Wednesday, September 18, 2002
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Wednesday, September 18, 2002 |
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And now for something completely different... Sandy Creek presents Madrigal Dinner
By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
Kathy Andersen and Millie Turek, a drama director and the choral director, respectively, at Sandy Creek High School wanted to do something different this year. Usually, the fall is reserved for a one act play headed for competition, a longer play is produced in the winter and a musical is presented in the spring. This year, Sandy Creek will kick things off with a Madrigal Dinner that will involve drama students, choral students and members of the Fayette Youth Chorale. A Madrigal Dinner is like old time dinner theatre. Really old time, like the renaissance. There is acting, singing, dancing interspersed throughout a meal and the actors interact with the audience throughout the show. For instance, as guests arrive they are given a title and the performers may direct some dialogue to the audience or ask for their help. "A Madrigal Dinner focuses on the culture of an era, without having to deal with the constraints of something like a Shakespearean play," said Andersen. "This is less formal and more fun." It will definitely be a lot of fun. Along with performances from the choruses, there is the ongoing story of a jester who has been challenged for his job, a stuffed dragon and a dancing unicorn. "We hope to make this a yearly occurrence and to keep adding to it," said Andersen, who is helming the production which features over 80 people. Recently, the cast went on a weekend retreat to Rock Eagle to get the show ready. They squeezed about two weeks of rehearsal into two days and came together as a cast. The students seem very excited for the production and see the challenges of maintaining a dialect, fencing and interacting with the audience as part of the fun of the project. The Madrigal Dinner will take place at The Barn in Tyrone on Sept. 26, 27 and 28. Admission is $15 and includes admission to the dinner and the show. Proceeds from the Madrigal Dinner will go to furnishing Patriot Hall with the things that will not be covered in the School Board's budget. Sandy Creek has a lot lined up this year. After the Madrigal Dinner, they hope to perform a shortened version of Steve Martin's "Picasso at the Lapin Agile," present a coffeehouse featuring student written or directed features, an evening of ImprovOlympics, a Readers Theatre and two small film festivals. There will be more productions announced at a later date. |
