Saturday, March 15, 2008

Good Drama Lives in Unexpected Local Places

Despite all of the portable digital, and at-home visual entertainment options, from iPods to DVDs to cable and satellite offerings on demand, live theater still continues to attract audiences. The intimacy of a live performance, the audience reactions, the excitement as the lights dim and the curtain rises, and perhaps a multitude of other reasons, make live theater the entertainment of choice for many people.

But if you don't want to travel to Boston, pay outrageously high ticket prices, and need binoculars to see the facial expressions of the actors, consider your drama options right here in the Ham.

Community theater, with its often amateur casts and limited budgets sometimes gets a bad rap, but there are sometimes gems to be found right in your proverbial back yard.

The Amazing Theater Company puts on several plays a year at the Amazing Things Arts Center. A recent production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie garnered rave reviews. The troupe will be staging Ivan Menchell's The Cemetery Club in April.

Framingham Community Theater makes its home at the Framingham Civic League building next to town hall downtown. This theater company has been around about three years. It produces a variety of types of plays, from A.R. Guerney's classic Love Letters last year, to a 2006 production of Nunsense, to a murder mystery dinner theater in 2005.

The Performing Arts Center of Metrowest, located in the same building as the Danforth Museum on Union Ave., has a lively children's theater company that produces several plays a year.

They also offer a summer musical theater program for kids. This is the place to be for young thespians who can't get enough of the drama bug acting in their school productions.

Speaking of school-based theater, the Framingham High School Drama Company puts on great productions that far exceed the quality of the average high school play.

And it's not just their parents who think so. Framingham High won the state-wide high school drama competition in 2006, and has advanced to the semi-finals this year. Go FHS Drama!

5 comments:

The Hamster said...

FHS Drama did not advance beyond the semi-finals, but I saw their production and it was wonderful.

Great job guys!

Anonymous said...

Not only did Framingham High win Drama festival in 2006, it was NorthShore Music Theatre's Spotlight Award winner on 6/02/2008. What this means is that out of 25 schools, Framingham High's cast and crew won Best Overall Musical performance for their performance of "Once on this Island". Not only did they win best musical they also won: Best Lighting Design, Best Scenic design, Best Ensemble, Best Technical Crew, Best Orchestra, and Best Direction. It was a proud night for the entire family of Framingham Drama Company. By the way this is Framingham's first year competing in this event. All the parents are so thrilled that their drama students were recognized for all their hard work and creativity. I congratulate the Framingham High School's teachers and staff, School Committee for supporting the Drama Company and of course Donna, Steph, Brian, and Mr. Moore. SAVE DRAMA AND THE FINE ARTS IN FRAMINGHAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A proud Framingham parent,

Kelley Kounadis and family

The Hamster said...

Kelley, thanks for posting the details about the latest FHS drama triumph, great news!

The Hamster said...

From the Framingham High School Principal's Flyer for October 6, 2008:

"Congratulations are in order again for the FHS Drama Company. Last year’s production of Once On This Island was recently awarded the Moss Hart Award for secondary schools by the New England Theater
Conference. This award is often referred to as the “New England Tony Award” and is presented annually by the NETC. It is awarded to theater productions that present affirmative views of human courage and dignite, have strong literary and artistic merit, and exemplify fresh, imaginative, creative treatment within the intent of
the playwright. The Moss Hart plaque will be presented at a ceremony on Saturday, November 22 at the New England Theater Conference Awards banquet. Kudos to all those involved in this drama company production!"

The Hamster said...

FHS Drama has been invited to perform in the 2010 Edinburgh (Scotland) Fringe Festival!

This is an unbelievable honor to participate in the world's largest and most prestigious arts festival.