THIS WEEK WITH MCP ...
ON STAGE NEXT ...
Don't miss the next show of our 2024 Season, Timeless.
Performances are April 12th, 13th, 18th, 19th, and 20th at 8:00 PM and April 14th at 2:00 PM in the Mason Community Playhouse.
Get your tickets
HERE
!
IN THE NEAR FUTURE ...
Playbook Book Club
March 27th at 7:30pm
Playhouse
Trivia Team of Theatre Nerds
March 28th, April 4th at 7pm
James' Third Base in Mason
Membership Committee
April 1st at 7pm
Playhouse
MCP Board Meeting
April 3rd at 7:30pm
Playhouse
Quarterly Birthday Celebration
April 4th at 6:30pm
El Rancho Nuevo
2200 Kings Mills Rd, Mason, OH
PlayBook meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:30pm at the Playhouse
The gatherings for the remainder of 2024 and beyond are:
March 27: Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years by Annie Elizabeth Delany, Sara Louise Delany & Amy Hill Hearth
April 24:
Show Boat by Edna Ferber
May 22:
Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener
June 26:
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
July 24:
Shane by Jack Schaefer
No August Gathering
September 25:
Working by Studs Terkel
October 23:
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
November/December (Date TBD):
Coney Island Christmas/A Coney Island of the Mind by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
January 22, 2025:
Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck
Director Lara Gonzalez and Producer Laureen Catlin are excited to announce auditions for God's Favorite. Though not as well known as many of Neil Simon's plays, God's Favorite, is considered one of his best. The play centers around Joe Benjamin, a successful Long Island businessman. Joe is a modern-day ‘Job’ with a demanding wife, ungrateful children, and wise-cracking household employees. Just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse, he is visited by Sidney Lipton, a.k.a. A Messenger from God (and compulsive film buff) with a mission: test Joe’s faith and report back to “the Boss.” The jokes and Tests of Faith fly fast and furious as Neil Simon spins a contemporary morality tale like no other in this hilarious comedy.
Auditions continue
Monday, March 18th, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM
at the Mason Community Playhouse,
5529 Mason Road in Mason.
Those interested in auditioning are asked to fill out an audition form accessible here. It will ask you to indicate on the form the audition session you wish to attend.
The show's characters include:
Joe Benjamin, who is in his late fifties. Joe is the patriarch of the family, whose faith in God is tested.
Sidney Lipton is a quirky messenger of God, sent to test Joe.
Rose Benjamin is in her early fifties. She is Joe's wife, a pampered housewife from Long Island.
David Benjamin is the third child of Joe and Rose. He is intelligent, sarcastic, and pessimistic. David is the family “disappointment” who never reached his potential.
Ben and Sarah Benjamin are a pair of 24-year-old twins (or as close as we can approximate). The brother and sister have an IQ of 160 - between them.
Mady & Morris are middle-aged domestics.
If you are unable to attend auditions, but would still like to be a part of the show, or have any questions, please e-mail the director.
God's Favorite will be performed June 21-23 and 27-29, 2024. Rehearsals will begin in April 2024.
Be a part of this enjoyable show!
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. - Job
If you are interested in making a donation to MCP, one of the ways you can do so is to purchase something from our Wish List or from the Needed Supplies List.
You can access the MCP Amazon Business Account Wish List.
Click here to see the list of items and make a purchase. And there is an option to donate supplies. If you click on this link
,
it will take you to the recurring supply list. And the best news is that anything you donate will be shipped directly to the Playhouse. If your account does not automatically change the delivery site, please add a site to your account and have it delivered to 5529 Mason Rd, Mason, OH 45040. The Playhouse is being monitored daily and all deliveries are taken inside as soon as they are seen!
And many members donate through a Gift in Kind. They make a purchase for a production or for the Playhouse and do not ask to be reimbursed. But, please, if you donate in this way, send an e-mail to the Treasurer, click here, with the receipt attached and information about what the purchase was for. Why? One reason is that the gifts can be tallied and you can be a patron at the appropriate level. If you do not wish to be honored in that way, just say so, and your wish will be granted. But, secondly, it helps MCP to keep track of expenditures. It is difficult to budget for the future without an accurate picture of how much it takes to produce a show or to maintain and renovate the Playhouse.
