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Wednesday night: dreamy music from near and far

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The Delta Mirror

A break in routine can provide a refreshing look, or in this case listen.  Forgoing the usual Rock and Roll Playdate, this Wednesday South Park Tavern will be welcoming The Delta Mirror from LA.  This trio began as a hip-hop duo in the 90’s and now produces dreamy ambient rock with an electronic beat.

Take a listen to their track, And The Radio Played On:

The Delta Mirror will be joined onstage by local electronic-experimental artist Outside Residential and electro-acoustic singer-songwriter BJSR.  The show gets started around 9pm and costs $5.  The Rock and Roll Playdate will return to South Park Tavern next Wednesday.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra comes to Dayton

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Although Glenn Miller disappeared on a plane flying over the English Channel in 1944, the orchestra that bares his name is still alive and well under the leadership of trombonist Larry O’Brien.  The Glen Miller Orchestra will be performing at Gilly’s this Friday, August 13th beginning at 7:30pm.  Tickets are $25 and can be purchased in advance from Half Price Books and Huber Music & Video.  It’ll be an evening of big band music with a dance floor.

Here’s a little something to put you in the mood for Friday night’s show.  It’s the original Glenn Miller Orchestra performing one of their signature songs from the movie Sun Valley Serenade.

Accidentally Coming of Age

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The Cast of Encore Theater Co.'s production of NEXT THING YOU KNOWNext Thing You Know

ENCORE THEATER COMPANY

Encore Theater Company in association with Sinclair Community College will present a developmental production of the new musical NEXT THING YOU KNOW written by Drama Desk Nominees JOSHUA SALZMAN & RYAN CUNNINGHAM August 12-14, 2010 at Sinclair’s Blair Hall Theatre. (Note…there is an opportunity for you to win tickets to this show.  Details are found at the end of this post!)

Joshua Salzman & Ryan Cunningham, writers of Next Thing You KnowJoshua Salzman (music) and Ryan Cunningham (book and lyrics) met at the NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. Their thesis musical, I Love You Because went on to be professionally produced Off-Broadway, earned a Drama Desk nomination for the team, spawned a cast album on PS Classics and garnered a licensing deal with Theatrical Rights Worldwide, resulting in productions both nationally and internationally including Encore Theater Company’s own regional production several seasons ago.

“The opportunity to see our show developed outside of NY, under a dedicated and enthusiastic team of actors and directors, is invaluable”, says composer Joshua Salzman, “The nurturing and safe environment ETC provides for musical theater writers to hone their craft is essential to the creative process of developing a new musical”.

Salzman & Cunningham spent several days in Dayton developing the show which the creators describe this way:

“Real life comes real fast. One day you wake up, and instead of a hangover, you have a job. Instead of a fling, you have a live-in girlfriend. And instead of naïve dreams, you have reality. For four artists in New York City, discovering yourself can take a lot longer than you think. The little joys and compromises that bring us into adulthood are brought to life in this all-new musical”.

The cast of ETC's production of Salzman & Cunningham's NEXT THING YOU KNOWThe cast for the Dayton engagement of NEXT THING YOU KNOW includes: Amy Leigh (Waverly), Matthew D. Curry (Luke), BethAnn Wipprecht (Lisa) and JJ Parkey (Darren). Production staff include David Brush (Director), Shawn Storms (Assistant Director), Jackson Gallagher (Lighting Design), Nathan Dean (Sound Design), and Ally Wetz (Stage Manager).

The cast and staff of NEXT THING YOU KNOW shared some thoughts with me about working directly with the writing team, and what it means to originate a character in a brand new piece of musical theater.  Excerpts are below, but you can read more of their thoughts on the production blog at NextThingYouKnowDayton.wordpress.com and listen to an interview with the cast and writing team at MusicalWorld.us .

As the weekend with the writer’s approached in July, what did you feel most anxious about?

Amy LeighAmy Leigh:  “I was nervous that Josh and Ryan were seeing us do the entire show just after we’d blocked it, before we had time to settle into the scenes. I wanted to prove to them that, although we might stumble on lines, lyrics, or notes here and there, that we honor the original intent of their show. But they were anything but judgmental. They seemed to truly appreciate seeing the show on its feet, and having their input really completed the experience for me.”

