Seasoned Spuradicals return to form in annual WSPR-radio’s holiday broadcast
SALADO, TEXAS (Nov. 14, 2011) – Post-Thanksgiving weekends this holiday season find the hilarious crew of fictional WSPR radio back on the air – and the Salado Silver Spur Theater stage – with its annual Christmas Eve broadcast, which, naturally, never goes as planned.
“‘Christmas Is On the Air’ is chock-full of the side-splitting slapstick and comedy routines that have made the annual holiday show a must-see for the entire family and their visitors,” said Grainger Esch, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Silver Spur Theater.
“This holiday show guarantees relief from shopping overload, decorating duties and party planning,” Esch emphasized. “Think of the Spur, as a safe oasis of laughter far from the chaos of Christmas, which is on comedic display on our stage.
The Spur is located at 108 Royal St. in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co. in historic downtown Salado, a few blocks from the bustling IH-35 Corridor.
Theater patrons will be right in “the studio audience” for the music, the merriment and the memorable, mirthful staging of an “on-the-air” radio variety show, Esch said. The seasonal scenario is conceived, written and performed by a cast of veteran performers, The Spuradicals, continuing the Silver Spur’s tradition of homespun, heartfelt, original family entertainment.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, with 2 p.m. Saturday matinees: Nov. 26 (eve. only), Dec 2-3, 9-10, 16-17. Admissions are $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12 and under for evening shows.
Matinees, tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for all others. Group rates are available. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. For directions or more play info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com or www.saladosilverspur.com.
In the “spirits” of the season, the seven-year-old professional theater will serve wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices at evening shows (only) at the recently opened The Spuradical Social Club in its lobby. http://www.spuradicalsocialclub.net/ Membership is achieved by swiping your driver’s license before purchasing.
Spuradicals Make Merry for Holidays
On Christmas Eve at the small broadcast facility, the production crew and maintenance staff are in a panic, as they have just received word that striking writers and actors have suddenly withdrawn their services from the station’s live holiday broadcast. Once again, it looks like the rag-tag crew will have to improvise another on-air variety show.
To make matters worse, however, the proceedings are quickly interrupted by a visit, not from their boss, broadcast executive Mr. Bigg, but from Mr. Bigg’s soon-to-be-ex-wife, Edna Bigg. The formidable Ms. Bigg informs them that the little radio station is now hers in the divorce settlement, and that she has no intention of keeping it running, preferring to turn it into a specialty boutique shop. If the WSPR crew want to keep their jobs, they’ll have to raise a sizeable sum to buy out Ms. Bigg and her big boutique plans. Once again fiscal emergency requires them to perform an impromptu telethon to save the station, and, consequently, their own jobs.
Thus inspired, the rag-tag crew hustles to perform a variety of holiday-themed acts requested by phone from viewers in exchange for monetary pledges. The result is an evening of song, satire, sentiment and fast-paced slapstick comedy in a Yuletide vein, surely a gift from the Spuradical players’ own burgeoning bag of goodies.
“The holidays are typically filled with planning, pandemonium and presents,” Esch observed.
“Every member of the family should consider taking a break from the decorating, cooking, shopping, wrapping, endless football games and greeting cards and treat themselves to hearty laughter and the enjoyment of live entertainment.
In addition to special-guest variety artists, the cast includes Saladoans Esch as station manager “Slim Chance;” Karen Ewton as “Trudy,” the staff secretary; Mary Bentley as “Mary” the ad sales rep; and Garrett Clark as “Gus the Go-fer.”
Rounding out the entertaining ensemble are the Spur’s tuneful troubadour, Tony Blackman as the singing technical director and the newest addition to the Spuradical roster, Melodee Lenz of Dallas, will take on the roles of Charllie the maintenance engineer and Mrs. Bigg.
Melodee Lenz’s professional career started in the 1980′s as a childhood actor/singer and professional tap dancer by the age of 6 years old. She was featured in over 15 national commercials by the age of 11 and gained the attention and eventually training from Gregory Hines and The Broadway Dance Center. Melodee performed as a child at Disney Land, Disney World and Six Flags Theme Parks. Melodee continued her acting career in various television & radio commercials as well as theatrical touring shows such as, “Will Roger’s Follies,” “Anything Goes,” “Cabaret,” and many more. From 1996 to 2009, Melodee was a voice actor in many of the highest rated shows on Cartoon Network, The Kidd Kraddick in the Morning Show, and many Sony PS2/PS3 video games. Melodee also received a Telly Award and a Children’s Emmy Award for her role on the BBC/PBS shows, “Camp AOK,” and “Science A-Go Go!,” and was featured on many episodes of “Barney & Friends.” In the last couple of years, Melodee toured with Ringling Brother’s and Barnum & Bailey Circus performing as a clown in the The Greatest Show on Earth.
Nelda Milligan of Harker Heights, the Spur’s longtime accompanist and Musical Director, will provide live music.
“‘Christmas Is On the Air’ is another great form of seasonal togetherness,” Esch said. “So, reservations are strongly recommended.”
The Salado Silver Spur Theater delights in reviving a bygone era of family entertainment, offering its trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are held in the historical venue, with catering available from the Stagecoach Inn and nearby restaurants.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theatre, 254- 947-3456; grainger@saladosilverspur.com
Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Austin, TX, 830-693-4447; kirkpf@verizon.net
Three-hour, daily arts-dance-theater workshops for youths ages 3-18
SALADO, TEXAS (Nov. 22, 2011) – The Silver Spur Arts Academy (SSAA), in association with the Salado Silver Spur Theater, will conduct “Reindeer Wranglin’ Arts Workshops” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Dec. 19-22, for CenTex youngsters ages three to 18 years old.
“Families and busy Santas can dash about completing holiday to-do and shopping lists once school’s out,” explained Tiffany Schreiner of Salado, an Academy Co-founder. “At the Silver Spur, we’ll be dreaming, singing, dancing, yoga-grooving and making ever-so-clever holiday crafts galore.”
“Our daily, three-hour arts, dance and theater workshops will provide a healthy helping of creative fun for children while helping them discover their hidden talents or harness their known ones,” Schreiner emphasized. “Students can join us for one, two, three or all four days.”
Tuition for the holiday workshop is $25 per day, $60 for three days and $80 for all four days. For more information or to reserve a spot for an aspiring young artist, call the Silver Spur Theater as soon as possible at 254-947-3456, or visit the SSAA website: www.silverspurarts.com. Space is limited.
“We’re filling our Reindeer Wranglin’ Arts Workshops with a kaleidoscope of creativity, including instruction in arts, clowning and festive theatrical projects,” Schreiner added. “Holiday hoopla mixes with merry, magical mischief — from cowboy elves and cowgirl fairies to cosmic clowns and happy entertainers.”
The session begins with playful and mindful artistry featuring a yoga-based warm-up of stretching and imaginative play exercises to wake up brain and body, followed by art projects in an inspiration-filled holiday vein, she explained.
Students next learn to express themselves non-verbally through dance and movement. After a brief snack break — students are encouraged to bring a sack lunch — performance skills are further honed with instruction in musical theater and clowning.
The session concludes with a finish of the art projects and an invitation to family and friends to watch a performance finale and exhibition of the students’ creative efforts on the last workshop day, Thursday, Dec. 22.
.
Instructive Imagineers
Schreiner leads the camp’s warm-up and dance session. Here family has been highly involved with theatre and artistic performance for generations. She has studied dance, yoga and holistic physical/mental/spiritual healing throughout her life.
A talented trio of Saladoans, Sandra Edwards, Shellie O’Neal and Sheryl Russell, will provide visual art and craft instruction. Each one has a wealth of professional experience in fostering young imaginations and careers in arts education, graphic design and commercial art, respectively.
The musical theater portion of the camp will be under the direction of the Salado Silver Spur Theater’s long-time, singing technical director Tony Blackman of Belton. Blackman’s experience spans more than 20 years in the fields of acting, singing, directing, stagecraft, deigning and teaching.
Grainger Esch of Salado, SSAA co-founder and Silver Spur Creative Director, will help the young workshoppers find their funny-bones with exercises in physical comedy, clowning and other circus skills.
Esch, a veteran of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, has been sharing the gift of laughter for 23 years as a professional entertainer in theater, television, movies, circus and street performances.
“The SSAA mission is to fuel young imaginations by giving them the confidence and know-how to express their artistic visions,” Esch emphasized. “Our fun-filled instruction in performing and visual arts helps them awaken their imaginations and pursue their creative aspirations.”
“For many children, the ability to create is innate,” Edwards noted. “Their joy of self-discovery leads to greater exploration and expression. Our art studio environment fosters that growth by providing space, materials, time and freedom to examine interests and to grow as a whole person.”
“The theater,” Schreiner observed, “is, in a sense, an all-encompassing art studio, where both visual and performing arts can be melded into marvelous masterpieces through practice and focused attention
“We invite Central Texas families to see for themselves and to join us as we give thanks for the arts this holiday season.”
The Silver Spur Theater, a first-class venue, is located a few blocks from IH 35 in Central Texas. The Spur strives to revive a bygone era of family entertainment, offering a trademark blend of live vaudeville acts and music, stage plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances and even customized private shows also are
held at the Spur. Catering is available from the renowned Stagecoach Inn and other nearby restaurants.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theatre, 254- 947-3456; grainger@saladosilverspur.com
Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Austin (Spicewood), TX, 830-693-4447; kirkpf@verizon.net
Espionage-thriller’s acting ensemble portrays 140 characters in fast-paced farce
SALADO, TEXAS (Oct. 6, 2011) – Combine Alfred Hitchcock, Monty Python, Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, Nazi spies, underwear salesmen and a cast of four professional actors playing 140 different characters and you get “The 39 Steps,” adapted by Patrick Barlow.
You also get a memorable evening of absolutely hilarious, laugh-out-loud comedy guaranteed to delight anyone who loves live theatre. The play rolls out at Salado’s Silver Spur Theater (108 Royal St.) on Friday, Oct. 14, for eight weekend shows through Nov. 5.
This farcical theatrical tribute to the late Hitchcock film of the same name was written by Barlow in 1995. It is still playing in London and was a box office bonanza for three years in New York. “The 39 Steps” won two Tony® awards and was recognized as the best theatrical comedy by the Lawrence Olivier awards.
“With just four actors, minimal scenery, simple visual props and many characters, this is an absolute masterpiece of visual humor and comic timing,” says director Gary D. Askins of Salado. “This is perhaps the ultimate spoof espionage-thriller.
“I wanted to find the perfect follow up to our very successful ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)’ and our wildly acclaimed Summer Melodramas,” Askins emphasized. “This production is absolutely spot on.
“It’s a hilarious tribute to one of my favorite directors (Hitchcock) and an amazing tour de farce by the professional actors of the Silver Spur’s Spuradical Players – Grainger Esch, Karen Ewton and Stetson Gilchrest, all of Salado, and Tony Blackman of Belton..
The show runs at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays only, Oct. 14 through Nov. 4. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12 and under. Group rates are available. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456.
The play starts with the 37-year-old hero (Esch) feeling bored and looking for excitement. At the theatre, he meets a mysterious foreign woman (Ewton) who is murdered in his flat after revealing some secret information. And the chase begins.
“Most other roles are played by just Blackman and Gilchrest, sometimes several at a time with just a quick change of hat and accent to alert you to the identity,” Askins explained. “Their Pythonesque female characters and outrageous overacting will keep patrons laughing to the end.”
Esch, whose primary character is Richard Hannay, is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the eight-year-old, 150-seat venue. The former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus clown traces his vaudeville roots back to his late grandmother. He has co-authored numerous plays and starred in manifold stage productions.
Playwright-actress Ewton, who portrays Annabella Schmidt, Margaret and Pamela Edwards, began as Bertha Bovine in the Spur’s inaugural melodrama, “The Salado Springs Truth Tonic and Elixir Medicine Show.” She has been Miss Katrina Love in subsequent melodramas; as the WSPR staff secretary in the Spur’s Holiday shows; as Mrs. Claus, and even as a Gorilla Girl.
Ewton, who contributes to the scripting of the Spur’s original productions, appeared as the memorable salon owner Truvy in “Steel Magnolias” in 2009 at the Silver Spur.
Blackman, the Spur’s longtime Technical Director, has appeared in film and TV projects for The Disney Channel and the Arkansas Educational Television Network.
He has dozens of Spur directorial credits including “LUV,” “Spoon River Anthology,” “Love Letters,” “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and dizzying dozens more acting credits. He’s best remembered for the title role in “The Foreigner.”
Gilchrest, whose Spur debut was in “Complete Works…,” in July, earned “best actor” recognition in University Interscholastic League (UIL) competition, competed in three UIL one-act plays while a student at Salado High He won the Samuel French Award (2A Div.-Texas) in 2010 and was in the play that won First Place-State (2A).
He has completed his freshman year at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, where he is a theater and international business major. He’s already received the “Best 40-Minute Play” award and performed in four campus productions. He plans to eventually do film work in Los Angeles.
Askins, a retired “Master Teacher” of Math and Theatre Arts at Salado High, is an L.A. native and U.S. Air Force veteran (combat medic, aerospace medicine instructor). He has appeared in more than 50 stage productions as an actor in California and Texas, and has directed several Spur productions, including, “The Complete Works….” Several of his plays have been produced on local stages: “Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol,” “Faculty Lounge,” “The Salado Truth Tonic & Elixir Medicine Show” “and “Star Stories.”
ABOUT THE SILVER SPUR: (Facebook Fan Page: “) The Silver Spur Theater is located in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co., in historic downtown Salado, a few blocks from the Interstate 35. The Spur revives a bygone era of family entertainment, offering its trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are held in the historical venue, with catering available from the Stagecoach Inn and nearby restaurants.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theatre, 254- 947-3456; grainger@saladosilverspur.com
Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Austin, TX, 830-693-4447; kirkpf@verizon.net
New nine-week series of after-school art endeavors plus private lessons in various fields
SALADO, TEXAS (August 22, 2011) – The Silver Spur Arts Academy (SSAA) in association with the Silver Spur Theater in Salado, has announced its 2011- 2012 Fall/Winter line-up of creativity-cultivatin’ classes and camps for aspiring young artists and performers. www.SaladoSilverSpurTheater.com
The upcoming artistic endeavors include a nine-week series of Monday, after-school classes and four holiday-themed workshops. In addition, the Academy also will be offering private lessons in a wide array of visual and performing arts.
After a fun-filled and highly productive summer chock-full of art and theater camps and classes, the SSAA faculty is eager to continue fueling young imaginations through the arts in the coming months, says Tiffany Schreiner, SSAA co-founder and instructor.
“We’ve been amazed, awed, and inspired by the imaginative output and budding talent of our students this summer,” Schreiner said. “We look forward to tapping that kiddo creativity throughout the school year.”
The fall “semester” of after-school arts and theatre classes will consist of one-hour sessions of instruction and activity in visual and performing arts, culminating in a grand finale performance and art exhibit on the last day of class. The students will then have the opportunity to “strut their stuff” with their newly-developed talents for family and friends.
The holiday arts workshops will take place at the Salado Silver Spur Theater, Salado’s premier family entertainment venue. Instruction will focus on holiday-themed arts, crafts, and performance. Handmade gifts and greeting cards, decorations and dances, songs and shenanigans are all on the agenda, all with a healthy helping of holiday fun.
Many of the crafts, from toys to ornaments to musical instruments, will incorporate recycled materials and ordinary household objects. “With a little imagination and effort, trash can become a treasure,” quipped SSAA art and craft instructor Sheryl Russell.
“In these three-hour sessions on selected Saturdays and during Christmas break, the students will have the opportunity to learn techniques in visual and performing arts, and, more importantly, how to harness their imaginations in creative and positive ways,” said Grainger Esch, SSAA co-founder, instructor, and Creative Director of the Salado Silver Spur.
“There’s a tremendous sense of discovery in these workshops, as they uncover newfound uses and beauty in ordinary items, along with their own untapped talents,” Esch noted.
SSAA Tutors for Private Lessons
In the interest of developing young artistic talents even further, the SSAA is now offering private lessons in the various fields of artistic expression. Painting, drawing, sculpting, singing, dance, acting and clowning are among the skills that can be studied more intensively in a one-on-one teaching environment.
“This is a great opportunity for those young students who are already showing a strong interest in, or aptitude for a particular artistic field, to focus on that field and improve their skills,” Russell said. For more information on the Academy’s private lessons, including pricing and scheduling, parents are encouraged to call Sheryl Russell at 254-913-5859.
The instructor roster for the workshops and classes includes seasoned professionals in theatre, visual arts and education. The SSAA’s regular staff consists of dance and movement instructor Schreiner, and visual arts and crafts instructors Russell and Shellie O’Neal.
Musical Theatre instruction is the domain of Tony Blackman, and Esch will teach clowning and circus skills. Students also will benefit from the teaching of multiple guest instructors, drawn from the ranks of Salado’s artistic community and beyond.
“Our fall classes and camps provide a great chance for children to explore their creative sides through performance,” emphasized, the Silver Spur’s longtime Technical Director. “And we will make learning fun while we are building their confidence and presentation skills that will serve them well in other areas of their lives.”
