[Capdist-announce] PRESS RELEASE: Acting Class with Patrick White Presents Its First Full Production at Sand Lake Center for the Arts September 14-23

[Patrick White]

August 22, 2018


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Contact: Patrick White, Director and Teacher

white.patrick1963 at gmail.com; 518-779-2803

Press Photos can be found at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/160240685@N03/

*Acting Class with Patrick White Presents Its First Production, MEN ON
BOATS at Sand Lake Center for the Arts September 14-23*

ALBANY, NY (August 22, 2018)-For six performances beginning Friday night,
September 14, 2018 at 8 pm running through Sunday afternoon, September 23,
2018 at 2:30 pm, Sand Lake Center for the Arts will host the inaugural
production of Acting Class with Patrick White's students in the Regional
Premiere of *MEN ON BOATS *by Jaclyn Backhaus. The production will be
directed by Patrick White and feature twelve of his students. Tickets are
$15 and are available thru SLCA's website www.slca-ctp.org or by calling
518-674-2007.

*MEN ON BOATS *is the critically acclaimed (New York Times Critic's Pick,
2017 Outer Critic's Circle Award nominee) adventure about the 1869
exploration and charting of the Colorado River by the one-armed Civil War
major, John Wesley Powell, and his insane but loyal crew written to be
played by a cast of women. "The characters of *MEN ON BOATS* were
historically cisgender white males. The cast should be made up entirely of
people who are not" reads the playwright's instructions on casting in the
acting edition of the script. The Powell expedition faced unknown waters,
dangers and deprivations and struggled together to traverse the Big Canyon
and make it safely down the river and through the Canyon in the face of
rapids, capsizing, near-mutinies, rattlesnakes and rapidly depleting
supplies. As Major Powell wrote in his journal *The Exploration of the
Colorado River and Its Canyons* from which the play is based on "We have an
unknown distance yet to run, an unknown river to explore. What falls there
are, we know not; what rocks beset the channel, we know not; what walls
ride over the river, we know not. Ah well! We may conjecture many things."
The play is an epic adventure of courage in taking on a momentous journey
that had never been attempted before against great odds to benefit unseen
generations to come.

Acting Class with Patrick White is entering it's 5th year of offering an
adult acting class to all levels on Saturday mornings 10:30 am-1:30 pm in
the Albany Masonic Lodge (67 Corning Place) from October through May. This
year's session starts October 13th, 8 classes for $240. and reservations
can be e-mailed to white.patrick1963 at gmail.com. The goal of class is to
introduce and nourish those interested with the greatest playwriting going
on today and develop every student's skills individually preparing them to
confidently contribute and shape the burgeoning Capital Region theater
community. Dozens of students have taken Patrick's class and participated
in one of his six Scene Nights offered free and open to the public at the
Albany Barn biannually.

*MEN ON BOATS* is the first fully staged production by the Acting Class.
Patrick says "I was directing a production of a popular play at a local
theater recently and the play called for 5 men and 2 women and I got a
pretty good turnout of 30 actors showing up to audition. 10 men and 20
women. So, if you were a man your chances of getting cast were 50/50 and if
you were a woman, it was 1 in 10. I know all my students knew this but I
had never seen an example presented so starkly before of the need to offer
more opportunities for women in the Capital Region. I saw the Clubbed Thumb
production of *MEN ON BOATS *at Playwright's Horizons and thought it was
hysterical while offering a galvanizing piece of physical theater of a
story I had never heard before."

*MEN ON BOATS*: John Wesley Powell-Cori Irwin, William Dunn-Debra Bercier,
John Colton Sumner-Iris Singer, Old Shady-Susan Katz, Bradley-Maghen Ryan,
O.G.Howland-Sara Paupinin, Seneca Howland-Victioria Vine, Frank
Goodman-Susan Dantz, Hall-Jeanette Horowitz, Hawkins-Laura Darling,
Tsauwiat-Myrna Bernstein, The Bishop-Mary Williams
Director-Patrick White. Assistant Director-Dennis Skiba, Stage Manager-Lisa
Bryk, Lights & Sound-Barry Streifert, Costumes-Laura Darling


The play will be held at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts (2880 NY Route
43 Averill Park, NY 12018) on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at
2:30 pm from Friday, September 14- Sunday, September 23. Tickets are $15.
and can be purchased on Sand Lake Center for the Arts website
www.slca-ctp.org or by calling the Center at 518-674-2007.

*AT A GLANCE*

September 14-23, 2018

*MEN ON BOATS *

*by Jaclyn Backhaus*

*directed by Patrick White*

*At the Sand Lake Center for the Arts, 2880 NY Route 43, Averill Park, NY
12018*

*Admission $15.*

http://www.slca-ctp.org
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