fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Shandaken Theatrical Society begins capital campaign with big plans

by Violet Snow
May 24, 2017
in Stage & Screen
0
Shandaken Theatrical Society begins capital campaign with big plans
Director Michael Koegel, executive producer Bruce Barry, and actors Gemma Clarke Sands and Stark Sands at Phoenicia’s STS Playhouse planning “Starry Starry Night.”

With a mix of businesspeople and former theater professionals now on the board of directors, Phoenicia’s STS Playhouse is contemplating a new direction for the historic community theater. The board has picked out a new name for the theater, to be revealed at “Starry, Starry Night,” a May 27 benefit featuring Broadway, film, and TV actors.

The fundraiser will serve as the kick-off of a capital campaign to fund a major renovation and

expansion of the Playhouse. The $125 tickets also entitles attendees to a pre-show cocktail party with silent auction at the Phoenicia Diner’s outdoor pavilion, a performance of five short plays at the STS theater, plus a post-show Q-&-A and a premium auction.

Board member Bruce Barry is executive producer of “Starry, Starry Night” and former director of the daytime drama Guiding Light. He is responsible for drawing a number of actors to buy second homes down the street from his residence in the Town of Shandaken. Barry and the nine actors performing at the benefit collectively represent a plethora of industry recognition, including four Tonys, three Emmys, and two Drama Desk awards.

Boyd Gaines, (Contact, four-time Tony Award winner), Kathleen McNenny (Law and Order),  Jan Maxwell (Follies, Drama Desk Award winner and five-time Tony Award nominee), and Ellen Parker (Guiding Light) all first came to town on a visit to Barry. Stark Sands (two-time Tony Award nominee for Kinky Boots and Journeyʼs End) and his wife Gemma Clarke Sands (Damage) followed more recently. Gemma, an actress and playwright, wrote an introductory skit for the show and will appear onstage with her husband for the first time.

“Coming here started out as a great escape,” said Stark, who moved to New York from Los Angeles in 2007 to work in film, TV, and theater. “When you have that kind of energy in your life, staring into space with so many people, it’s vital to get away from it and have downtime. If I’m in a show, we jump into the car after the Sunday matinee, drive up, and then we’re back in the city for the Tuesday night show. If I’m not in a show, we can be here for a whole week — but it’s hard to leave once we’re up here that long.”

Jan Maxwell said the STS Playhouse was a selling point when she decided to buy a home in Shandaken. “The community theater in my hometown of Fargo, North Dakota, was definitely the spark for the passion I feel about theater,” she said. “Ten years ago, when looking for a place near

Phoenicia, my heart did a triplet when I saw the theater in town. I have very much enjoyed the productions throughout the years, and I am so happy to be involved with this important benefit.”

Other Hudson Valley residents performing are Byron Jennings (Boardwalk Empire), Robert Emmet Lunney (Fox TV’s The Exorcist), and Carolyn McCormick (Equus and Private Lives). Three of the plays, Brights, Litter, and Good Flop Bad Flop were written by Ulster County resident David Smilow, formerly a writer for Guiding Light and now a member of the upstate collective Actors and Writers. The other two plays are A Long Trip by Dan McGeehan and Fun by Catherine Butterfield.

Barry began his career as cue card clerk for the Captain Kangaroo Show, gradually ascending to the role of director. In 1977, he moved to soap opera production, working on many popular daytime soaps. He recently joined the board of STS, where he’s working with former TV producer Michael Koegel (now the STS artistic director and proprietor of Mama’s Boy Burgers in Tannersville) and former set designer and builder Michael Cioffi, who owns the Phoenicia Diner.

“We want to have something happening at the theater every weekend,” said Barry. “It can be a venue the community can use for workshops, actor workshops, writer workshops. We’re looking at a summer camp for children so kids can get taste of theater, from set building to learning lines to acting out parts. We may be doing magic shows and choral works. It will be a place where the arts can really be explored.” STS will continue to put on four shows a year, and other companies will be able to use the theater for productions.

“We’re putting a lot of effort into rebranding,” said Barry. “We’ve hired an architect. At the benefit, we’ll have renderings of how we envision the theater looking, hopefully in the near future. This fundraiser is going to be a great boost for us to move ahead with our plans.”

STS Playhouse began as the Shandaken Theatrical Society in 1976, when a group of residents wrote and performed a short play for the town’s U.S. bicentennial celebration. They had so much fun, they kept it up, producing more and more ambitious shows and finally purchasing the Odd Fellows hall on Church Street, thus becoming one of the few community theaters with their own dedicated building and proscenium stage.

