Category Archives: Announcements

Do You Wanna Dance

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Theatre Company of Saugus is thankful to the Do You Wanna Dance studio, the home for rehearsals during January 2016.

Do You Wanna Dance (DYWD) has been in business for over 15 years. As of the 2015/2016 season it is officially under NEW ownership. Joey Doherty, Danielle Gerniglia and Janelle Marsh are the proud new owners of DYWD and are extremely ecstatic to get this dance season underway.  With a new look and a new attitude, they can’t wait to share their positive energy and creative choreography with students new and old.

Do You Wanna Dance offers a wide range of class options geared toward each child’s skill level and style. Our goal is to make each child’s experience in dance a fun, knowledgable and positive one.

Classes are provided for children ages 2 and up, and adults.  Class topics include:  Hip Hop, Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Modern, Break, Jazz, Duet, Musical Theatre, Lyrical, Step, and Tumbling.

Do You Wanna Dance is conveniently located at 308 Central Street in the center of Saugus, Massachusetts.

For more information, including class descriptions, staff qualifications, pricing, and schedule, see the website at:  dywdsaugus.com

New Location for TCS

As of February 2016, rehearsals for the Theatre Company of Saugus will be at the Laurel Gardens Community Room, at 2 Rice Street.  This is the one-story building, not the Laurel Towers which is also marked 2 Rice Street.

The venue for performances for our March 2016 production of The Laramie Project will be Saugus High School, in the Black Box Theater room C09.  Many thanks to Steve and the SHS Drama Club for hosting us!

For both locations, see our Directions page.

Both of these locations are temporary.  TCS is in need of a new home.  If you have any ideas or suggestions, or know somebody who knows somebody, please contact us ASAP, at TCSaugus@gmail.com.  We would prefer to be in Saugus, and are limited in how much rent we can pay.

We were formerly housed at the East Saugus United Methodist Church.  They declined to renew our lease beyond December 2015, because they say they would prefer to use their space to house other church groups.

Nunsense Mega Previews

You can catch preview performances by the cast of our upcoming holiday season musical comedy Nunsense:  The Mega Musical.  And TCS members joining in the holiday singing.

  • Saturday 21 November, 10 AM to 3 PM.  Homecoming Arts and Crafts Festival at Saugus High School.  Preview performance at 1 PM.
  • Wednesday 2 December, 3 PM to 9 PM.  Bookfair fundraiser at Barnes & Noble bookstore.  Preview performance at 7 PM.
  • Friday 4 December, 5 PM to 8 PM.  Tree Lighting at Saugus Town Hall.  TCS will be caroling at 6:15 PM.
  • Saturday 5 December, 9 AM to 12 noon.  Holiday Stroll at Cliftondale Congregational Church.  TCS will be joining the holiday chorus.

Casting Announced

We are pleased to announce the casts for our next two shows.

Thank  you to all the talented people who auditioned!

Tickets are now available for Nunsense Mega.

Saugus Founders Day 2015

TCS members will perform for the crowd on the front steps of Town Hall, for an hour starting at 2:00 PM.  Including musical selections from our shows in the 2015-2016 season:

  • Once On This Island Jr.
  • Mystery of Edwin Drood
  • Nunsense The Mega Musical
  • Urinetown
  • And an introduction to our drama The Laramie Project

Founders Day is an annual street fair held in the center of Saugus.  On Central Street in front of the town hall and library, between the monument and the Iron Works.  The 35th annual fair is on Saturday 12 September 2015.  80 vendors selling jewelry, home decor, crafts, sports memorabilia, clothing, and accessories.  Raffles, prizes, give-aways.  Food booths supporting youth organizations.  Kids games including bounce house, face painting, sand art, photo booth, superhero pictures.

Theatre Company of Saugus (and many other local organizations) has a table with company mementoes, raffles, ticket sales, and publicity materials.  The TCS table is on the sidewalk in front of Town Hall, to the right as you face the building.

We need volunteers to staff our table and promote the company to the crowd.  To help out, please contact us, thanks.

Tickets to Drood and Nunsense will be for sale at a special discount price for Founders Day only.  At the TCS table.  $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, students, children.  That is $2 off the normal advance sales price, and $5 off the at-the-door ticket price.

Moving Scenery in Storage

We will continue our project of moving scenery, on Saturday 26 September 2015.  The starting time is TBA, watch this space for further news.

Please meet us at 123 Forest Street.  We will be moving set pieces from Leo’s garage and shed to our storage unit at 222 Central Street Storage.  Both of these locations are shown on the map on the Directions page of our website.

We need people with trucks or vans.  And people who can left and carry.

We can also use people who cannot lift or carry, but can take inventory as we work.

If you plan to help us out, or have questions, please contact Larry Segel at 617-539-0418.

TCS has collected a lot of scenery, furniture, costumes, and props over the years.  Half of it is stored in rented rooms at Central Storage, at 222 Central Street in Saugus.  The other half is in garages and sheds at a property on Forest Street.  We are consolidating all of it into a larger room at Central Storage.  This will take two or three moving days, and it must be completed during August and September 2015.  We will need the help of a bunch of people who can carry things; the more the easier.  We also need people with trucks or vans on the days we move stuff from Forest Street to Central Storage.  The locations may be found on our Directions page.

 

DASH Nominations and Awards 2014-2015

Theatre Company of Saugus (TCS) is a member of the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatre (EMACT).  EMACT runs the DASH program (Distinguished Award and Special Honors) that evaluates many of the shows done by its member groups.  Many aspects of each show and the performers are rated, and those with the best ratings are Nominated for DASH Awards.  The award winners are revealed at the annual DASH Gala, which is very much like the Tony Awards, but local.

