break legs! jaime and patrina hurtado, owners€¦ · our head players in set design, props,...

Break legs! Jaime and Patrina Hurtado, Owners

From The Producer

W elcome to the Village Playhouse 33rd Annual Wisconsin

Playwrights Original One Act Play Festival.

Over the decades our festival has grown from local playwrights to

authors state-wide. This season we had entries from Door County

to Pierce County to Crawford County to Milwaukee County. So

you don't have to pull out a map, that's roughly three quarters of

the entire state of Wisconsin. Sixteen authors entrusted us with

twenty scripts this year, and we chose four of the twenty play-

wrights to produce.

Selecting the scripts is always a challenge. This year, a seven-

person committee read and scored the plays, considering the fol-

lowing criteria: writing and storytelling aspects, the technical fea-

sibility of producing, casting possibilities, and originality of

script. For example, a script that requires a three level house with

a functional kitchen, or a cast of 40 human-eating aliens likely

won't make it onto our stage—unless the writing and storytelling

are so very good that we're willing take on those challenges.

Because, theatre is really about the spoken word, we consider

whether the script has something humorous or tragic or insightful

to say, whether it is current or historical, and whether it communi-

cates well to the audience.

This year, we have six scripts for you which meet the criteria

stated above. We hope you enjoy them.

My thanks to a wonderful cast of actors and actresses, directors,

and crew people. My thanks to our playwrights for your contin-

ued support of our festival. And thank you, our audience, for you

are why we have been doing this for 33 years!

Tom Zuehlke

Producer

A staged reading of a new play

The Fall 1959 by

Michael Lucchesi

featuring

Paul Pfannenstiel

Roseann Fasi

Third Annual MKE Fringe Festival Saturday, August 25

Sunday, August 26

Marcus Center for the Performing Arts

Producer Tom Zuehlke

Stage Manager Jeanie Dean

Directors Elizabeth Havican

Erico Ortiz

Scott Sorensen

Tom Zuehlke

Set Design/Construction Elizabeth Havican

Erico Ortiz

Casey Paszkiewicz

Scott Sorensen

Lighting / Sound Elizabeth Havican

House / Box Office Mary Breitrick

Graphic Design Derek Jacobs

Publicity Elizabeth Havican

Erico Ortiz

Play Reading Committee Larry Beckley

Barbara Lynch

Erico Ortiz

Scott Sorensen

JudyLee Tarbox

Gail Zastrow

Program Design Erico Ortiz

“ We fell in love amid fire and death. That forms a strong bond.”

Production Team

Meet The Directors

ductions of Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Carol), and The 25th Annual Putnam

County Spelling Bee (Rona Lisa Peretti). She hopes you enjoy the shows.

Karolyn Wolkos (Vanessa/The Ambitious One) is excited to be part of Village

Playhouse’s One Act Festival with this talented cast. She has recently per-

formed in the musical Sister Act at Sunset Playhouse. She can also be seen

doing improvisations at ComedySportz with her group, Improv Limbo.

Sandra Wyss (Samantha/The Gardener) is happy to be on stage again. Recent

performances include Mourning Woman III in The House of Bernarda Alba,

and Mrs. Trotsky in All in the Timing (Village Playhouse); Maddie in The

Recovering Pessimist (Inspiration Studios); Ginger in Becky’s New Car

(Sixth Street Theater, Racine). Co-founder of SandMark Productions, San-

dra also enjoys utilizing her artistic skills for Village Playhouse and Over

Our Head Players in set design, props, costumes and scenic painting.

Elizabeth M. Havican (Coffee Shop) is excited to be involved with this year's

Village Playhouse One Act Festival, and to be adding the role of Director to

her list of theatrical positions. She hopes you enjoy the show!

Erico Ortiz (The Last Love Story) looks forward to each year’s One Act Festi-

val and the opportunity to create new personalities on stage. This year, he is

especially grateful for the opportunity to broaden his directorial skills after a

very successful run as Director of Garcia-Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba

(Village Playhouse). The One Act Festivals are among his favorite Village

Playhouse productions; they bring forth new talent in the form of writers, di-

rectors and performers. Erico owns and operates Inspiration Studios, where

emerging artists are at the forefront of all exhibits and performances. The origi-

nality of these one act plays is a means to reaching that goal.

