Prospect Theater Project » Announcements

Dinner

webmaster — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:32:07 +0000

Moira Buffini, Dinner (2002)

Directed by David Barbareee

February 3-26, 2012

Fri, Sat, 8 pm, Sun 2 pm

Prospect Theater Project

Dinner is a very witty, very black comedy about the Dinner Party from Hell. The characters are edgy, mostly London upper crust types. The bitchy society lady Paige throwing the party is celebrating her husband Lars’s latest self-centered self-help “philosophy” book. She’s invited a woman artist Wynne who put a portrait of her husband’s genitals on display at her last exhibition—he really didn’t like that and now he’s left her; scientist Hal, who does something secret with germs, and his sexy trophy wife Sian, who’s a “newsbabe” (“I decorate the rolling news”). Then there’s Mike. He shows up at the door by accident and may or may not be a cat burglar, there to case the house. And there’s a waiter, whom Paige recruited via the Internet.

From the very first scene, the zingers flow, one right after another. Lars writes of “the psychological apocalypse” which apparently frees you from having to care about any one else, something these characters are already really good at doing. Wynne has the hots for Lars and praises him for “tapp[ing] the twenty-first century zeitgeist.” It’s non-stop trendy talk, deliberately sophisticated but beneath it just very, very funny and utterly ephemeral. Hal rhapsodizes about the fog outside the house—which is, he says, “spooky, more than spooky, uberspooky.” Paige has created a truly astonishing menu, so astonishing I don’t want to detail it ahead of time. Let me just say that you won’t want any of these recipes to take home for your own use.

And there are Games. The games are as funny and harsh and there is no forgiveness for anyone in them. It’s hard to end a play like this, which relies not on character or plot as much as on the cleverness of its language and which requires clockwork pacing, but author Buffini does a workmanlike job of bringing a truly awful meal to a close. Before you leave the table, you’ll laugh many, many times—probably snickers at first, then full out belly laughs. But if you decide to prepare any of Paige’s recipes on your own, please don’t invite me for dinner.

David Keymer, for The Prospect Theater Project

Open Auditions

webmaster — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:54:05 +0000

Prospect Theater Project Announces Open Auditions

Prospect Theater Project will hold auditions for its two upcoming productions on Saturday, May 23rd from 10am-6pm. Available roles are outlined below. The rehearsal process for PTP productions lasts approximately 4-5 weeks, and performances run for 4 weekends. Out of town actors are paid a modest gas stipend and all actors receive a free season subscription.

Auditions will be held at Prospect Theater Project located at 520 Scenic Drive in Modesto. To schedule an audition or get more information, please email auditions@prospecttheaterproject.org

Actors should bring a resume and a headshot, and be prepared for cold readings. A short monologue is recommended.

This Day and Age by Nagle Jackson
Performances July 10th – August 2nd, 2009
Rehearsals to begin June 2009.

Two available roles:

Marjorie — 60′ish, mother of two adult children, very comfortable with herself.
Brian — 40-50′ish, British, Margaret’s son-in-law, classical music radio announcer (somewhat “plummy” voice preferable)

Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O’Neil
Performances September – October 2009
Rehearsals to begin August 2009

Five available roles:

Jim Tyrone (male, mid-30s-40s) Tortured, misbegotten lost sheep. An actor. Wealthy, guilt-ridden, sardonic, charming, drinks a lot, in sore need of redemption.
Josie Hogan (female, late 20s to 40) Describes herself disparagingly as a “great cow of a woman”, earthy, maternal, emotionally direct, with an intimidating presence. pretends to be hard, coarse, and “one of the guys”?but in truth is winsome, vulnerable, naive, and nurturing.
Phil Hogan (male, mid 50s-60s). Josie’s father. Cunning, fun loving, hotheaded, comic, blue collar. Of Irish stock . Phil spends much of the play drunk or pretending to be drunk.
Mike Hogan (male, early 20s) Josie’s youngest brother. Frequently referred to by the other characters as “moral” and “self-righteous”, and is genuinely a good person.
T. Steadman Harder (male, 20-30s). A wealthy, uppity, detestable landowner. Disdainful, entitled, easily shocked, is not genuinely a good person, and is comically eviscerated by Phil and Josie. A straw dog, all bark no bite.

Shakespeare Acting Workshops

webmaster — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:07:06 +0000

WHAT: Two Acting Workshops

Four-Week Shakespeare for Young Adults
Four-Week Intensive Acting Shakespeare Workshop

WHERE:
Prospect Theater Project, 520 Scenic Drive, Modesto, CA

WHEN:
Saturdays beginning February 28 through March 21, 2009.

Shakespeare for Young Adults 10:00-12:00
Intensive Acting Shakespeare Workshop 12:00-3:00

WHO:
Shakespeare for Young Adults—Any students, 12 – 16, interested in an introduction to Shakespeare and his works through theater games, study of Shakespearean language, verse and the presentation of selected work to an invited audience.
$100.00 for four-week session.

Acting Shakespeare—Any students and actors, 16 and up interested in Shakespearean scene study, monologues and sonnets. A rare opportunity for students and actors to work in a safe, guided environment to hone acting skills, develop audition material, or build public speaking skills.
$140.00 for four-week session.

PTP Founding Artistic Director Jack Souza is facilitating these workshops. A college and university instructor who has taught Introduction to Shakespeare at Modesto Junior College and is a thirty-year theater veteran, Souza has regularly conducted Acting Shakespeare workshops since 2000 here in Modesto at PTP, at Murphys Creek Theatre’s Mirror Project and in New York City.
To inquire, please call PTP at 209-549-9341 or Jack Souza at 209-499-5042.

Save the Date!

webmaster — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 06:05:36 +0000

PTP is throwing the biggest party of the year. On March 21st, 2009, PTP will host its first annual Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves Ball. It will be an eclectic evening of art, music, dance, theater, food and wine, featuring local artists and the culinary wizardry of Chef Paul Tremayne. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting event!

To buy tickets, contact the box office, or buy tickets online through our ticketing partner, Brown Paper Tickets.