Tonight we’ll host one of our favorite traditions at the Alliance. Each year we invite members of the Atlanta Miracle League to attend the final dress rehearsal of A Christmas Carol. The miracle league provides opportunities for children with disabilities to play baseball, regardless of the ability. They also help facilitate other opportunities for families involved in the league. Tonight we will welcome around 400 children with disabilities and their families to A Christmas Carol. It’s a very special performance that our actors, house and stage managers look forward to each year.
John McLaughlin, who works with the North Metro Miracle League, contacted us via email to share some letters he’s received from families who attend each year. We asked if he would let us share his email and the letters here, and he agreed –
Dear Alliance,
Thought you would like to see a sample of the responses I get when I send out your Christmas Carol invitation. Both of these families are having a very hard time and this evening is very special to them….and we are rapidly approaching 400. You guys make me a Hero every year……..At age 70 that’s not easy …That skin tight super hero suit just doesn’t look the same anymore….It’s getting saggy, baggy and draggy……It couldn’t be me could it…..Must be something the laundry did?
– John P McLaughlin
Hello John!! I am so hoping that there may be 12 spaces available for the Christmas Carol perfomance! It is like the biggest, most special-ist thing that our family does. We are very much looking forward to dressing up a little and attending the theater with you all! The show is soooo good. Thank you for ALL that you all do, in so very many wonderful ways.
Hi Mr. John. We were at the Miracle League Christmas gingerbread party last year. Our Erica was the little girl in the walker lit up with christmas lights. We would love to attend if possible. We would be bringing 8 – 2 adults ( Mark and Kim – Erica’s parents) and 6 kids. (Joshua 14, Jessica, 12, Alyssa 10, Andrew 8, Emily 6, and Erica 5) I hope this works out. This has been a hard few months for the kids. Thank you for everything that you do. God Bless.
In the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us everyone!”
The Alliance is thrilled to participate in the Young Playwrights for Change: The Anti-Bully Project, a national playwriting contest for middle school students focused on giving voice to our nation’s young writers. The project looks to harness the creativity of young playwrights and bring focus to real world issues.
The mission of Young Playwrights for Change is to produce meaningful conversations about the topic of bullying that will ripple across our nation to provoke change. The goal is to spark conversation and discussion throughout classrooms, schools and communities about the chosen topic.
Submissions to the Alliance Theatre are due December 31, 2013. One playwright from Georgia will be chosen to represent the Alliance and state of Georgia, and their script will be submitted to the Young Playwrights for Change playwriting national competition, where it will be published in an anthology for teachers to use as a classroom resource. The winner of the national competition and two guests will be flown to Washington, D.C. to have their play read by professional actors at the Kennedy Center in May of 2014.
Click here to download the application. Please email your completed competition application and your 10-minute play to Amanda Lee Williams at amanda.williams@woodruffcenter.org by December 31, 2013.
Requirements for Submissions:
1. Participants must be in grades 6-8.
2. Scripts should be written by only one author. Only original work will be accepted (no adaptations).
3. When read aloud, the length of the play should be no more than 10 minutes.
4. Each play may contain up to 6 characters.
5. Scripts must be written in Standard American format. (see website for further information)
6. Participants may only submit their entries to one sponsoring regional committee. Each regional committee will select one winner to progress to the national contest. (For the state of Georgia, the Alliance Theatre is the regional committee)
7. The theme or subject for this competition is anti-bullying, and must be discussed in each 10-minute play.
About the selection process:
After submissions, the pool will be narrowed to approximately 10 finalists. A panel of professional directors and playwrights will then read each script and evaluate its merits and potential for the national competition. The panel will not know the writer’s identity until after they have evaluated each script. One script will be chosen to represent the Alliance Theatre at the national competition, where it will be published in an anthology for teachers to use as a classroom resource. The winner of the national competition and two guests will be flown to Washington, D.C. to have their play read by professional actors at the Kennedy Center in May of 2014.
Our teen ensemble has the opportunity to see every show we produce this season. Here are some of their reviews of “By the Way, Meet Vera Stark.”
Teen Ensemble Reviews of Vera Stark
Who is Vera Stark you may ask? Only one of the most influential African American women of her time, who paved the way for future African American generations in the film industry. The character of Vera Stark is one of the most dedicated and hardworking characters I have ever experienced. All she wished for was a chance to prove herself in the film industry; however, it was a time of hardships for women and African American women especially in America. Therefore, it is unbelievable that Vera overcame all of these hardships.
In the first act, we are able to experience Vera’s life as a maid for a popular actress and what she is willing to do to achieve her dreams. We are even alerted that Vera is quite sassy and would usually get her way. Toni Trucks, the actress who plays Vera Stark, perfectly portrays the role and the mixed emotions which Vera must deal with throughout her life. The first act was flawless.
However, the second act seemed to be a completely different show. The second half consisted of an analysis of Vera’s life. The analysis was hard to follow and, I believe, unneeded. I wish the second half was a continuation of the first half, where we viewed more of Vera’s life. Therefore, I would recommend that the second act be changed.
Overall, I enjoyed the play and would recommend it to adults who may understand the analysis portion more than I was able to. If the second act was changed, however, the play would appeal to a much larger audience. I am excited to see what will happen with the remainder of the show, along with the highly talented actors.
Jackie Kenny
12th grade, Marist School
Vera Stark is an artful story about love, pain and the price of success. The play centers on the fictional movie star Vera Stark; and her story from a lowly maid to Gloria Mitchell (America’s sweetheart) to one of America’s most memorable performers. The first act shows this through humor and strong interactions between the following cast mates.
The second act, though, fails to live up to the standard of the first act. It is set in 2003 in a film festival discussion about Vera and her life. This ploy leaves the audience baffled as to what is going on and leaves them disturbed until almost the very end. During the last scene we are welcomed back to Vera’s time and find some sort of closure for our heroine.
Vera stark over all has great acting, beautiful scenery, and amazing costumes. I definitely recommend seeing this show, yet as a warning the second act might be unfavorable to some.
Pedro Rios
12th grade, North Cobb High School
Time Out writer and critic Eleanor Ringel Cater has reviewed the Alliance’s production of Warrior Class for the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Here are a few things she had to say:
Warrior Class, currently on the Alliance’s Hertz Stage, may be the best thing I’ve seen on stage in Atlanta in years. If you have any interest in excellent writing or backroom politics or superb performances, you must go. The play was written by Kenneth Lin, a former Kendeda winner and current staff writer for “House of Cards” (which this show could well be an episode of; it’s that good). Clayton Landey, Moses Villarama and Carrie Walrond Hood, under the expert direction of Eric Ting, bring to stunning life three characters caught in the vise of an imperfect past, a delicately balanced present and what could be a promising future. Landey is a political slickster whose new “client” is a fast-rising Asian-American (Villarama) with a shot at Congress. You really need to see this. Runs through November 17.
Don’t miss your chance to see Warrior Class, on the Hertz Stage now – www.alliancetheatre.org/warriorclass