The gift of both your time and your treasure is important to MCP and greatly appreciated. Thank you for all that you do!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ...
SEND GOOD THOUGHTS ...
Paula Fultz is recovering from multiple surgeries from the last several weeks. Please send warm wishes and prayers her way as she is recovering.
Gaylene May Schumacher
is still recovering from her surgery, but doing well. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
And, please keep praying for Linda Masterson
and
Carol Wright.
If you know someone hurting, who could use good thoughts or prayers, please let the McPost Staff know and we will share it here.
Quarterly Birthday Celebrations Return!
The time has come, QBC has returned!
Join us on Thursday, April 4th between 6pm and 9pm at El Rancho Nuevo located in Mason at 2200 Kings Mills Rd.
Feel free to come and go as needed, Membership will be providing a little bit of desert to share with everyone who stops out.
Hope to see you there!
The second show of the 2024 season, Timeless, boasts an amazing cast of vocalists showcasing long-term veterans and those gracing the Playhouse stage for the first time.
The title for this issue’s highlights should be “A Tale of Three Daves”.
David Abbott first appeared with MCP last summer in Above the Sand as Secretary Taft and in the ensemble. Though it was the first time that he joined an MCP cast, he is no stranger to community theatre. David has been associated with Beechmont Players, Mariemont Players, Milford Theatre Guild, Village Players, East Side Players, CMT, Footlighters, and Nativity Players. He often appeared on stage, but this multi-talented performer is also a vocalist, instrumentalist, and music director. In fact, he joined the Above the Sand orchestra to add tuba to a few of the pieces. David has also become a valued member of MCP’s Trivia Team over the course of the last few years. The troupe is excited that he will be bringing his considerable vocal talent to the show.
David Bower also appeared with MCP for the first time in Above the Sand. He was Milton Wright and a part of the ensemble. David came to the area from Michigan, where he performed on stage in theatrical productions, in opera, and in choruses. On stage, he has appeared as Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, as Captain Corcoran in Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore, as the Duke of Dunstable in Patience, and as Charlie Davenport in Annie, Get Your Gun. And what does this David bring to Timeless? Well, as a professional singer, he has been a member of Cincinnati Opera Chorus and West Michigan’s Camerata Singers. He is also currently a member of the May Festival Chorus and Ensemble. David brings years of experience as a singer and a beautiful voice!
David Thompson has appeared once before with MCP, as have the other Davids. He was a soloist for Sentimental Journey in 2018. It was then the troupe got to hear him croon “At Last”, “Undecided”, and “I Only Have Eyes for You”. Dave is a singer/songwriter who holds a Masters of Music. He also writes and records in his free time. Featured in his quartet, The Thompsons, Dave has performed and entertained crowds throughout the Midwest for decades. It’s easy to see why he doesn’t get to squeeze in theatre into his busy schedule very often. MCP is thrilled to have his lilting voice gracing the Playhouse stage.
You don’t want to miss any of these songbirds or the others who will be joining them. Timeless tickets are on sale now!
Just click here!
Don't Miss These MCP Members Appearing in Area Shows:
MCP alum Trish Cooper and Michelle Deremo will be appearing in The Ladies Foursome as Tate and Connie. Long time MCP friend, Kelly Geoppinger is serving as a Producer. The show opens March 15th and runs through the 23rd with Center Stage Players and will be performed at the Bell Tower Arts Pavilion at 3270 Glendale Milford Rd.
Click here for tickets.
Are you an MCP member who is participating in a show with another theatre group? Let us know the details by sending an e-mail to this address and we will publish the information here in the newsletter.
TICKETS ON SALE ...
Tickets for any of the remaining shows in 2024 are on sale now!
Click here to access MCP's ticket sales page.
MCP's 2024 Season:
Proof
February 29 - March 2
Timeless, A Musical Revue
April 12
- 20
God's Favorite
June 21
- 29
Schoolhouse Rock Live!
September 6 - 14
The Mousetrap
November 15 -23
Warren County's Oldest
Continuously Operating
Community Theatre...
One Year on Mason Road,
50 Years in Mason
Joel Lind, friend to many in the Community Theater companies in SW Ohio, died in January after a prolonged illness. This memorial is to allow his friends (theater and otherwise) and family to mingle and reminisce about Joel. Our plan is to have as many people who want to, stand on stage and tell an anecdote about our friend.
