Casting Call for the Board and Arsenic this Weekend!

"HOT DOGS" WANTED!

Calling all "hot dogs":  Come show off your talents on June 21 – 22, which is shaping up to be an eventful weekend at the Barn.   On Saturday the 21^st, the final membership meeting of the 2013-14 season starts at 7:00PM with a HOT DOG BAR!  The meeting includes year-end presentations from each committee chair, with extra points for creativity!  (Who can forget last year’s cameo by the Queen of Concessions!)  Rumor has it that FDR and his Cabinet from Annie will make an appearance this year.  Last but not least, the hotly contested Board elections will be held, with six excellent candidates vying for four open seats. (See candidate bios at the end of this post.)  Ballots were distributed in the June Barnstorms and will also be available on site.  If you can’t attend in person, be sure to email your vote to vote@farmingtonplayers.org no later than Friday, June 20, indicating your selected candidates (up to four), along with Your Own Name in the body of the email to ensure no double voting.

On Sunday June 22, auditions for Arsenic and Old Lace will start at 1:00PM sharp, with registration opening at 12:30.   This timeless classic is a farcical black comedy that makes light of the Brewsters, an endearing family of homicidal maniacs and assorted crazies.  See the June Barnstorms or the Farmington Players website at http://www.farmingtonplayers.org/documents/ArsenicAuditionNotice.pdf for the complete audition notice, including descriptions of the 14 colorful characters.  Kristi Schwartz is making her directorial debut and can answer your questions at arsenic@farmingtonplayers.org

In alphabetical order, here are the bios of your Board of Directors candidates!  (NOTE:  For the winners, the next/transitional Board meeting will be Monday, June 23 at 7:00PM).

Erik Carlson  Erik has been a member since the mid 70’s with two previous two-year terms on the Board. He previously served as Vice President, Treasurer, House Director, Education Director, Casting Co-Chair, Director, CTAM rep, and Producer. He has worked on tech crews, “Front of House” positions, and FOPM. Erik was the recipient of the Farmington Players 2002 Torchbearer award. Appearing in 16 Farmington Player productions plus many workshops and spoofs, Erik is  retired from Oakland Community College.  He feels his past experience will provide our membership with a even view of productions, and the day-to-day running of our beloved barn. He looks forward to having the opportunity to serve again on our Farmington Players board of directors.

Anne Craft  Anne has served the Board for 3 years (appointed 1 year and elected for one term) at the Director of Membership.  Best known as the “Queen of Concessions”, Anne keeps the membership fed at every meeting and runs the concessions at the Barn.  Anne has been involved in many shows at the Barn, both onstage and backstage.

Amy Lauter joined the Farmington Players in 2004.  Since then, she has been very involved in many capacities at the Barn. Amy served on the Board for 5 years (appointed 1 year, and elected for 2 terms) as the Director of Marketing. In her tenure she made a concerted effort to get a standard look and feel for our marketing materials and would like to continue those efforts. Amy is currently serving her second term as a casting chair.  She served as assistant director for Moon Over Buffalo, and directed Chapter Two, Miracle on 34^th Street, and last winter’s Annie (co-director).  Stage roles have included Claire in PROOF, Laurie in Oklahoma, Dainty June in Gypsy, Ann Collier in 1940’s Radio Hour as well as roles in Guys and Dolls, A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life.  She has also produced To Kill A Mockingbird and The Dixie Swim Club (co-producer), and she will be co-producing this fall’s Leading Ladies. If elected, Amy looks forward to being well fed by Laurel at the Saturday morning Board meetings.

Jim Moll  He has been an active member of the Players since 2010, having appeared in seven productions since then.  Along with his work onstage, Jim holds the record for most blood spilled and stitches earned during a strike of a set (not Brian Tupper’s fault), having the largest feet to wear a pair of women’s pumps during a show, being in the top five all-time 50/50 hawkers, and being the first officiant to perform a same sex marriage at the Barn – thanks to his ordination through the Universal Life Church of Modesto, California, and Frank and Mike’s willingness to get hitched.  Having retired from his day job after 40 years of public school service, time has become available to devote to other endeavors.  And, while he does some consulting work during the day, as a retiree he has the luxury of choosing where to next focus his efforts.  The Barn is a wonderful place to serve and a leadership role here would be a great fit for the next chapter of his life.  Being a board member would allow him to become even more active in the goings on at the Barn – though hopefully his blood-letting days are over.

David Reinke has been an active member for 11 years.  Since his 2003 debut as Stage Manager for Noises Off, he has been involved in many facets of the barn.  He's stage managed many productions including Noises Off, State Fair, Guys & Dolls, The Producers, A Christmas Story, Dracula & Rumors.  He's Co-Produced Oklahoma, Sweet Charity, Whose Wives Are They Anyways?, and Annie.  His on stage roles have included Taming of the Shrew and The 1940's Radio Hour.  David also directed a workshop of 12 Angry Jurors with an amazing cast.  David is the current 50/50 chair.  Next season David has signed on to stage-manage both Leading Ladies as well as How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  David feels his leadership experience, drive, and determination make him an excellent candidate for the board.  If elected he looks forward to the challenges and rewards that come with making crucial decisions that will help make the Farmington Players a continued success. 

Cynthia Tupper  Over the last 33 years, Cynthia’s contributions to the Barn have been numerous, varied and enduring.  She served four years as President of our group during the initial stages of the building campaign that built the modern barn.  In her last two-year tenure as President, we paid off the mortgage and installed our rigging & curtain system.  Her current interest in running for the board is to lend her past experience, historical knowledge, support and common sense to help keep things running smoothly and fiscally responsible.  Her primary interests at the barn include: Directing (13 shows), Acting ( 29 shows),  Costumes ( 62 shows) , Producer (7 shows).