JJ Parkey and Amy Leigh of ETC's NEXT THING YOU KNOWJJ Parkey: “I was afraid that their presence in the room would be really intimidating, but as it turns out, Ryan and Josh are absolutely WONDERFUL to work with. They were so very supportive of what we were all doing, and the entire weekend was a very positive experience. Ryan and Josh brought about a sense of grounding to the project for me.

Describe the experience of working directly with the creators of a new piece of theater.

Matthe Curry in ETC's production of Salzman & Cunningham's NEXT THING YOU KNOWMatthew D. Curry:  “Having Josh there to guide us through deeper meaning of our music, and Ryan giving us hints and clues to where our character’s thoughts lie, weather we thought we had it or not, gave me personally a truer look into Luke. And that’s an experience you never get with just a script and our own analysis of the writer’s words.”

What has it been like, leading a team of actors through the discovery of new characters that have never before been seen on stage?

Shawn Storms, assistant director of ETC's NEXT THING YOU KNOWShawn Storms, assistant director:  “I have found this process easier than the work I have done with new plays. I feel that it has much to do with the extremely talented cast of this show. They have been open and eager to try new things; go with the flow. I feel that without that beautiful collaborative spirit, this show would never have evolved in the many ways it has.

It has been a pleasure to witness each character’s evolution. To see the script change, new moments discovered, and songs soar. I hope that our audiences see what a gem this show is!”

Why did ETC choose a new musical, one that nobody in Dayton has even heard of before, as the finale for it’s summer theatrical season?

David Brush, director: “This kind of development is what new shows need – a long term commitment to walk a show from one step to the next and allow creators to make changes, additions and deletions along the way. This gets at the very heart of ETC’s mission and we are thrilled to kick off the program with two amazing young, fresh talents like Ryan and Josh.”

NEXT THING YOU KNOW is part of Encore Theater Company’s New Musicals In Development program which includes a focus on developing new work through podcasts, readings, and development productions.

For more Information & Tickets, visit:

NEXT THING YOU KNOW (August 12-14) Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 on the day of the performance.  Please note:  this show contains adult language and situations.  Visit http://www.EncoreTheaterCompany.com for tickets.

WIN TICKETS TO Next Thing You Know!

Encore Theater Company & DaytonMostMetro.com are giving away a pair of tickets to NEXT THING YOU KNOW.  It’s really easy to enter. The deadline to enter is Noon on Wednesday, August 11th.

1.  In the comment section below, answer this question…WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE OMELET INGREDIENTS? (Yeah, we know…it doesn’t make sense, but if you come see NTYK it will!)

2.  Share this DMM post on Facebook!  At the bottom of this post there are buttons to like, tweet & share this…Please share it!  For every 10 FACEBOOK SHARES of this post, we’ll add  a pair of tickets (up to 6 pairs!). The more people who share this, the more chances there are to win!

Dayton Area Casting Calls:

Grey Gardens: The Musical

THE SEED THEATRE PROJECT Open Auditions

Continuing the 2010-2011 theatrical season with the SEED theatre project will be the area premier of Scott Frankel, Michael Korie & Doug Wright’s musical Grey Gardens. Grey Gardens: The Musical will be directed by Adam J. Leigh. In addition, Judy Mansky serves as music director while Shayne Thomas Petty serves as assistant director.

Grey Gardens at SEED Theatre ProjectFresh from Broadway where it was nominated for ten Tony Awards in 2007, this new musical was inspired by the 1975 Maysles brothers documentary of the same name. Grey Gardens tells the entertaining and poignant story of two unconquerable women, Edith Bouvier Beale and her adult daughter Edie, the eccentric aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Once known as two of the brightest stars in the social register, these two women became East Hampton’s most infamous “reclusive inhabitants”, sharing their rundown 28-room mansion with 52 stray cats and rabid raccoons. From the glittering high society of 1940s New York to the tabloid headlines that rocked the Kennedy clan in 1970s, Grey Gardens hurls you into American royalty and poses the questions: When do private lives become public fascinations? How much is too much? And where does it stop?

