Continue reading »]]> Auditions were held and rehearsals have begun! You can read more about the show and see our cast list on our website!

RESERVE TICKETS!

This year we have some amazing tie ins with the show:

• An eBay auction for an original Batman drawing by Jim Lee, one of the foremost comic book artists in the country! We’ll announce when the item is online and ready for bidding!
• A special synergy with a local charity, CHaD! (See Sarah’s note to the right and continued in our News!)
• A raffle for a flying lesson provided by ZFX, Inc. who will be providing flying effects for our show!
• A brand New Venue: We’re thrilled to be performing in the Lebanon Opera House this year!
• An auction for an autographed copy of Wonder Woman, signed by our own Wonder Woman, Jodi Picoult!
• Raffles for other amazing Super Hero books

Stay tuned …
same Super! channel …
for updates and details coming soon!

Continue reading »]]> This year the Trumbull Hall Troupe has a unique opportunity to help a great local cause and to join all the other super heroes at the 7th annual Chad Hero Half and 5k walk/run, October 21 on the Hanover Green.

Money raised for CHaD (Childrens Hospital at Dartmouth) is used to provide the best care possible for patients and families visiting Dartmouth Medical Center.

The Trumbull Hall Troupe presence at this event will be multi-fold. Some folks will be performing songs from the show on the main stage, there will be a Super! booth publicizing the show and reserving tickets and we would like you to gently persuade as many of your friends, parents and siblings as possible to join team Trumbull Hall Troupe team to walk or run in the 5K or Cams 1 mile fun run. To join Team THT visit our teams website.

In addition to having a really great time (there is nothing quite like hanging out with over 1000 superheroes) AND provided at least half of our team is 23 or under our team’s fundraising will be DOUBLED by Positive Tracks.

“Positive Tracks plugs into the CHaD Hero Half Marathon & Ripcord 5K as a fun and physical youth initiative based on the belief that everyone has something to offer to a social cause, whether it’s social media chops, leadership ability, artistic talent, or a great sense of humor.” The money we raise at our show that will be donated to CHaD will also be matched by Positive Tracks.

If you have any questions about this event please do not hesitate to contact Sarah at freemantle@dartmouth.edu. Additional information and details of the event can be found at http://www.chadhalf.org/

Continue reading »]]> Designing the makeup for all the characters in Play Time has been really fun. Not only are there dramatic and beautiful character makeups (Queen Frostine, Tina Ballerina, Slinky), but some really crazy over the top looks (the Bratz dolls ) and some challenging designs (the transformer and Rufus).  I have included photos I took of test makeup on some of the kids. I asked the kids to get into character before I took each photo. They are a talented group of actors.

I am including some photos I took at the dress rehearsal on 11/10.  The kids look fantastic in their costumes and makeup.

I want to thank the kids for their patience while I and the other volunteers learned and practiced on them.   It has been wonderful to work as part of a group of dedicated and resourceful parent and community volunteers.

- Chris Scott makeup coordinator Play Time.

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Continue reading »]]> Old toys and new, candy and cupcakes, too….it’s all part of the 78 handmade costumes that are part of this year’s show, “Play Time”. Over the last 3 months, over 20 volunteers have been gathering every week and working at home to craft and create the visual treat you will see on stage. Hundreds of hours have been spent designing, cutting, sewing, dying, gluing, trimming and more to bring these characters to life for your enjoyment.

In addition to enormous amount of work put in by parents of cast and crew members, our Dynamic Duo of Grandmothers– Carol Lammert and Marie Rosenblum– have spent countless additional hours coordinating volunteers, prepping projects for our work sessions, researching sources for our materials, and keeping us all on our toes with what needs to be done. Karen McLellan, crew member Aurora’s mom, loaned us her expertise in design and costume managment before heading off to direct Lebanon High School’s upcoming musical. And we can’t forget our community members; our costume designer, technical costume advisor, and other helpers along the way are offering their time and talents support of this amazing project even though they do not have children directly involved!

When Jodi Picoult, our director, contacted costume designer Dianne Pellegrini about this show in the spring, they knew it was going to be our biggest costume challenge yet but there were more challenges to come that even they couldn’t imagine. Like Tropical Storm Irene which wiped out not only the space we were going to use to construct costumes but 40 years worth of costumes from which we intended to borrow and the local Joann Fabrics where we purchase all our supplies. Yet even that didn’t stop us– besides who has a pattern for a human lollipop or Mr Sweet Potato Head anyways? So after numerous trips to Concord NH and Burlington VT to get supplies, hours spent researching and purchasing on line, generous donations from sewers’ personal stashes (thank you Janet and others!) and the kindness of people like Catherine Doherty at Northern Stage and David Clem at The Wilder Center to provide us space to work, we have collectively created the magic we hope will transport and entertain you when you join us for “Play Time”.

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A community is defined as a group of people who live in the same area, or who share a common interest. Certainly when we talk about community theater, both of those apply. But it wasn’t until this year that this lesson was hammered home for me, when it came to the Trumbull Hall Troupe.

It began this summer, when we found ourselves looking for a new rehearsal space. After seven years of calling Trumbull Hall in Etna our home, I learned that our group couldn’t be accommodated there anymore. Finding a home for forty kids twice a week isn’t easy, but St. Paul’s Episcopal Church welcomed us with open arms. North Country Community Theater helped us secure space for our costumers and set builders at the Center for Theater Craft in White River Junction. By the time we held auditions, I felt settled and ready to focus on the process of putting on a great show.

Then came Hurricane Irene. One of the casualties of the storm was the Center for Theater Craft. Hundreds of costumes – including some we intended to use for our show – were destroyed. The space itself was completely unusable. Suddenly, we had forty excited actors…and nowhere to build a set, paint flats and props, or create costumes.

It’s true what is said about times of crisis: you find out who your friends really are. Without hesitation, Northern Stage allowed us to use some of its space for our costumers and storage – and to borrow from its vast array of props and costumes. David Clem, Tracey Jacobi, and the Wilder Center stepped in to give us space when Northern Stage no longer could. When we were faced with the closure of JoAnn’s Fabrics and iParty on Route 12A, storeowners from Costumemania and JoAnn’s in Hooksett offered us deep discounts to help replace items lost in the flooding. The Cardigan Mountain School allowed us to build and paint our set on its stage for a month, which was then dismantled and finished off in the basements and garages of our wonderful parents. Even businesses like Stateline Sports, which suffered their own losses, insisted on making their annual donation to help cover our show’s production costs, because they believe in our mission of helping others in need.

PLAY TIME celebrates a time when we all believed in the impossible. Maybe you remember a particularly windy day when you were sure you could fly if you jumped high enough. Or how you used to think your dolls came to life when you fell asleep. Ask any kid: miracles can happen. Certainly, this year, with the generosity of others in our community, miracles have. This year, we hope to continue that tradition. Our proceeds will benefit five charities – some local, and some global: The Zienzele Foundation, The Haven, David’s House, Cover, and the American Red Cross –VT/NH. Or in other words, your donations tonight will allow us to pay forward some of the kindness we’ve received, when we needed a helping hand.

Who knows what might happen, if you believe hard enough? It might snow inside a toy store. A stuffed animal might become real. And maybe, just maybe, a community might rally around you just when you need it the most.

Jodi Picoult, co-director