CenTex Creative Events & Classes Schedule
OCT. 8 (11 a.m,-2 p.m.) ages 3-18
Halloween Imagination Day Workshop
Halloween arts, crafts, song and dance.
$25
NOV. 12 (11a.m.-2 p.m.) ages 3-18:
Fall Fandango of Peace, Pilgrims, Pies ‘n Pratfalls
Arts, Clowning and Theatrical Pilgrim Projects
$25
DEC. 19-22 (11 a.m.-2 p.m.) ages 3-18:
Reindeer Wranglin’ Camp
While you busy Santas are out completing this year’s holiday list, we’ll be singin’, dancin’, yoga-groovin’, and makin’ ever-so-clever holiday crafts galore!
$25/day, $60 for all three
FEB. 11 (11a.m.-2 p.m.) ages 3-18:
Art So Delicious & Divine, Be Mine:
Music, Dance, Valentine Crafts, food art and more!
$25
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theater, 254- 947-3456; grainger@saladosilverspur.com
Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Austin (Spicewood), TX, 830-693-4447; kirkpf@verizon.net
Strong voices, live band tell story of singer’s long friendship with Houston housewife
SALADO, TEXAS (July 21, 2011) – As the Sat., Sept. 17th opening of the popular musical “Always…Patsy Cline” at the Silver Spur Theater (108 Royal St.) in Salado approaches, Grainger Esch, Co-Founder of the eight-year-old, 150-seat venue, has a concession to make:
“The memories of country singer Patsy Cline and her songs stir fervent emotions among country music fans and lovers of live theater,” says the Executive Director. “Still, we’ve been thoroughly surprised by the robust demand for advance tickets. Our Oct. 1 show is already sold out! I strongly encourage advance reservations.”
The play is based on the true story of Patsy Cline’s friendship with Houston housewife Louise Seger,” an avid fan. The focus is on the fateful evening in 1961 at Houston’s Esquire Ballroom when Seger, played by Una Forgy of Belton, meets her favorite singer. Later in Act II, Seger hears on her home radio of Cline’s untimely death in a plane crash in 1963.
Seger supplies a narrative while Cline, portrayed by Sharon Smith of Temple, floats in and out of the set singing tunes that made her famous: “Anytime,” “Walkin’ After Midnight,” “She’s Got You,” “Sweet Dreams,” “I Fall to Pieces” and “Crazy,” to name just a few.
“Patsy’s fan base was and is so deep and broad-based that the simple story of a fan’s chance meeting and deep friendship with a celebrity has universal appeal,” says the show’s director, Tony Blackman of Belton, the Silver Spur Theater’s longtime Technical Director.
“Houstonian Ted Swindley who first authored the show in 1988 as a short musical cabaret, captured both the spirit of Patsy Cline’s brilliance, as well as the magic of something truly Americana — the soul of country music and the people who love it.
The production unfolds around Seger’s kitchen table, Houston’s Esquire Ballroom, the Grand Ole Opry and Houston’s KIKK Radio station. “The story has global appeal,” Blackman added. “It is filled with warmth and humanity, inspiring audiences far and wide with its simple heart and the pure joy of theatrical storytelling tradition.”
The show runs at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays only, Sept. 17 through Oct. 8. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12 and under. Group rates are available. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456.
For directions or more play info, visit www.SaladoSilverSpurTheater.com. Wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices are available through The Spuradical Social Club in the lobby:
(www.SpuradicalSocialClub.net).
Seasoned Talent and Band
Forgy, a retired school teacher, has been performing for more that 40 years, appearing in such favorites as “Gypsy,” “Lettuce and Lovage,” “She Loves Me,” “Dearly Departed,” as Ouiser in “Steel Magnolias” and Miss Mona in “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” Her first show in Salado was “Countergirls” in spring, 2010. She has directed numerous plays.
Smith’s singing and acting talents have been seen in Silver Spur productions of “Countergirls,” “Barefoot in the Park,” “Boughs of Folly,” and in May in the musical “Nunsense.” She also has performed in many shows at the Georgetown Palace and Temple Civic Theaters, including “Harvey,” “Annie,” “Man of La Mancha” and “Grease.”
“This is a dream role,” said Smith, who teaches Dyslexia/Reading Intervention at East View Georgetown high schools. “That relationship, which began as fan worship evolved into one of mutual respect. It’s the kind of relationship many fans would like to have with their heroes.”
The live music will be provided by Silver Spur Musical Director Nelda Milligan (piano) and her husband, the Spur’s House Mgr. and Group Sales Director, Ben on guitar, both of Harker Heights. John Davis of Salado, formerly with the bands Big Snake Dreams and more recently Cathouse, will handle drums. Esch will play bass fiddle.
Blackman, who has appeared in film and TV projects for The Disney Channel and Arkansas Educational Television Network, has dozens of directorial credits include “LUV,” “Spoon River Anthology,” “Love Letters,” and “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and dazzling dozens more acting credits.
A Chance Meeting . . .
Seger, who first heard Cline on the “Arthur Godfrey Show” in 1957, became an immediate fan. She habitually hounded the local KIKK disc jockey to play Cline’s records. In 1961, Seger and friends arrived early at a local honky tonk and met Cline by coincidence.
Cline, traveling alone, struck up a friendship with Seger and wound up spending the night at her home. For more than two years until the star’s untimely death, they exchanged heartfelt letters and long phone calls about common concerns, with the singer always signing off, “Love always, Patsy Cline.”
“I now realize that this show, which combines humor, sadness and reality, offers fans who remember Cline while she was alive a chance to look back,” Esch noted. “And it also gives new fans an idea of what seeing her was like and what she meant to her original fans.”
ABOUT THE SILVER SPUR: Facebook
The Silver Spur Theater is located in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co., in historic downtown Salado, a few blocks from the Interstate 35. The Spur revives a bygone era of family entertainment, offering its trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are held in the historical venue, with catering available from the Stagecoach Inn and nearby restaurants.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theater, 254- 947-3456;grainger@saladosilverspur.com
Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Austin, TX, 830-693-4447 kirkpf@verizon.net
Marjie Rynearson showed off her story telling skills at the Salado Silver Spur Theater in March for the Star Stories reading. This Saturday, she will be reading a few short stories she has written about her life in the one-woman show, "Bedtime Stories." (Rusty Schramm/Telegram iile photo)
Once upon a time, there lived a princess in the Salado Silver Spur Theater … wait. Wrong show.
If you’re looking for some tips on storytelling, Marjie Rynearson will be dropping some knowledge at the Silver Spur on Saturday — first, in a workshop and then later that evening with her one-woman show, “Bedtime Stories.”
The workshop will break down storytelling to an easy-to-use formula Rynearson developed while teaching inner-city children in Chicago. Questions she’ll be asking include: What makes a short story interesting?
“I’ll be teaching the bare bones that a writer has to know before writing,” she said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
Rynerson’s system is designed to help anyone integrate their story into the formula while building on a solid structure or story elements. During the two-hour workshop, attendees will design a story and share with the group. Cost for the workshop is $35.
Rynearson’s own storytelling skills will be showcased Saturday evening with the presentation of “Bedtime Stories.”
The playwright and co-founder of the Temple Civic Theatre was also in the Windy City when she debuted “Bedtime Stories” at the Chicago Humanities Festival about six years ago. The more than hour-long program features Rynearson reading short stories about her life and features musical transitions and some audience participation.
Rynearson remembers her grandmother reading bedtime stories and the writer/performer cherishes the memories of reading to her own children.
Fond as she is of those times, “Bedtime Stories,” is not for children. The material isn’t vulgar; it’s just not geared toward kids.
“They’d probably be bored,” Rynearson said. “They’re not children’s stories.”
The stories are important to Rynearson and have a moral to some degree. She said a lot of audience members enjoy the tales and get some insight into their own lives, as well as Rynearson’s.
“There’s a little bit of comedy and some pathos.”
The show is directed by Gary Askins, who helps the solo performer manage tempo in rehearsals and suggest changes.
“He makes it more interesting. You can’t direct yourself,” she said.
Rynearson is hoping her debut-solo performance will inspire other storytellers to take the stage for their own sessions. Either that or take some tips for telling stories home to their kids.
If you go
Who: Marjie Rynearson
What: “Bedtime Stories”
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Salado Silver Spur Theater, 108 Royal St., Salado
How much: Tickets are $12. This show is for adults only.
Writing workshop
Rynearson, left, will be teaching a crash course in writing short stories 10 a.m.-noon at the Silver Spur. Cost for the workshop is $35.
Village of Salado citizens pitch in to star in mirthful movieola; John Maverick adds “magic.”
SALADO, TEXAS (July 21, 2011) The seventh chapter in the Silver Spur Theater’s annual melodrama series — “Gone To Seed…or the Fiendish Financier’s Nefarious Food Factory Fiasco” — has the peaceful agrarian village of Salado facing a food crisis brought on by villainous Bartholomew B. Badseed.
The “melo” opens for a five-weekend run at 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 29, complete with popcorn, pie-fights and pernicious ploys plus the locally-made “movieola” (silent film) and John Maverick magic.
Maverick, a well known magician from Austin, portrays the new agricultural agent Badseed. Can Ranger Grainger save Maezy Moonflower and the Salado citizenry from the peril that ensues? This and other questions are answered with a healthy dose of slapstick, song and satire plus the old-style movie in which many of the town’s citizens and businesses speed the plot along.
“John’s talents as a magician add a new dimension to this year’s melodrama villain,” said Grainger Esch, Executive Director of the eight-year-old professional theater at 108 Royal St. in historic downtown Salado, just blocks from Interstate 35.
“He’s no stranger to our stage, also describing himself as ‘a storyteller, actor, alchemist, bibliophile, inventor, collector of deadly things, fire-eater, theologian, rain forest explorer, scientist, freethinker, fortuneteller, spiritualist, dreamer and snappy dresser’.”
The show runs at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, with 2 p.m. Saturday matinees, from July 29 through Aug. 27. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12 and under. Matinee prices are $10 for adults, $8 for other categories and $8 for children. Group rates are available.
For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. For directions or more play info, visit saladosilverspurtheater.com. Wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices are available through The Spuradicals Social Club in the lobby: www.SpuradicalSocialClub.net
The play, co-written by Esch and Salado Intermediate reading teacher Karen Ewton, serves up laughter, entertainment, live music, silver screen silliness, family fun and a cool, historic spot to beat the summer heat. The theater, a first class venue is built in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co., built in the 1940s.
The story line has former snake-oil salesman Badseed arriving in Salado to introduce his latest chemical formula, “St. Bartholomew’s Seedspeeding Superserum,” at the Bell County Fair & Agricultural Expo. The formula, when applied to seeds, will cause them to produce fruit instantaneously. Unfortunately for the citizens of Salado and the world, the serum has a dangerous side-effect on consumers of the produce.
Mr. Badseed, true to his nefarious nature, intends to use this side-effect to his advantage in his quest for wealth and power. It’s up to Ranger Sam Houston “Tex” Grainger, played once again by Esch, to foil Badseed’s villainous plot.
Veteran Cast of Characters
Maverick, who confesses that he “comes from a long line of storytellers, some professional; others reserved their gift for the dinner table,” fell in love with the art of magic when ”The Great Scott” performed at John’s fifth birthday party. “My views of the world around me differ vastly from anyone else. I use my magic to tell the story of this parallel world.” (http://www.john-maverick.com/credits.html#b) Other cast members include:
Tony Blackman as Perry Combover, Proprietor of Combover’s Fertilizer and Feed, Salado’s resident manure-merchant/wedding-singer. He is enlisted by Badseed to assist in the perpetration of Badseed’s power-grabbing plot.
Karen Ewton as Maezy Millicent Moonflower, an aspiring young reporter coming to Salado to cover the Bell County Fair and Ag Expo.
Betsy Tyson is Matilda “Ma” Moonflower, the widowed mother of Maezy who is in town with her daughter to start an organic farm on her late husband’s nearby property.
Garrett Clark portrays Maezy’s kid brother Myron Moonflower, a teenage nerd and chemistry whiz.
Shannon Ashe plays Katrina Love, proprietress of Miss Kitty’s Passion Palace and Convention Center, site of the County Fair and Ag Expo.
KD Sperling of Round Rock has the role of School Superintendent Spurling, judge of the Fair’s produce competition. Blackman, the long-time Technical Director of the playhouse, and teenage actor Clark reside in Belton.
Other cast members reside in Salado. Nearly all are long-time performers on area stages and known as the Spuradicals when at the Silver Spur. Esch, is long-time graduate of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College.
“Gone To Seed” incorporates both on-stage and on-film shenanigans and bravado with its inspired silent chase film,” says playwright-actress Ewton. ”It features a healthy dose of slapstick, song and satire enjoyed by all ages. The audience favorite, of course, is the pie fight which will be on-stage this year as opposed to on-screen.
The movieola, which links the two acts and the storyline’s action, has become a highlight of the annual melodrama, with many everyday citizens and businesses taking part. The silent film is accompanied with live piano music by Nelda Milligan of Harker Heights on a century-old upright, accompanied by Ben Milligan on foley, the strange sounds of various Vaudeville instruments.
Some of the locations and participants include the Salado Fitness & Tanning Center, Brookshire Bros. Grocery, Lonnie Edwards workshop, Pace Park and Dr. Crain Chiropractic office. Special thanks go to John Davis for art direction and graphics, Sheryl Russell for special props.
“This show is chock-full of the side-splitting humor that has made this summer event a must-see for locals and visitors alike,” Esch added. “This is cheer-the-hero, boo-the-villain fun — guaranteed relief from this summer’s headache-inducing headlines.”
ABOUT THE SILVER SPUR: (Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1791506943&ref=ts)
The Silver Spur Theater is located in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co., 108 Royal St., in historic downtown Salado, a few blocks from the Interstate 35. Reviving a bygone era of family entertainment, the theater offers its trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are held in the historical venue, with catering available from the Stagecoach Inn and nearby restaurants.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theatre, 254- 947-3456; grainger@saladosilverspur.com
Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Austin (Spicewood), TX, 830-693-4447; kirkpf@verizon.net
Marjie Rynearson’s “Bedtime Stories” at Salado Silver Spur Theater; One Night Only, 7:30 p.m., Sat., July 23Adult stories “eloquent and poignant” examples of the story-telling craft — Director Gary AskinsSALADO, TEXAS, (July 11, 2011) — Marjie Rynearson of Temple, an award-winning, produced playwright and screenplay author and stage and screen actress, will present her semi-autobiographical work, “Bedtime Stories,” in a one-night-only presentation at 7:30 p.m., Sat., July 23, at the Salado Silver Spur Theater, 108
Marjie Rynearson
Royal St. in historic Downtown Salado. The acclaimed short stories are for adults only. Earlier in the day, Rynearson will lead a two-hour, special story structure workshop — “Start Writing Now” — from 10 a.m. to noon. The evening production, directed by Gary D. Askins of Salado, features the professionally accomplished actress in a reader’s theatre program. Askins is a retired master teacher of theatre from Salado High School and playwright for the Silver Spur’s annual summer melodrama.
“These stories are eloquent and poignant examples of the story-telling craft presented by the author herself in a unique voice that captures our human condition. I was thrilled to be part of this production and would encourage my fellow writers, readers and theatre lovers to attend and witness the graceful power of these gentle vignettes,” stated Mr. Askins. Rynearson’s film credits include a diversity of performances from “Robo Cop” and “Road to
Perdition” to various commercials for Blue Bell Ice Cream and Aleve. She was instrumental in the creation of both the Temple Civic Theatre and the Chicago Dramatist Society. Among her many stage performances were leading roles in “On Golden Pond” and “California Suite.” Her most recent local performance was for the Temple Literacy Council’s gala benefit at the Salado Silver Spur Theater. “I really enjoy doing these workshops because it’s my small way of giving back to members of the local arts community the power to tell their own stories,” Rynearson
Gary Askins – Director
explained. “I have learned that a lot of people have a story they would like to tell and I feel that with a little guidance, motivation and persuasion these stories can not only be told but enjoyed by others. Since registration for the workshop will be limited, participants are encouraged to make their reservations as soon as possible. The workshop fee. $35, includes a ticket for that evening’s theatrical production. Tickets for “Bedtime Stories” only will be $12. Call the Silver Spur Theater at 254-947-3456 for reservations or more information. Group rates also are available. For more info, visit www.SaladoSilverSpurTheater.com. Wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices will be available at evening shows only through The Spuradical Social Club in the lobby: SpuradicalSocialClub.net About: The Salado Silver Spur Theater, a first class performance center, was developed in the renovated and historic Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Store. The Spur strives to revive a bygone era of family entertainment, offering a trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are also held at the venue, with catering available from the renowned Stagecoach Inn and other area restaurants. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS: Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theater, 254- 947-3456; Grainger@SaladoSilverSpur.com Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Austin, TX, 830-693-4447; kirkpf@verizon.net
Registration Continues for Silver Spur Arts Academy
Classes & Camps for Kids (Ages 3-18), July & August
One-hour classes for three age groups and five-day camps filling fast
ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SALADO, TEXAS (July 13, 2011) – If you are a parent wanting your children to beat the heat during the “dog days of summer” and still have inspiring, cool fun, maybe the Silver Spur Arts Academy (SSAA) in Salado as just the solution.
