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Dear KAT Members,
It's back-to-school time and time for another issue of the
KAT's Meow, Kensington Arts Theatre's e-newsletter. Read
on for the latest on KAT activities and events and our
ever-changing carousel of shows!
| 2003-2004 Season (for real this time) |
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Our 2003-2004 season has taken a few turns since last you read.
Originally planned as our Winter show was I Love You, You're
Perfect, Now Change. However, our rights were revoked as it is
going on tour in the next year. In addition, our spring show was
changed because the director recently got married and will be moving
to Okinawa. We wish Heather and Omar the very best. As a result of
these two crinkles, we have forged ahead and made some pretty darn
good choices for different shows. And the season goes:
Cabaret (Fall 2003)
Showing this Fall, Cabaret will open October 31, 2003 and will
run through November 22, 2003. Auditions will be held August 11 & 12
at 7:30pm and callbacks will be August 14 also at 7:30pm. All roles
are open, and we are looking for six men and six women.
Book by Joe Masteroff, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb,
Cabaret is a fast ride, so hold on tight. Set in Berlin in the
early 1930s in a seedy nightclub called the Kit Kat Club, we
journey through the story with the help of narrator, the Emcee for the
Kit Kat Club and with Sally Bowles, a devil-may-care aspiring singing
star. As the play moves, we see and hear bits of how Nazi Germany is
gaining momentum and tension manifests itself, tearing characters
apart. The music in this show is infectious and will leave you
feeling awake and alive.
Into the Woods (Winter 2004)
Showing next March, Into the Woods opens March 5 and runs through
March 27. Auditions will be held January 6 and 7, with callbacks
January 8. All roles open.
Into the Woods won three Tony Awards when it first appeared on
Broadway in 1988 and was the recent recipient of the 2002 Tony Award for
Best Revival of a Musical. Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece weaves
favorite storybook characters with a brand new tale of a childless
baker and his wife. Considered one of Sondheim's best musicals, the
first act recreates the world of fairy tales, while the second act
ponders what happens to the characters AFTER "happily ever after."
tick...tick...BOOM! (Spring 2004)
Showing next Spring, tick...tick...BOOM! opens April 30, 2004
and will run through May 22, 2004. Auditions will be held February 16
and 17 with callbacks February 19. All roles open.
Rock musical genius Jonathan Larson left this world too early, but in
his wake live musicals that take us to unchartered territory, such as
Rent and Superbia. One such musical,
tick...tick...BOOM! which was produced by friends after his
death in 1996, is a rock monologue based loosely on his life. The
result of such a work is a humorous, touching, as well as ironic, view
of a young man dealing with the frustration of reaching a milestone in
time before reaching the professional milestone of his life's work.
As we devise our 2004-2005 season, we welcome innovative, meaningful
ideas from our members. Please feel free to share your ideas with us.
Click here for more information on KAT »
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| Money, Money |
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A big thank you is in order to all of our supporters in helping make
our 2nd annual benefit Gala a huge success! In case you missed it or
if you want a recap, the evening was filled with great food, great
performances and most importantly great people.
The lobby was filled with delicious finger food including ham,
empanadas, and tomatoes stuffed with basil and mozzarella. All of the
catering was made possible by our own Monica Rouco, House Manager
extraordinaire, with some assistance from friends and family. There
was a bar filled with wonderful wines provided by Monica's spouse,
Manuel Rouco, sodas provided by KAT President Craig Pettinati, and
some bountiful brew provided by the Gala's director, Doe B. Kim.
And that was just for starters. The main event was filled with such
fun music such as "Money, Money" and "Maybe This Time" from
Cabaret, plugging our fall show and "Giants in the Sky" and "No
One Is Alone" from Into The Woods, our winter slot.
Our goal for the Gala was to introduce and extend our vision of
theater to friends, family and the wonderful surrounding community
that is Kensington, Maryland. We wanted to show that we can produce
fun, yet challenging and provocative, contemporary entertainment as
well as recreate amazing classics. We did our job introducing the new
season to our audience with bits and pieces of each show and
maintained a respect to musical theater staples. Again a big thank
you to everyone who made this possible.
– Diego Prieto (KAT Executive Producer)
Click here to go to the Gala page on KAT Online »
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| KAT Wins First Ruby Griffith Award |
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We are very proud to announce our first Ruby Griffith Award, 2nd
Runner-Up for Outstanding Achievement in a Musical, for Side
Show, our debut production in our very first season (2002-2003).
On July 13, the British Embassy, in conjunction with the British
Embassy Players (BEP) community theater group, held its annual Ruby
Griffith Awards ceremony in the Rotunda of the British Embassy in
Washington, DC. This year, 36 community theaters from around the DC
area submitted shows for the awards competition. The submitted shows
compete for the coveted All Round Production Excellence Award,
Outstanding Achievement in a Musical (and Play), and 1st and 2nd
Runner-Up Awards for Outstanding Achievement.
