Swamp Meadow Community Theatre’s Foster Follies takes place on Friday, March 1, 2019. This year’s line-up will be announced after the auditions.
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Goodbye Kaila
Our dear friend and Executive Director Kaila Rubin passed away last night, a week after suffering a devastating heart attack.
Kaila first joined SMCT almost 15 years ago. She has since been actively involved in most of our productions. When not acting or singing on stage, she happily helped with sound, lights and any other tech needs to make the show run smoothly. Her portrayal of Agatha in our 2017 production of Tending to Grace was poignant and unforgettable.
Kaila is one of the founding members of our Victorian Carolers. She also sang and played the dulcimer with other local groups.
Furthermore, Kaila was an indispensable member of SMCT’s Board of Directors, where she held various position over the years and helped steer our organization into what it has become today. Kaila accepted the role of Executive Director in June 2018.
Through these roles, on and off stage, Kaila radiated a calm and peaceful vibe that seemed to make every challenge more manageable.
On behalf of the Board of Directors and your Swamp Meadow family, thank you Kaila for everything you have done. Goodbye. You will be missed.
Arrangements are pending for the family observance in Mystic. Our Swamp Meadow Community Theatre family is planning a tribute to Kaila, most likely on November 13. We will share further information as it becomes available.
— Eric Dubois, Assistant Executive Director
Updates:
Calling Hours are Wednesday, November 7, 2018, 10 AM – 11 AM, at the Mystic Funeral Home (Route 1, 51 Williams Ave., Mystic, CT 06355), followed by a service at 11 AM.
A potluck dinner to celebrate Kaila’s life will be held on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, 6 PM – 9 PM, in the Captain Isaac Paine School auditorium.
Watershed Day 2017
It is the time of year when Swamp Meadow helps out with the Northern RI Conservation District Watershed Day. This year’s play was written by Lindsey Cairone. We are looking for four people to round out our cast of 9. Actors can be any age that can memorize lines! The event takes place from 8:30 to 2:30 on Tuesday, May 2 (It is an educational event — worth missing a day of school). Please contact Bob Hollis asap. Rehearsals will start on April 18.
January 2016 Board Meeting Minutes
The following text are the minutes from the SMCT Board Meeting on January 9th, 2016. Click the link below for a downloadable PDF version.
SMCT Board Meeting Minutes 9 January 2016 (public)
SMCT Board Meeting Minutes – January 2016
January 9th, 2016, 10:00am Benjamin Eddy Building, Foster, RI
Members present (voting members in bold): Dennis Chretien, Laura Giorgianni, Shane Inman, Kaila Rubin, Eric Dubois, Liz Dubois, Bob Hollis, Andy Affleck, Leslie Carter, Emily Chretien, Emily Carter, Rachel Stevens, Chris Brostrup-Jensen, Meryn Flynn
Meeting Begins – 10:05am
New Business
-Dennis will send Emily Carter information regarding SMCT cast policies for her to use during the production of Seussical
-Emily intends to add to base set of guidelines with rules regarding cell phones, safety issues, attendance, etc.
-Andy suggested using Tom Sawyer guidelines, as they have already been edited
-It will be specified that the show will be run differently to the usual SMCT fare
Executive Director
-Dennis has sent a letter to Paine School about reducing amount owed due to reduced use of school
-Letter was answered, but issue has been set aside for the time-being by administration
-Idea was floated of requesting flat rate rather than percentage fee
-Chris expressed concern that this could lead to less successful shows taking a large financial hit, but agreed that it would be worth pursuing a lower fee for the Summer shows and events such as the Halloween Dracula show
Productions
-Christmas Carol
-A person associated with Trinity saw the show and praised it very highly
-Three-weekend structure may not be best decision for all shows, but was very beneficial for CC and should remain on the table as an option for future shows
-Attendance total of 490
-M*A*S*H
-Production team (producers, tech, directors, etc.) have all been determined
-Despite low numbers at auditions, Andy is confident show will be successfully cast
-Andy wants mobile set, is trying to determine how is can be safely assembled by cast
-Andy considering backing out of surround-stage setup
-Seussical
-Emily Carter has assembled nearly complete team, only missing a few creative people
-Production team meeting planned for Thursday (1/14) to establish direction of show
-Concern over whether or not auditions may overlap with graduations
-In terms of rehearsals, intended setup is Tuesday for music, Wednesday for choreography, Thursday for tying it all together
-Emily would like rehearsals from 5:30 or 5:45 to 9:00 to allow time for warmups
-Laura and Dennis pointed out that start time will have to be strongly emphasized
-8 or 9 buildouts will be required, tech buildout may need to be used as stage
-Andy will look into getting a quote for more adjustable 4×4 buildouts
-Same group rates as before
-USO Show
-Izzi Giorgianni has signed on to aid in production, though her exact role is as of yet unclear
-Musicians are still needed
-Creative team will be meeting within next week to determine next season
-Creative studio
-Non-cast videos are finally being made
-Members are learning how to use the technology
-Idea is still being tossed around of training in editing programs
-CAST has stated that as long as they receive 12 total videos, it is acceptable for Creative Studio to not produce one each month
-Standards and practices (censorship) needs to be considered
-There must be some disclaimer regarding quality control
-Approved projects can be placed on Creative Studio YouTube channel, rejected projects will still credit CS for equipment but will not be hosted on official SMCT channel
-Further delineation and ease of searching will be added to CAST videos by changing their titles to “CAST’S [Title]” or something similar
Events
-50 people have signed up to attend CAST pizza party
Motion that SMCT donates money for CAST party food if needed – Seconded/Passed
Facilities
-Chris expressed concern about cost of storage units
Meeting adjourned – 12:12pm
Auditions for Foster Follies 2016
It’s that time again! Auditions for the Foster Follies will be held this year at the Woody Lowden Recreation Center, Howard Hill Rd, Foster. Open auditions are Friday, March 11, 6 pm – 8 pm and Saturday, March 12, 1 pm – 4pm.
Foster Follies will take place on April 29 at the Foster Country Club.
Please come with a maximum of three minutes prepared act. We are looking for versatile, family-friendly performers in the following areas (among others!): dance, comedy, magic, theatre, and music. Get creative and show us what you’ve got! Please email email hidden; JavaScript is required with any questions.
Join the Creative Studio!
Creative Studio is up and producing!
A call now for actors, actresses, and crew (sound, lights, microphones, editing, directing)
Part of our payback for the $10,000 equipment that we bought with CAST money is to produce monthly Above the Influence Productions for website, Facebook, YouTube, etc. We are looking for a group of people who are interested in writing, acting, working cameras, holding lights, holding mics, directing, and editing. Training is available.
We are currently looking for people to work on the next two presentations on Saturday, November 28 and Wednesday, December 9, 2015 from 6-9 (place to be determined). If you are interested in becoming part of the team, please contact Bob Hollis (440-7831 or email hidden; JavaScript is required) ASAP.