The SSAA, in association with the professional Silver Spur Theater, continues its laughter-fueled lineup of unique creativity-cultivatin’ classes and camps for aspiring young artists and performers throughout the balance of July and August.
Every “Wildcraftin’ Wednesday” through Aug. 24, Silver Spur Theater and Arts Academy will host an “Array of Arts-Day Classes: A regularly scheduled variety one-of-a-kind arts classes for children age 3-to-18. From 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., wee ones age 3-to-8 can get their art on. Form 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., youngsters age 9-to-18 get dedicated attention.
“In these one-hour sessions, the students have the amazingly fun opportunity to learn techniques in visual and performing arts,” said Grainger Esch, SSAA co-founder and Creative Director of the Theater since 2004. “Just as importantly, they discover how to harness their imaginations in creative and positive ways.
“We also offer these opportunities at length in our more intensive, five-day camps, throughout the summer,” Esch added.
The two remaining five-day camps offered on weekdays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m allow students to plunge into dance, drawing, crafting, crooning, painting, play-acting, moving, imagining and more.
From July 25-29, students age 9-to-18 will explore the same avenues of expression. The final summer camp, Aug, 8-12, also will focus on the performing arts for children age 9-to-18, with instruction in movement, dance, speech, singing, clowning and improvisation. Each camp ends with a fun, creative and festive finale for families and friends to explore and enjoy!
For more information on the upcoming camps or classes, or to reserve a spot for an aspiring young artist, call the Salado Silver Spur Theater at 254 947-3456, or visit its website at www.saladosilverspurtheater.com. Reservations – strongly encouraged since space is limited – can be made by phone or at the website.
Tiffany Schreiner and Sheryl Russell
The Academy is the brainchild of founding members Tiffany Schreiner, who has more than 25 years experience in movement and dance instruction; Stacy Wooster, a Round Rock yoga instructor and wellness consultant; Shellie O’Neal of Salado, an art instructor of multiple media types and a designer for more than 10 years, and Esch.
“Our young workshoppers will awaken their imaginations while receiving fun-filled instruction in performing and visual arts,” Schreiner said. “The SSAA mission is to fuel young imaginations by giving them the confidence and know-how to express their artistic visions.”
“Kids don’t have the conceptual boundaries we do,” Wooster added. “Their imaginations are not limited. All they need is a little direction and encouragement.”
Also among the SSAA faculty, providing that encouragement are Tony Blackman, longtime Salado Silver Spur Theater technical director, performer, and scenic designer, who will provide instruction in singing and voice. Sheryl Russell, an art instructor and co-owner of the Baines House B&B, will lead the students in visual arts and craft activities.
These artistic endeavors will incorporate the use of recycled materials to produce decorative keepsakes and musical instruments, the instructors noted.
“This new venture,” Esch emphasized, “evolved from the terrific response to the Spur’s Summer Youth Theater Camp this past year. The SSAA’s efforts have already paid off significantly with the artistic output this summer of their 3-8 year-old students in the June Arts Camp and regular Wednesday morning classes and the well-earned smiles of the students and their families.
“We decided to expand our horizons beyond the performing arts and to bring in the talent and expertise of Salado’s diverse artistic community. We want to pass the creative torch to a new generation of painters, sculptors, writers, illustrators and crafters, in addition to aspiring actors, musicians and clowns.”
Advantages, Benefits to Students
“Each summer month of classes and camps will be devoted to a particular area of exploration,” Schreiner said.
“June is ‘Me’ month, with a focus on self-observation and self-knowledge. July is ‘You’ month, turning attention to the understanding of others. August is ‘Us’ month, with an emphasis on what we can accomplish when we work together, not only for ourselves, but for the world we live in.”
“Studies have repeatedly shown that involvement in the arts is associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking and verbal skills.” O’Neal observed. “Arts learning also can improve motivation, concentration, confidence and teamwork.”
“It can build strong friendships, provide comfort and self-fulfillment, increase the desire to set and achieve goals, teach a positive work ethic and a cooperative spirit, and grow appreciation for other things,” Schreiner added.
“Each class and camp session will begin with a yoga-based warm-up of stretching and breathing, leading into dance, movement and imaginative play exercises to stimulate mind and body,” Wooster explained. “And that opens up the creative floodgates.”
“Creativity is like water from a spring,” she noted. “They’re both great ways kids for and parents to stay cool during the hot summer.”
ABOUT: The Silver Spur was developed in the renovated and historic Guest & Sanford Granary and Feed Store at 108 Royal St. in the heart of the historic Village of Salado. The theater strives to revive a bygone era of family entertainment. The first class venue offers a trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows, are hosted by the Spur, with catering available from the renowned Stagecoach Inn a block away, as well as other area restaurants.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theater, 254- 947-3456; grainger@saladosilverspur.com
Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Spicewood, TX, 830-693-4447; kirkpf@verizon.net
Marjie Rynearson’s “Bedtime Stories” and Story Writing Workshop at Salado Silver Spur Theater
Saturday July 23rd at 7:30pm the Salado Silver Spur Theater will present a very special production from the author and actress Marjie Rynearson of her semi-autobiographical work, “Bedtime Stories”. This is a one night only presentation of these acclaimed short stories presented by this professionally accomplished actress in a reader’s theatre production directed by Gary D. Askins. “These adult stories are eloquent and poignant examples of the story telling craft presented by the author herself in a unique voice that I feel captures our human condition. I was thrilled to be part of this production and would encourage my fellow writers, readers and theatre lovers to attend and witness the graceful power of these gentle vignettes.” stated Mr. Askins.
Marjie Rynearson is a prize winning produced playwright and screenplay author. She is a stage and screen actress whose film credits include a diversity of performances from “Robo Cop”, “Road to Perdition” to various commercials for Blue Bell Ice Cream and Aleve. She was instrumental in the creation of both the Temple Civic Theatre and the Chicago Dramatist Society. Among her many stage performances were leading roles in “On Golden Pond” and “California Suite.” Her most recent local performance was for the Temple Literacy Council’s gala benefit at the Salado Silver Spur.
There will also be a special story structure workshop lead by Mrs. Rynearson earlier that same day from 10am to 12 Noon titled “Start Writing Now”. Marjie explained, “I really enjoy doing these workshops because it’s my small way of giving back to members of the local arts community the power to tell their own stories. I have learned that a lot of people have a story they would like to tell and I feel that with a little guidance, motivation and persuasion these stories can not only be told but enjoyed by others.” Registration for the workshop will be limited so participants are encouraged to make their reservations as soon as possible. The workshop fee includes a ticket for that evening’s theatrical production.
All tickets for this one night only performance of “Bedtime Stories” (Not geared for children) will be $12 and the story structure workshop “Start Writing Now” fee will be $35. Anyone interested is urged to contact the Salado Silver Spur Theater at (254) 947-3456 for reservations or more information.
The Bard Is Back! ‘Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged),’
Returns to Salado Silver Spur Theater, July 8-9, 15-16
High-speed comedy delivers laughs; even Shakespeare scholars will approve
SALADO, TEXAS, (June 24, 2011) – Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield may be the riotous trio of playwrights for “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” or (TCWOWS), but veteran actors Grainger Esch, Tony Blackman and Stetson Gilchrest are the rowdy trio of actors who will revive the comedic send-up of the Bard’s many works.
“TCWOWS,” which has had healthy runs previously at the Salado Silver Spur Theater, (108 Royal Street, in Downtown Salado, blocks of IH 35), is a bit like ice cream: sometimes a second helping is even more enjoyable. The fast-paced, laugh-filled show is at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturdays for two weekends only: July 8-9 and 15-16.
Evening shows are $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12 and under. Matinees admission is $12, $10 and $8, respectively. Group rates also are available. For reservations, call, 254-947-3456.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Shakespearean scholar or don’t know your Capulet from your Corialanus,” says Grainger Esch, co-founder of the Salado Silver Spur Theater, and a former member of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. “If you love the Bard’s great works, you’ll like this play.
“On the other hand, if you hate Shakespeare, perhaps because of some iambic pentameter incident in your childhood, you will love this play,” added the Vaudeville performer.
The trio of script writers, known as the Reduced Shakespeare Company, first performed the work at the 1987 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After a decade at England’s Criterion Theatre, it became London’s longest-running comedy, and has since conquered the entire globe, becoming a cult classic in the process.
Wildly Funny Cast . . . Playful Relevance
The all-male cast makes way for the historically correct — and hysterically wrong “drag” appearances – in the female roles: Grainger and Stetson from Salado and Tony, longtime Technical Director at the Silver Spur, from Belton.
Tony has appeared in film and television projects for The Disney Channel and Arkansas Educational Television Network, and his directorial credits include “LUV,” “Spoon River Anthology,” “Love Letters,” “Steel Magnolias” and “Countergirls,” in addition to at least 25 roles in shows at the Silver Spur playhouse.
Stetson, who earned “best actor” recognition in University Interscholastic League (UIL) competition and competed in three UIL one-act plays while a student at Salado H.S., won the Samuel French Award (2A Div.-Texas) in 2010 and was in the play that won First Place-State (2A).
He has just completed his freshman year at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC), where he is a theater and international business major. He’s already picked up the “Best 40-Minute Play” award and performed in four shows – “The Rover,” “Flower on the Hill,” “Dybbuck,” and “Distracted.” He plans to eventually do film work in Los Angeles.
Each performer romps through costume, prop and dialect changes that leave little room for error. That’s all the more reason to frame the more-or-less quoted text within an anything-goes improvisational style, where the audience can never be sure if the missed cue or late entrance is an actual boo-boo or another chance to laugh.
“The actors seem to have some method in their madness,” concedes Blackman. “The prospect of reducing the works of the greatest English author might seem intimidating to many, but this cast will convince patrons that it’s the tragedies that are really funny.”
“Yes, we do take liberties with the Bard of Avon, but it’s with love and admiration for the words themselves,” Esch explained. “This is not the Reader’s Digest version of Shakespeare, but rather a kind of ESPN highlight reel of ‘Willy’s Plays of the Century’ that make these great dramas accessible to contemporary audiences.
“The job isn’t hopeless because the script centers on plays people know best, like ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Hamlet.’ Still, for all its appearance of wildness and abandon, the show is carefully paced and crafted,” he said.
“The odd thing is, even when you clown them, Shakespeare’s lines have the power to grab you one way or another,” Esch emphasized. “Even a remarkable scene that uses the ‘What a piece of work is a man’ speech touches a nerve and reminds us that Shakespeare is relevant today because he really could and still does capture the human condition.”
About: The Salado Silver Spur Theater. a first class performance center was developed in the renovated and historic Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Store. The Spur strives to revive a bygone era of family entertainment, offering a trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are also held at the venue, with catering available from the renowned Stagecoach Inn and other area restaurants
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theatre, 254- 947-3456;
Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Austin, TX, 830-693-4447; kirkpf@verizon.net
SALADO, TEXAS (June 7, 2011) The Silver Spur Arts Academy (SSAA) in Salado, in association with the local Silver Spur Theater, is still looking for inventive imaginations to participate in its summer lineup of creativity-cultivatin’ classes and camps for aspiring young artists and performers.
Response to the Academy’s summer offerings has been tremendous, with registrations coming from Salado as well as from parents in Temple, Belton, Harker Heights and as far away as Austin and San Antonio, said Grainger Esch, SSAA co-founder and Silver Spur Theater Creative Director.
However, there is still room for more students. The Academy and our expanded staff of instructors are eager to take them on, Esch emphasized. New to the faculty roster are Sheryl Russell of Salado, providing her unique approach to visual arts and crafts instruction to the classes and camps, and Marge Rynearson, of Temple who will lend her expertise in creative writing later this summer.
In a dedicated effort to inspire young imaginations, the SSAA offers regularly scheduled Wednesday arts classes for children and teens ages three to 18 at the Silver Spur Theater. Now through Aug. 24, Wednesdays will be Arts-Days.
From 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, kids three to eight years old can get their art on. The hour of 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. will be devoted to youngsters age nine to 18.
For more information on the camps, or to reserve a spot for an aspiring young artist, call the Salado Silver Spur Theater at 254 947-3456, or visit its website, www.saladosilverspurtheater.com. Reservations are strongly encouraged since space is limited.
Creative experiences can help children express and cope with their feelings, said Academy co-founder Tiffany Schreiner. Creativity also fosters mental growth in children by providing opportunities for trying out new ideas, new ways of thinking and fresh approaches to problem-solving.
In these one-hour sessions, the students have the opportunity to learn visual and performing arts techniques. More importantly, they will gain skills on harnessing their imaginations in a creative and positive way, said Esch.
We also will offer these same opportunities in our more intensive, five-day camps, throughout the summer, he added.
There will be three camps offered on weekdays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The first, June 20-24, will give instruction in an array of arts for ages 3 to 8. The young students can plunge into dance, drawing, crafting, crooning, painting, play-acting, moving, imagining and more.
From July 25-29, students age nine to 18 will be able to explore these avenues of expression. The third camp, from Aug. 8-12, will focus on the performing arts for children age nine to 18, with instruction in movement, dance, speech, singing, clowning and improvisation.
The Academy also has also added additional teachers to each summer month of classes and camps will be devoted to a particular area of exploration, Schreiner said.
June is Me month, with a focus on self-observation and self-knowledge, July is You month, turning attention to the understanding of others, and August is Us month, with an emphasis on what we can accomplish when we work together, not only for ourselves, but for the world we live in.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theater, 254- 947-3456; grainger@saladosilverspur.com; www.saladosilverspurtheater.com
Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Spicewood, TX, 830-693-4447; kirkpf@verizon.net
SALADO — Joel Carter, inventor and entrepreneur, kicked off his presentation for the annual Wilmer Lecture with a picture of Isaac Newton. He asked the audience to consider a simple apple as they listened to his story.
“The apple didn’t fall far from Texas,” Carter said.
Carter, who graduated from Killeen High School, shared significant moments from his life in Texas with an audience on Saturday afternoon at the Silver Spur Theater in Salado. The Wilmer Memorial Lecture is held annually by the Institute for the Humanities in Salado.
Carter’s lecture, “Global Technology Innovation and Education: Preparing the Next Generation,” featured a discussion on the critical nature of mentorship, as well as the role of STEM (science, technology, English and math) in the future of American students.
Carter discussed various mentors and role models he worked with throughout his years as a student at the University of Texas and during the early years of his career in advertising.
One of his mentors was Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway. He said Kamen told him that failure wasn’t always a bad thing, especially when it came to invention.
“If you’re not failing big, you’re not taking big enough risks,” Carter said, explaining his mentor’s philosophy.
He said but too often, big businesses don’t take risks, quoting a joke: “To err is human. But it is not company policy.”
Carter also discussed how the U.S. lags behind Asia in key areas, including math, science and reading.
“The U.S. ranks 17th in reading,” he said.
“Is there any reason in the world we shouldn’t be more literate?”
HexBug
“The price of those components is dropping,” Carter said.
He said the proliferation of cellphones makes it easier and cheaper to acquire the technology used to make the kinds of educational toys his company produces.
The HexBugs are toys that feature high-tech robotic components, like sound and object sensors and infrared remote controls.
The Nano HexBug, which Carter gave samples of after his lecture, is powered by the same type of motor that makes a cellphone vibrate. The toy looks and behaves like a bug, and will even right itself when placed on its back.
Carter said the rising popularity of robotics is drawing young American students back to subjects like math and science. Like NASA was for students decades ago, robotics is exciting to today’s youth, he said.
“When you put something like this in front of kids, it’s compelling to them,” he said, citing the recent popularity of robotics teams and competitions in local high schools.
“There is nothing more powerful than the combination of peer pressure and competition,” he said.
The lectures are held annually, in the memories of Harry and Hank Wilmer, who both helped found the Institute for the Humanities in Salado. For more information, go to www.salado-institute.org.
SALADO — What do you get when you have four dead nuns in a freezer locker and five more trying to raise money to properly bury them?
“Nunsense,” one of the funniest musical comedies ever to grace the Salado Silver Spur Theater stage. It runs today through June 25.
The play, with book, music and lyrics by Dan Goggin, originated as a line of greeting cards, graduated into a cabaret that ran for 38 weeks and eventually matured into a full-length musical in 1985 that ran for 3,672 performances, becoming the second-longest-running off-Broadway show in history.
“At the Silver Spur Theater, however, it will only run for eight hilarious shows; Fridays and Saturdays for four weekends, with no matinees,” said Grainger Esch, co-founder and executive director of the seven-year-old professional playhouse at 108 Royal St. in downtown Salado.
“Fair warning: ‘Nunsense’ is so wacky, so outrageous with its hysterical anything-goes sense of fun, that it should be on the must-see list of every lover of live theater,” Esch said. “For anyone else, it’s guaranteed to lift your spirits.”
Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $8 to $15.
