Your Sneak Peak of Sneak Pique

Tonight Susan and I attended a play put on by a new theatre group in Dickinson: Sneak Pique Productions (see this and this). Their very existence is exciting: we have access to community theatre again! There are theatre productions in the local schools and at the university, but Dickinson adults who wish to act or direct or work backstage or have some other kind of involvement in theatre haven't had many options in recent years other than an annual murder mystery dinner theatre production put on in the winter as a fundraiser for the public schools' foundation.

Years ago, Susan tells me, there was Sosondowah Summer Theatre, a group that performed several plays each summer at an amphitheatre on the lawn of the university. However, that group was inactive by the time we moved here, and the amphitheatre has since been removed. We came here from a community in which we had been very involved in local theatre for years and years, so it was with some regret that we resigned ourselves to adapting and just becoming audience members instead. Now it looks like we may be back onstage in the future!

In the meantime, we had a good time tonight in the audience supporting Sneak Pique's first production. They were supported by other groups, as well.

• The university's Foundation and Alumni Association was one sponsor, creating superior publicity materials and other behind-the-scenes support.
• The local Odd Fellows Lodge was another, lending Sneak Pique its facility (on the second floor of a building downtown) to use as a performance space.
• One downtown business, JP Frameshop and Western Edge Gallery, not only lent several framed works of art to decorate the walls of the theatre space, but they also framed a portrait of the university's long-time football coach that was painted by a local artist, unveiled at the opening performance of the play, and signed by both the coach (Hank Biesiot) and the painter (Troy David).
• Another downtown business, Stix n' Twigs Café, which normally has limited hours of operation (late morning to late afternoon), reopened after each performance [except for tonight's] to serve dessert and wine at a post-show reception. (I forgot which additional local business supplied the wine in support of the production.)
• Burn the Floor Dance Studio sent troupe members to perform a routine between acts at most performances and before the show tonight.

Outside the Odd Fellows Lodge building downtown, an usher was stationed in black clothes and a red vest to welcome audience members. A red carpet was laid out on the sidewalk for us to walk upon into the building. We ascended a staircase that had strings of white lights lining each side of the steps, and more ushers greeted as at the top of the stairs and guided us into the performance space: a rectangular meeting room with a stage set up at one end and rows of chairs lined up to the back wall. The sight lines weren't terrific because the "house" (where the audience sits) wasn't "raked" (built on a gradual ramp with seats in the rear higher up than seats in the front); but by leaning to the right and left to see between people's heads in front of us, we ended up seeing most everything just fine.

The play was a comedy by Christopher Durang: The Marriage of Bette and Boo. It was pretty funny, and the cast (including several of our friends and coworkers and even one of my former students) did a great job. They were scheduled to run Thursday through Saturday and were sold out each night. They added a performance tonight, which also sold out, so we were lucky to get tickets. It's too bad that there was no post-show reception tonight because Susan and I were looking forward to the cuisine, but it was probably best to get everybody home and to bed at a reasonable time on a Sunday night.

The show of support by local businesses that sponsored the play and by audience members that sold out each performance bodes well for future productions by Sneak Pique. Keep your eyes open, Faithful Reader, for future posts; you never know when I might be writing about a play with Susan and/or me in the cast!

The Play's the Thing . . . that I Need from You

This afternoon I attended a meeting of the organizers of Sneak Pique, a new community theatre group in Dickinson (remember my having written about them recently?). Susan and I had been invited to participate from the outset, but we declined to add one more thing to our weekly schedules this semester, instead supporting Sneak Pique in spirit . . . and, of course, by attending their premiere performance a couple weeks ago.

Well, last week I decided to show up at one of the group's meetings to remind them of the Mobergs' support and continued interest and to become informed of the group's current and future projects. I kept my mouth shut throughout the meeting lest anyone should discover that the Mobergs have not only an interest in theatre but also experience in it, because that would be a sure way to get pressured into directing a play or auditioning for one--and again, free time does not exist for us as it is.

One member, Karen, seems to be the de facto leader of the group and asked, at last week's meeting, if anyone was interested in being in a play reading group. I immediately pictured a gathering of a few people to read and discuss plays--like a book group, but for dramatic literature instead--and thought, "Why not?" That wouldn't take much time, and it would be fun, so I raised my hand.

Well, I later found out that Karen's intent was for that group to read plays and then return to the large group with recommendations for which plays Sneak Pique should produce/perform in the future! And she was hoping for us to bring some recommendations to today's meeting so that a play could be selected for this upcoming spring! Yikes!!

Another person in the play reading group, Suzanne, had had the same understanding as I of what the group would entail (i.e., we were both wrong), and we confessed as much by way of explaining why, at today's meeting, we had no play recommendations to offer. However, Karen liked our idea, too, and asked if we'd be willing to organize a play reading get-together for January. So I did end up getting wrangled into something, but at least it's not committing to several weeks of nightly blocks of time spent directing or acting in a play. This is low-key enough that I can probably handle it amongst my other obligations.

So, Faithful Readers, any recommendations for the first play to be read by our play reading group?

Live on Stage: Susan and Kevin!

Susan and I attended a performance of Lettice and Lovage, a comedy presented by Sneak Pique Productions, the local community theatre group.  Sneak Pique just started last year, and I have been involved on the periphery, attending organizational meetings and coordinating a play reading group as part of Sneak Pique.  Susan and I haven't directed or acted  yet, but we're sure that we will someday.  In the meantime, we attend the productions and always enjoy them.

