On the Move

So March is a month on the move for me…I started it off by going to SETC in Birmingham with IDS.  I ,then, went on vacation to the world of Walt Disney with the family.  Soon…the family and I will be attending my cousin, Jessica’s wedding.  I shall finish the month in Louisville attending the Humana Festival.  More on that soon…

Summer and Smoke opens TONIGHT!

(Derrick Raley as John Buchanan, Jr. and Brandee Kent as Alma Winemiller)

Tonight is the opening of MTSU’s production of TN Williams’ play Summer and Smoke and I am very pleased with the production.  The cast have worked their tails off and the lights, set, costumes are gorgeous!  If you are in the Middle Tennessee area please stop by Tucker Theatre Feb. 18-21 at 7:30pm and Sunday Feb. 22nd at 2:00pm to see this fine play.  Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door.  House opens at 7:00pm.

New Look…New Year!

All right, so with the new year comes a new look for the website.  I know it is February already…but better late than never.  I felt that with the incoming year of 2009 that the Tao of John needed some sprucing up.

A lot has been going on…Summer and Smoke is moving right along and I have been blessed to direct a great group of actors who have clearly put a lot of work in on their own time.  This will pay great dividends guys as we get closer to performing in front of an audience!!  If you are in the Murfreesboro area,  stop by Tucker Theatre Feb. 18-22 and check it out for yourself!

IDS is planning a few trips in the next few months.  Our first stop will be SETC where will do some recordings and present a workshop.  Then later on in March we will be heading back to the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actor’s Theatre of  Louisville.

TN Governor School for the Arts has held auditions and looks to be an interesting summer program that is starting to take shape…more on that later!

RIP Dale McGilliard

I will not presume to know the scope and breadth of everyone’s relationship with Dale nor will I prescribe an emotion to their hearts; however, since this also serves as my vessel of grief…I will say that I lost a mentor, teacher, and friend. I am deeply saddened. Time is limitless but our lives are finite so please appreciate those in your own lives a little more today. For Dale.  (1951-2008)

Sincerely,

John

Summer and Smoke

Well, it’s official.  I will be directing MTSU’s February production of Tennessee Williams’ play, Summer and Smoke.  I am very excited to be working on this project and I am looking forward to auditions on November 16th.  This play will have some very intriguing challenges but I am sure that I will grow as an artist and teacher because of them.  More Later…

Hate or Hope

We are better than this America…aren’t we?  Vote on issue, policy, and fact. Hate or Hope.  I hope we don’t choose hate.

True West Opening at the Belcourt Theatre

True West

So I have a gig!  I am Saul Kimmer in People’s Branch Theatre’s production of True West.

Show Info:

TRUE WEST

True West is one of Sam Shepard’s funniest plays, as well as one of his most brutal.

Austin is a stable, successful Hollywood screenwriter, Lee his menacing vagabond brother, and True West is the story of their attempt to trade lives.

Their tragicomic quest to change identity ends in a stalemate, but along the way this Pulitzer Prize-winning author takes gleeful potshots at Hollywood, the myth of the frontier, and the escape fantasies that drive the American imagination.

• September 18-27, 2008

For tickets please go here!

12th Night Video

Here’s a promotional video for Naked Stages production of 12th Night…

For more videos of 12th Night featuring all the cast members go here!

12th Night or What You Will

“Be not afraid of greatness:
Some are born great, some achieve greatness,
And some have greatness thrust upon ’em.”

– TWELFTH NIGHT; Act II, Scene 5

NAKED STAGES and the VALHALLA SHAKESPEARE PROJECT will bring their own modern twist to one of the Bard’s greatest comedies this May with an all-star cast of Nashville favorites joined by promising newcomers.

Founding Artistic Director Mark Cabus plays Orsino and Feste with Nashville Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Denice Hicks playing Olivia and the Captain. Ensemble Members Claire Syler (Viola/Caesario), Brian Webb Russell (Malvolio/Antonio) and John Mauldin (Sir Toby/Valentine) round out the stellar veteran actors in TWELFTH NIGHT’s cast.

Those veterans are complemented by MTSU student Patrick Benneyworth as Sebastian and Fabian, Belmont student Brianne Angarole playing Maria and the Priest and MTSU student Dustin Napier as Sir Andrew and Curio.

The co-production, directed by Ensemble member Tee Quillin, will start its run in Nashville at Belmont University’s Black Box Theatre (Troutt Theatre Complex, 2100 Belmont Boulevard) May 8-17. Its final performances are at Valhalla Farms in Woodbury (3081 Jimtown Road) on May 31 and June 1.

Jealously, mistaken identity, and cross-dressing all combine in the riotously romantic TWELFTH NIGHT, an audience favorite for the past four hundred years. Don’t miss it!

For NAKED STAGES:
WHEN: May 8-17
WHERE: Belmont University’s Black Box Theatre
TIME: 7:30 PM
TICKETS: $20 in advance at website (www.greenroomprojects.org)
or $25 at door (cash only)

Go to www.greenroomprojects.org to receive a special deal…

And for you, our Naked Stages patrons, we’re offering a special discount. Click on the TicketsNashville icon to the right and, when prompted, write into the discount blank “GRP12″ and receive $10 off our box office ticket price.

That’s right! For $15, you can see quality theatre performed by some of Nashville’s finest: Denice Hicks, Brian Webb Russell, Claire Syler, John Mauldin and Mark Cabus; directed by Tee Quillin.

For the VALHALLA SHAKESPEARE PROJECT:
WHEN: Saturday, May 31, and Sunday, June 1
WHERE: Valhalla Farms; 3081 Jimtown Road, Woodbury
TIME: 2 PM
TICKETS: Absolutely FREE!
Bring blankets, chairs, food and drink (alcohol permitted)!