For more information or to reserve tickets, call (254) 947-3456 or go to www.saladosilverspurtheater.com.
Zany musical is inspired madness, and you don’t have to be Catholic!
SALADO, TEXAS (May 24, 2011) – What do you get when you have 4 dead nuns in a freezer and five more trying to raise money to properly bury them? Punchline: “Nunsense,” one of the funniest musical comedies ever to grace the Salado Silver Spur Theater stage, June 3-25. (No matinees.)
The play, with book, music and lyrics by Dan Goggin, originated as a line of greeting cards, graduated into a cabaret that ran for 38 weeks and eventually matured into a full-length musical in 1985 that ran for 3,672 performances, becoming the second-longest-running off-Broadway show in history.
“At the Silver Spur Theatre, however, it will only run for eight hilarious shows, Fridays and Saturdays for four weekends, with no matinees,” assured Grainger Esch, Co-founder and Executive Director of the seven-year-old professional playhouse (at 108 Royal St.) in Downtown Salado.
“Fair warning: ‘Nunsense’ is so wacky, so outrageous with its hysterical anything-goes sense of fun, that it should be on the must-see list of every lover of live theater,” Esch emphasized. “For anyone else, it’s guaranteed to lift your spirits.”
Essentially, the show is a fundraiser at fictional Mt. Saint Helen’s school auditorium. Five of the 19 surviving members of Little Sisters of Hoboken, NJ, convent put on the show to raise money to bury the last few nuns of 52 who were accidentally poisoned by the convent cook, Sister Julia (Child of God). Her Bon Vivant Soup Company had turned into bon voyage.
Admissions are $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12 and under. There will be no Saturday matinee. Group rates are available. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. For directions or more play info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com. Reservations strongly recommended.
The Silver Spur Theater serves wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices at evening shows (only) at The Spuradical Social Club in its lobby. www.spuradicalssocialclub.net. Membership is achieved by swiping one’s driver’s license.
Author-lyricist-composer Goggin drew on his early life experiences which included schooling by Dominican Sisters and his days as a seminarian before an extensive career in show business.
By the time “Nunsense closed after more than 10 years, it had become an international phenomenon translated into at least 26 languages with more than 8,000 productions worldwide and grossed more than $500 million worldwide,
More than 25,000 women have played in Nunsense productions worldwide,” notes Mary Bentley of Salado, directing for the Spur. “They include Edie Adams, Kaye Ballard, Honor Blackman, Phyllis Diller, Sally Struthers, JoAnne Worley, and now a great ensemble of five local actresses, backed by longtime Spur pianist Nelda Milligan of Harker Heights.
KD Sperling of Round Rock portrays Mary Regina, Mother Superior, a former circus performer who can not resist the spotlight. In real life, KD is appearing in her fourth show at Salado Silver Spur (“Countergirls,” “Steel Magnolias” and directed Bell Book and Candle”).”She also performs in Austin, attended the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in California, and teaches acting basics to children.
Regina’s competitive but dignified rival, second-in-command Sister Mary Hubert, Mistress of Novices, is played by Jennifer Murphy of Belton, in her first Spur production. This “off-the-wall drill sergeant,” however has been a regular in Temple Civic Theatre’s productions “Lilies of the Field,” “GodSpell,” “Epic Proportions”, as well as major Waco Civic Theatre shows. She holds a master’s in Library Science from the University of North Texas.
The role of Sister Robert Anne, a streetwise nun from Brooklyn, goes to Christen Manuel of Copperas Cove, making her second Spur appearance. She was Lucy in “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown this past fall, but has appeared in many CenTex theaters since arriving from Florida as an army wife. In Temple, she was in “California Suite.”
Michelle Stuckey of Austin is Mary Leo, a novice who is determined to be the world’s first ballerina nun. She’s actually a dancer – a BFA in dance from UT-Austin, choreographer, instructor, singer, actress, gymnastics coach, model, and personal organizer in Austin. Michelle has appeared in “…Charlie Brown,” “The Fantasticks” and numerous other productions at the Spur, UT and in regional theatre.
Sharon Smith of Temple portrays wacky, childlike Sister Mary Amnesia, who lost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head. Sharon previously brought her singing and acting talents to the Silver Spur productions of “Countergirls,” “Barefoot in the Park” and “Lights, Camera Christmas.”
Although not sharing her character’s penchant for ventriloquism, in real-life she also has performed in many shows at the Georgetown Palace and Temple Civic Theaters, including “Harvey,” “Annie,” “Man of La Mancha” and “Grease, among many others. Sharon teaches Dyslexia/Reading Intervention at Georgetown High School.
Bentley, a Saladoan who teaches senior English at Salado High, has acted and directed in more than 20 shows, most recently directing “…Charlie Brown” at the Spur. She earned her B.S. degree in English and drama from the University of Mary Hardin Baylor, her M.A. in Literature from Texas State University San Marcos, and currently pursues her doctorate in Education and Curriculum.
.
“The entertainment the Sisters present includes solo star turns, madcap dance routines and an audience quiz,” Bentley warned. “Audience members of all ages will find something joyful and mirthful throughout ‘Nunsense’.”
About the Silver Spur Theater: The playhouse is located in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co. in Salado, a few blocks from the bustling IH-35 Corridor. The Spur delights in reviving a bygone era of family entertainment, offering its trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are held in the first class venue, with catering available from the Stagecoach Inn and nearby restaurants.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theatre, 254- 947-3456; grainger@saladosilverspur.com
Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Austin, TX, 830-693-4447; kirkpf@verizon.net
Show Name: Sammy Fox’s Song Slingin’ Shindig
Purpose: Video Release Party
Date: May 7th 2011
Time: 1:00pm to 1:00am
Doors open @ 12:30pm
Sammy Performs @ 11:30pm
BEER PRICE -$2.25 can
All-day music event at Salado Silver Spur features eight bands + music video premiere!
SALADO, TEXAS (April 27, 2011) – The winning numbers are 12-8-1-1-5-7. Twelve hours of eight rockin’ Texas bands playing from 1 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sat., May 7 at the Silver Spur Theater (108 Royal St.) in Salado, TX.
Temple’s own Sammy Fox & the Intervention headlines “Sammy Fox’s Song-Slingin’ Shindig,” – a musical tour de force the likes of which have never graced the stage of the seven-year-old venue. The historic village may never be the same.
“Basically, this is my version of a pasture party indoors,” says Fox, whose Texas country music and high-energy performances have been electrifying crowds statewide. “This is a tremendous opportunity to bring together and to showcase some great bands which are right here in our own backyard.”
“We’ve had world renowned musical artists, singer-songwriter circles and celebrity concerts, but nothing on our stage to match this daylong, indoor musical festival,” admitted Grainger Esch, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Silver Spur Theatre.
The lively line-up also includes Hedley Grange, Wally West and Them Lostbound Souls, the Leisure Seekers, Moniker, KamuniQue, Brandon Parr, and Aiken Avenue. The show is intended for ages 18 and up. I.D.s will be checked, minors noted, and security will be provided.
Admission to the indoor music fest is only $10, and beer and wine are available at reduced prices, along with hot food from the Silver Spur’s Spuradical Social Club. Attendees will receive a wristband so that they may come and go as they please.
Smoking will be allowed only on the patio. For directions or more info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com or call the box office at 254-947-3456.
“With musical influences ranging from Hank Williams to Led Zeppelin to Nirvana, it’s an eclectic mix of primarily original music-making that’s sure to please a diverse range of fans,” Fox emphasized.
Music Video Debut
Premiering on the Silver Spur’s 20-foot diagonal screen will be the Intervention’s music video for their new radio release, “Love Drunk,” off of the band’s new album, “The Intervention EP.” The album is available worldwide on all digital download platforms. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mB9RRxx15M
Audio for “Love Drunk” was produced by John Moore of Seller Door Studios in Austin, and the video was produced by Zack Morris Media. In addition to Sammy on vocals and rhythm guitar, band members include Chad Wright on Bass, Matt Harper, lead guitar; Nic Catalina, drums; (video drummer Ralph McCauley) and Angela Mahler handling background vocals.
11:30 p.m. – Sammy Fox & The Intervention, Temple, jamband/country/rock; www.sammyfox.com
“We’re excited about hosting this musical party, celebration, shindig or whatever you want to call the event,” Esch added. “We’ve got a great room that that’s going to be jam-packed with great Texas music.”
About the Silver Spur Theater: The professional playhouse is located in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co. in Salado, a few blocks from the IH-35 Corridor. The Spur delights in reviving a bygone era of family entertainment, offering its trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are held in the first class venue, with catering available from the Stagecoach Inn and nearby restaurants.
SALADO, TEXAS (April 14, 2011) – The Silver Spur Arts Academy (SSAA) in association with the Silver Spur Theater in Salado, has announced its summer lineup of creativity-cultivatin’ classes and camps for aspiring young artists and performers.
Beginning June 1 and continuing through Aug. 24, each Wednesday at the Salado Silver Spur Theater will be an Arts-Day Class. The SSAA offers regularly scheduled arts classes for kiddos age 3-to-18. From 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, wee ones age 3-to-8 can get their art on. The hour of 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. will be devoted to youngsters age 9-to-18.
“In these one-hour sessions, the students will have the opportunity to learn techniques in visual and performing arts, and, more importantly, how to harness their imaginations in creative and positive ways,” said Grainger Esch, SSAA co-founder and Creative Director of the Salado Silver Spur in 2004.
“We also will offer these opportunities in our more intensive, five-day camps, throughout the summer,” Esch added.
The three camps offered on weekdays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m include: June 20-24, for instruction in an array of arts for ages 3-to-8. The young students can plunge into dance, drawing, crafting, crooning, painting, play-acting, moving, imagining and more.
From July 25-29, students age 9-to-18 will be able to explore the same avenues of expression. The third camp, Aug, 8-12, also will focus on the performing arts for children age 9-to-18, with instruction in movement, dance, speech, singing, clowning and improvisation.
For more information on the camps, or to reserve a spot for an aspiring young artist, call the Salado Silver Spur Theater at 254 947-3456, or visit its website. Reservations – strongly encouraged since space is limited – can be made by phone or at the website.
The Academy is the brainchild of founding members Tiffany Schreiner, who has more than 25 years experience in movement and dance instruction; Stacy Wooster, a Round Rock yoga instructor and wellness consultant; Shellie O’Neal of Salado, an art instructor of multiple media types and a designer for more than 10 years; and Esch.
“Our young workshoppers will awaken their imaginations while receiving fun-filled instruction in performing and visual arts,” Schreiner said. “The SSAA mission is to fuel young imaginations by giving them the confidence and know-how to express their artistic visions.”
“Kids don’t have the conceptual boundaries we do,” Wooster added. “Their imaginations are not limited. All they need is a little direction and encouragement.”
“This new venture,” Esch emphasized, “evolved from the terrific response to the Spur’s Summer Youth Theater Camp this past year.
“We decided to expand our horizons beyond the performing arts and to bring in the talent and expertise of Salado’s diverse artistic community. We want to pass the creative torch to a new generation of painters, sculptors, writers, illustrators and crafters, in addition to aspiring actors, musicians and clowns.”
Me, You, Us Explored by Months
“Each summer month of classes and camps will be devoted to a particular area of exploration,” Schreiner said.
“June is ‘Me’ month, with a focus on self-observation and self-knowledge. July is ‘You’ month, turning attention to the understanding of others. August is ‘Us’ month, with an emphasis on what we can accomplish when we work together, not only for ourselves, but for the world we live in.”
“Studies have repeatedly shown that involvement in the arts is associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking and verbal skills.” O’Neal observed. “Arts learning also can improve motivation, concentration, confidence and teamwork.”
“It can build strong friendships, provide comfort and self-fulfillment, increase the desire to set and achieve goals, teach a positive work ethic and a cooperative spirit, and grow appreciation for other things,” Schreiner added.
“Each class and camp session will begin with a yoga-based warm-up of stretching and breathing, leading into dance, movement and imaginative play exercises to stimulate mind and body,” Wooster explained. “And that opens up the creative floodgates.”
“Creativity is like water from a spring,” she noted. “They’re both great ways kids and parents to stay cool during the hot summer.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theater, 254- 947-3456;
Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Spicewood, TX, 830-693-4447;
Clever writing serves up debonair, thought-provoking, funny evening of entertainment!
SALADO, TX (April 1, 2011) – The Silver Spur Theater kicks off its “Our Whole Bloomin’ Season” at 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 8, with A.R. Gurney’s absurd comedy, “The Fourth Wall.” The play will run Friday and Saturdays evening through April 30, with no matinees.
“This four-character play, with its Cole Porter songs, is like a love letter to the theatre,” said Grainger Esch, Executive Director and Co-founder of the Silver Spur (108 Royal St.), a few blocks from Interstate 35.
“The playwright uses the stage to comically explore our place in the world today, using his sharp wit to explore such topics as cola wars, politics and even the very audiences that attend plays,” added Tony Blackman, the show’s director and the Spur’s long-time Technical Director.
The couple of Peggy and Roger are portrayed by Betsy Tyson and Kevin Reid. Julia and Floyd’s roles are acted by Karen Ewton and Doug LeBelle. All four actors have appeared on the Spur stage. Tyson and Ewton are Saladoans and Reid and LeBelle are Austinites.
Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12. Group rates are available.
For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. For directions or more play info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com. Wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices will be available at the evening shows through The Spuradical Social Club in the lobby. http://www.spuradicalsocialclub.net/
Tyson, a former child actor in Dallas grew up working with the late, celebrate director Paul Baker, wrote, directed and produced children’s plays adapted from books for area schools. She joined Salado’s Living Room Theater in 2000, became its President in 2008 and has appeared in numerous Spur productions.
Reid, a Houston native, studied under Larry Goodman and Susan Rutan (“L.A. Law”) and others in Los Angeles. In Palm Springs, he was in “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Victor Victoria” and “Hair;” in Houston, “The Boyfriend,” “Hello Dolly,” “Man of La Mancha” and “Cabaret.” He’s had his own cabaret show along the Texas Gulf Coast for a number of years.
Ewton, a school teacher, was last seen in the Spur’s “Steel Magnolias” and “Bell Book and Candle.” She is a regular Spuradical Player, beginning in Spur melodramas in 2005. She has appeared regularly in the annual Christmas variety show and also contributes to the scripting of the Spur’s original productions.
LeBelle of Austin, a veteran cabaret and variety show performer, has had roles in “Cabaret,” “A Chorus Line,” “Showboat,” “Singing in the Rain,” “Your a Good Man Charlie Brown,” “Fiddler On The Roof,” to name just a few.
Theatricality vs. Reality?
The play’s storyline has Peggy abandoning her exquisite taste and redecorating the living room as if it were a stage set with everything facing the blank “fourth wall” – the invisible barrier between actors and patrons – much to husband Roger’s dismay. Roger and his old friend Julia realize something strange is going on, since everyone who enters the room begins to behave as if they were acting in a play or even a musical.
Roger invites Floyd, a local theatre professor, in hopes Floyd can “doctor” Peggy’s play and bring it to a close, allowing Roger to resume his happily married life. Unexpectedly, Floyd sides with Peggy and at his urging, she sets out to break the fourth wall in order to connect with her feelings.
“Gurney is a sophisticated writer who draws dizzying and diverting parallels between art and politics, between characters and audience members, between the theater and the world,” explained Blackman, a veteran of dozens of plays, both as actor and director.
“This is not Gurney’s standard fare, but rather two hours of devilishly comic cleverness filled with amusing literary references and urbane characters,” he said. “The real fun comes from watching Gurney play with the changing reality of the moment as his characters and the audience respond to the fourth wall between them.”
The Chicago Sun-Times reviewer wrote: “It’s a whimsical meditation on the theatre – its history and its conceits, its degradation in the video age and its enduring potential for enabling people to connect. And, above all, it’s a clever, playful prayer for its survival.”
About the Silver Spur Theater: The first class venue, now in its eighth year, was developed in the renovated and historic Guest & Sanford Granary and Feed Store. It strives to revive a bygone era of family entertainment, offering a trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are hosted by the Spur, with catering available from area restaurants.
SALADO, TX (March 29, 2011) – If you like “free” and “no obligation,” then the Silver Spur Theatre may be the place for the whole family this weekend.
“Our Whole Bloomin’ Season” show line-up will be previewed at 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 1. A complimentary half-day workshop and orientation will be on Sat., April 2, for young artists and performers and their parents interested in the summer “Bloomin’ Arts Camp.”
Friday attendees have an opportunity to win a full season flex pass while enjoying scenes, routines, live music and refreshments, including beer and wine, and to meet Silver Spur cast and crew members. Visitors can learn about season ticket options, special concert events and other exciting developments coming to the eight-year-old professional theater.
The Saturday visitation-and-discovery sessions, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., are open to children of all ages, and their parents wanting to learn more about the Silver Spur Arts Academy. The first two hours will be devoted to aspiring artists ages 3 to 8, and the noon to 2 p.m. portion for children ages 9 and up to “get their art on,” said SSAA co-founder Stacy Wooster.