The SEED Theatre Project, Dayton, OhioOpen Auditions for this show will be held on Tuesday, August 10th and Wednesday, August 11th. They will begin at 7pm each night. Auditions will be held at The Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center – 1000 N. Keowee Street – Dayton, OH 45420. Performers will only need to attend one night of auditions for consideration.

Performance dates are Friday, November 5th and Saturday, November 6th, 2010.

For more information please contact Adam Leigh via phone at (937)219-7835 or via email at adam@seedtheatreproject.org or visit SEED’s website for casting requirements and additional audition details:  www.SEEDtheatreproject.org

The Sugar Witch

THE DAYTON THEATRE GUILD Open Auditions

Sugar Witch at The Dayton Theatre GuildThe Dayton Theatre Guild announces open auditions for it’s upcoming production of THE SUGAR WITCH by Nathan Sanders.

Auditions will take place August 23rd & 24th, 2010 at 7 pm in The Dayton Theatre Guild’s  Caryl D. Philips TheatreScape at 430 Wayne Ave., Dayton, OH 45410.  Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script

The show, directed by Doug Lloyd and produced by Debra Kent is set in the Florida swamp country of the Watchalahoochee River unfolding an at times eerie, weird and often very funny story of what’s left of the Bean family, Moses and Sisser, along with Annabelle, the Sugar Witch. And yes, there may be flying cats, casting of spells, country music, not to mention a few possible surprises.

Performance Dates:  October 22nd – November 7th, 2010

Casting Requirements:

Sisser – Female – Late 20’s to late 30’s – Southern, Obese, and somewhat mad. A wheel chair bound lover of little Debbie Snack cakes. She is capable of anything – even murder.

Ruth Ann Meeks – Female – Late 20’s to Mid 30’s – Southern, Racist, and half insane. A “church-goer”, plain, not necessarily pretty, most likely the product of incest.

Annabelle – African-American Female – Mid 40’s to 50’s – Southern swamp mystic and conjure woman. She brews magical potions from sugar cane molasses. Annabelle is the last in a long line of powerful “Sugar-Witches”.

Moses Bean – Male – mid 20’s – Southern, Handsome and boyish. He is a mechanic at the local Texaco station. Innocent and virginal; a gender reversed “Sleeping Beauty”.

Hank Hartley – Male – 30’s – Southern, handsome and strong. He is the play’s “gentleman caller”. He has recently returned to Sugar Bean to take over his family funeral home business. Hank is madly “in-love” but yet hiding a dark secret.

Granddaddy Meeks – Male – 60’s to 70’s – Southern, redneck, racist, abusiveand mean. He is Ruth Ann’s Grandfather.

Additional information about The Dayton Theatre Guild can be found online at www.DaytonTheatreGuild.org

Shane Anderson & David Brush work with locally based Encore Theater Company. ETC recently moved into the new arts collective space in the Oregon District, along with Zoot Theatre Co. & Rhythm in Shoes. Anderson, Brush & ETC are currently in the midst of their summer season of new musicals in downtown Dayton, which featured Johnathan Larson’s RENT, [title of show] & the upcoming new musical in development Next Thing You Know.

Would you like to submit theater news for DaytonMostMetro.com’s onStageDayton features?  Email Shane & Dave at onStageDayton@gmail.com

http://musicalworldpodshow.mevio.com/

DIY, Riverscape-style

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A century ago, Orville and Wilbur Wright looked at their bicycles and said, “I think we might be able to fly these things.”

Today, some hearty fellow Daytonians followed in their footsteps, sort of. They looked at piles of debris and said, “I think I can row this.”

And then they tried.

At Riverscape, in the shadow of the Engineers Club and a statue of the Wright Brothers taking flight, we watched do-it-youselfers take part in Dayton’s Outrageous River Derby. If I heard emcee Commodore Jim Bucher of WDTN Channel 2 correctly, this was the 14th one.

But it was my first, and it turned out to be a beautiful day to hang out by the river for some silly fun. The gist of the event is this: Make a raft, any kind of raft, get it in the river, and race it down the river a hundred yards or so. Try not to sink.

