July – August 2011

The Jewel Box Theatre will present the Olivier and Tony Award-winning play Dancing at Lughnasa on weekends from July 22 through August 14. This poignant memory play, directed by Laurel Watt, will run at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. are set for July 31, August 7 and 14.

Brian Friel, one of Ireland’s most important playwrights, set his play in Ireland’s County Donegal in August 1936, in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is loosely based on the lives of Friel’s mother and aunts who lived in the Glenties, on the west coast of Donegal.

The play, told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, re-counts a summer in his aunts’ cottage as a seven-year-old. The play takes

Dancing at Lughnasa is Brilliantly Haunting; Winner of the Olivier Award and Tony Award

for Best Play of the Year!

Use Enclosed Brochure to Order Your Theatre Season Passes Now; Receive Seating Priorityin 2011–2012

Season Passes and Flexi-Passes for the Jewel Box Theatre’s recently announced 2011–12 Season are now available, offering six plays for the price of five and other terrific bonuses. Use the enclosed bro-chure to order your passes now. Season pass holders now receive seating priority over single ticket buyers throughout the entire year!

The theater’s exciting new season will run from September 2011 through August 2012 and will feature six Main Stage plays, as well as two dozen Second Stage shows, including improv comedy with Portable Reality Show, Play Readings and “The Ghost Light Tales,” a new Halloween treat.

The six Main Stage plays include a vibrant mix of raucous musicals, hilarious comedies and moving dramas. The musicals will include the female musical review, The Marvelous Wonderettes, as well as the sure-to-please Nunsensations: The Nunsense Vegas Revue. Just in time for the holidays, the theater will present the touching romantic comedy Almost, Maine by John Cariana. Other shows will include The Fourth Wall, Broken Up and Greater Tuna.

“Our theme for the 2011–12 Season is people and places,” said Jewel Box Artistic Director Todd Erler. “We’ve selected six shows that highlight uniquely interesting characters and locations. I know our pa-trons and our community will enjoy this exciting and diverse selection of shows.”

Passes are also available at www.jewelboxpoulsbo.org, by e-mail at jewelboxtickets@gmail.com or by phone at (360) 697-3183. A JBT Season Pass offers a special discount of six Main Stage plays for the price of five and is $80 for adults or $70 for seniors/stu-dents/military. (Seniors are 62 and older.)

A new Season Pass Plus, offering discounts on six Main Stage plays plus four Second Stage shows (improv, play readings, Ghost Light Tales), is also now available for $105 for adults or $95 for seniors/students/military. Those purchasing Season Passes on or before Aug. 15 will receive a special bonus of two complimentary Main Stage tickets, as well as two complimentary Second Stage tickets (Improv, Play Readings, etc.)

PoulsboLive!

Dancing at Lughnasa Continued on Page 2

Set for July 9Page 2

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

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An early lack of construction skills hasn’t stopped Mike Herring from building an impressive body of work at the Jewel Box and other community theaters. Since retiring from the U.S. Navy as a civilian engineer and moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1993, Herring has been involved with building dozens of theater sets.

His first foray into community theaters happened shortly after moving to Vashon Island. Some friends recruited him to help build a set for Steel Magnolias at the local Drama Dock community theater.

“I hardly knew how to swing a hammer back then,” he says. “But promotion comes fast in community theater, and after a few plays I was asked to be lead set builder. The process at the Jewel Box, after we moved to Poulsbo, was similar.”

Since first jumping in as a volunteer with the Jewel Box in 2006, Herring has been involved with construct-ing sets for an amazing 23 productions, including 14 as lead builder. He counts among his favorites the sets he built for Born Yesterday and Pack of Lies.

“It’s rewarding to take a project from infancy to completion in just a few weeks,” he says. “I really enjoy working with other volunteers who represent such a

broad range of interests and skills.”In addition to designing and building sets, Herring and

his wife have periodically volunteered to help in the front-of-house, as well as backstage. He first got involved with the Jewel Box after seeing a play at the theater and filling out a request form in the lobby. After twenty-three successful set constructions, everyone at the theater is glad he got involved!

When he’s not cutting lumber at the Jewel Box, Herring spends time volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, maintaining his 2.5 acres outside Poulsbo and traveling in his RV. He encour-ages others to get involved with the Jewel Box, saying the theater can accommodate a wide variety of interests, skill levels and schedules.