“This mini-camp offers a sweet sampling of art for kids of all ages. We will move and groove through some yoga and dance, see what’s budding in our theatrical selves, sing and clown around in spring silliness and dig into arts and crafts,” Wooster said.
For more information on the season preview or on the camp, or to reserve a workshop spot for an aspiring young artist, call the Salado Silver Spur Theater at 254 947-3456, or visit its website, www.saladosilverspurtheater.com. Reservations are not required, but strongly encouraged, as space is limited. The venue was developed in the renovated and historic Guest & Sanford Granary and Feed Store at 108 Royal St. in the heart of the historic Village of Salado.
“This new theatre arts venture evolved from the terrific response to the Spur’s Summer Youth Theater Camp this past year,” emphasized Grainger Esch, Executive Director and Co-founder of the Silver Spur Theater.
“We decided to expand our horizons beyond the performing arts and to bring in the talent and expertise of Salado’s diverse artistic community. The mini-camp sessions will begin with a yoga-based warm-up of stretching and breathing, leading into dance, movement and imaginative play exercises to stimulate mind and body,” he explained.
The new season begins with A.R. Gurney’s absurd comedy, “The Fourth Wall,” April 8-10, followed by:
“The Fantasticks,” May 13 – 14; “Nunsense,” June 3-25; “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),” July 1-18; “Always, Patsy Cline,” Sept. 3- 24; and “Christmas Is On the Air,” Nov. 26-Dec. 17. The Spur’s Seventh Annual Summer Melodrama, “Gone to Seed, or the Fiendish Financier’s Nefarious Food Factory Fiasco,” will again thrill audiences July 29-Aug. 27. (Watch out for flying pies!)
Categories of available Silver Spur season passes, available at significant savings and with member benefits, include Silver Dollar; Family, Director, Producer and the Silver Spur Gift Pass). In addition to flexibility on ticket use, patrons also will receive advance notice of such special events as potential film screenings, concerts or other one-night events, as well as an entertaining e-newsletter and discounts at the lobby refreshment center, a.k.a. “The Spuradicals Social Club.”
The Silver Spur Theater is a first-class venue, located a few blocks from IH 35 in Central Texas. It strives to revive a bygone era of family entertainment, offering a trademark blend of live vaudeville acts and music, stage plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances and even customized private shows also are held at the Spur. Catering is available from the renowned Stagecoach Inn and other nearby restaurants.
Silver Spur Theatre To Host Adult Literacy Benefit What do Miley Cyrus, Laura Bush, Sarah Palin and Will Rogers have in common? More than you would initially think according to Gary Askins, the director and editor of this year’s benefit for the Temple Literacy Council.
“Star Stories at the Salado Silver Spur” will be presented March 26 in the historic Salado Silver Spur Theater as a benefit for the Temple Literacy Council. Askins created the show featuring passages from autobiographies of various well-known people read by local celebrities.
“This year’s program is a celebration of the printed word unlike anything we’ve ever done before,” he said. “I hope it will be informative, inspiring and most importantly fun.”
The cast of readers includes Temple Mayor Bill Jones; Bill DiGaetano, president of Wilsonart International; Rick Thomssen, executive director of the Temple Symphony Orchestra; Dr. Raymond Carver, director of the Salado Living Room Theatre; Marjie Rynearson from Temple Civic Theatre; D. Kirkland of Temple College; Grainger Esch, owner of the Salado Silver Spur; Salado Mayor Merle Stalcup and his wife, Karen Stalcup.
“This illustrious cast of characters will be reading from the autobiographies of such diverse people as Black Elk, Buster Keaton, Mark Twain, Barack Obama, Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson,” Askins said. “Each reading lasts about seven minutes and was selected both for human insight and entertainment value.”
This is the third year the Silver Spur Theatre has teamed up with the Temple Literacy Council for a special performance to raise funds to support the local adult literacy program. Askins has produced and directed all three shows.
This year’s production has been in the making for more than six months. Beginning with an idea of a reader’s theater presentation, Askins read about 20 biographies and autobiographies. “As I read the books, a common theme of literacy and education emerged,” he said.
Ten books were selected, and then readers were chosen for each passage. “Some of the readers have previous stage experience, while others do not, but it promises to be an enjoyable evening while contributing to a great cause,” Askins continued. “Adult literacy in today’s world is an absolute necessity. This is a way we can all help the volunteers who teach and their students as they gain the basic reading skills required to compete successfully in the workplace, strengthen their family foundations and exercise full citizenship.”
“Star Stories at the Salado Silver Spur” will be presented at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 26. Because of limited seating for the one performance, reservations are recommended by March 16.
A suggested donation of $25 per person will be graciously accepted before, during and after this benefit performance. For more information on this presentation or to reserve seats, call the Salado Silver Spur at (254) 947-3456.
Temple Literacy Council provides one-on-one tutoring for in the basic literacy skills of reading, writing speaking and listening to adults in Temple and the surrounding area. TLC is funded entirely by the generous donation of money, time and gifts by local individuals and businesses. The TLC office is located on the second floor of the Temple Public Library. Donations and volunteers are always needed. For information call (254) 774-7323 or email templeliteracy@juno.com
Star Stories
Gary Askins: “The Autobiography of Mark Twain”
Dr. Raymond Carver: “Dreams of My Father” by Barack Obama
D. Kirkland: “Miles to Go” by Miley Cyrus
Mayor Merle Stalcup: “My Life” by Burt Reynolds
Karen Stalcup: “My Life in High Heels” by Loni Anderson
Bill DiGaetano: “Black Elk Speaks” by Black Elk
Rick Thomassen: “A Treasury of Will Rogers” by Will Rogers
Marjie Rynearson: “Spoken from the Heart” by Laura Bush
Mayor Bill Jones: “Going Rogue” by Sarah Palin
Grainger Esch: “My Wonderful World of Slapstick” by Buster Keaton
SALADO, TEXAS (Mar 6, 2011) – The Silver Spur Arts Academy (SSAA), in association with the Salado Silver Spur Theater, announces their Bloomin’ Arts Camp. This one-day workshop for young artists and performers will take place on Saturday, April 2, from 10:00am to 2:00pm. It is open to children of all ages, and their parents. The hours of 10:00 to noon will be devoted to aspiring artists age 3 to 8. Ages 9 and up can get their art on from noon to 2:00. – REGISTER HERE FOR FREE!
“As Spring blossoms, let creativity bloom!” said SSAA co-founder Stacy Wooster. “This complimentary camp offers a sweet sampling of art for kids of all ages. We will move and groove through some yoga and dance, flower our theatrical selves, sing and clown around in Spring silliness and dig into arts and crafts.” Parents are encouraged to stay and sit in on the sessions as well, to provide families a preview of the summer and after-school arts programs to be offered by the newly-formed Academy later this year.
For more information on the camp, or to reserve a spot for an aspiring young artist, call the Salado Silver Spur Theater at 254 947-3456, or visit its website, www.saladosilverspurtheater.com. Reservations are not required, but strongly encouraged, as space is limited.
The Academy is the brainchild of founding members Tiffany Schreiner, who has more than 25 years experience in movement and dance instruction; Wooster, a Round Rock yoga instructor and wellness consultant; Shellie O’Neal, a Salado art instructor and designer; and Grainger Esch, Creative Director and Co-founder of the seven-year-old Salado Silver Spur Theater.
“Our young workshoppers will awaken their imaginations while receiving fun-filled instruction in performing and visual arts,” says Schreiner. “The SSAA mission is to fuel young imaginations by giving them the confidence and know-how to express their artistic visions,”
“Kids don’t have the conceptual boundaries we do,” Wooster added. “Their imaginations are not limited. All they need is a little direction and encouragement.”
Esch emphasized. “This new venture evolved from the terrific response to the Spur’s Summer Youth Theater Camp this year.
“We decided to expand our horizons beyond the performing arts and to bring in the talent and expertise of Salado’s diverse artistic community. We want to pass the creative torch to a new generation of painters, sculptors, writers, illustrators and crafters, in addition to aspiring actors, musicians, and clowns.”
Involvement in the arts is associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skill. Arts learning can also improve motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork. It can build strong friendships, provide comfort and self-fulfillment, increase the desire to set and achieve goals, teach a positive work ethic and grow appreciation for other things.
The Bloomin’ Arts Camp sessions will begin with a yoga-based warm-up of stretching and breathing, leading into dance, movement and imaginative play exercises to stimulate mind and body. The first half of the session will focus on performing arts, with improv games, clowning class, and voice work. The second half of each session will focus on visual arts and crafting, including building their own musical instruments.
The Silver Spur Theater, a first-class venue, is located a few blocks from IH 35 in Central Texas. The Spur strives to revive a bygone era of family entertainment, offering a trademark blend of live vaudeville acts and music, stage plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances and even customized private shows also are held at the Spur. Catering is available from the renowned Stagecoach Inn and other nearby restaurants. – REGISTER HERE FOR FREE!
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theatre, 254- 947-3456; grainger@saladosilverspur.com
Tiffany Schreiner, Co-Founder, Silver Spur Arts Academy, tiffyoranch@gmail.com; whitedaisyrmt@yahoo.com
Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Austin (Spicewood), TX, 830-693-4447; kirkpf@verizon.net
Weekend of Eclectic Musical Tastes at Silver Spur Theater:
Shy Tree, Kelvin Rock on Sat.; Italian Guitarist Sun. Night
Rock music at 9 p.m. Sat., 3/12; Singer-’guitar-tist’ entertains at 7 p.m., Sun., 3/13
SALADO, TEXAS (March 8, 2011) – Call it “Mid-March Music Madness Weekend,” if you like. Two rock bands, Shy Tree from Salado and Kelvin (a.k.a. “Cathouse) from Dallas, serve up rock music sounds on Saturday night (March 12) at the Salado (TX) Silver Spur Theater (108 Royal St.), and Italian guitarist Beppe Gambetta soothes patrons with gentler offerings in the same venue the next night.
Saturday admission is only $5 and the theatre opens at 8 p.m. with Shy Tree starting the show at 9 p.m. and Kelvin playing from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tickets for the Sunday concert are $12 for adults, $10, for seniors; $8 for children, and.group rates are available. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. For directions or more info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com. Wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices will be available at both shows through The Spuradical Social Club in the theater lobby. http://www.spuradicalsocialclub.net/
Kelvin’s set might be called a “reunion concert.” It is comprised of John Rhett Barrett, Jeffrey Christian, Chad Clemens, John Davis,and Ron Lewis, a super group of music-makers assembled from members of the bands Big Snake Dreams, Cathouse, Chain Link Fence, The Idea Men, Keeper and Kelvin.
“Shy Tree is a female-fronted alternative rock band making waves in today’s relevant music scene,” said Grainger Esch, Director and Co-Founder of the Salado Silver Spur Theater. “The band originally formed in Las Vegas, NV, where it wrote, recorded, and toured its first album, ‘Sunshine and Sidewalks (2008).’
Its positive radio-friendly sound propelled the band to take its music across the nation. Now, based out of Central Texas, Shy Tree continues to push its creative boundaries, releasing its second album, “Escape The Cage” this past May, Esch noted. “That music is both lyrically honest and musically unique and should be just as phenomenal and exciting this Saturday night.”
Lead singer and guitar player, Alison Brown says the band’s live shows demonstrate its passion to connect with its audiences. Although all of Shy Tree’s set is catchy and energetic, song such as “Fight for Better,” “Escape the Cage,” “Had Your Chance,” and “Hold on for Tonight” draw the crowd closer to the live experience.
“We love recording new albums and anticipate several more in the future, but we live for playing our music out on the road. Not for out own selfish gain, but for the energy that happens when the band and the crowd meet and spend some time together during a show” says Brown. Shy Tree’s albums can be found on iTunes and Amazon
Kelvin” was formed after “Big Snake Dreams” played a date at the Prophet Bar in Dallas with a band from Euless called “The Idea Men. John Barrett and John Davis (BSD) later joined up with Chad Clemens and Ron Lewis (“Idea Men”) to form “Cathouse.” That name was adopted, not because of prostitution, but because most practices were around a small duplex in East Dallas where many feral cats and kittens roamed.
Cathouse has made two album-length studio recordings. “MOYA” (May/June 1988) and “Vibe Jungle” (1989) with both earning positive reviews and the first garnering the attention of some L.A. recording executives. Cathouse has played in Dallas’ Deep Ellum district and made occasional road-trips for shows in Austin, Ft. Worth and Denton. The band also has done live hour-long broadcasts on radio station KNON and SROTV cable-television.
Gambetta: Dazzling, Charming, Innovative
“Gambetta is increasingly known as one of the true live innovators of the acoustic guitar,” Esch noted. “His music has been compared to ‘an open and disarming smile…contagious, irresistible…an invitation to a musical journey with light heart and curiosity’. Indeed, and in fact, Beppe serves up a personal mosaic of sounds and flavors as a well-traveled world traveler who mixes the music of his native country with American roots music.” http://www.beppegambetta.com/.
The Genova native, who tours North America at least three times each year, has produced eleven CDs and DVDs, created teaching books and collaborated with many other top-flight musicians. His U.S.-Canada reputation is reinforced by his participation in prestigious festivals like the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, Merlefest in North Carolina, the Four Corners Festival in Colorado and Canadian Folk Festivals in Winnipeg and Edmonton,
He has been heard on such radio shows as “All Things Considered” and “E-Town” and has performed in prestigious rooms like the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In his career, he has performed with some great heroes of the folk scene like David Grisman, Gene Parsons, Doc Watson, Norman Blake and with the band Men Of Steel.
“Gambetta’s playing and singing stand out for their intimate emotions, communication, research in tone, sobriety and humor,” Esch emphasized. “I believe the audience will appreciate an artist who reveals his innermost feelings, a playful mind that still explores and innovates while staying firmly rooted in tradition.”
“My music shows pride in the past but looks to the future,” Gambetta explained., “My music is rooted in the history of generations of men and women so different but so equal to us. Some call it ‘strolling music,’ and it is indeed intolerant of frontiers and passports, exclusions and obsessions: — vital music, passionate but sober.”
About the Silver Spur Theater: The seven-year-old, professional playhouse is located in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co. in Salado, a few blocks from the IH-35 Corridor. The Spur delights in reviving a bygone era of family entertainment, offering its trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are held in the first class venue, with catering available from the Stagecoach Inn and nearby restaurants.
It is the smile that is the key for reading the musical universe of Beppe Gambetta. An open and disarming smile that is also the contagious and unresistable smile of a person who invites you to a musical journey with light heart and curiosity. The destination, as for any traveller, is not totally defined because it is beautiful, at the very last, to find ourselves where we never would expected to be.
With the horizon’s line as a challenge and attraction, Beppe is continually composing his personal mosaic of sounds and flavours. From his unique background as an Italian musician in love with both American roots music as well as the music of his native country, Beppe has travelled the world and even crossed the “Iron Curtain” to dazzle and charm music enthusiasts everywhere. After eleven CDs, DVDs, teaching books and collaborations with many other top-flight musicians, Gambetta is increasingly known as one of the true live master innovators of the acoustic guitar.
While Beppe still lives in his native Genova, he travels to North America at least three times each year. His reputation in the U.S. and Canada is reinforced by his participation in prestigious festivals like the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, Merlefest in North Carolina, the Four Corners Festival in Colorado and Canadian Folk Festivals in Winnipeg and Edmonton, as well as events like the radio shows “All Things Considered” and “E-Town”. Beppe has performed in prestigious rooms like the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In his career he has performed with some great heroes of the folk scene like David Grisman, Gene Parsons, Doc Watson, Norman Blake and with the band Men Of Steel: an international guitar summit (Dan Crary, Tony McManus and Don Ross) of different guitar schools with complex musical interactions. In a world dominated by the trends and logic of the market Gambetta’s playing and singing stand out for their intimate emotions, communication, research in tone, sobriety and humour. An inspired music thatt modestly avoids relying solely on his high level of technical excellence, but also reveals the innermost feelings of a brilliant, playful mind that is always exploring and innovating while staying firmly routed in tradition.
With America in his heart and his roots in the sun and the olive trees of the Mediterranean sea, he naturally and seamlessly bridges the shores of the two continents, creating in spite of the interposed ocean a musical “koiné” (fusion) where American root music and Ligurian tradition, emigration songs and folk ballads, steel string guitars and vintage harp guitars not only co-exist but interact, weaving a deep dialog unaware of any rigid classification.
Music on its way, proud of the past but looking to the future, able to talk to us in the present because it is rooted in the history of generations of men and women so different but so equal to us. Strolling music, intolerant of frontiers and passports, exclusions and obsessions. Vital music, passionate but sober. It is waving to us. Let’s follow it.
“Chanteuse” tells the story of two Texas girls dreaming big with sights set on New York City.
Reporter: Molly MacEwan
Email Address: molly.macewan@kwtx.com
Original URL – http://www.kwtx.com/news/headlines/
SALADO (FEBRUARY 21, 2011)—A few years in the making, “Chanteuse” is ready to debut with gusto as you travel through the decades at the Silver Spur Theater in Salado.
The musical tells the story of Johanna Clark and Darcy Bailey, best friends struggling in the town Gotham.