Themes included a Lady Gaga boudoir and an Abe Lincoln who looked suspiciously like a plastic Jesus with an electrical tape beard. A last-minute entry was made of a pipe frame, cardboard, saran wrap and duct tape.

Was there lots of duct tape, you ask?

Did Wilbur wear a funny hat?

The paddle prizes didn’t go only to the swift. The judging panel included an engineer, some student artists from Stivers and K-12 gallery, who gave out prizes in categories like creativity and most-likely-to-sink before the race even started. I can’t tell you who won the superlatives because we’d taken a pause from the sun to get snacks for our boys.

Poor Man's Kayak, the derby winner

But then again, I can tell you who won: Everyone there because it was just goofy fun, a gorgeous blue sky, a soft breeze and a great time at Riverscape.

After we downed our snacks, we sat at the river’s edge and watched the race. Honest Abe got a little dishonest help from someone pushing, and Lady Gaga was surprisingly strong. What I mean by that is that I still have no idea how she stayed afloat.

But they finished second and third. The race went to Poor Man’s Kayak, which turned out to be a fine kayak indeed, held aloft by rows and rows of one-liter soda bottles on its underside and sped along by a very able rower with a great sense of balance.

I’m not sure we’d have made Orville and Wilbur proud, but I have no doubt our hometown ingenuity would’ve made them laugh.

The Story Changes celebrates Dayton homecoming

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The Story Changes have been making tracks across the country for the last 8 weeks on their summer tour with fellow locals, Hawthorne Heights.  The tour wrapped up a few weeks ago, and now the band will celebrate their return to the Gem City with a show this Saturday night at Blind Bob’s.  They’ll be joined onstage by 8-bit Revival, Rad Company and Ed vs. Radio who may be going back into the studio this fall to work on a new album.  It’s a 21+ show that costs $5.

First Friday in Music: August Edition

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Another month has come and gone which means we’re due for another First Friday celebration in downtown Dayton.  Here’s your guide to some of the  musical offerings around the city this Friday night:

Reyna and Dana

—Canal Street Tavern will welcome the Black Who’s? to the stage around 9:30pm.  There’s also an extra special early/opening show by Rob MacPherson’s Rock & Roll Workshop.  That’s set to get started around 8pm (doors at 7:30pm)

–For something smooth, head over to J’Alan’s on Ludlow.  Reyna and Dana will be performing along with Al Holbrook.  Holbrook performed a few live tunes on WYSO’s Excursions earlier this week.  You can listen here.

—The Elderly Brothers will be playing at the Trolley Stop on 5th Street.  They bill themselves as cosmic Americana and are reported to have a great live show.

Team Void

-It’ll be a lovely evening to enjoy Garden Station on 4th Street, and you can explore a great community space while hearing some music courtesy of Luchador surf rockers Team Void.  They’ll be joined by A Shade of Red who just moved on to Round 3 of the Dayton Band Playoffs.  It’s free music starting at 8pm with a bonfire after the sun goes down.

-If Yellow Springs is a bit closer to home or you find yourself out that way and needing some live music, then check out Romeo Champagne at Peach’s Grill.  They’ll be joined onstage by Mercury Mouth for a $5 show that starts around 10pm.

What are you excited about doing on First Friday?  Share your plans for the evening in the comments.

Human Reunion release Arc De Square tonight at Blind Bob’s

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It feels like just yesterday that we were telling you about Human Reunion’s Carbonics 7″.  This weekend it’s time to celebrate the band’s debut full-length album, Arc De Square.  The album was recorded with Enon’s John Schmersal and is being released on Minor Manor.  Our good friend Kyle over at the Buddha Den has been offering up some great sample tracks from the album so check them out.

Or you can come to Blind Bob’s tonight (Friday) for the album release show featuring Human Reunion and their friends Astro Fang, The Dirty Socialites and Michigan’s Letter Camp.  The show is 21+ and starts around 9pm.

Lions Rampant, Sohio and Thee Pistol Whips tonight

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The last time the Lions Rampant were here, they were celebrating the release of their new album.  The Cincinnati band is making a return visit to the Gem City tonight.  They’ll be playing at Canal Street Tavern along with Sohio and Thee Pistol Whips.  The show gets started around 9:30pm and is $5.