Scott Sorensen (The Dolly Agenda / The Ambitious One / Vulpes Vulpes) As

a director, The Deanna Strasse Trilogy, as it has come to be known, was the

one project that Scott wanted to sink his teeth into for this year's One Act Festi-

val. While each show stands on its own, there is a definite connection. Putting

this together was a blast. Delving inside the mind of a playwright always has

its challenges, but with a cast as talented as these actors, his job was a piece of

cake. Scott loves watching actors play on stage. Bringing stories to life is one

of his favorite things to do; Ms. Strasse tells some of the best. He hopes you

will enjoy the show they have put together for you. A great big Thank You

goes out to everyone involved in this year's festival, and a personal expression

of gratitude to You, the audience, for supporting the arts! Please, sit back and

enjoy the shows.

Tom Zuehlke (The Gardener) acted in the first One Act Festival in the fall of

1984. He's been around ever since as director, producer, actor and member of

the board. Tom would like to dedicate this production to Evvie Smith, Lloyd

Dreger, and Bob Kafka—three dear friends who are and always will be missed.

Inspiration Studios Calendar of Events

www.inspirationstudiosgallery.com

Jun 1 VP 33rd Annual Original One Act Festival—7:30pm


Jun 3 Writers’ Meet-up w/Christi Craig (upper studio)—3pm

Jun 3 Opening Reception—Touching Hearts Exhibit

Lynnea Schliesleder—4-7pm

Jun 4, 6, 8 Basics of Acrylic Painting For Adults w/Ronni Shmauz

(3 classes) West Allis City Hall Gallery—1:00-3:30pm

Jun 4 VP Auditions: 40 Carats—6:30pm

Jun 5 VP Auditions: 40 Carats—6:30pm


Jun 9 Window Painting Party w/Ronni Shmauz—2-4pm

No experience necessary. All materials provided. ($40)






Jun 19,20,21 Intro to Watercolor for Adults w/Diane Ulezelski


Jun 23 Acrylic Paint & Sip w/Lynnea Schliesleder—3:00pm

No experience necessary. All materials provided. ($40)

Jun 30 Opening Reception—WAWM Student Art Exhibit—6pm

Jul 8 WAWM Grades 3-5 Art Awards Ceremony—2pm

Jul 10,11.12 Watercolor II for Adults w/Diane Ulezelski


Jul 14 Village Playhouse Annual Membership Meeting

Potluck and Encore Awards—5pm

Jul 15 WAWM Grades 6-8 Art Awards Ceremony—2pm

Jul 15 Writers’ Meet-up w/Christi Craig (upper studio)—3pm

Meet The Playwrights

Mark Borchardt (Coffee Shop) is happy to have one of his latest plays,

Coffee Shop, produced in this year's Village Playhouse One Act Festi-

val. He's also pleased to have had The Painting in last year’s festival.

Additionally, in 2017, his play What's in the Box? was accepted in

Samuel French's Shorts Festival in Los Angeles. He's currently work-

ing on another short play, Gas Station, and two full-length works, Win-

ter Lives and Playwright.

Nick Schweitzer (The Gardener) is once again honored to have Village

Playhouse choose one of his works for this long-running festival. Most

of his plays are full-length and either very serious, including 3 about

PTSD, or very silly, including 3 pantos (if you don't know the word,

Google it). Village Playhouse has provided an opportunity for him to

develop some facility with one-acts, for which he is very grateful. He

hopes you who are reading this will enjoy The Gardener, as well as all

the other plays in this year's production.

Deanna Strasse (The Dolly Agenda, The Ambitious One, Vulpes

Vulpes) is a local playwright, actress, and director. She's seen many of

her plays workshopped and produced through companies such as

Windfall Theatre, The Box Theatre, Village Playhouse, St. Croix

Festival Theatre, Macha Monkey Productions (Seattle, Washington),

Chameleon Circle Theatre (Burnsville, Minnesota), Wisconsin Lu-

theran College, and The Off-Book Players. Notable works include

Dancing With Hamlet, A Play About Parker, The Way We Suffer, Rox-

anne, and more. Follow Deanna's adventures at deannastrasse.com.

Mike Willis (The Last Love Story). An actor, director and playwright,

Mike has authored over sixty plays, forty of which are currently in pub-

lication. His plays have been produced throughout the United States, as

well as in Canada and Australia. Mike has worked as an actor, as artis-

tic and technical director for a regional theatre company, and as a high

school drama director. His professional acting credits include fourteen

seasons of classical theatre, either with the Wisconsin Shakespeare

Festival Theatre Company or the South Dakota Shakespeare Com-

pany, for whom he also taught youth playwriting workshops. A Platte-

ville native, Mike and his wife Sandy currently reside in Spring Green.