After being hired by Sid Feldman, owner of the Greenwich Village Colloquy Coffeehouse, the storyline follows their ups and downs through the civil rights era, the Vietnam War and more.
The play was written by Louise Richardson and produced by Richard Paul Thomas (RpT), both of Austin.
With the contribution of other artists through the years, “Chanteuse” came to be. The cast is comprised of experienced Austin actors Rose Mitchell (Johanna), Chloe Vance (Darcy), Robert L. Schneider (Sid Feldman).
The music CD is already available at http://caliche.tripod.com/store.html and includes a Salado native, Mary Bentley, as Johanna. She is a teacher with 30 years of singing credits.
The musical comedy will run Feb. 25-26 and March 4-5. The show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday/Saturday and 2:00 p.m. Saturday matinees.
Tickets are $15 each or $12 for seniors, military and students. Matinee tickets are $10 and $8. Children’s tickets are $8 for both shows. Due to subject matter, parental discretion is advised.
To make reservations or find more information, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com or call 254-947-3456.
SALADO- It’s been a long road to recovery for one soldier wounded in the Fort Hood shootings and tonight the country will finally be able to see his story unfold.
Volunteers, family and friends all gathered in Salado’s Silver Spur Theatre to watch an episode of ABC’s hit show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” that featured Staff Sgt. Patrick Ziegler.
“First it was waiting to move the Zieglers in and now it’s to really see the whole story, how it’s portrayed. There’s a lot as volunteers that we are working, working, working, and we don’t even know what happened,” said Susan Putscher, volunteer builder.
“It will be interesting to see how it all gets put together in one short hour when really it took 24 hours a day every week,” said Dirk Sylvester, volunteer builder.
Sylvester drove in from Austin with Mary Elizabeth Daniel to help build the home back in December. Daniel says it was an amazing experience and she was glad she could be a part of it.
“To see them in their home and so much love built that home so much so it will be exciting, it will definitely be a tear jerker,” said Daniel. Ziegler and his wife Jessica were chosen by the show to receive a new home after he survived being shot four times during the Fort Hood massacre. They have been living in their new home for a little more than two months now and Ziegler says they love it.
“It really feels like home already and we are there as much as we can be, which is not too much right now. I’m still doing treatments down in San Antonio so we enjoy the time we have at home a lot,” said Patrick Ziegler.
When the Zieglers arrived to the watch party, both Patrick and Jessica Ziegler told News Channel 25 they appreciate the love and support they have received from the Salado community and volunteers who helped them make their dream possible.
“I’m really happy we can be here in Salado and watch it with everybody and get to meet more people who volunteered and contributed so it’s exciting,” said Jessica Ziegler.
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” also gave the Zieglers a military wedding which was included in the episode that aired Sunday night. So just before the Zieglers took their seat, News Channel 25 asked what their thoughts were on having their wedding on national television.
“It really felt right that we got to share that with Fort Hood and the community,” said Jessica Ziegler.
“I just love her so much and I don’t care who knows it so everybody can cry but I’m not going to cry because I was there,” joked Patrick Ziegler.
The theatre staff lined the seats with packets of tissues just incase members of the audience happened to shed a few tears during the episode.
After the show finished, News Channel 25 learned “Operation Finally Home” announced they will be building a home for another wounded soldier next door to the Zieglers.
Drama of Texas girls seeking singing careers in ‘Big Apple’ has gusto and heart
SALADO, TEXAS (Feb. 19, 2011) – For the female leads in the new musical “Chanteuse,” the story begins in 1959 in college with a dream of becoming professional folksingers in New York City. For the author Louise Richardson and the producer Richard Paul Thomas (RpT), the quest to tell that story began in 2007 in an International House of Pancakes in Austin.
The fictional adventure of friendship, fame and folk music and the real-life factual saga resulted in a promising new production that will make its world premiere on the Salado Silver Spur Theater stage (108 Royal St.) at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, with 2 p.m. Saturday Matinees, Feb. 25-26 and March 4-5.
Admissions are $15 with $12 discount tickets for seniors, military and students. Saturday matinee tickets are $10 and $8. Children’s tickets are $8 both shows. Group rates are available for either event. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. Due to subject matter, parental discretion is advised.
For directions or more info: www.saladosilverspurtheater.com. Wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices will be available at the evening shows through The Spuradical Social Club in the lobby. http://www.spuradicalsocialclub.net/
This musical journey through the decades begins with best friends Johanna Clark and Darcy Bailey – Rose Mitchell and Chloe Vance — struggling in “Gotham.” They are hired by Sid Feldman (Robert L. Schneider), owner of the Greenwich Village Colloquy Coffeehouse. The former stand-up comic was “blacklisted” from show business in the ‘50s during the nation’s “commie scare.”
The storyline follows the ups, downs and eventual separations of the three character’s relationships through the civil right era, the Vietnam War and beyond.
“‘Chanteuse’ is a compelling tale of careers imagined and re-shaped by talent, luck, goodwill and the flow of current events,” says Grainger Esch, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Silver Spur Theater. “This talented cast, engaging songs and arrangements, and vibrant story will capture hearts and minds with its gusto and frankness.”
“Chanteuse” a Saga of Perseverance
Although playwright Richardson, an Austin native, had wrestled with the play through many false starts and disasters for more than 25 years, her vision caught fire with Producer Thomas at the IHOP four years ago.
Richardson, a web developer with the Water Quality Division of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, has been writing plays and novels and producing videos for a long time. (www.caliche.tripod.com).Her Monty Python-like comedy, “Hamlet the Dane,” was produced at Capitol City Playhouse in Austin in 1991.
In early 2007, the musical-in-progress found its way to FronteraFest – Short Fringe, an Austin showcase for emerging works, with a partial act and a few scenes, encouraging Richardson to forge on.
Then came Thomas, a singer-guitar player for more than 50 years and owner of RpT Productions, a Salado-based production and recording studio. He has opened concerts for Anne Murray, Loggins & Messina, Michael Martin Murphy and countless others. “Salado,” a song from his musical, “Captured Rainbow,” has been officially adopted by the Village of Salado.
She then worked with Tyler Mabry, a piano-based songwriter and native of Arkansas who landed in Austin in the mid-‘90s. He creates songs incorporating a variety of styles and influences unified by melodic piano lines and a tendency towards storytelling. Mabry now plays as a solo artist and with Spoke, a four-man rock outfit.
The show came within a week of full production in 2010 before technicalities pulled the plug. Thomas, however, convinced Robinson to go ahead and produce a compact disc, with him singing the role of Sid.
On the CD, already available at (http://caliche.tripod.com/store.html), Mary Bentley of Salado, a teacher with 30 years of singing credits is heard as Johanna. Ashley Edwards of Austin, who studied acting in New York and vocal jazz singing in Massachusetts, is Darcy. Louisiana native Nelda Milligan is the principal piano arranger on the CD and in the current production.
Milligan, the long-time Musical Director and pianist at the Silver Spur Theater, left many of Mabry’s arrangements practically untouched, altering others and creating a few all her own. The mother of four, deeply immersed in church music, pursued a college career at age 45 and ultimately became a professional accompanist in the 1990s, including lots of musical theater and symphony appearances in various states.
Tightly- knit Ensemble
Rose Mitchell (Johanna) graduated in 2008 with a B.A. in Theatre/Dance from the University of Texas at Austin, where she participated in numerous productions, such as “Cabaret.” She was most recently seen in Austin Lyric Opera’s production of “The Star” at the Long Center and before that, kicking her heels high in “The Music Man” at the Zilker Hillside Theatre.
Chloe Vance (Darcy) has studied acting for three years, appearing in “The Wizard of Oz,” “Bye Bye Birdie” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” The Austinite will likely not perform in Texas again for a while since she is New York bound herself to pursue her acting and singing career.
Schneider of Austin, who plays Sid Feldman, was born and raised in Michigan. He started singing lead Gilbert & Sullivan roles while in high school. Schneider, who graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree and the University of Michigan with a master’s, has done Doctoral work in voice and opera at the University of Texas at Austin.
He sang opera and taught voice in Germany for many years. Musical roles include Emile DeBecque in “South Pacific;” Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof;” and Captain Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music.” He is the father of Austin musician Bob Schneider.
“Whichever exploit one chooses to pursue, Johanna and Darcy on stage or Louise and RpT in real life,” Esch observed, “prepare to be entertained and to surrender your heart. I believe ‘Chanteuse’ ‘has legs’ and could aspire to stages well beyond our region.”
About the Silver Spur Theater: The seven-year-old, professional playhouse is located in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co. in Salado, a few blocks from the IH-35 Corridor. The Spur delights in reviving a bygone era of family entertainment, offering its trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are held in the first class venue, with catering available from the Stagecoach Inn and nearby restaurants.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Louise Richardson, Playwright/Director of “Chanteuse,” Caliche Productions, Austin, TX, 512-973-3885, lrcaliche@gmail.com
John Rhett Barrett, Jeffrey Christian, Chad Clemens, John Davis, and Ron Lewis will comprise a super group assembled from members of Big Snake Dreams, Cathouse, Chain Link fence, The Idea Men, Keeper and Kelvin.
Cathouse was formed after Big Snake Dreams played a date at Prophet Bar with a band from Euless called The Idea Men. John Barrett and John Davis(BSD) later joined up with Chad Clemens and Ron Lewis(Idea Men)to form Ca…thouse. Most band practice took place in or around a small duplex on Penrose off Greenville Ave. in East Dallas. The duplex itself was sometimes referred to as “Cathouse” not because of prostitution, but because many cats and kittens hung around. Cathouse made two album length Studio recordings. MOYA(May/June 1988) and VIBE JUNGLE(1989) were both recorded at Omega Audio/Love Field. Local musicians and critics alike ejoyed both releases. Moya actually garnered the attentions of some L.A. Record peeps. Cathouse played in Deep Ellum and made occasional road-trips to do shows in Austin, Ft. Worth and Denton. The band also did live hour long broadcasts on KNON and SROTV cable-televison.
Tucker Peterson’s voice, picking, with local artists and actors, tell troubled story
SALADO, TEXAS (Feb. 11, 2011) – The songs of the legendary Hank Williams will fill the Silver Spur Theater at 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 19, and at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb 20 as Sonnen Productions brings its adaptation of “Hank Williams: Lost Highway” to Salado.
“The musical features a cast of talented musicians and actors, but largely rests on the shoulders of country artist Tucker Peterson’s distinctive voice and old-style guitar-picking. He weaves a wandering path through the troubled life of Hank Williams and songs that have captivated a century of artists since,” said Grainger Esch, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Silver Spur Theater,
“Casting soulful shadows on this path – like the influence Rufus ‘Tee-Tot’ Payne had on Hank’s music – is the versatile, songbird voice of Paul Puckett, who portrays the mentor-friend,” Esch said.
The play, written by Randal Myler and Mark Harelik, enjoyed a successful Off-Broadway run in 2003, garnering rave reviews. New York Post critic Donald Lyons declared it “the best example of a musician’s bio put on stage” that he had ever seen.
“Lost Highway” treats mature audiences to an evening of the music they grew up loving and gives all ages a chance to witness the highs and lows of one of country music’s most storied singer/songwriters.
Admissions are $15 with $12 discount tickets for seniors, military and students. Sunday matinee tickets are $10 and $8. Children’s tickets are $8 both shows. Group rates are available for either event. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. For directions or more play info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com. Wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices will be available at the evening show through The Spuradical Social Club in the lobby. http://www.spuradicalsocialclub.net/
“Although tinged with the sadness of Hank Williams’ untimely death, the play ultimately reinforces his immortality,” Esch added. “His music lives forever in our hearts due to its simplistic greatness. I believe audiences will be left with the glow of that undying musical legacy.”
Peterson’s Story . . . Area Musicians, Actors
As an eight-year-old, Peterson walked many a mile to play his cousin’s guitar, “Your Cheatin’ Heart” being one of the first songs he ever learned. He once played the song over and over into the wee hours of the morning to comfort a friend grieving the loss of his father. He says he has never tired of the tune.
Thanks to the touring company and adaptation of the original show, audiences across Texas and other states are once again enjoying the country great from Alabama.
Paterson, a versatile entertainer, has opened concerts for the likes of Johnny Lee, the Bellamy Brothers and Billy Joe Shaver. A talented singer/songwriter in his own right, with two CDs and a third near completion, he identifies heavily with Williams, who struggled with the desire for a simple life versus the demands of being a country singer.
The only two places Williams was comfortable was out fishing, in the middle of nowhere, or behind a microphone, “in the middle of everywhere,” says a band member in the play.
Although “Lost Highway” depicts Williams’ pain and hardships, a jubilance shines through the evening as his indelible songs are interwoven with the portrayal of the lighter moments of his life, such as his days of singing in church, his band’s first paying gig and his acceptance at the Grand Ole Opry.
Puckett as Tee-Tot, who instilled the love of the blues in an admiring young Hank, is himself a singer/songwriter. His long-perfected vocals underscore the movement of the play from Williams’ childhood to fame and beyond. Glen Pfeiffer, Robert Fortier, Dana Bennett and Kenneth Davis bring their musical and dramatic talents to the play as they portray the Drifting Cowboys.
Pfeiffer, a Temple native, was originally a percussionist who attended college on a music scholarship, but has since mastered the guitar, keyboard, bass guitar and upright bass. He has served as the backbone and backbeat of the Tucker Peterson Band since 2007 and lends that same nature in his depiction of “Hoss,” Williams’ bass player and close friend.
Fortier, heads up his own Christian metal group, as well a classic rock cover band and an Ozzy Osbourne tribute band, which has opened shows at the House of Blues in Dallas. Fortier plays the wise-cracking lead guitar player “Burrhead.”
Fiddle and mandolin player Bennett is also a multitalented member of three bands, helped form the Woodbury Opry in the early ‘60s, which later became the Peoria Opry. He portrays the soft-spoken Leon that Williams nicknames “Loudmouth.”
Playing Shag is a man who fell in love with the steel guitar when he first saw iconic Hank Thompson and his Brazos Valley Boys at the state fair in Dallas. Davis went on to become proficient at the instrument, going so far as to open for Marty Stuart, as well as playing in the backup band for Thompson.
Two actors who have carved a name for themselves at the Bosque Arts Center Tin Building Theatre in Clifton, Walt Lewis and Anne West. fill the roles of the other guiding influences on Williams’ life. Lewis lends a father figure to the play as Hank’s manager, Fred “Pappy” Rose, while West portrays Williams’ mother.
Rounding out the cast are two newcomers, Susan Fortier as Audrey, and Shelley Slayton as the waitress. Fortier plays the ambitious wife and love of Hank’s life. Slayton voices the feelings of many as she listens on her radio and describes what Williams meant to her, thus capturing the essence of what Williams meant to his many adoring fans . . . then and now.
About the Silver Spur Theater: The seven-year-old, professional playhouse is located in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co. in Salado, a few blocks from the IH-35 Corridor. The Spur delights in reviving a bygone era of family entertainment, offering its trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are held in the first class venue, with catering available from the Stagecoach Inn and nearby restaurants.
Rob Mermin’s acclaimed ‘visual feasts’ dazzle with film clips and anecdotes
SALADO, TEXAS (Feb. 8, 20111) – Are you a silent movie buff who admires that film era’s great stars? Perhaps a fan of the circus and its colorful performers? Both? Then, Salado is the prime place for you to be this weekend.
Rob Mermin, a classically trained pantomime actor, teacher and director with a 40-year career in circus, theatre, film and television, presents his two unique, one-man shows at the Silver Spur Theatre (108 Royal St.) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening and 2 p.m., Sunday afternoon (Feb. 12-13). http://www.robmermin.com/general/home.php
“’Silents are Golden’ is much more than a lavishly illustrated educational lecture,” said Grainger Esch, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Silver Spur Theater, a seven-year-old professional theater. “Mermin is an enthusiastic entertainer, armed with a dazzling array of clips from 100 silent film comedies and dramas!
“Rob celebrates the art of physical acting, what the renowned mime Marcel Marceau called the ‘silent language of the soul,’ but seen through the lens of silent cinema,” emphasized Esch. “This show is for film societies, film students and families who love to learn while looking and laughing.”
Esch, a clown veteran of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s Circus, is equally enthusiastic about the Sunday program: “Circle of Sawdust: The Mud, Myth, Mayhem, and Magic of Circus!”
Mermin, who ran off to join the circus as a teen in the late 1960s and who founded the international youth company Circus Smirkus, entertains with personal anecdotes and film clips on circus history, including clips from 25 Hollywood circus feature films.
“This autobiographical production is like a series of illustrated tales of the wacky characters and wild escapades Rob has experienced in the circus world,” Esch noted. “Rare and amusing historical film footage showcases Rob’s adventures in the ring in the context of 200 years of circus history.
Admissions for “Silents Are Golden” on Saturday, Feb. 12, are $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12. Admissions for “Circle of Sawdust” at 2 p.m., Sunday, are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, military, students and children.
