Category Archives: Announcements

Each year the town of Saugus holds the Founders Day street fair.  Vendors, organizations, food, kiddie rides, performances.  This year it will be on Saturday 6 September 2014.  The location is Central Street north of the monument at Main Street, between the Library and Town Hall.

The kids from the Theatre Company of Saugus’ Summer Youth Theatre Workshop performed at 9:30 AM.  Including selections from their production of Into The Woods Jr.  On the stage on the front steps of the Town Hall.  Come on out and give them a hand.

You could also visit the TCS table for raffles and info about our upcoming season.  And to buy tickets for Charlotte’s Web, at a special early purchase price.  Or admire our recent DASH award.  See you at the fair!

We can also use help manning the TCS table for part of the day.  To volunteer, please Contact Us.

Our production of [title of show] garnered several DASH nominations.  Most impressively, Nicholas Meunier won the award for Best Direction of a Musical, (There was a tie; another show also won.)  And, it was one of the nominees for Best Musical.  Which means our cast had the opportunity to put on an excellent reprise performance of a number from the show at the DASH Gala!   In addition to Best Musical and Direction, [title of show] also got nominations for:

• Best Supporting Actress in a Musical – Rebecca Schneebaum
• Best Lighting Design for a Musical – Larry Segel
• Best Musical Direction – Suzanne Jalbert
• Best Ensemble in a Musical – the cast, including Stephen D’Amico, Bobby Imperato, Andrea Lyons, Rebecca Schneebaum

Here is an article about the show and our nominations in the Saugus Advertiser by Kate Evans.

TCS members who got DASH nominations for other companies include:

• Best Supporting Actor in a Musical – Bobby Imperato in Spamalot at Marblehead Little Theatre
• Best Make-Up & Hair Design in a Musical – Amanda Allen for The Music Man at Spotlight Playhouse
• Best Stage Management of a Play – Jen Ryan Gelzleichter for Next Fall at the Wellesley Players
• Best Musical Direction – Shawn Gelzleichter for Company at The Footlight Club

Congratulations to all!  Click here for the complete list of winners and nominations.

TCS participates in the DASH program (Distinguished Achievement and Special Honors) run by EMACT (Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatre).  Most of our shows are evaluated and compared with the few hundred other shows by all the EMACT member groups.  We are eligible for a variety of awards.  Six persons or groups are nominated for each award.

The DASH nominees for the 2013-2014 season were announced on Tuesday 15 July 2014, starting at 8:00 PM.  The announcement was made by way of a live-streaming webcast.  Here is the link to the webcast:   http://new.livestream.com/emact/events/3115103

The annual EMACT Gala, at which the DASH awards werel given out, was on Saturday 16 August 2014, starting at 6:00 PM.  The location was the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Massachusetts.  Visit the EMACT website for complete details about the Gala and to buy tickets.

Theatre Company of Saugus brought a cutting of its production of Macbeth, the tragedy by William Shakespeare, to the 2014 EMACT Festival.  Organized by the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatres, five groups brought shows to the festival, held at Tewksbury Memorial High School on Saturday & Sunday 28 & 29 June.

Here is the link to the photos taken of the cutting of the show presented at the EMACT Festival.  Photography by Rik Pierce.

The adjudicators admired the show; they were fascinated by the director’s concept.  We also heard many nice comments from the audience.

TCS won the Adjudicator’s Special Award for Excellence in Risk Taking.  This award is sponsored by Centre Stage Theatre, Harriet Friedman, and Ron Godfrey, and is given in recognition of notable theatrical risk taking.

Although that was the only award we won, TCS did garner nominations for seven other awards:

• Lexi Deschene for Best Supporting Actress, as Banquo
• William Fafard, Jr. for Best Supporting Actor, as Fleance and Macduff’s Child
• Amanda Allen and Nicholas Meunier for Outstanding Costume Design
• Larry Segel for Outstanding Lighting Design
• Amanda Allen, Nicholas Meunier, and Larry Segel for Outstanding Scenery Design
• Nicholas Meunier for Best Actor, as Macbeth
• The company for Best Ensemble

Congratulations to the two Outstanding Productions, who will both go on to the New England Regional Festival:  Hovey Players with Rabbit Hole, and Lexington Players with Spring Awakening.

EMACT also held a Design Exhibition at the festival, showcasing technical production designs from member groups.

• Amanda Allen was recognized with High Honors in Costume Design, for her designs for the TCS presentation of A Year With Frog and Toad.

Here is the link to the complete list of Festival 2014 Nominees and Winners.