Here’s a video of the title track from the Lions Rampant’s latest album, It’s Fun to Do Bad Things.

Gilly’s features rock & roll from 3 local bands

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Gilly’s doesn’t often host rock shows, and when they do, it’s cause for great excitement.  This Saturday night is no exception when 3 great local rock bands will take the stage at the venue on the corner of Fifth and Jefferson.  It’s the second show for Floods, the new band we told you about a few weeks ago featuring Tod Weidner (Shrug) and Tim Pritchard (Flyaway Minion).  They’ll be sharing the stage with C. Wright’s Parlour Tricks who’ve been getting great reviews for their weekly pizza parlor gig.  Also on the bill is Me & Mountains, who’s reported to already be working on a followup to their self-titled debut album that was released last month.  The music gets started around 9:30pm, and admission is $5.

Here’s a sampling of music from Me & Mountains and C. Wright’s Parlour Tricks to get you in the mood.


Auburndale prepping new album/show this Saturday

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There’s been a lot of buzz since Auburndale came back from hiatus this winter and began work on a new album.  That album, Alive in the Dying City, is slated for release this fall.

You can hear a preview of the new album as well as an interview and acoustic set with Auburndale from this week’s edition of Kaleidoscope on WYSO.

You can also see Auburndale live this Saturday night at Blind Bob’s with the Sound for Language, Columbus’ Ships in Masses and Segments who are making their live debut.  This 21+ show is $5 and starts around 9pm.

Here’s some video of the band performing on Kaleidoscope earlier this week.

Bonneville unveils Drawing Maps

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This Friday will be your first chance to get a copy of Bonneville’s first full length album, Drawing Maps.  It’s more polished album overall than the band’s previous EPs and shows that this foursome has grown up a lot since their days playing together in junior high.

Here’s the title track:

You can pick up your very own copy and check out Bonneville live at their CD release party Friday night at Canal Street Tavern.  They’ll be joined onstage by Orange Willard with Michael Shoup opening.  The show is 18+ and costs $5.

The Future(Fest) is Here

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FutureFest '09 - CARVE - The Dayton PlayhouseFutureFest 2010

THE DAYTON PLAYHOUSE

One of the biggest theatre weekends of the year is about to descend upon the Dayton-region, and 2010 marks an important milestone.  FutureFest, the annual new works festival at The Dayton Playhouse is celebrating it’s twentieth year and festival organizers can’t be more excited!

Every year writers from across the country, and from several other countries as well, submit their previously unproduced scripts for consideration.  This year over 390 new works  were submitted in hopes of being one of the famed “top six” to be presented at FutureFest 2010 from July 23rd to the 25th.
FutureFest 2009 - AdjudicationFor those who are new to FutureFest, it’s almost an unbelievable experience.  In one weekend the Dayton Playhouse mounts six different productions.  Each with a different director, cast, scenery, and technical aspects.  Following each show a panel of professional theatre folk, flown in from across the country, take to the stage with the author, director, and cast to adjudicate the show right in front of the audience.  They give the author feedback about their script and direct them in ways to make improvements that will get them closer to being published.
Several scripts from the Dayton Playhouse’s FutureFest have made it on to be published.
One has even appeared on Broadway and is now being made into a movie starring Jake Gyllenhall.
This year’s FutureFest productions are:
  • An Uncommon Language by Evan Guilford-Blake
  • Dancing Backwards by John Fiorillo
  • How It Works by Cary Pepper
  • The Judicial Murder of Mrs. Surratt by Rich Amada
  • Refuge by Marc Kornblatt
  • Short Story Long by Joel Fishbane
(synopsis for each play can be found at the end of this article)
Tickets are still available for this weekends FutureFest and may be purchased by calling the Dayton Playhouse Box Office at 937-424-8477 or online at daytonplayhouse.org.

Peter Filichia - A Personal History of the American Theater

Peter Filichia

A Personal History of the American Theatre

by Peter Filichia at THE DAYTON PLAYHOUSE

So, what’s it like to be a theater critic? Is it really fun to attend the theater night after night after night after night? Ask Peter Filichia, who has been attending theater consistently for the last half-century and has been a reviewer for more than half that time.