Group rates are available for either event. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. For directions or more play info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com. Wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices will be available at the evening show through The Spuradical Social Club in the lobby. http://www.spuradicalsocialclub.net/
A Storied Career Full of Stories
Rob’s intention with “Silents Are Golden” is to shed new light on the acting style of the silent era, while giving modern audiences a fresh and entertaining look at what made the silent stars shine so brightly, Esch explained.
Mermin, who studied with mime masters Marcel Marceau and Etienne Decroux before embarking on his entertainment career, is founder of the award-winning, youth touring company Circus Smirkus (www.smirkus.org )
The Saturday show, commissioned by Focus on Film, premiered at The Green Mountain Film Festival in 2007, has been called by critics “A Visual feast! A perfect combination of live commentary and demonstration….. Mermin makes a viable case for the relevance of silent film study for modern filmmakers.”
A reviewer attending the show at the University Theater in Galway, Ireland, wrote: “A brilliant evocation of the silent screen era and a loving homage to its stars. The evening was at times poignant, personal, humorous and thoroughly entertaining.” In his own words, the performer says:
“I love presenting this program. I’ve taken this show to several countries, and it is like bringing adults to the circus for the first time in decades and watching a childlike wonder and delight return to their faces.”
“Circle…” Is Seriously Clowning Around
That statement is perhaps more true with his Sunday show about circus history and circus life, since the award-winning performer has received Copenhagen’s Gold Clown, Russia’s Best Director Prize and the Governor’s Award of Excellence, Vermont’s highest honor in the arts. He also is a former Dean of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College.
His circus career had him clowning with tent shows in Wales, wrangling mules in Lapland with Sweden’s Circus Scott, riding with the Magyars in the Hungarian State Cirkusz, three years with the famous Benneweis Circus Building in Copenhagen, and entertaining royalty in the circus palaces of Europe and Russia.
Circus Smirkus, which marks its Silver Anniversary in 2012, has been called “One of New England’s most treasured cultural and educational resources” by The Boston Globe.
“Our local audiences love the wacky silent film starring local citizens that we produce each summer for our annual melodrama,” Esch said. “They will have a high appreciation for Rob’s evening show. Our major challenge after Sunday’s ‘Circle of Sawdust…’ show, however, is making sure the patrons don’t run off and en masse and join the circus themselves!”
About the Silver Spur Theater: The playhouse is located in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co. in Salado, a few blocks from the bustling IH-35 Corridor. The Spur delights in reviving a bygone era of family entertainment, offering its trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are held in the first class venue, with catering available from the Stagecoach Inn and nearby restaurants.
“Circle of Sawdust” is a multi-media one-man show featuring personal anecdotes and rare film clips that bring alive the mud, myths, mayhem, and magic of circus from someone who has lived the life and returned to tell the tales! (90 minutes, General Audiences)
If you are looking for things to do in Salado, Tx The Salado Silver Spur Theater offers comedy entertainment and family fun with vaudeville style comics and clowns for children and seniors alike..
We are in Bell County, TX near Belton, Killeen, Temple, Harker Heights, Copperas Cove, Georgetown, Waco, Austin, Texas in central Texas. Grab the grandparents and the kids and we’ll see you at the Spur!
This is a full evening one-man show, an educational and entertaining “Picturesque History” lecture lavishly illustrated with a dazzling array of clips from 100 silent films! It is divided into film sections with live commentary in between: Slapstick, Romantic Comedy, Adventure, Foreign Drama, American Drama, and Comedy. The intent is to shed new light on the acting style of the silent era while giving modern audiences a fresh and entertaining look at the talents of the silent stars. It is a celebration of the art of physical acting—what Rob’s mentor Marcel Marceau called the “silent language of the soul”—seen through the lens of silent cinema.
If you are looking for things to do in Salado, Tx The Salado Silver Spur Theater offers comedy entertainment and family fun with vaudeville style comics and clowns for children and seniors alike..
We are in Bell County, TX near Belton, Killeen, Temple, Harker Heights, Copperas Cove, Georgetown, Waco, Austin, Texas in central Texas. Grab the grandparents and the kids and we’ll see you at the Spur!
Casting for The Fourth Wall by A.R. Gurney, a comedy with an absurdist premise.
Julia- age could be late 30’s to 60’s. Family friend who is constantly “on the prowl”.
Roger– age could be late 30’s to 60’s. Husband who is concerned about his wife’s recent redecoration of their living room to look like a stage set. He is concerned that his wife might be “losing it”.
Peggy- age could be late 30’s to 60’s. Wife who recently redecorated the living room to look like a stage set. She believes someone is out to get her.
Floyd-Could be any age. Local college theatre professor who is brought in to evaluate Peggy’s reasons for redecorating. Beyond his knowledge of theatre, he has issues of his own.
Singing is a plus for these roles.
Auditions will be held Sat. Feb 5 from noon-5 pm, Sat Feb 12 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Salado Silver Spur Theater, 108 Royal Street, Salado, TX. Appointments are encouraged. You may set up an appointment by emailing your information to info@saladosilverspur.com or calling (254) 947-3456.
Jordan Overturf/Telegram The cast of “The Fantasticks” rehearse an opening scene from the show at the Salado Silver Spur Theater. “The Fantasticks” originally appeared off-Broadway in 1960. It continued a 42-year run before finally closing. The show has been reproduced thousands of times around the world. It is the longest running musical in American theater history. (Jordan Overturf/Telegram)
SALADO – The Salado Silver Spur Theater is hoping to rope in audiences this weekend with a revival of “The Fantasticks,” a Western-themed musical with a little bit of everything: unrequited love, family feuds, cowboys and Indians, all sprinkled with a little Texas charm.
The longest running musical in American theater is coming to the Spur for one weekend by way of Barbara Schuler Productions of Cedar Park.
Staged by Way Off Broadway Community Players in Leander last March, the musical was a huge success. The curtain closed, but the cast wanted Schuler, the director, to put on the show one more time. It took The Wall – the unspoken, yet lively mute presence in all scenes – to bridge the gap.
Schuler came to see Michelle Stuckey in the Spur’s production of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” in October. Stuckey had portrayed The Wall in Schuler’s production of “The Fantasticks” earlier that year and began talking up the musical during her stint at the Spur.
After the show, Schuler was introduced to the theater operators.
A few discussions later, Schuler and Spur co-founder Granger Esch decided to put on a one-weekend reprisal. It took one month and, after a few cast changes, the crew was back in the saddle and ready to ride.
Barbara Schuler Productions of Cedar Park, TX, will reprise its 2010 anniversary production of the popular musical with two performances only at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 14 and 15 at the Silver Spur Theater, (108 Royal St.) in historic Downtown Salado.
“We hope theatre-goers who’ve seen this romantic but bittersweet charmer before will enjoy it again, and those patrons who’ve never seen it will discover the magic that has made it a worldwide success,” said Grainger Esch, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Silver Spur Theater, a seven-year-old professional theater.
“Don’t expect a glitzy Broadway musical,” Esch noted. “At the heart of ‘The Fantasticks’” breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication is a purity and simplicity that transcends cultural barriers.” Video clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK8Q4lZEqVs.
Admissions are $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12. Group rates are available. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. For directions or more play info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com.
The Silver Spur Theater serves wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices at evening shows (only) at The Spuradical Social Club in its lobby. http://www.spuradicalsocialclub.net/ Membership is achieved by swiping your driver’s license before purchasing.
“We’ve got a great cast and a brilliant music director” (David Blackburn), said Barbara Schuler, a professional actress and director of the show. “We are all thrilled to have a chance to work together again in this revival of our March production.”
Texas Roots . . . Ensemble Cast
“Tom Jones, the Texan who wrote the book and lyrics, studied theater at the University of Texas at Austin under B. Iden Payne, the British Shakespearean actor and director who had joined the UT Drama Dept. in 1946,” Schuler explained.
“In 1956, UT alum Jones and composer John Robb developed a show called ‘Joy Comes to Deadhorse,’ staged as a musical Western with cowboys, Indians and two feuding Latino and Anglo ranchers – well before ‘West Side Story’ was launched.
“‘Deadhorse’ established the basic plot and most of the current characters: young lovers, their parents, an old actor, an Indian and the dashing and romantic ‘El Gallo.’” It also established the Latin tempo of much of the music created by ‘Fantasticks’ composer Harvey Schmidt – another UT alumnus,” she recounted.
Eight actors comprise the cast. The young lovers, “Matt” and “Luisa” are played by Matthew Burnett of Austin (new in the role) and Eve G. Alonzo of Pflugerville. Matt was last seen in “Into the Woods” at City Theatre Austin, and Eve last appeared in “Rent” at the Zachary Scott Theatre of Austin.
The romantic fable is about a young boy and girl who fall madly in love at the hands of their meddling parents, but soon grow restless and stray from one another. Their separation may provide a deeper appreciation for the love they once shared or may create a permanent gulf between them. It’s a quintessential celebration of love in all its gorgeous simplicity and heartbreaking complexities.
Luisa’s mother is played by Rebecca Smootz of Wimberly, also seen in “Into the Woods.” The father is played by Kirk Kelso of Austin in the first theatrical production for the longtime singer.
Derek Smootz, Rebecca’s husband, portrays the splendidly rakish narrator and bandit “El Gallo,” opening the show with the classic song “Try To Remember.”
Mark Butler of Austin, in his first musical production, is “Mortimer,” and Fred Bothwell, a retired actor from upstate New York who relocated to Austin, is somewhat typecast as “Henry,” the old actor. The somewhat disoriented and disreputable pair provides slapstick counterpoint to the romance.
Austinite Michelle Stuckey, no stranger to the Spur stage, is the “Mute,” “the Wall” and the show’s choreographer. One critic wrote last spring of Stuckey, a dancer, choreographer, instructor, singer, actress, gymnastics coach and model: “On stage almost all evening, Michelle doesn’t speak a word, but her highly articulated expressions are a delight. Keep an eye on her!”
About the Silver Spur Theater
The playhouse is located in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co. in Salado, a few blocks from the bustling IH-35 Corridor. The Spur delights in reviving a bygone era of family entertainment, offering its trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are held in the first class venue, with catering available from the Stagecoach Inn and nearby restaurants.
The world’s longest-running musical will be staged Jan. 14 and 15 at downtown Salado’s Silver Spur Theater.
Theater co-founder and Executive Director Grainger Esch believes “The Fantasticks” will appeal to veterans and first-timers alike, he said.
“We hope theater-goers who’ve seen this romantic but bittersweet charmer before will enjoy it again,” he said, “and those patrons who’ve never seen it will discover the magic that has made it a worldwide success.”
Rooted in Roman mythology and based on Edmond Rostand’s play “The Romancers,” “The Fantasticks” will strike most viewers as a kind of reverse “Romeo and Juliet,” in which two young lovers are unknowingly united by their fathers’ well-intentioned plotting.
Upon discovery of their parents’ mock-feud, designed to bring them together in rebellion, Luisa and Matt break up and travel the world in search of their true destinies.
Which, of course, may have been in each other’s arms all along.
The musical, written by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, was first staged in 1960 in New York. It ran for 42 years, and also enjoyed an off-Broadway revival beginning in 2006.
The Silver Spur’s staging will be performed by Barbara Schuler Productions of Cedar Park, in celebration of the musical’s 50th anniversary year.
The musical, which features several young Austin actors, has Texas roots, Schuler said.
“Tom Jones, the Texan who wrote the book and lyrics, studied theater at the University of Texas at Austin under B. Iden Payne, the British Shakespearean actor and director who had joined the (school’s) drama department in 1946,” she said.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14 and 15.
Tickets are $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children 12 and under. Group rates are available.
For reservations, call the box office at (254) 947-3456. For more information, go to saladosilverspurtheater.com.
SALADO — Grainger Esch likes to keep things funny.
Whether it’s appointing his dog Pancho as the chief financial officer of his theater business in Salado or sacrificing his body in a slapstick vaudeville act, it’s all for a laugh.
“I have no interest in doing anything other than comedy,” Esch said.
Esch, 44, runs the Salado Silver Spur, a theater and arts school at 108 Royal Street in Salado’s historic district. The theater has been in operation since 2007, when Esch and a partner transformed a former granary and feed store into a rustic-style theater.
Theater life is not new to Esch. Laughs and performance have been central to Esch’s life since his days at Duke University. While pursuing an English degree, Esch became involved with the university’s theater department.
Theater activities encouraged him to audition for a certain clown college on a whim.
While working at an advertising internship in Dallas, Esch received a call he couldn’t resist, and soon thereafter Esch found himself a part of the Greatest Show on Earth.
For four years, he criss-crossed the U.S. as a clown with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in a mile-long train full of 400 clowns, Chinese acrobats, Zulu warriors and other performers. Esch was one of several clowns performing in a continuous comedy show under the big top.
“Any of those shows is basically stringing one gag after another. It taught me how to make a comedy show,” Esch said.
Since Silver Spur’s opening, Esch and the theater’s aptly named troupe the Spuradicals have created Vaudeville acts that center around the “skeleton crew” aspects of the theater.
The group will create gags about broken theater equipment, missing performers and other mishaps. It is similar to the “Muppet Show,” Esch said, in that the humorous ordeal of putting on the show is just as entertaining as the show itself.
Many shows resemble old time silent movies. The typical villains, heroes and, of course, a damsel in distress are present. However, the play will often transition from live performance to taped segment designed to imitate silent movies.
An accompanist will play along to a film that usually depicts a chase through well-known businesses and areas in Salado.
The old-fashioned nature of the shows matches the theater itself. Esch used several existing pieces of the former granary to create a stage and concessions area. Grain scoops now hold stage lights and corrugated medal is used throughout the theater.
Look hard and one can even see old IOUs on the wooded plank walls written in grease pencils from the building’s days as a feed store.
Esch said the idea to open his own theater came while driving across the desert with the theater’s co-creator Penny Mathis. Mathis now works in Florida.
“It was all ideas written down on napkins,” Esch said.
Over time, his family ties to the area (Esch’s mother is from Salado and he often visited his grandmother in Prairie Dell) led him to find a space in the arts community. Being fed up with his post-circus career in television and movie production in Los Angeles, he jumped at the opportunity to begin a third act in Salado.
Esch has lessened his role in theater productions, though he still acts often as the put-upon, harried manager during comedy acts. However, the productions themselves have ramped up.
The Spuradicals put on their first musical in 2010, a production of “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” that Esch said was very well received. The theater will likely put on two musicals in 2011.
The theater’s next performance season begins in April. Esch wouldn’t say what acts are in store for next season, worrying about what licensing agreements will or will not go through.
But one thing is for certain —they will be funny.
Contact Philip Jankowski at philipj@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7553. Follow him on Twitter at KDHcrime.
Seen in over 11,000 productions in the half century since its spring of 1960 opening in New York’s Sullivan Street Playhouse, The Fantasticks is the most frequently staged musical in the world. Commemorating the recent 50th anniversary of the play in and in recognition of its Texas roots, the Silver Spur Theater in Salado is staging a revival of a 2010 hit production of the modern classic – the longest running musical in the American theater.
Director Barbara Schuler said “It’s exciting to be working on this show again – a revival of the highly successful 2010 production staged at the Way Off Broadway Theater in Leander. We’ve got a great cast, a brilliant musical director, and we are all thrilled to have a chance to work together again.
So what does the Fantasticks have to do with Texas? Quite a bit, according to Schuler, the former professional actress who’s directing the revival. “Tom Jones, the Texan who wrote the book and lyrics, studied Theater at the University of Texas under B. Iden Payne, the British Shakespearean actor and director who joined the UT Drama Department in 1946.”
As Schuler recently explained, “In 1956 UT alum Jones and composer John Robb developed a show called ‘Joy Comes to Deadhorse’ staged as a musical Western with cowboys, Indians, and two feuding ranchers – one Latino, the other Anglo – well before ‘West Side Story’ was launched.”
“Deadhorse” established the basic plot and most of the characters found in the current “Fantasticks”: young lovers, their parents, an old actor (based on B. Iden Payne), an Indian, and the dashing and romantic “El Gallo” – as well as establishing the Latin tempo of much of the music created by Fantasticks composer Harvey Schmidt – another UT alumnus.
“We hope that those who have seen the show before will enjoy seeing it again – and that those who haven’t seen it will discover the magic that has made it such a success around the world!”
“The Fantasticks” is being presented at the Silver Spur in Salado on January 14 and 15.
For reservations and directions call (254) 947-3456.
About the Silver Spur Theater
The Salado Silver Spur Theater offers comedy entertainment and family fun with vaudeville style comics and clowns for children and seniors alike. We are in Bell County near Belton, Killeen, Temple, Harker Heights, Copperas Cove, Georgetown, Waco, Texas in central Texas.
On Christmas Eve at the small broadcast facility, the production crew and maintenance staff are in a festive holiday mood, as they prepare to broadcast the classic holiday movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It looks like smooth sailing for the usually overextended staff, which has just commenced its office Christmas party.
The proceedings are quickly interrupted by an urgent satellite transmission from Mr. Bigg informing them that a fiscal emergency requires them to perform an impromptu telethon to save the station from financial ruin, and, consequently, their own jobs. Salado Silver Spur Theater
On Christmas Eve at the small broadcast facility, the production crew and maintenance staff are in a festive holiday mood, as they prepare to broadcast the classic holiday movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It looks like smooth sailing for the usually overextended staff, which has just commenced its office Christmas party.
