The New Voices Ensemble Performs at the NCC

On January 19th, 2009, eight members of the People’s Light & Theatre Company’s New Voices Ensemble participated in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day of service at the National Constitution Center. The Ensemble, along with other area students, professional actors, and educators, performed a dramatic and choral reading of the historic MLK Speech that was given in 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.



In addition to performing and assisting NCC staff, Ensemble members took part in a quilting project for Women Against Abuse shelters and homeless shelters. Groups took turns assisting families and volunteers, cutting and sorting fabric, hand stitching, ironing, and finishing blankets and pillows. Following their day of service the students received a private tour of the exhibit “America I Am,” a celebration of African-American contributions throughout history in the United States, featuring not only a variety of famous artifacts such as Malcolm X’s personal diary and the jail door where Martin Luther King, Jr. was held in Birmingham, but also an assortment of multimedia presentations showcasing famous African-Americans throughout U.S. history.

Floor Thirteen and a Half, Summerstage 2009, by Kelsey Hodgkiss

This summer, Teen 1 from the People's Light & Theatre Summerstage program is tackling something new. We are creating and putting on and original play based on the themes of End Days.

Floor Thirteen and a Half tells the story of 15 strangers who take an emotional and psychological journey while stuck during a blackout in a broken down luxary hotel elevator. Will they get out? Well, we don't know yet, but you will when you come to see it Friday, July 17th at 1:00pm at Delaware Valley Friend's School.


-Kelsey Hodgkiss

DOUBT Design Presentation - 6/4/09

Doubt director David Bradley discusses the content and context of the play at an event for People's Light donors at the Benefactor level and up.

For more information about donor levels and benefits, call Jane P. Moss (Director of Development) at 610.647.1900, ext. 102.

David Bradley and Pete Pryor visit NBC's 10! Show!

David Bradley (Director) and Pete Pryor (who plays Father Flynn) visit NBC's 10! Show:

Approaching Opening Night

Hey for anyone reading this (don’t know how many of you are) I’m guessing you’re wondering who the heck is writing this. I’m the Marketing intern here at People’s Light, at least for a few more days, as something to do until I graduate from High School. In the Marketing department we’ve been doing a ton of work on Doubt, sending postcards and letters to spread the word. When I first started a few weeks ago I had not seen the movie (which I’m sure is amazing) and didn’t really know what Doubt was about. After sitting in on a rehearsal, I was intrigued by the plot and blown away by the talented actors on stage. With the show opening this Friday, we’re in crunch time, but everyone here can’t wait to put on another amazing show.

-Amanda Brandt

Behind the EGGS set

A landscape of discarded possessions set out for pickup on a big trash day in a suburb of Philadelphia on the Main Line provides the setting and the raw materials to create the multiple locations and props needed to tell the story of Y York’s adaptation of Jerry Spinelli’s Eggs.

A stepped platform littered with junk and painted to suggest the winter that has just passed and the spring that is emerging. A painted scrim threatens a scary forest and promises blossoms and hope. An unwanted clothes rack, a beaded curtain and some blankets become a fortuneteller’s living room. An abandoned van becomes a bedroom cocoon for her daughter. A broken picture frame sitting on an old chair creates a window to a young boy’s bedroom. A retired wooden shipping crate and a pair of artificial shrubs in garden containers suggest his grieving grandmother’s front stoop. An old ironing board stocked with old appliances that await repair is the workshop of a wise and kind mentor who gently tries to mend more that broken lamps and toasters. All of these unwanted things became needed and recycled until they, having serving their storytelling function are discarded by our weary travelers who then pull away the forest, on their way to Philadelphia, the sunrise and healing.

James F. Pyne, Jr.
Director of Design
March 24, 2009

the Eggs set:

Doubt: A Parable

Doubt: A Parable tells the story of the two conflicting worlds in a small New York Catholic school. Tension between the conservative principle and a new priest who is less conservative spirals into a suspicion-filled war of accusations when a young teacher sees something that makes her believe that the new priest has an inappropriate relationship with a student. “What do you do when you’re not sure?” sums up, as well as begins, this riveting and thought-evoking drama that will leave you choosing sides with the characters and doubting even your own conclusions.

Doubt: A Parable began its life off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre club on November 23, 2004, before moving to the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway in 2005. It closed July 2, 2006 after 525 performances. Written by John Patrick Shanley, Doubt was originally done in one act. The original cast said the second half stemmed from the audience's reaction to the play. In its years on and off-Broadway, and then touring the country, Doubt: A Parable has won many awards, including 8 Tony Awards, 5 Drama Desk Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. Its fame became complete when in 2008 Doubt became a feature film directed by the author, John Patrick Shanley, and starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Viola Davis, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Doubt proceeded to be nominated for numerous Academy, BAFTA, Critic’s Choice and Golden Globe awards. Meryl Streep won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role and the cast picked up many other smaller awards as well.
Starring talented veteran actors like Ceal Phelan, Pete Pryor, Elizabeth Webster Duke, and Melanye Finister, Doubt: A Parable at Peoples Light and Theatre will draw you in, force you to choose sides by your beliefs and then make you question your own conclusions.

By: Amanda Brandt

EGGS ENTRY 5, BY CLAIRE INIE-RICHARDS

(Claire plays the character of Primrose in our production Eggs.)

4.24.2009

Opening! Everything was a success. After an hour of practicing the opening sequence, we discovered the best way to hold the egg is to cradle it from UNDER the burlap. And victorious we were! The show really blossomed (which is what we strive for) and Mark (director) and Y (playwright) were both very pleased. Score!! Now there are four more shows to look forward to this weekend--bon voyage!

EGGS Entry 4, by Claire Inie-Richards

(Claire plays the character of Primrose in our production Eggs.)

4.22.2009

We had our first preview performance this morning (a 10am, no less) which went tremendously well, and the kids were really great too. It's always a leap of faith doing the show for schools, but they were very well-behaved, and everything ran smoothly. Only one more preview and then on to opening! I think the 10am tricked my brain into thinking we're already open. A rather mean trick, in my opinion. :)

(Claire Inie-Richards as Primrose and Nathaniel Brastow as David. Photo by Mark Garvin.)

Eggs Entry 3, By Claire Inie-Richards

(Claire will play the character of Primrose in our upcoming production Eggs.)

4.17.2009

Tonight was the costume run! I love costume runs because it's kind of the final step in putting it all together, and there are lots of discoveries to be made. :) I have three separate costumes--never had so many before!--and two fantastic, beautiful wigs. AHH they are so gorgeous!!!!! The whole cast looks terrific. The costume ladies took good care of us. We ran (and stumbled and meandered through the show) and all in all it went very well. It will be great to have audiences soon, we've been doing it for so long, we've forgotten it's even funny. :)