“You’ll find a group of people at the Jewel Box who will appreciate whatever you can do to help out,” he says. “There’s a lot of satisfaction in participating in the complex process of getting a production up and running.”

Herring Has Helped Build Jewel Box’s Reputation — One Set at a Time

Poulsbo Live! Set for July 9 The Jewel Box Theatre’s next presentation of its popular amateur talent show Poulsbo Live! is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 9. Poulsbo Live! is a family-friendly open mic, talent show featuring perform-ers from around the region. Last year’s first season of Poulsbo Live! featured a broad array of local talent, including musicians, singers, dancers, comics, poets, and other performers.

Each of the winners from the first five shows this year will compete for the Season 2 title in a special finale next fall. The winners, and eventual champion, will be decided by the audience, so come often and support your favorite act.

Tickets for the family-friendly show are just $5 and are available at the door. No phone reservations, please. The Jewel Box is

PoulsboLive!

currently signing up amateur performers and groups to participate in Poulsbo Live! If you or someone you know would like to perform, please contact the host, Melissa Steele Holiday, at jewelboxpoulsbo@hotmail.com or (360) 697-3183. All types of acts are encouraged to perform.

Dancing at Lughnasa Continued from Page 1

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place around the festival of Lughnasa—in Celtic Folklore, the festival of the first fruits—when the harvest is celebrated with music and dancing. It depicts the late sum-mer days when love seems possible for three of the Mundy sisters (Chris, Rose, and Kate). Their elder brother, Father Jack, has also just returned home after 25 years as a missionary in a leper colony, in a remote village of Uganda. Jack is suffering from ma-laria and has trouble remembering many things, and it becomes clear that he has “gone native” and quite possibly abandoned his faith.

Written in 1990, and later adapted for film in 1998, starring Meryl Streep (as Kate), Dancing at Lughnasa is Friel’s tribute to the spirit of Ireland’s past and the valor of its people. According to the New York Times, “This play does exactly what theater is meant to do, carrying both its characters and audience aloft on those waves of distant music that, in defiance of logic, let us dance and dream just before night must fall.”

Tickets are $16 for adults, or $13 for seniors/students/military, and are available at (360) 697-3183, jewelboxtickets@gmail.com, or at BrownPaperTickets.com Search: Poulsbo.

A special preview (dress rehearsal) performance of Dancing at Lughnasa is sched-uled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 21. Admission to previews is a minimum donation of $5, more if you choose. Preview tickets are available at the door only, no advance reservations.

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Gwen Adams Named Jewel Box’s Assistant Artistic Director Gwen Adams, who has directed many of the Jewel Box Theatre’s most successful musicals during the past decade, has been appointed as the theater’s Assistant Artistic Director. She will work closely with Artis-tic Director Todd Erler to continue to grow and enhance the theater’s performance offerings.

Bryant Named Theater’s Backstage Volunteer Coordinator

David Bryant has been appointed to the new position of Backstage Volunteer Coordinator for the Jewel Box Theatre. He will be responsible for recruiting, orient-ing and assigning backstage volunteers for each theater production, working closely with Managing Director Erin Denton Moydell, Artistic Director Todd Erler and Assistant Artistic Director Gwen Adams.

The owner of Ascent Home Repair and Improvement, Bryant has served in a number of backstage and front-of-house volunteer positions for the theater. Most recently, he served as stage manager for the theater’s production of The Price, and helped construct the set for Grey Gardens. He’s also volunteered for the theater as a lead set builder, light and sound tech, actor and in several front-of-house positions.

“We’re thrilled that David has stepped

Hold March 10, 2012, for Gems Gala & FundraiserTheater patrons and friends are encour-aged to hold the evening of Saturday, March 10, 2012, for the popular Gems of the Jewel Box Gala & Fundraiser. The third annual event will again be at the beautiful Hood Canal Vista Pavilion in Port Gamble and feature delicious food, terrific musical entertainment directed by Gwen Adams, a silent auction and other fun-raising ways to support the theater.

Last year’s sold-out event raised nearly $7,000 and featured some of the greatest hits of Jewel Box musical theater perfor-mances, including songs and performers from The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Spitfire Grill, Sweet Charity and others. More information about the March 10, 2012, Gems of the Jewel Box event will be available in the coming months in this space and on the theater web site at jewelboxpoulsbo.org. Please mark your calendar now to join us!