“How we got to this place is on the back of all the people who have worked on this theater since 1976,” said Koegel, who is directing the plays for the fundraiser. “We would not be here if it wasn’t for all of them. But this is the first time an STS board, that I’m aware of, is not made up almost entirely of people who want to be in shows. It takes all the politics out of the board, which can focus on what a board is supposed to do — grow the organization.” Also on the board are Elizabeth Andes Bell, Shama Davis, Barry Kerr, Tori McCarthy, and Tamara Murray.

As a volunteer organization, STS has run successfully on the high enthusiasm of actors and production staff, many of them transplanted former theater professionals. However, the historic building tends to be perceived as under-utilized. Barry said a theater manager will have to be hired, along with two or three staff, to accomplish the ambitious projects the current board has in mind. And money will be required. Grant writers are already at work, and the benefit night is expected to bring in funds to get started on the renovations.

“Starry, Starry Night” will begin with a cocktail hour at 6:30 p.m. at the Phoenicia Diner pavilion. Hors d’oeuvres and wine will be served while attendees mingle with the actors and bid on silent auction items, including prizes from area merchants, theater memorabilia (such as a sailor hat signed by the cast of the South Pacific revival), and more. The show will begin at 8:30 p.m. at the STS Playhouse in Phoenicia. During the intermission, there will be a live auction of premium items, including a two-night stay at the Emerson Resort & Spa in Mount Tremper. (The Emerson is also offering a special weekend package that includes a discounted two-night stay and tickets to the event.) Other auction items include the right to have a cocktail named after oneself at Phoenicia Diner for the season; private fly fishing lessons; window washing; instruction on making drinks from Heather Ridge chef Rob Handel; a consultation with a Mohonk Mountain House gardener; and much more.

STS Playhouse presents “Starry, Starry Night” beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 27. Each ticket costs $125 and comes with a one-year membership to STS, including one ticket to each of four performances planned over the 2017-18 season, and two tickets to the STS production of Prelude to a Kiss (last three performances May 19-21), worth $120 in total value. Tickets are available at Tender Land Home, 64 Main Street, Phoenicia; Phoenicia Diner, 5681 Route 28, Phoenicia; The Peekamoose, 8373 State Route 28, Big Indian; online at http://www.stsplayhouse.com; or by phone at (845) 688-1369. Tax-deductible donations to the capital campaign are also welcome. 

Thank you for reading Hudson Valley One. We rely on your support to continue providing local, substantive news. Please check out our subscription options to keep local journalism alive in the Hudson Valley.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Paws Unlimited’s respect and care for canine elders

Next Post

European flights from Stewart to begin June 15

Violet Snow

Violet Snow wrote regularly for the Woodstock Times for 17 years and continues to contribute to Hudson Valley One. She has been published in the New York Times “Disunion” blog, Civil War Times, American Ancestors, Jewish Currents, and many other periodicals. An excerpt from her historical novel, To March or to Marry, has appeared in the feminist journal Minerva Rising. She lives in Phoenicia and is currently working with horses, living out her childhood dream.

Related Posts

Woman at War next Movies with Spirit screening May 21
Stage & Screen

Woman at War next Movies with Spirit screening May 21

May 15, 2022
Murder Café performs Murder at the Speakeasy May 13-14 at Bevier House
Stage & Screen

Murder Café performs Murder at the Speakeasy May 13-14 at Bevier House

May 5, 2022
Bardavon Gala features Audra McDonald on May 7
Art & Music

Bardavon Gala features Audra McDonald on May 7

May 4, 2022
Live at Shadowland
Stage & Screen

Live at Shadowland

May 1, 2022
G. Steve Jordan completes short film for National Wildlife Federation
Stage & Screen

G. Steve Jordan completes short film for National Wildlife Federation

April 23, 2022
Onteora High/Middle School stage The Little Mermaid April 28-30
Stage & Screen

Onteora High/Middle School stage The Little Mermaid April 28-30

April 16, 2022
Next Post
Norwegian Air announces $65 flights to Ireland, Scotland

European flights from Stewart to begin June 15

Trending News

  • Bubbe’s Deli opens in Gardiner’s former Mountain Harbor 1.6k views
  • Saugertes man faces multiple charges after domestic disturbance 1k views
  • The moon is down in Central Hudson 709 views
  • Expanded High Falls museum provokes rich insights 347 views
  • Ryan and Molinaro run for Congress, Gallagher available to move up 274 views







Latest HV1 Podcast

Weather

Kingston
◉
66°
Sunny
5:32am8:12pm EDT
Feels like: 66°F
Wind: 7mph NW
Humidity: 27%
Pressure: 29.98"Hg
UV index: 7
ThuFriSat
70/50°F
84/63°F
95/68°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Ulster County COVID-19 Active Cases

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In

© 2022 Ulster Publishing