TCS has a nomination for one of its productions in the 2014-2015 season:

  • Anthony Turilli is nominated for Best Youth Actor in a Play, for his role as Templeton the rat in Charlotte’s Web.

Several other TCS members were nominated for their work with other groups:

  • Amanda Allen for Best Makeup and Hair Design of a Musical for Into The Woods at Spotlight Playhouse.
  • James Wlodyka for Best Sound Design of a Musical for The Rocky Horror Show at Winthrop Playmakers.
  • Shawn Gelzleichter for Best Musical Direction for Tommy at The Footlight Club.  Winner.
  • Kathleen Tringale for Best Choreography for a Musical for Chicago at Wakefield Repertory Theatre.
  • Brian Dion (and others) for Best Set Dressing for a Play for Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean at the Hovey Players
  • Abbey Ross for Best Stage Management of a Musical for Green Day’s American Idiot at Marblehead Little Theatre.  This show was also nominated for Best Production of a Musical.
  • Emily Sheeran for Best Youth Actress in a Play for Moon Over the Brewery at Acme Theater Productions.  Winner.
  • Chip Sheeran for Best Set Design of a Play for Moon Over the Brewery at Acme Theater Productions.
  • Chip Sheeran for Best Direction of a Play for Moon Over the Brewery at Acme Theater Productions.  This show was also nominated for Best Production of a Play.
  • Saugus High drama teacher Steve Black for Best Direction of a Musical for Lex Miserables at Marblehead Little Theatre.
  • The Men of the Barricade in Les Miserables at Marblehead Little Theatre were nominated for Best Specialty Ensemble in a Musical.  Winner.
  • The entire cast of Les Mis was also nominated for Best Ensemble in a Musical.  The cast included TCS members Bob Russell, Matt Ludwig, Les Tarmey, Bobby Imperato, Bryan Cipoletta, and Sarah Belliveau.
  • Saugus High graduate Tyler Prendergast is part of the nominated Best Specialty Ensemble in a Play for the Tragedians in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at Longwood Players.  Winner.
  • The entire cast was also nominated for Best Ensemble in a Play.
  • And the show was nominated for Best Production of a Play.  Winner.

TCS is the Sponsor of the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Play.  Click here for the complete list of DASH Nominations and winners.  The 2015 Annual EMACT Gala and DASH Awards is on Saturday 29 August 2015 starting at 6:00 PM.  The location is the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, Mass.  Click here for complete details about the Gala including purchasing tickets.

The Directors for our 2015-2016 Season

The Theatre Company of Saugus is excited to announce the selection of our Directors and some other Artistic Staff for the four shows in our 2015-2016 season.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  The Tony-winning musical with multiple possible endings, by Rupert Holmes.  Performances will be 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 October 2015.  Adam Schuler will be the Director and Choreographer.  Adam is a theatre educator and has directed several shows for our neighbors the Wakefield Repertory Theatre.  We welcome back Barbara Morash as our Music Director for Drood.  She was the music director for our production of Cabaret a few years ago.

Nunsense:  The Mega Musical.  A remake of the original with additional songs, lines, and characters, by Dan Goggin.  11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20 December 2015.  Becky Rush will be the Director and Choreographer.  Kathleen Tringale will assist with some of the Choreography.  Becky directed the TCS production of Nuncrackers last year.  The music director is Joe Nuccio.

The Laramie Project.  A serious drama, by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project.  26, 27. 28 February and 4, 5, 6 March 2016.  Jason Hair-Wynn will be the Director.  Jason has recently done several shows with our neighbors the Winthrop Playmakers.

Urinetown.  A satiric comedy musical, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis.  13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22 May 2016.  We have Co-Directors:  Britt Mitchell and Kathleen Tringale.  Kathleen will be the Choreographer.  Britt has directed our Youth Workshop for several years, and Kathleen has worked with TCS on The Producers and other shows, and has recently choreographed at Wakefield Rep.

Thank you to all the applicants for Artistic Staff positions.  We we had many talented and accomplished candidates to choose from.

The Stage Manager for the first two shows, Drood and Nunsense, will be Mary Moffett.  Mary has staged managed and directed several shows for TCS.  Mary and Amanda Allen will be the Co-Producers for Drood.

We are now seeking people to fill the open positions on our volunteer Technical Staff for all shows, including Producers, Stage Managers, and Designers for Sets, Lighting, Costumes, Props, etc.  Also Publicity, House, and Concessions Managers.  If you are interested in helping out, please Contact Us.

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Becky Rush – Becky is thrilled to be back working with the Theatre Company of Saugus directing Nunsense The Mega-Musical this season. She directed last year’s December production of Nuncrackers for TCS and has played the role of Sister Mary Paul / Amnesia in six different chapters of the series (Nunsense The Mega-Musical in 2014, Nunset Boulevard in 2013, Meshuggah-Nuns in 2012, Sister Amnesia’s Nunsense Jamboree in 2011, Nunsensations in 2009 and Nunsense 2 in 2008) and has played Sister Robert Anne in Wakefield Reperatory Theatre’s 2013 production of Nunsense. Some of her most memorable directing experiences include: A Year with Frog and Toad, Fox on the Fairway, James and the Giant Peach, Annie Jr, Grease, Seussical, Dear Edwina, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown!, and The Wizard of Oz,  among many others. She is currently directing Disney’s Peter Pan Jr. with her school Drama Club and Godspell with the Majestic Theatre Teen Company in Manchester NH. Becky regularly performs and directs for many community theatre companies in southern NH and the Boston area. She teaches at the Northwood School in New Hampshire where she also directs a thriving Drama Club of 80-100 students each year. She was named NH World Language Teacher of the Year in 2013.