July 8, 8 p.m.Play Reading, Title TBA

July 9, 8 p.m.Poulsbo Live! Talent Show

July 21, 7:30 p.m.Dancing at Lughnasa Preview

July 22–Aug. 13Fridays & Saturdays, 8 p.m.Sunday matinees, 2 p.m.,

July 31, Aug. 7 & 14Dancing at Lughnasa

Aug. 15Deadline to receive

free bonus tickets with Season Pass orders!

Sept. 2011New 2011-12 Season Begins!

Theme: People & Places

Sept. 9–Oct. 8Fridays & Saturdays, 8 p.m.Sunday matinees, 2 p.m.,

Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 2 & 9The Marvelous Wonderettes

Mark Your Calendar

Visit our web site for details and other upcoming events.

JewelBoxPoulsbo.org

Gwen first became involved with the Jewel Box 12 years ago by writing the theater’s newsletter. Since then, she has directed 11 Jewel Box musicals and two successful fund-raising shows, as well as represented the theater at regional events and theater competitions. Among the shows she has directed at the Jewel Box are: The Great American Trailer Park Musi-cal, Spitfire Grill, Forever Plaid, Nunsense and others.

“Gwen has been doing fantastic work for at the Jewel Box for many years,” said Erler. “She is one of the best musical directors around and gives her 100% time, energy and enthusiasm to each production. I am pleased to be working with such a talented and dedicated artist.”

Adams has a Master’s Degree in Busi-ness and a Bachelor’s Degree in Commu-nication, with a minor in Performing Arts. She has directed and been on stage at other theatres in Washington and Idaho for more than 20 years, but enjoys the intimacy of the Jewel Box.

She is a resident of Poulsbo and is the Regional Human Resources Director for Navy Fleet & Family Readiness Programs. She teaches graduate classes online for University of Phoenix, teaches voice at Ga-lletta School of Dance and enjoys spending time with her number one fan and critic, husband Larry.

up to fill this important, new position,” said Moydell. “He’s served in many of the backstage volunteer positions that are criti-cal to the theater’s success, and that will help immensely as we continue to assign current volunteers, as well as recruit and train new ones.”

The theater is still searching for a Front-of-House Volunteer Coordinator. If you or someone you know may be inter-ested in this open position, please contact Moydell at jewelboxpoulsbo@hotmail.com.

JEWEL BOX THEATREP.O. Box 2510225 Iverson StreetPoulsbo, WA 98370

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. Postage

P A I DSilverdale, Washington

Permit No. 111

A complete guide to all the Theatre’s endeavorsSign up to receive e-news and specials at www.jewelboxpoulsbo.org

We serve the community through unique, intimate theater. Our purpose

is to provide quality theatrical productions and to encourage

widespread participation in the performing arts.

Jewel Box Board of DirectorsGary McVey, President

Jerry Deeter, Vice PresidentPaula Gritzmacher, Treasurer

Jim Sund, SecretaryKaren ArcherCindy GarfeinAshley Hurd Kate Nunes

Liberty Bay Bank to be Presenting Season Sponsor for 2011–2012

Liberty Bay Bank of Poulsbo is partnering with the Jewel Box to be a Presenting Sponsor for the theater’s entire 2011-12 season, which will run from September 2011 through August 2012.

Liberty Bay Bank’s mission is to be the community bank of choice for busi-nesses, professionals and individuals by providing personal relationship bank-ing, responsible financial solutions and uncompromising customer care. The bank opened in 2009, and it has quickly established itself as the leading com-munity bank in the region. The bank has partnered with the theater before as an individual show sponsor, and it has partnered with other nonprofits in the area, including North Kitsap Fishline. The bank is led by President Richard Darrow.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Liberty Bay Bank as a Presenting Sponsor for our upcoming new season,” said Gary McVey, president of the Jewel Box The-atre. “We’ve been one of the bank’s customers from the beginning, and we’ve ex-perienced first-hand the tremendous service they provide. They’re a community bank that truly supports and invests in our community. There’s a nice symmetry to Poulsbo’s community bank and its community theater partnering together.”

More information about the bank is available online at libertybaybank.com, or by phone at (360) 779-4567. If your organization is interested in partnering with the Jewel Box Theatre, please e-mail: jewelboxpoulsbo@hotmail.com.

NEW 2011–2012 SEASON BROCHURE INSIDE!