KAT representatives who were present at the awards ceremony were Craig
Pettinati, Brian Campbell, Marie Coyle, Elizabeth French, Diego
Prieto, and Kirk Andersen. It was a thrilling and particularly proud
moment for all of us, as well as for the group, and solidified the
recognition of our hard and devoted work in making KAT the very best,
cutting-edge community theater group in the area. The KAT Board of
Directors would like to thank everyone who made and continue to make
it all possible, including the cast and crew of Side Show. We
would also like to thank the Ruby Griffith Awards committee for
recognizing a new community theater group, in its first year, with
such a prestigious honor and award.
Other notable winners at the awards ceremony were as follows:
- All Round Production Excellence, Port City Playhouse (Betrayal)
- Outstanding Achievement in a Musical, The Foundry Players (Working)
- First Runner-Up, The Musical Theatre Center (A Chorus Line)
- Outstanding Achievement in a Play, Silver Spring Stage (Last of the Red Hot Lovers)
- First Runner-Up, Montgomery Playhouse (The Woman in Black)
- Second Runner-Up, Bowie Community Theatre (Dial 'M' for Murder)
Congratulations to all the winners and all who submitted and
participated in this year’s entries. Cheers to an outstanding
2002-2003 season of community theater productions, and we look forward
to more outstanding productions in the 2003-2004 season.
– Brian Campbell (KAT Vice President)
Click here to go to the Side Show page on KAT Online »
Click here to go to the Ruby Griffith Awards Page »
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At the July KAT membership meeting, we voted in our new board -- most
from last year staying on and a few newcomers. Let's meet the new
chum(s), shall we?
Matt Karner (Member-At-Large) is thrilled to be making his KAT
debut as Set Designer for Cabaret. He is also proud to be
recently appointed to the Board of Directors of KAT. Most recently he
designed the lighting for Borderland at the University Theatre
at Virginia Tech. His work as also been seen in productions of
Guys and Dolls, Jesus Christ Superstar, A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum, Hair, and had the
pleasure of being the resident designer of State Your Name Theatre
Company in Blacksburg, Virginia. Matt is a graduate of Virginia Tech
and is happy to be sharing his passion with the community of
Kensington.
Monica Rouco (House Manager) can't get enough of her son,
Diego, at home, so she decided to join him on the KAT Board. She was
the caterer for our Gala in July, and she plans on selling baked goods
at our future shows to increase our concession stand income. Beware
all of you KAT members with raging sweet tooths (or is it teeth?).
Cynthia E. Russell (Membership)
Hello KAT! My name is Cynthia Russell, although many of you know me
as Cindy. I am very happy to join the board of KAT as the Membership
Director. My hope is to expand the membership, and help turn KAT into
a theatrical group that each and every member looks forward to being a
part of (along with my fellow board members). You may hear from me
from time to time -- collecting dues, asking for volunteers to help out
during our fabulous productions, or various other activities. Please
don't forget to renew your membership -- you may do so by going to the
KAT website, filling out the form, and then mailing in your dues. I
look forward to hearing from each and every one of you!
Kevin Zarcone (Fundraising)
Hello. My name is Kevin Zarcone and I am thrilled to have just joined
the Board of Directors in the position of Fundraising Director. I
bring many years of experience in other settings from fraternity
treasurer to Arena Stage fund-raising intern. I have a bachelor's
degree in Music Business and Vocal Performance from The University of
Wisconsin-Platteville, and I currently work as the Director of
Audience Services for The Choral Arts Society of Washington. On
stage, in the DC area, I have been seen in Guys and Dolls,
Side Show, Birds of Paradise and Evita. I look
forward to serving this two year term with KAT and hope that there
will be many more years to come.
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Matthew A. Anderson (Side Show) is playing the role of
Stuart in a new musical, Suburb, with the Elden Street Players.
It runs August 1st through the 23rd.
Heather Andrews (Birds of Paradise), in addition to
producing KAT's One-Act Festival, is directing the one-act,
Impromptu, by Tod Mosel for Montgomery Playhouse in August.
She also tied the knot with Omar Latiri in July.
Congratulations, you two.
Joe Cannon (Side Show) is in the cast of Dear World
with the American Century Theater. Closes August 9th.
Dave Savolaine (Foreplay, WATCH Adjudicator) participated
in the ComedySportZ national improv tournament the first weekend of August.
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The deadline for submissions for the October issue of the
KAT's Meow is September 15th. If you're not late, this
won't be late. Please send articles, pictures, things you're doing,
random PayPal money to me
via e-mail.
Future Issue Schedule
October 2003
January 2004
March 2004
May 2004
June 2004
August 2004
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KAT Board (Content Providers)
Doe B. Kim (Editor in Chief)
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