Filichia has seen theater in 42 states and 14 foreign countries and has managed to see as many as 365 stage shows in a single year. He will, God willing, soon see his 10,000th stage show.

One of those was Spaulding Gray’s one-man show, A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER. Gray simply sat at a table and held a bunch of oversized index cards. He pulled out a card at random and would tell a story based on the title of the show printed on that card.

Gray died in 2004. Filichia reasoned that the show should not go with him – but should go on. And so, he’s created his own version of A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER. He’s got quite a few index cards from which to choose.

Each performance of A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER is, of course, different. An audience might hear about Filichia’s adventures with a nice celebrity (Jerry Orbach), a not-so-nice one (Mary Tyler Moore), or one who turned out to be a little sneaky (Steve Allen). What’s it like to face Ben Vereen shortly after you’ve written a negative review about his performance? How did Filichia feel after he put his foot in his mouth when dealing with James Earl Jones?

There are stories about memorable audience members, ranging from Richard Rodgers’ daughter Mary to the black man and old white woman who buttressed Filichia at The Wiz. Filichia also goes back to when he began theatergoing as a teen, and how many a play changed his life, be it as serious as A Raisin in the Sun or even as frivolous as Damn Yankees. There’s a poignant story about the time Filichia took Yugoslavians to a musical, as well as funny ones involving community theater disasters.

It’s all in the cards – and the story-telling. Filichia has performed A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER in points north (New York State), south (Miami), east (Boston), and west (Aspen, Colorado). Because of the very nature of the show, it can be as long or as short as a presenting house demands. Afterwards, Filichia is glad to take questions from the audience.

For more Information & Tickets, visit:

FutureFest (July 23-25) visit http://www.daytonplayhouse.com/ (937) 424-8477 (tickets are availble for each individual play…see below for a synopsis of each play)

A Personal History of the American Theater by Peter Filichia (July 22) visit http://www.daytonplayhouse.com/ (937) 424-8477

Would you like to submit theater news for Dayton Most Metro’s onStageDayton features?  Email Shane & Dave at onStageDayton@gmail.com

FutureFest 2010 Plays

Dancing Backwards – John Fiorillo (Fully Staged) – 8pm Fri. 07/23

This is a story about the choices we make between loyalty and ambition or independence and accepting help.  Victor Belkin, a famous dancer, is worried about his friend Robert, an elderly Yankee widower. He asks Robert to share his home, although his lifestyle and Robert’s couldn’t be more different. Robert rejects Viktor’s offer. He has a secret, as well as a plan to escape. However, the situation gets out of hand as it turns from amusing to life threatening.

How It Works – Cary Pepper (Staged Reading) – 10am Sat. 07/24

HOW IT WORKS explores the issues of success, power, fame, recognition, compromise, integrity and personal satisfaction in the world of art.  How do you handle The Struggle? How do you maintain personal integrity as a person and an artist? What happens when you’re given one of the most prestigious awards in the world, but you yearn for a “smaller” award the public knows nothing about?

An Uncommon Language – Evan Guilford-Blake (Staged Reading) – 3pm Sat. 07/24

An Uncommon Language examines the repression of women and the nature of madness. Set in England in 1906, the play explores the life of HÉLOISE LACASSE, an untrained but passionate and talented sculptor, who chooses to subjugate her prowess to benefit JOHN BATISTE, her lover, the self-described enfant terrible of English sculpture.  Silently, she crafts heads for his statuary. Héloise has a history of free-spirited behavior, which, ultimately, John interprets as madness and has her institutionalized — where she is forbidden access to her sculpture.

Refuge – Marc Kornblatt (Fully Staged) – 8pm Sat. 07/24

Two men meet on a secluded boardwalk along a marsh in a bird sanctuary in the Midwest.  Jim brings a notepad and a gun.  Laz brings a pile of pills and a six-pack of beer.  By the end of their first encounter, the pills are consumed and the gun goes off.  Both men live.  Jim and Laz meet again and again in the same place to argue, cajole, circle and embrace in a somber and funny dance of death that also draws Jim’s burdened wife and Laz’s yearning girlfriend to the marsh to find refuge and renewal.

