result. Willingness to rap a little a big plus.
• Peter – (Any age, male) The Nurse’s servant, he is a raunchy match for his mistress.
• Friar John – (20+, male) Another priest, used as a messenger to Romeo during his exile in Mantua.
• Apothecary – (Any age, either gender) Driven by poverty, sells Romeo the poison with which he ultimately kills himself.
• Paris’s Page – (15-30, male) Witness to Romeo and Paris’s duel.
• Assorted Citizens, Gentlemen, Gentlewomen, Maskers, Torchbearers, Pages, Guards, Servants and Attendants

PRICE:

TICKETS: Available from SMCT members, swampmeadow@aol.com, the box office at 401-397-4740 and at the SMCT Old Home Days booth

WHEN: To be drawn at the Foster Idol competition at the Old Home Days on Sunday, July 31, 2011

*profit to benefit the building fund