Come join Tony and Tina in holy matrimony

by Kathy Horrigan

Come join Tony and Tina in holy matrimony. And I’ll take your picture while you’re at it!

I am currently in the midst of one of the most unique theatrical experiences of my life. Months ago I noticed in the Capital Center for the Arts newsletter that Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, one of the longest running off-Broadway shows, was coming to Concord and they were looking local actors to audition for some of the supporting roles. Needless to say, I was intrigued.

SO, off I go to the Grappone Conference Center to audition. Oddly when I get there, the door I need to get in is blocked by a wedding party taking photos. I think this is fate since I have ended being cast as the wedding photographer, Sal Antonucci. This part is usually played by a male but for some reason, the people casting the show see fit to put me in the part. The director, who was called in at the last minute because the original director suddenly had to go to the Berkshires to work on an Ang Lee movie, was somewhat thrown since in his twenty years of Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, he has never seen a female Sal. We work around my gender in rehearsal.

Let me comment on the rehearsal process… the professional actors drove up from New York City this Saturday. And yes, it was raining heavily for their whole trip. They’re exhausted but off we go and start rehearsing. We are in some board room way, way at the top of the Kimball Mansion next to the Capital Center for the Arts. We do a read through, block the ceremony scene, have a dinner break and then go back up the three flights of stairs to work some more. The bunch of us carpooling from the seacoast area drive home in the pouring rain.

Day two, Sunday, we rehearse from 1-9 pm. Yes, eight hours. Day three, Monday, we rehearse from 6-10 pm. Tuesday, the 6-10 again. All days we drive home in rain or fog or both. Yesterday, Wednesday, Opening Night! Somehow in four days we go from people who barely know each other, with a script we have only had for two days to a fully functioning cast that somehow makes that this audience last night of about a hundred people really feel like they are at an Italian wedding.

We have some celebrities on the cast. The director and the man playing Vinnie Black, Tony Patellis, has been on the Sopranos and recently did voice over work for Grand Theft Auto Four (a video game that I have never played but my college roommate’s teenaged sons like it so I guess it’s good…) Also, Krystal Barry, Miss New Hampshire 2005, plays Maddy Monroe, the father of the groom’s girlfriend. I think her legs are as long as I am tall.

The show runs through this Sunday. And yes, there are some matinees over the weekend so at least if you have to drive in the pouring rain, you will be driving during daylight hours. If you think you might be going tonight or Sunday I have a special promotional code I can give you for “family”.

For more information go to the Capital Center for the Arts or the Tony n’ Tina official web site:

http://ccanh.com/ShowDetails/106/353

http://www.tonylovestina.com/shows_tony_tina_wedding_1.cfm?eid=65

Or just come see me. I can show you some of Sal’s fantastico photos.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

by Rachel Gogan and the American Cancer Society

This year, 250,230 women and 1,990 men will hear the words “You have breast cancer,” and there’s a good chance that some of them will be people we know and love.

I have chosen to fight back against this disease and help make a difference by participating in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in October.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is a noncompetitive walk that takes place in 120 communities across the country, including 20 in New England. From California to Massachusetts and Florida to Maine, Making Strides walkers unite to honor breast cancer survivors and to educate women about early detection and prevention. And, of course, by raising money to support the American Cancer Society fight against breast cancer, we help fund groundbreaking research, public awareness campaigns, efforts to ensure that all women have access to mammograms, and programs and services that improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

I hope you will join me by making a donation in support of my effort.

I can accept donations online here (It’s safe and simple. All you have to do is click the link below and follow the few easy steps) or I can take donations online or in the form of cash or check.  I would be glad to come to your office to pick up a donation if you care to make one.

Event Details:

Date: Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008
Location: Wentworth Douglas Hospital
Time: Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008
Registration: Begins at 9:30 a.m.
Walk start: 11 a.m.
Walk length: 4 miles or 1.8 miles — your choice!

I hope you will support my efforts by making a donation on my personal fundraising page.

Last year, 500,000 Making Strides participants across the U.S. raised $50 million ($7.5 million of that in New England), and they did it one donation at a time. So, whether you’re able to give $5, $50 or $500, every bit truly does help fight a disease that 1 in 8 women will face in her lifetime.

Thanks, in part, to funds raised by Making Strides, American Cancer Society-funded researchers have been involved with many breast cancer research breakthroughs, including the discovery of genes for inherited breast cancer, lumpectomy as an alternative to radical mastectomy, use of tamoxifen to reduce risk of second or first breast cancer, development of monoclonal antibodies to treat breast cancer (Herceptin), and the links between obesity and breast cancer, alcohol and breast cancer, and the benefits of exercise in reducing breast cancer risk.

Hope starts one dollar at a time. Hope starts with me. And hope can start with you.

SDC Event – Greening Your Office

Are you interested in becoming more sustainable at work and at home? Would you like to know how you can help to lessen your impact on the earth and reduce your carbon footprint? Wondering what you can do to get a little more ‘green‘?

Then the SDC sponsored “Greening Your Office” workshop is the thing for you!

The University Office of Sustainability is going to be hosting three “Greening Your Office” workshop and discussion sessions.

There will be three sessions at three different times so that as many people as are interested can attend. Here are the dates, times and locations:

Monday May 12th in Dimond room 343 from 2-3PM

Monday May 19th in the Multimedia Classroom on Level 2 from 10-11 AM

and
Monday May 19th in the Multimedia Classroom on Level 2 from 2-3 PM

Please RSVP by sending me an e-mail. If you’d like to attend and which session you’re interested in.

If the weather is nice enough some sessions may be moved outdoors!

Hope to see you there!

Erik Johnson – MFA

Erik Geoffrey Johnson
Ladders, 2008

2008 M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition (II)
May 8 – May 24, 2008
Preview Reception: .
Friday, May 9, 5-6:30 p.m.

Works by M.F.A. degree candidate Erik Geoffrey Johnson are featured.

Hours: Sept-May: M-W 10-4, Th 10-8, Sa-Su 1-5, Closed Fri.

In addition to Erik’s Show he will be giving a talk on May 14th 12-1 at the Art Gallery about his painting process.

Drop by if you get the chance and see one of our very own shine through his artwork!