The Judicial Murder of Mrs. Surratt – Rich Amada (Staged Reading) – 10am Sun. 07/25

Based on true events, the play follows the story of Mary Surratt, the first woman judicially executed by the U.S. government.  It was Mrs. Surratt’s boardinghouse where John Wilkes Booth and others are said to have plotted the assassination of President Lincoln.  By charging her, the government hoped to flush out her fugitive son, an alleged key conspirator.  On trial, Mrs. Surratt faced the gallows in what was 19th Century America’s trial of the century.

Short Story Long – Joel Fishbane (Fully Staged) – 3pm Sun. 07/25

After famed author Lincoln Kennedy dies, he bequeaths his money to his wife and his writing to his former girlfriend.  His wife, Julianne, refuses to obey her husband’s wishes until she can determine the reasons behind them.  Amalthea is equally confused, she has not seen Lincoln in years.  Together, the women work to unravel the mystery, slowly forging a tentative peace that is threatened once Lincoln’s true motivations are finally revealed.

Dayton Blues Fest this Sunday

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The Michelob Dayton Blues Festival is the second of three free summer festivals presented by the City of Dayton Department of Recreation & Youth Services and The Downtown Dayton Partnership.  It’s a day of music from Ohio blues acts beginning at 1pm.  San Antonio’s Jose’ Alvarez with Los Blancos will headline at 8pm.  The festival takes place at Dave Hall Plaza (Fourth & Jefferson Streets) and is hosted by Earl “Southside” Hayes

Jose Alvarez

Here’s the full lineup:

1pm  Austin “Walkin’ Cane” (Cleveland)
2pm  Swamp Rhinos (Dayton)
3pm  The Soulcasters (Dayton)
4pm  Average Joe’s (Dayton)
5pm  Jimmy Baker & Blues Encounter (Dayton)
6pm  Long Tall Deb & The Drifter Kings (Columbus)
7pm Mississippi Red & The Bumble-Bee-Licious Blues Band (Dayton)
8pm  Jose’ Alvarez with Los Blancos (San Antonio)

There’s also an after-party/birthday celebration for the Dayton Blues Society hosted by the Soulcasters.  That’s at Brixx Ice Company on First Street.  The music starts at 9:30pm.

Ruckus Roboticus releases The Chicks EP

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Local turntable master, Ruckus Roboticus has spent the last few month working on remixes of other artists’ materials.  This Saturday night (July 17th) is a celebration of Ruckus’ latest original effort, The Chicks EP.  It’s being released on his on own imprint, Dance Or Die Records, and features remixes from Frankie J (The Sound Republic), Hot Mess (Dirty Circuit / Drumz), and DJ Wood (Good Groove).

The release party is at Peach’s Grill in Yellow Springs and will feature sets from Ruckus himself and  local DJs Ill Poetic and Skratchmatik.  Admission to the 21+ show is $5.

Here’s one of the tracks from The Chicks EP
Chicks (Original Mix) by Ruckus Roboticus
THIS JUST IN: You can hear the radio debut of tracks from The Chicks EP this Friday night on WYSO during Around the Fringe.  Rev Cool and Andy will be spinning the tracks and offering you a chance to win a free download of Ruckus’ new EP.  You can hear it on WYSO 91.3FM, Friday night 8pm-midnight.  Thanks to Andy Valeri for the tip!

Local bands pay tribute to Nirvana

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It’s been over 15 years since Kurt Cobain’s death, and many of today’s musicians claim him as an influence.  On Saturday, July 17th, 10 local bands will pay tribute to Nirvana with “No Recess,” a show at Canal Street Tavern. This is another show put on by Dayton’s DJ Misterkid, and will feature both Nirvana covers and original material from each band.  DJ Joseph Nicholson will be spinning 90’s Alternative tunes between the bands.

Performers include:
idiedtrying.
Thee Pistol Whips
Atomic Euphoria
Gem City Saints
Splattertude
Sleepfleet
The Show
Red Blast Radio, with guests David A. Berry & Louie Wood jr.
Paige Beller with Jay Madewell and A Sides, B Sides
Shattered Reality