The proceedings are quickly interrupted by an urgent satellite transmission from Mr. Bigg informing them that a fiscal emergency requires them to perform an impromptu telethon to save the station from financial ruin, and, consequently, their own jobs. Salado Silver Spur Theater
On Christmas Eve at the small broadcast facility, the production crew and maintenance staff are in a festive holiday mood, as they prepare to broadcast the classic holiday movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It looks like smooth sailing for the usually overextended staff, which has just commenced its office Christmas party.
The proceedings are quickly interrupted by an urgent satellite transmission from Mr. Bigg informing them that a fiscal emergency requires them to perform an impromptu telethon to save the station from financial ruin, and, consequently, their own jobs. Salado Silver Spur Theater
On Christmas Eve at the small broadcast facility, the production crew and maintenance staff are in a festive holiday mood, as they prepare to broadcast the classic holiday movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It looks like smooth sailing for the usually overextended staff, which has just commenced its office Christmas party.
The proceedings are quickly interrupted by an urgent satellite transmission from Mr. Bigg informing them that a fiscal emergency requires them to perform an impromptu telethon to save the station from financial ruin, and, consequently, their own jobs. Salado Silver Spur Theater
On Christmas Eve at the small broadcast facility, the production crew and maintenance staff are in a festive holiday mood, as they prepare to broadcast the classic holiday movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It looks like smooth sailing for the usually overextended staff, which has just commenced its office Christmas party.
The proceedings are quickly interrupted by an urgent satellite transmission from Mr. Bigg informing them that a fiscal emergency requires them to perform an impromptu telethon to save the station from financial ruin, and, consequently, their own jobs. Salado Silver Spur Theater
On Christmas Eve at the small broadcast facility, the production crew and maintenance staff are in a festive holiday mood, as they prepare to broadcast the classic holiday movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It looks like smooth sailing for the usually overextended staff, which has just commenced its office Christmas party.
The proceedings are quickly interrupted by an urgent satellite transmission from Mr. Bigg informing them that a fiscal emergency requires them to perform an impromptu telethon to save the station from financial ruin, and, consequently, their own jobs. Salado Silver Spur Theater
Parents seeking a break from their sugar-high, Santa-watching kids off school next week may consider the Silver Spur Arts Academy’s Reindeer Wranglin’ Daytime Arts Camp, held at the Silver Spur Theater in Salado.
Designed to “bring out children’s inner elf,” academy co-founder Tiffany Schreiner said, the camp begins Monday and ends Wednesday.
“We want to help kids find their inner elf, the ‘Santa’s little helper’ in all of us that can dream up and create wondrous playthings to amaze and amuse,” she said.
The camp will give parents a chance to shop and prepare for the holidays, perhaps in the shops of downtown Salado, while their children make crafts and burn off some of their pre-holiday energy, Schreiner added. The camp runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily, and children ages three to 18 can attend one, two or all three days.
It costs $40 for one day for one child, $75 for two days and $95 for three days.
Each day will begin with a yoga-based warm-up of stretching and breathing, leading into dance, movement and imaginative play exercises focused on the performing arts, followed by a brief lunch break. Students are encouraged to bring their own bag lunches or snacks.
The second half of each day will focus on visual arts and crafting, including building musical instruments and potential Christmas gifts from ordinary household objects.
The Silver Spur Arts Academy, which opens officially next year, is the brainchild of founding members Schreiner, who has more than 25 years experience in movement and dance instruction; Stacy Wooster, a Round Rock yoga instructor and wellness consultant; and Grainger Esch, creative director and co-founder of the seven-year-old Salado Silver Spur Theater.
“The (academy’s) mission is to fuel young imaginations by giving them the confidence and know-how to express their artistic visions,” Esch said.
“Kids don’t have the conceptual boundaries we do,” Wooster said. “Their imaginations are not limited. All they need is a little direction and encouragement.”
For more information on the camp, or to reserve a spot, call the Salado Silver Spur Theater at (254) 947-3456, or go to saladosilverspurtheater.com. The theater is located at 108 Royal St., off Main Street in Salado.
Contact Colleen Flaherty at colleenf@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7559. Follow her on Twitter at KDHfeatures.
The Silver Spur Arts Academy (SSAA), in association with the Salado Silver Spur Theater, invites your aspiring young artist(s) to The Reindeer Wranglin’ Holiday Arts Camp, a daily Christmas week arts workshop for youngsters ages 3 to 18. Sessions will be from 10a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 20-22.
While you CenTex Santas are dashing about to complete their holiday gift list, your youngsters can be dreaming, singing, dancing, yoga-grooving and making ever-so-clever holiday crafts galore at the nearby Salado Silver Spur Theater!
CLICK BELOW TO REGISTER ONLINE!
To reserve a spot for an aspiring young artist visit its website, www.saladosilverspurtheater.com or call the Salado Silver Spur Theater at 254/947-3456
The costs are: one day, $40; two days, $75; three days, $95.
Young workshoppers will awaken their imaginations while receiving fun-filled professional instruction in performing and visual arts. The Holiday Arts Camp also will provide families a preview of the preschool and after-school arts programs to be offered by the newly-formed Silver Spur Arts Academy.
The SSAA mission is to fuel young imaginations by giving them the confidence and know-how to express their artistic visions. This new venture evolved from the terrific response to the Spur’s Summer Youth Theater Camp this year.
The Holiday Camp sessions will begin with a yoga-based warm-up of stretching and breathing, leading into dance, movement and imaginative play exercises to stimulate mind and body. The first half of the session will focus on performing arts, followed by a brief lunch break for which students are encouraged to bring a sack lunch or snack.
The second half of each daily session will focus on visual arts, theater, and crafting, including building their own musical instruments and potential Christmas hand-crafted gifts.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS CONTACT:
Grainger Esch, Executive Dir., Salado Silver Spur Theater, 254- 947-3456;
It’s Christmas Eve, and the kooky staff and crew of WSPR-TV have just settled down for their annual holiday party, with “It’s a Wonderful Life” safely on air.
Word of the station’s imminent closure, however, changes that dynamic, and a chaotic, do-or-die telethon fundraiser ensues.
So goes Salado Silver Spur Theater’s 2010 holiday comedy, “Boughs of Folly,” which debuts Saturday.
“‘Boughs of Folly’ is chock-full of the side-splitting slapstick and comedy routines that have made the annual holiday show a must-see for the entire family and their visitors,” said Grainger Esch, theater co-founder and executive director.
The theater, which offers about 95 performances of seven different shows each year, opened in 2004. Players have offered a holiday show each year since, but adopted a “live broadcast” format in 2007 to incorporate the audience into the show.
They need a break this time of year, too, Esch said.
“This holiday show guarantees relief from shopping overload, decorating duties and party planning,” he said. “Think of the Spur as a safe oasis of laughter far from the chaos of Christmas, which is on comedic display on our stage.”
The variety show format of the telethon involves music, dance and a lot of slapstick and vaudeville-type humor. It is conceived, written and performed by a cast of veteran performers, The Spuradicals. Composed of Salado and Belton actors, everyone in the group has had some professional experience, Esch said.
Nelda Milligan of Harker Heights, the Spur’s longtime accompanist and musical director, will provide live music.
The play was still being written this week, Esch said, promising fresh comedy and the potential for some improvisation.
The Silver Spur is located at 108 Royal St. in downtown Salado.
Staff will offer wine, beer, cider and food at evening shows only at the recently opened The Spuradical Social Club in the lobby. A free temporary membership is required and available at spuradicalsocialclub.net in advance or in the lobby.
The show debuts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with additional performances planned for Dec. 3 and 4; 10 and 11; and 17 and 18.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays with 2 p.m. Saturday matinees.
Tickets are $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12 and under for evening shows.
Matinee tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for all others. Group rates are available. For reservations, call the box office at (254) 947-3456. For directions or more play info, go to www.saladosilverspurtheater.com.
Contact Colleen Flaherty at colleenf@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7559. Follow her on Twitter at KDHfeatures.
SALADO — The Salado Silver Spur Theater is the place to be Saturday for anyone seeking fun, food, frivolity and fantastic music.
The Creekside Carnival for children is on the playhouse grounds from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Fall Fandango — dancin’, singin’, eatin’, imbibin’, rafflin’ and revelin’ — will be in the theater from 7:30 p.m. to midnight with Sammy Fox and the Intervention, the Temple-based, red dirt, country band.
“Proceeds from both events will benefit Salado Flood Relief and the Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children,” said Grainger Esch, co-founder of the Silver Spur Theater and a former Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus clown. “Heavy flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine caused considerable damage to downtown businesses on Sept. 7-8.
“Although our first-class theater, located in the historic Sanford & Guest Granary and Feed Store, is just a few hundred yards from Salado Creek, we only had a small amount of water in our lobby,” Esch said. “Other businesses, some uninsured, were totally wiped out.”
The Creekside Carnival will feature a wild array of madly fun, educational and engaging activities — a great lead-up to the Thanksgiving holidays.
Children and adults will encounter Magical Teepees, a Mayflower bonanza and participate in a prize-winning, “darling donkey” dance-off and Spuradical sack races.
The carnival also will provide a taste of things to come with the new Salado Silver Spur Arts Academy, an after-school arts program for children due to launch in 2011.
“We’ll have jugglers, clowns, a farmer’s market, a moon bounce, kid-friendly musicians, a dunking booth and arts and crafts,” said Tiffany Schreiner, co-director of the academy. “You’ll be hard pressed to find a frown in our Creekside Carnival crowd.”
Admission for the six-hour event is $5 and free for children age 4 and under.
Fandango features Fox
Different dynamics crank up from 7:30 p.m. to midnight with dance, songs, food, beverages and a raffle, all to the music of Sammy Fox and the Intervention, a Texas country music band with a classic rock influence termed “jamband/country/rock.”
Admission is $15 per person. Beer and wine will be available from The Spuradical Social Club, located in the lobby. In October, the theater added alcohol and expanded food choices to its lobby services at evening performances only. A free temporary membership is required and available at www.spuradicalsocialclub.net or in the lobby.
That’s what staff from the Salado Silver Spur Theater and Arts Academy made sure to illustrate during the group’s first ever Creekside Carnival, held on the theater’s grounds.
While children learned that music can be made with found objects and that simple items can become marvelous arts and crafts, the carnival also aimed to help two worthy causes.
Proceeds from the carnival benefited Salado Flood Relief, an organization that helps victims of flooding from Tropical Storm Hermine, and the Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children, a Killeen-based organization that educates children with special needs, conducts summer camps, after-school activities and physical therapy.
Children laughed gleefully as Bonzo Crunch, Fool at Large, twisted balloons into butterflies, teddy bears and bunnies. But no dragons, because they pop once they breath fire.
In the arts and crafts tent, children created stone mosaics from painted rock retrieved from Salado Creek. Others created music with found objects, while some created butterflies and magic potions from household items.
Volunteer and instrument maker Bill Bridges said teaching children about music with found objects helps stimulate children’s imagination. Children played on small lamp shades, discarded wood pieces and blocks in time with performers.
“It teaches a more constructive listening,” Bridges said. You’re engaged by light and sound. You’re thinking more.”
Arts Academy teacher Stacy Wooster helped children and some adults create butterflies with coffee filters and pipe cleaners.
“Kids don’t have the boundaries we do,” Wooster said. “They don’t have the constructs. Their imaginations are not limited.”
The Silver Spur Theater hosts comedy, vaudeville and music near downtown Salado in the historic Guest & Sanford Grain and Feed Store.
Founded by Grainger Esch, a former clown for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, the theater also holds an Arts Academy.
For more information on the theater or the arts academy, call (254) 947-3456 or go to www.saladosilverspur.com.
Contact Philip Jankowski at philipj@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7553. Follow him on Twitter at KDHcrime.
Picture Show, Vaudeville Stage, Live Music & Fun for Any Age!
ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SALADO SILVER SPUR THEATER’S ‘BOUGHS OF FOLLY’ AN OASIS OF LAUGHTER AMID CHRISTMAS CHAOS
Seasoned Spuradicals return to form Nov. 27 in annual WSPR-TV’s holiday broadcast
SALADO, TEXAS (Nov. 10, 2010) – Post-Thanksgiving weekends this holiday season find the hilarious crew of fictional WSPR-TV back on the air – and the Salado Silver Spur Theater stage – with its annual Christmas Eve broadcast, which, naturally, never goes as planned.
“‘Boughs of Folly’ is chock-full of the side-splitting slapstick and comedy routines that have made the annual holiday show a must-see for the entire family and their visitors,” said Grainger Esch, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Salado Silver Spur Theater.
“This holiday show guarantees relief from shopping overload, decorating duties and party planning,” Esch emphasized. “Think of the Spur, as a safe oasis of laughter far from the chaos of Christmas, which is on comedic display on our stage.
The Spur is located at 108 Royal St. in the renovated Guest and Sanford Granary & Feed Co. in historic downtown Salado, a few blocks from the bustling IH-35 Corridor.
Theater patrons will be right in “the studio audience” for the music, the merriment and the memorable, mirthful staging of an “on-the-air” variety show, Esch said. The seasonal scenario is conceived, written and performed by a cast of veteran performers, The Spuradicals, continuing the Salado Silver Spur Theater’s tradition of homespun, heartfelt, original family entertainment.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, with 2 p.m. Saturday matinees: Nov. 27 (eve. only), Dec 3-4, 10-11, 17-18. Admissions are $15 for adults; $12 for senior citizens, military personnel and students with ID; and $8 for children aged 12 and under for evening shows.
Matinees, tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for all others. Group rates are available. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. For directions or more info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com.
In the “spirits” of the season, the seven-year-old professional theater will serve wine, beer, cider and expanded food choices at evening shows (only) at the recently opened The Spuradical Social Club in its lobby. www.spuradicalsocialclub.net
Spuradicals Make Merry for Holidays
In addition to special-guest variety artists each weekend, the cast includes Saladoans Esch as station manager “Slim Chance;” Karen Ewton as “Trudy,” the staff secretary; Mary Bentley as “Mary” the ad sales rep; and Tom Rolls as “Earl Duke,” the maintenance man and comedian “Cheesy McGee.”
Rounding out the entertaining ensemble are three Belton actors: the Spur’s tuneful troubadour, Tony Blackman as the singing technical director and Garrett Clark as “Gus the Go-fer,” a role he will share with Jonathan Robinson.
Nationally known goofball Kevin C. Carr of New Jersey, will appear by “satellite” as WSPR station owner “Mr. Bigg.” Nelda Milligan of Harker Heights, the Spur’s longtime accompanist and Musical Director, will provide live music.
On Christmas Eve at the small broadcast facility, the production crew and maintenance staff are in a festive holiday mood, as they prepare to broadcast the classic holiday movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It looks like smooth sailing for the usually overextended staff, which has just commenced its office Christmas party.
The proceedings are quickly interrupted by an urgent satellite transmission from Mr. Bigg informing them that a fiscal emergency requires them to perform an impromptu telethon to save the station from financial ruin, and, consequently, their own jobs.
Thus inspired, the rag-tag crew hustles to perform a variety of holiday-themed acts requested by phone from viewers in exchange for monetary pledges. The result is an evening of song, satire, sentiment and fast-paced slapstick comedy in a Yuletide vein, surely a gift from the Spuradical players’ own burgeoning bag of goodies.
“The holidays are typically filled with planning, pandemonium and presents,” Esch observed.
“Every member of the family should consider taking a break from the decorating, cooking, shopping, wrapping, endless football games and greeting cards and treat themselves to hearty laughter and the enjoyment of live entertainment.
“‘Boughs of Folly’ is like a present to themselves and another great form of seasonal togetherness,” Esch said. “So, reservations are strongly recommended.”
The Salado Silver Spur Theater delights in reviving a bygone era of family entertainment, offering its trademark blend of live vaudeville acts, live music, plays and classic cinema. Weddings, reunions, business conferences, concerts, field trips, dances, even customized private shows are held in the historical venue, with catering available from the Stagecoach Inn and nearby restaurants.
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
* WSPR-TV staff members — played by (L-R) Tom Rolls, Karen Ewton, Tony Blackman, Mary Bentley — try to save the national Christmas Eve telecast with an impromptu interpretation of “The Nutcracker.” (Photo by Bearcave Productions)
* Most of the staff at fictional WSPR-TV, with the exception of Kelly Van Cleave (center), return this year for newest holiday chapter at the fictional Salado station, including (standing) Karen Ewton, the secretary, Grainger Esch, the station manager; Tony Blackman as the jingle singer; and (seated) Mary Bentley as the ad mgr./jingle singer and Tom Rolls as “Earl Duke” the maintenance man.
mirthful staging of an “on-the-air” radio variety show, Esch said. The seasonal scenario is conceived, written and performed by a cast of veteran performers, The Spuradicals, continuing the Silver Spur’s tradition of homespun, heartfelt, original family entertainment. 