Madison County (Lake Country Playhouse) and The Hunchback of Notre

Dame and 33 Variations (Waukesha Civic Theater). Thank you for your

support of local theater and enjoy the show!

Donna McMaster (Jada/The Dolly Agenda; Katie/The Ambitious One) is so

happy to be back at Inspiration Studios performing with Village Play-

house. She was last seen in their April production of The House of Bernarda

Alba. Donna has worked in many capacities with a number of local theaters

over the past 30 years. She wishes to thank those friends who come to see her

shows or support her any way they can in her great love of the theater.

Thanks to the directors, fellow actors, and crew who were willing to take a

chance on her, to work with her in this production, and to all those who have

given her chances in the past.

Jacob Ortiz (Rod/The Last Love Story) is grateful for the opportunity to make

his first appearance with the Village Playhouse. Introduced to theatre at West

Allis Central, he was last seen in Theater Games (Voices Found Repertory).

He hopes to continue acting on stage (and off!), having recently completed a

workshop with the Milwaukee Rep. He thanks his parents for their unending

love and support in all his endeavors. He hopes you enjoy the show.

Judy Pirelli-Wambach (Co-worker/Coffee Shop; Greta/The Last Love Story) is

happy to be on stage once again. Fresh off an amazing run of The House of

Bernarda Alba (Village Playhouse), Judy is excited to be part of this One Act

Festival. It is a nice change to be performing in a light-hearted show. She

thanks you, the audience, for supporting community theatre.

Greg Ryan (Oscar “OB”/The Last Love Story) began this surprising trip into

acting eight years ago, after retiring as an engineer. Since then, he’s been in a

number of shows, including The Odd Couple (Theatre on Main), Fawlty Tow-

ers (Carte Blanche Studios), Twelve Angry Men (Cream City Theatre), and

Theater Games (Voices Found Repertory). Unending thanks to Brooke for

her constant support and endless suggestions!

Scott Sorensen (Mitch/The Last Love Story) is so excited to be a part of this

show with such a fun, wonderful cast and an awesome director. He wishes to

thank everyone involved for their patience and support. As always, never-

ending love to the late Aric Fisher.

Rob Schreiner (George/Vulpes Vulpes) is excited to be acting in his first One

Act Festival with Village Playhouse. He is a Milwaukee native, musician, and

trouble maker.

Scott Stenstrup (Tom/The Gardener) is very happy to be on the Inspiration

Studios stage, working with Village Playhouse once again. It is exciting to be

acting in a locally written play. Sit back and enjoy the shows.

Kellie Wambold (Lexi/The Dolly Agenda; Samantha/Vulpes Vulpes) is excited

to start her acting career in Milwaukee with Village Playhouse after graduat-

ing from UW-Oshkosh this past December. Previous acting credits include

Sod House Theatre’s The Cherry Orchard (Anya), and UW-Oshkosh pro-

Meet The Players Rita Bates (Woman/Coffee Shop) has been involved with Village Playhouse

for 5 years, mainly off stage but with some on-stage experience as well. She

served on the Board of Directors for 3 years and was especially proud of her

first major role in last year’s A Doll’s House (Christine Linde). She thanks

Elizabeth for trusting her in this role, for her patience as she learned the part.

Jeanie Dean (Stage Manager) The smell of the crowd. The roar of the grease

paint. Ah, the adventure and danger back stage! Jeanie is happy to debut with

Village Playhouse as Stage Manager for the 33rd Annual One Act Festival.

Jeanie's background includes costuming, set, dance, choreography, multimedia

and poetry with Milwaukee Art Museum, Alchemist Theater, In Tandem,

MPTV, Danceworks, UWM Union Gallery, Rock & Roll Opera, Trash-

fest, Primativa Dance, Riverwest Arts, The Coffee Shop, and more. This

program is a fun and whimsical set of plays from eclectic voices. Oh! Time to

move the set! Enjoy the show.

Michael Sergio Fischer-Zaragoza (Man/Coffee Shop) has been in the Milwau-

kee theatre scene since 2014. Previous acting credits include: You Want Fries

With That? (Manager);The Fourth Wall (Security Guard) in The 31st Annual

Original One Act Festival; John Doe in Gothic Arms in The 32nd Annual

Original One Act Festival. He would love to thank his family, friends, instruc-

tors, people who came to watch him perform, plus cast mates and director for

giving him a chance in the 33rd Annual Original One Act Festival as he por-

trays a busybody who does not understand boundaries.

