Just A Reminder

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Just a reminder for our friends who visit us from the east: SR 240 is closed until August 1st.  

If you are coming in on SR 40 (which also has a few restrictions, but no closures), stay on SR 40 until you get to SR 231 (the first stoplight west of Stilesville).  Turn right or North at the light.

Come into Greencastle, turn right at the first light (U.S. Veterans Highway). Go straight at the 4-way stop. Turn left at the next turn bubble, Warren Drive. Proceed to the stoplight, then go straight. 

Putnam County Playhouse is on the right on this road just past Ridgeland Drive.

The physical address for the Hazel Day Longden Theatre is:

715 S County Road 100 E
Greencastle, IN

55th SEASON OPENS

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The 55th Season of Putnam County Playhouse will kick off with our annual Open House. It will be held on Sunday, May 29, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.

Refreshments will be served. Board members will be on hand to answer questions you may have about PCPH.

Season tickets will be on sale. Also on that day, you can buy tickets for our season opener the musical version of Little Women, or any other main stage show.

Standing L-R: Samantha Flannelly, Michaela Semak. Seated  L -R:Meghan Armitage, Debby Lambert, Samantha Grace Shelton
A few musical numbers and scenes from Little Women will be performed during the Open House.

Our season includes Little Women in June, On Golden Pond in July, 1776 in August, and The Odd Couple (Female Version) in September.


“Little Women” in Rehearsal

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Did you ever wonder exactly what goes on during ALL of those rehearsals? Usually a production is cast five or six weeks before the opening night. During the intervening time, the cast, the staff, and the PCPH board members put in many hours to get the show onstage.

Rehearsals usually begin at 7 p.m. each evening.  That means that the staff has to get there early to make sure everything is ready for the work that is planned.

Little Women director Tim Good (center) and his assistants Jim Green (seated left) and Caroline Good (seated right) are the first to arrive. Tim has already set out the plan for the rehearsal, and everyone is prepared for the evening’s work.

 
Other early arrivals in addition to Tim are pianist Amy Tharp and cast member Debby Lambert who plays Marmee.

The rehearsal always begins with a vocal warm up. Ensemble members (L-R) JenJe Stouder, Haleigh Rowls, Anna Harris, and cast members David Maginity (Mr. Brooke), Michaela Semak (Beth) and Samantha Shelton (Young Amy) are onstage going through some vocal exercises with Amy.

Because Little Women is a period musical set during the time of the Civil War, assistant director Caroline Good has provided rehearsal skirts so the ladies in the cast can get used to wearing a long dress.  Here Michaela Semak, who plays Beth, models her skirt.


Angel Callan who plays Aunt March and Mrs, Kirk has a fancier rehearsal skirt than most.

Musical/Vocal Director Erik Foster works closely with Amy and director Good to make sure the music and singing are working with the action onstage.  This is the first PCPH show for both. We welcome them to our family!


An actor might not be needed onstage during the entire rehearsal. When there is some down time, going over lines is a popular past time.  Here Meghan Armitage  (Meg) is checking her blocking and cues. As you can see by her shoes, tonight will include some dancing.

Once onstage Meg (Armitage), Beth (Semak), and Marmee (Lambert) get their blocking instructions and go through the scene.

After two hours of intensive work, everyone is ready to go home. They’ll be back the next night to work on a new scene, a new song, or a new dance.  And so it goes until Opening Night!

Green and PCPH Technical Director Dustin Bond stay afterwards to go over some cues.  Bond also plays Professor Bhaer in the show.

Little Women opens Thursday, June 2.  Individual tickets go on sale at the annual Putnam County Playhouse Open House on Sunday, May 29, at 1 p.m.

The production is being sponsored by:

Click HERE to learn more about our sponsor.

SPRING CLEANING TIME!

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We all enjoy spring cleaning, right? Well, at least we try. It’s the same here at the Hazel Day Longden Theatre.  We have to get our facility ready for 198 guests 31 times each season!  Our volunteer board of directors and hard-working friends spend many hours getting the theatre ready for YOU! Our first cleaning day of the season was Saturday, April 16.

One of the first orders of business was re-hanging the name on the front of the building.  Linda Gjesvold redid and repainted the letters over the winter break.  PCPH Board President Mike McClaine (on the ladder) and Board Member Dustin Bond worked on this project. Mike oversees all board activity and will be playing percussion in the band for Little Women. Dustin is the Tech Committee Chairperson.  He directed The Game’s Afoot last season and is appearing in Little Women.

Board secretary (and new first-time Grandmother) Kathryn Dory worked to clean up the lobby. She also placed the photo albums back on the shelves. Kathryn is also chairperson of the House committee which organizes the staff for the sale of refreshments for each show and keeps the place clean for each production. She also works on the plants and flowers. Kathryn will also be vocal director for this season’s 1776!

The tech loft always needs special attention. Board member Meghan Armitage made sure the extension and light cords were in order. Meghan is playing “Meg” in the June musical Little Women.

