Author Archives: lsegel

The company has not been able to do its usual season of shows over the past year, so we have had very little income.  But we do have ongoing fixed expenses, and thus financial losses.  So please donate as much as you can.  With your support we can maintain ourselves, until we can resume entertaining you in person.

Your donations are deductible on your federal income tax, as we are a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. Thank you for your support!

There are three easy ways to send us monetary donations. Via PayPal, Venmo, or by Check.

With either PayPal or Venmo you can enter a Note with the payment. The note should include this information:

Your Name / Your Email Address / Reason and Amount.  For example:

Jane Doe  /  JDoe3@abc.com  /  Donation $30

To make a donation via PayPal: Login to your PayPal account. Select the option to Send money. Enter the TCS email address as the recipient: TCSaugus@gmail.com. Add the Note.

To make a donation via Venmo: Login to your Venmo account. Send money and search under People for: @theatrecompanyof-saugus. Add the Note.

To make a donation by Check: Make your personal check payable to: Theatre Company of Saugus. Include the memo: Donation TCS 2021. Mail the check to: Theatre Company of Saugus / PO Box 1058 / Saugus, MA 01906

Greetings fellow playwrights and play readers! 

The play-reading committee of the Theater Company of Saugus would like to wish you well during these trying times and offer you a bit of escape. We had such an excellent time working on our recent virtual production of A Christmas Carol. Given the success of that project, we are currently beginning to search for plays for virtual reading sessions, or possibly a virtual springtime production. So, we need your help!

We are looking to you for new and interesting play submissions. Perhaps you are a playwright and would like to have your work read aloud by local artists. Or maybe you just love a particular play and would like the opportunity to take part in a reading or production of the piece. All people reading this are encouraged to submit plays! Whether you’re a longtime TCS member or just someone who happened to stumble upon this post. Either way, we anticipate your responses and look forward to looking through your submissions and working with each of you. 

Simply send us an email with your suggestions, questions, or comments. Use the subject line: Play Reading. Send to TCSaugus@gmail.com.

Thank you, and continue to stay healthy and safe, 

From: Matthew Garlin and Sean Perry, Co – Chair of TCS Play-Reading Committee 

The election is coming up for the Board of Directors of the Theatre Company of Saugus. The election will be at our held at our Annual General Membership Meeting on Wednesday 2 December, starting at 7:30 PM. The meeting will be held via Zoom. All current company members should attend.

The board has nine members, with staggered terms lasting three years. Three members are elected near the end of each calendar year. Officers are chosen by the new and old board members in December.

This year, we need to nominate at least two new people. These terms of these board members are expiring:

• Amanda Allen, our current president, is term-limited, so we need to replace her with a new person.
• Deirdre Shaw, our current corresponding secretary, is eligible for a second term, and is willing to continue.
• Mike Giusti has chosen not to continue, and needs to be replaced.

The other continuing members of the board include: Jeff Bliss, Matthew Garlin, Alicia Murphy, Allison Perry, Sean Perry, and Larry Segel.

The Nominating Committee has selected the following slate for election to new three-year terms starting in January 2021:

• Victoria Isotti
• Deirdre Shaw
• Jill Sliby

The following people have also been nominated as Alternate Board Members. Alternate members also participate in board meetings, but are only called on to vote when we do not have a quorum of regular members.

• Rosemary DeGregorio
• Ben Tan

What is required of board members? There is a board meeting every month. During the pandemic, we have met remotely via Zoom. The remote meetings will continue even after the pandemic is over, so commuting to meetings will not be required. Board members also serve on committees, and take an active role in productions and on other company projects.

Many thanks to Amanda and Mike for your years of service!

Theatre Company of Saugus mourns Steven Friedman, who passed away on September 7, 2020. Steven was a very entertaining actor in two roles in the TCS production of From Moliere With Love in 2007. We did two short comedies by Moliere, in which he played Villebrequin in The Imaginary Cuckold and Geronimo in The Forced Marriage.

Steven was the beloved husband of Harriet Friedman, who directed the TCS production of Clue, the Musical in 2015. Harriet has been active with EMACT and has worked with numerous local community theatres over the years, sometimes with Steven.

Steven was a retired doctor and a genius at trivia. You can read his obituary here: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?n=steven-friedman&pid=196816668

We can’t wait to see you in person!  But in the meantime, let’s participate in some playreading online.  Giving you a sneak peak at our plans for the 2020-2021 season.

As we are all still staying safe at home – and will be for some time more – TCS is planning an online series of play readings for our potential 2020-2021 season.

These play readings will be conducted via Zoom. All are invited to participate – reading parts in the show or just listening in. The sessions will be on four (4) Saturday evenings May to June 2020, each starting at 7:00PM.

Each Friday before a play reading, TCS will send out an email containing the links to both the Zoom meeting and to the script that we will be reading.

You don’t need to sign up in advance to attend and/or read, but it will be helpful for us to know how many people to expect for readers. If you have any questions or would like to sign-up for any or all evenings, please use the appropriate link below.

After all four play reading sessions have been completed – we will host a final Zoom meeting. This will go to Members only for our General Membership Meeting to discuss the proposed slate of shows, vote on a winter comedy, and approve the plan for the season.

Saturday, May 16 @ 7:00PM – Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson 
Saturday, May 23 @ 7:00PM – Spring Awakening
Saturday, May 30 @ 7:00PM – The Importance of Being Earnest 
Saturday, June 6 @ 7:00PM – Much Ado About Nothing

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Leonidas A. Nickole, aged 93.  He was the founder of the Theater Company of Saugus, then called the “Town Criers”, in 1968.  He was long honored by the theatre company as a designated Lifetime Member.  He was one of the longest serving and most influential members of the company.  He will be greatly missed.

Leo Nickole was a professor at Emerson College in Boston for many decades, teaching several generations of students.  He specialized in the history and practice of Musical Theatre.

TCS benefited from his role as an educator.  His subject and our avocation, theatre, were the same, and he had much to teach us.  He was always willing to share his knowledge and passion for theatre with us.  Professor Nickole was the organizer or presenter of a series of educational workshops that TCS sponsored over the past twenty years.  Most of these workshops were the inspiration for a show in that genre in the following season.  There were also dozens of general company meetings to which Leo brought guest speakers or performers, who he know from his extensive contacts on Broadway and the professional theatre, as well as from Emerson College.

He directed dozens of shows for TCS.  Since returning to TCS twenty years ago after a hiatus, he directed several Theatre Company of Saugus shows, including:

• Light Up the Sky (2001)
• To Kill A Mockingbird (2002)
• She Loves Me (2003)
• Evenings with Shakespeare / Taming of the Shrew (2005)
• Fiddler on the Roof (2006)
• From Broadway to Hollywood revue (2008)
• The Pirates of Penzance (2008)

Leo was also the producer or a production team member of many other TCS shows.  He served many years on the Board of Directors, including terms as Treasurer and President.  Leo continued to be active with us until a few years ago, serving as House Manager for most productions.

He was a founder of the New England Theatre Conference (NETC).  That organization grants the annual Leonidas Nickole award to an outstanding theatre educator.  An award in his name is also offered annually by the Musical Theatre Society of Emerson College.

The burial services were private.  A memorial service will be planned for a later date.

Click here for an article about his career at Emerson College.

Click here for the obituary.