Margie Grosskreuz (Patron/Coffee Shop) is pleased to return to Village Play-

house. She was last seen as a mourning woman in the dramatic presentation of

The House of Bernarda Alba. She made her acting debut last year at the Kelly

Senior Center Variety Show. Other interests include piano and writing. Cur-

rently enrolled in writing classes, she has begun work on a short script. Many

thanks to cast and crew and to all who support the arts. Enjoy the show.

Sandra Hollander (Marilyn/The Last Love Story) is delighted to be in this

show, her second with Village Playhouse. Previous credits in the area: The

House of Bernarda Alba, also at Village Playhouse; Ellis with Cooperative

Performance Milwaukee; Sister Act, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Fid-

dler On The Roof and The Addams Family at Sunset Playhouse; Jesus Christ

Superstar and Curtains with West Allis Players. When not on stage, Sandra

volunteers as a light board operator at Sunset Playhouse and is a medical cod-

ing specialist during the day. Many thanks to Erico Ortiz for this opportunity.

Carl Liden (Patrick/The Gardener) is happy to make his Village Playhouse

debut in the 33rd Annual One-Act Festival. However, he is not the 1st member

of his household to appear with this organization; that honor belongs to his

couch (yes, you read that correctly) which scored significant stage time in a

non-speaking role in the 2013 production of Psych. Carl has been active with

many local theaters for the past 12 years, most recently in The Bridges of

2018-2019 Season

The Village Playhouse announces its 2018 - 2019 Season

The Big 4-0: A Celebration!

For our 40th Season, we've put together a variety of plays, classic and new, which are sure to please.

August 2018

40 CARATS

by Jay Allen A comedy about a 40 year old woman who begins a new lease on life when she starts dating a man half her age.

November 2018

NIGHT WATCH by Lucille Fletcher

First produced by Village Playhouse in March 1979, this thriller is full of suspenseful twists and turns, leaving audiences guessing until the final, breath-stopping reveal.

February 2019

DRIVING MISS DAISY by Alfred Uhry

Starting in 1948, this drama covers the 25 year friendship of an elderly white woman and her black driver, as they navigate through the ups and downs of life in the South.

April 2019

TARTUFFE by Moliere

With a Tony-Award winning Broadway revival in 1978 and made into a movie that same year, this neoclassical comedy centers on a wealthy man being duped by a penniless vagrant.

June 2019

34TH ANNUAL ORIGINAL ONE ACT FESTIVAL The One Act Festival will return next year with a new crop of scripts from Wisconsin playwrights.

More information about upcoming productions can

be found on our website, villageplayhouse.org.

http://villageplayhouse.org/

THE DOLLY AGENDA

Written by Deanna Strasse

Directed by Scott Sorensen

Time: The present

Place: Lexi’s bedroom

Jada……………….. Donna McMaster

Lexi……………….. Kellie Wambold

THE AMBITIOUS ONE

Written by Deanna Strasse


Time: The present

Place: A kitchen

Katie……………... Donna McMaster

Vanessa………….. Karolyn Wolkos

VULPES VULPES Written by Deanna Strasse


Time: The present

Place: A writer’s den

George ………………. Rob Schreiner

Samantha, The Fox….. Kellie Wambold

COFFEE SHOP

Written by Mark Borchardt

Directed by Elizabeth M. Havican

Time: The present

Place: A crowded coffee shop

Woman…………. Rita Bates

Man……………. Michael Fisher-Zaragoza

Co-Worker…….. Judy Pirelli-Wambach

Couple…………. Donna McMaster

Scott Sorensen

Patrons…………. Margie Grosskreuz

Manny Lupian

Michale Phason

Maggie Sherwin

33rd Annual Original One Act Play Festival

THE GARDENER

Written by Nick Schweitzer

Directed by Tom Zuehlke

Time: The present

Place: A comfortable middle-class living room

Husband Patrick………….... Carl Liden

Gardener Tom ……………... Scott Stenstrup

Wife Samantha…………….. Sandra Wyss

THE LAST LOVE STORY

Written by Mike Willis

Directed by Erico Ortiz

Time: The present

Place: Office of a movie producer

Oscar“OB” …….. Greg Ryan

Greta……………. Judy Parelli-Wambach

Mitchell…………. Scott Sorensen

Marilyn…………. Sandra Hollander

Rod ……………... Jacob Ortiz

33rd Annual Original One Act Play Festival

15-minute Intermission Refreshments served in the Lobby

break legs! jaime and patrina hurtado, owners€¦ · our head players in set design, props,...

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