Pride in Daughters and Other Local Entertainers

Our daughters' former piano teacher, Mrs. Vold, moved away last summer, and we were grateful to have found a new piano teacher: Mrs. Arneson, who also plays organ and piano at our church--and who volunteered to come to our house for weekly lessons, which makes our lives much easier (i.e., no more shuttling girls back and forth, one at a time, across town to the piano teacher's house while trying to tend to other appointments and to the making of supper).  There are differences, of course, in how each of those teachers gives lessons; but one thing in common is that both have their students participate in annual piano festivals sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs (the same group that oversaw the annual piano festivals in which my sisters and I performed throughout childhood).

The girls' piano festival was held today at the university, and the results are in:

Multimedia

Three interesting arts/cultural events from our week:

(1) Monday night, Susan and I attended a book reading by the author of Under the Twisted Cross, an historical fiction novel based on her father's experience as a WWII prisoner of war in German territory.  The author, Margaret Barnhart, happens to be a university colleague of mine.  A good-sized crowd gathered in the Alumni and Foundation House across from the campus to listen to Margaret read a chapter from the book.  It was a compelling section that ended in suspense; and before we left, we ordered a copy of the novel.

Artsy-Fartsy Weekend

Friday night, Susan and I attended a performance of the play Arsenic and Old Lace produced by the local community theatre group, Sneak Pique Productions. We saw that group's first-ever production in November (remember?), which was quite good, and so was this one. Do you know the play? Famous as it is, I had never read it or seen a production of it before, so I was surprised by the plot twists and the jokes throughout. Everything was very polished, from the directing to the acting to the set and props and costumes to the publicity. I'm sure most people would be surprised to know that this is a brand-new theatre group!

Saturday afternoon, Abigail and Suzanna performed in the 2010 Trinity Junior High and Elementary Solo and Ensemble Music Festival. Last year was our first experience with this event when Suzanna, as a 5th-grader, sang a solo (remember?). This year, Abigail, as a 5th-grader, was old enough to perform, too, so she played a saxophone solo, and she and Suzanna sang a duet. Abigail's band teacher helped her prepare her instrumental solo, and Susan and I helped the girls with their vocal duet. Wanna hear?

Abigail just started playing the saxophone last summer (remember?), so keep that in mind as you listen. She was working on using breath support to get all the notes to come out while still observing dynamics (i.e., blowing enough air to hit the notes even while playing soft during the parts marked piano).

When Abigail's music teacher (who taught Suzanna last year) heard this song at a music workshop, she thought of it as a possibility for our daughters to sing for this event. So they did! Note that, just days ago, the girls came down with some kind of cold, so they were singing with stuffed noses and draining sinuses (graphic, perhaps, but true).

This afternoon, our family drove to Richardton, ND to perform for the residents of the nursing home there. A couple months ago, a woman who works there phoned us to say that she had heard about our family's singing, and she wondered if we would sing for the residents (part of her job is arranging for people to come and provide music for the residents on Sunday afternoons). So we offered a musical smorgasbord: I accompanied on the piano as the five of us sang, as Susan and the girls sang, as the three girls sang, as Abigail and Suzanna sang their duet from yesterday, as each daughter sang a solo, as Susan sang a solo, as I sang a solo, and as Susan and I sang a duet. Each daughter played several piano solos from memory, and Abigail (on saxophone) and Suzanna (on trombone) each played an instrumental solo, too. Afterward we joined the residents for coffee and cookies and visiting.

Afterward, we drove back to Dickinson in time for me to perform in "Guys Get Funky," an all-male piano recital sponsored by the Badlands Music Teachers Association. The group puts on this recital to let boys who take piano lessons see all the other boys who take piano lessons--as well as men who play piano--in order to encourage them to stick with piano. There were beginning pianists, high school boys who were quite good, a university student who was outstanding, and a few adults, too. I was last on the program, and I played a song ("March" by Hansi Alt) that I had played for a piano festival when I was a kid competing each year the way that our daughters do now. Who would have guessed that I'd ever perform again in a piano recital with my own piano lesson days so far behind me?!

Meetings

I'm meetings-ed out!

• The semester ended yesterday for me when I had my final meeting with my final class (for their final exam) at the university. And this morning I had my final meeting with a student. Overall it was a good semester with lots of good students. I also have lots of ideas for revising my courses for next semester, so I'm looking forward to that already, too.
• Today I was invited to come as a guest to the meeting of the board of directors of the Western Wellness Foundation, to which I have been elected to serve starting in January. Many of my students serve as mentors to area youth as part of a program run by Western Wellness, so I'm familiar with some of their work. I'm looking forward to learning about their other programs and to offering my assistance on the board.
• After that meeting, I attended an afternoon-long department meeting at which my colleagues and I ate (potluck: lasagna, salad, fruit, garlic toast, antipasto tray, cheese cake, and drinks) and then discussed what assignments we have our students do in each of our courses. We all needed a better idea of what happens in others' courses, and now we can move forward with some other plans that we have for our department. It was fun, productive, and a step toward more collaboration (which isn't easy when most of us are so busy on a daily basis).
• After that meeting, I attended a meeting of the organizers of Sneak Pique Productions, a new community theatre group. We discussed a period radio show production (an Agatha Christie murder mystery) for the end of January (we'll have a live audience but also broadcast simultaneously on a local radio station) and a full-length play for March. We also finalized plans for our twice-monthly play reading group (remember?) with plays to be selected by yours truly.