TCS previously won the Risk Taking award at the 2007 EMACT Festival, for our production of the The Marriage of Bette and Boo.

This photo shows our director Nicholas Meunier accepting the Risk Taking award trophy at the EMACT Festival awards ceremony on Sunday 29 June 2014 at Tewksbury High School.  Awards were presented by cast members of the Burlington Players’ Radium Girls, which won the national AACT festival in 2013.

Here we see Amanda Allen (left) accepting her recognition of High Honors in the design competition for her costuming of Frog and Toad.  It was presented by Susan Harrington (right), EMACT board member.

EMACT (Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatres) will hold their biennial Festival on Saturday & Sunday, June 28-29, 2014.  Theatre Company of Saugus will present a shorter version of our recent full-length production of Macbeth, the tragedy by Shakespeare.

Our performance is on Saturday 28 June 2014 at 1:00 PM. There are two other shows after us in the Saturday afternoon session.  And two more shows in the Sunday afternoon session.  Awards are given Sunday evening.  For more information, see the EMACT website:  www.emact.org

They have secured a new and exciting venue.   The festival will move to the Dr. Christine L. McGrath Performing Arts Center at the two-year old Tewksbury Memorial High School.  It has a state of the art sound and lighting system.  The Performing Arts Center was built as a theatre with fine acoustical baffling and a Marly dance floor.  There is ample parking and great access for load-in and set storage.  To find Tewksbury High School, look on the location list on the left side of the View Larger Map on our Directions page.

TCS has participated in most of the recent festivals, most recently in 2012 when our production was The Proposal, a one-act comedy  by Anton Chekhov.

The Theatre Company of Saugus is seeking to engage the artistic staff for our upcoming season.  We are seeking Directors for four planned productions, and  Musical Directors and Choreographers for two of them.  The shows in our 2014-2015 season:

Early-Mid Fall 2014:  Charlotte’s Web, a family drama with a cast of all ages.  By Joseph Robinette.  We are seeking a Director.

December/Holidays 2014:  Nuncrackers, the hilarious Christmas show from the world of Nunsense by Dan Goggin.  We are seeking a Director, Musical Director, and a Choreographer.  The jobs of director and choreographer could be done by one person.

Winter 2015:  The Underpants, a wonderful comedy, adapted by Steve Martin from the original 1910 play, Die Hose, by Carl Sternheim.  We are seeking a Director.

Spring 2015:  Clue, the Musical, based on the board game and the movie.  Book by Peter DePietro, music by Galen Blum, Wayne Barker and Vinnie Martucci, and lyrics by Tom Chiodo.  We are seeking a Director, a Musical Director, and a Choreographer.  The jobs of director and choreographer could be done by one person.

Stipends are offered for each position, with amounts to be negotiated.  To apply, please send an email to tcsaugus@gmail.com.  Please attach a theatrical resume, and a cover letter stating which jobs you are interested in for which productions.  You may also send us a message to ask any questions.  The application deadline is March 31, 2014.  Interviews with candidates and our board of directors will be scheduled in April 2014.

Some links with information about the shows:

http://www.dramaticpublishing.com/p241/Charlotte%27s-Web/product_info.html

http://www.tamswitmark.com/musicals/nuncrackers.html

http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/7624/underpants-the-martin

http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2191/clue-the-musical

The Theatre Company of Saugus is seeking to engage the technical staff for our upcoming season.  We are seeking Stage Managers, Producers, Scenic Designers, Costume Designers, Properties Managers, and Lighting Designers for four planned productions.  The shows in our 2014-2015 season:

Early-Mid Fall 2014:  Charlotte’s Web, a family drama with a cast of all ages.  By Joseph Robinette. 

December/Holidays 2014:  Nuncrackers, the hilarious Christmas show from the world of Nunsense by Dan Goggin. 

Winter 2015:  The Underpants, a wonderful comedy, adapted by Steve Martin from the original 1910 play, Die Hose, by Carl Sternheim. 

Spring 2015:  Clue, the Musical, based on the board game and the movie.  Book by Peter DePietro, music by Galen Blum, Wayne Barker and Vinnie Martucci, and lyrics by Tom Chiodo. 

These are all volunteer positions.  To apply, please send an email to tcsaugus@gmail.com.  Please attach a theatrical resume, and a cover letter stating which jobs you are interested in for which productions.  You may also send us a message to ask any questions.  The application deadline is April 30, 2014. 

For more information about the shows, there are links on our posting “Seeking Artistic Staff for 2014-2015 Season“.