PCPH techie Hillary Johnson worked to clean the dust off the chairs.  In the background, PCPH Vice-President Linda Gjesvold is painting the surface of the newly remodeled stage.  The performing platform had not been redone since being installed in 1983. This winter, a new surface was added, and the side platforms were enclosed!

Linda also worked to stain the new proscenium. She also worked over the winter to stain the risers that hold all of the chairs. Linda serves as the Shop Manager and is also the chairperson of the Ticket Committee, so this is her busiest time of the year.

Board member Caroline Good (right) and daughter Fiona use a shop vac to get the chairs ready for placement. Caroline is the creator of our popular Youth Theatre Workshop SHAKESPEARED!  She also conducts the Children’s Theatre Workshop annually. Caroline was in The Game’s Afoot last season and is assistant director for Little Women this season.

PCPH techie Melissa Green unstacks the chairs prior to giving them a good cleaning with the shop vac.  Melissa will be running the lightboard for July’s show On Golden Pond. She’s also planning for a special role as “Mother of the Bride” for the end of April.

PCPH Board Member Jim Green mans the mop to clean up the newly stained chair risers. Jim worked on The Game’s Afoot and was one of the many vicars in See How They Run. His next role will be “Father of the Bride” at the end of April. He is also working as assistant director of Little Women.

All of us are excited about our season, and we hope to see you at the barn this year.  The time that you spend with us is a result of many hours of volunteer work from our board members, our friends, and the casts and staffs of each of our productions.   Please take time to return your Season Ticket order.

Our Fund Drive is still active.  If you haven’t donated yet, you can download a form HERE.







CAST ANNOUNCEMENT FOR “LITTLE WOMEN”

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Director Tim Good has chosen his cast for Little Women the first show of the new PCPH season.  Working with him are Vocal/Music Director Erik Foster and assistant directors Caroline Good and Jim Green.  The show will be produced June 2-4 and June 8-11.

Season ticket brochures will be in the mail in the next week.  Individual tickets for the show will go on sale on Sunday, May 29, at the annual PCPH Open House.

Playing the familiar roles of the Louisa May Alcott characters are Debby Lambert as Marmee, matriarch of the March family; Meghan Armitage as daughter Meg, the musical sister; Samantha Flannelly as Jo, the writer; Michaela Semak as Beth, the family peacemaker; and Samantha Shelton and Sarah Arnold who share the role of Amy as child and young lady.

Others in the cast include Alan Skillern as Laurie, who courts one sister, and marries another; Angel Callan as Aunt March, who holds the purse strings; Dustin Bond as Professor Bhaer, Jo’s mentor; David Maginity as John Brooke, Laurie’s tutor; and Jack Randall Earles as Mr. Laurence, a neighbor.  

The ensemble will be Haleigh Rowls, Arianna Pershing, Gwen Mazur, Rachel Lubinski, Lindsey Bridgewater, Anna Harris, and JenJe Stouder.
Playing piano for the production is Morgan Asher.  Keyboard player is Amy Tharp.  Costumer is Eleanor Howard.

Corporate sponsor for Little Women is:


Click HERE to learn more about our sponsor.

GET SHAKESPEARED!!!

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Applications for the 2016 session of SHAKESPEARED are now available.  You can read all about the workshop on the Drop Down Menu on the website under “Workshops.” This year, the Shakespeare play being produced is Julius Caesar.

The electronic application can be filled out HERE.

Applications for the Youth Theatre Workshop will be available in June.

Details for 2016!

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Click the CURRENT SEASON tab at the top of the page on our website for more details  on our Mainstage shows.

Information and applications for SHAKESPEARED! and the Children’s Workshop will be available after May 1.

BARN GETS A FACELIFT!

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Barn in 1981
In 1981, Hazel Day Longden made a gift to Putnam County Playhouse of property on Round Barn Road that included two barns. For two seasons, shows were presented on an outdoor stage in front of the small barn.  In 1983, renovations were completed on the big barn – and the Hazel Day Longden Theatre was dedicated.


Hazel Day Longden and then PCPH President Jim Poor on June 4, 1983, dedication.

Since then, the stage in the auditorium has held more than 800 performances of 128+ productions.  This off-season, the stage was renovated so that the tradition can continue.


The stage & prescenium

After all of those performances plus countless rehearsals and meetings, the stage was rebuilt and strengthened.  The proscenium was also enlarged so that set building could be facilitated.  It was raised about two feet and squared off so that the opening would be more “plum” for building sets.


Risers and seating area

The risers that hold the seats were also repainted for the first time since 1983!


The “new” stage.

Since the building of the new Rehearsal Center in 2007, the small barn has been used for storage of flats, large properties, and set pieces.  The past couple of seasons, there has been a problem with rain and other water coming into the building.  A concrete wall and raising of the front entrance doors will solve this problem.


Small barn front entrance

As we get ready for our 2016 season, we are happy to keep improving our physical space and making it better for our participants and our patrons!

Renovation photos by Linda Gjesvold.