There will be music, and participants will be encouraged to join in on songs to honor him.
After the stories, appetizers will be served, both Italian food (because he loved Italian food) and hot dogs with a variety of mustards (so Joel!)
Attire is casual but should include the craziest socks you own, and if you have one, a Hawaiian shirt
Let us know if you plan to attend, and if you want to tell a story.
If you have any photos of Joel to share, send them to me at here, and they will be incorporate them into the memorial.
There is no charge for this event.
After several weeks of hard work the Tech Room has been cleaned and organized. See the Thank You section below for those who put in the hard work to make this happen.
Expressing Gratitude...
Thank You ...
...
To Laureen Catlin, Becca McLaughlin, and Gail Rudolph, who sorted and stored the shoes, sorted the purses and readied them to be hung, and sorted books to be shelved in the McLaughlin Multi-Purpose Room. There is light at the end of the tunnel as regards costumes.
... To Laureen Catlin. Phil Catlin, Jim Cronin, Darren Lee, John Miller, Mike Pateras, Julie Poux, and Mike Turner, who constructed the set for Timeless yesterday ... To Mary Stan Fizer and Gail Rudolph, who spent hours during the week and yesterday painting wainscoting and trim for the set ... T
o Kim Toft, who did cleaning tasks after construction.
... To Becca McLaughlin and Sonya Neff, who greeted those who were coming to audition for God's Favorite yesterday and provided support for the director and producer.
... To Phil Catlin, Jim Cronin, Alex Fritz, Caleb Fritz, Larry Fritz, Jason Gonzalez, and Julie Poux, who finished re-organization of the Tech Room this weekend. It is so neat, it is scary!
To Phil Catlin and Jim Cronin, who power washed the awning for the stage door so that it can be hung soon.
MCP belongs to three community theatre organizations:
The Ohio Community Theatre Association has many programs. One of its most popular centers around Regional Festivals. There are eight regions in Ohio, and each one holds a Festival. At each Festival, member theatres are invited to bring an excerpt to be performed. Depending upon the number of theatres which bring excerpts to the Regional, one or more theatres may be asked to bring their excerpt to the State Conference, which is always held over Labor Day Weekend.
MCP's Board of Directors is in the process of determining which of the shows in the 2023-2024 Season will take an excerpt to this year's Regional. The Southwest OCTA Regional is held in conjunction with the ACT Conference each year. In 2024, that will be June 13th-15th.
What does it mean to perform an excerpt at the Regional?
If a production is chosen to represent a theatre in the Regional Festival, the first step is to secure rights from the publishing house to present the cutting. Then the director selects a cutting from the show. A theatre has 45 minutes of time to place a set, perform the cutting, and strike the set.
There is a specified acting space that coincides with the size of the stage at State Conference. Even at Regionals, the theatre must place its set and act within the confines of those dimensions.
The performers must be those who appeared with the theatre in that production for their season. There is the ability to make substitutions in the case of scheduling conflicts, but only up to 25% of the cast may be substitutes.
Excerpts are presented in an order that is determined randomly at a "pick meeting." Three responders that are chosen for the Regional by OCTA view every excerpt. They make comments immediately following each excerpt to the cast and crew in the presence of those attending the Festival. It is these responders who decide individual honors of merit, excellence, and outstanding work both in performance, tech, and support and who make the invitations on behalf of OCTA to bring excerpts to State Conference.
If you have never attended OCTA Regionals, you may want to mark your calendars now for that weekend and attend a day or two of the event. It is quite an experience to see the work of so many theatres here in the Southwest. It is also an opportunity to learn more about plays that you have never seen. Some members of MCP have submitted to direct a play that they became familiar with through excerpts.
McPost will publish which excerpt will represent MCP this year, when that is determined. And when the timing is decided for what date during Festival it will be presented, that will be published here, as well.
This newsletter will be sent to you each Sunday evening. It is the hope of the leadership of MCP that this will be an easy communication for you to refer to throughout that week and that you will not have as many messages from the group in your inbox over the course of the week. You can always reach out to us at any time with suggestions.
513-398-7804
newsletter@masonplayers.org
www.masonplayers.org
The Mason Community Post is edited by Robert Terry with support from Assistant Editor Tess Catlin, Staff Writer Laureen Catlin, and IT Technician Phil Catlin.