Providence Players of Fairfax

Patrons, Donors & Fellow Artists,

We are a small theater company, but we have one big and important value at the core of who we are:  “commitment to community.”  We take that seriously.

As a result of the Coronavirus, we know that people are being impacted in significant ways:

• Risk of a life-threating illness
• Anxiety and fear
• Lost wages – due to furlough or layoff
• Lack of access to the essentials (food, medicine)
• Social isolation and loneliness

And though we can’t address all of these issues, we can provide some support to those who do.

Will you join us?

Today, we announce that we have established a COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund and will apply all donations given to us to help support those negatively impacted by this crisis. We have received donations in the form of donated tickets from show cancellations and are asking you to join us now to increase the impact these donations will have.  We will apply the value of these donated tickets to match all donations made to help others in our community during this pandemic.

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On Sunday January 19, a small group attended the WATCH (Washington Area Theatre Community Honors) nomination event at the Birchmere.  Many thanks to Mario Font for representing Providence Players as its WATCH liaison. We are pleased and proud to announce the nominations for Providence Players productions of And Then There Were None and Leaving Iowa.  And the nominees are:

Nominations for And Then There Were None

• Outstanding Hair Design in a Play – Beth Harrison & Robbie Snow
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Play – Beth Harrison
• Outstanding Properties in a Play – Tara Tripp & Kathy White
• Outstanding Set Design in a Play – John Coscia

Nominations for Leaving Iowa

• Outstanding Costume Design in a Play – Robbie Snow
• Outstanding Sound Design in a Play – Christopher Crockett
• Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play – Michael Bagwell as “Dad”
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play – Amy Griffin as “Mom”
• Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play – Charlene Sloan as “Multiple Characters”
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play – Bobby Welsh as “Don Browning”
• Leta Hall Outstanding Ensemble in a Play
• Outstanding Direction of a Play – Julie Janson
• Outstanding Play

Congratulations to all the nominees.  The WATCH Awards Event will take place at the Birchmere on Sunday, March 22.

On behalf of Providence Players of Fairfax, Director Amanda Ranowsky is pleased to announce the cast of Enchanted April, by Matthew Barber.

In this gentle and romantic comedy, two London housewives pool their savings to rent a villa in Italy for a ladies-only holiday away, reluctantly recruiting a pair of difficult upper-class women to share the cost and the experience. Against the backdrop of a country still reeling from World War I, the women join together under the Mediterranean sun, seeking a necessary balm of sunshine and renewal.  Soon joined by the villa owner, husbands and lovers, the four women clash — and then begin to bond and bloom.  Enchanted April won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New American Play in 2003, along with numerous Tony Award nominations.  Single tickets on sale now!

CAST
(* denotes Providence Players debut)

Lotty – Jessa Whitley Hill*
Rose – Andra Whitt
Caroline – Lindsey June
Mrs. Graves – Beth Whitehead
Costanza – Eleanor Tyler*
Mellersh – Christopher Crockett
Frederick – Chris Persil
Antony – Chuck O’Toole

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A remarkable director and cast present Picnic.  Opens Friday, March 20.

MEET THE DIRECTOR

Michael Donahue is a current PPF board member and has been actively directing and acting with Providence Players since 2009.  Also, an award-winning director, Michael directed August: Osage County in last year’s season as well as productions of Front Page, Calendar Girls and House of Blue Leaves.  Michael has an MFA in Theater Directing and was Artistic Director for Playhouse on the Square’s Professional Theatre for Youth in Memphis, TN and Associate Artistic Director for HITT Productions.

Q: Why did you want to direct Picnic? 

A: “The play Picnic takes place on just another Labor Day in the sleepy town of Liberty, Kansas when the train whistle blows signaling the anticipation both of a potentially disruptive arrival and the possibilities of adventure beyond the constraints of the town.  A pandora’s box of longings are released which results in an intense journey full of humor but also the mystery of the journey’s end.  This is a Labor Day that none of the characters will ever forget.  I was compelled to direct this story with all its theatrical possibilities.”

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By Matthew Barber
Directed by Amanda Ranowsky

Play Synopsis

In this gentle and romantic comedy, two London housewives pool their savings to rent a villa in Italy for a ladies-only holiday away, reluctantly recruiting a pair of difficult upper-class women to share the cost and the experience. Against the backdrop of a country still reeling from World War I, the women join together under the Mediterranean sun, seeking a necessary balm of sunshine and renewal.  Soon joined by the villa owner, husbands and lovers, the four women clash — and then begin to bond and bloom.  Enchanted April won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New American Play in 2003, along with numerous Tony Award nominations.

Providence Players of Fairfax is:

• A non-profit community theater troupe. All participation is on a volunteer basis. No members of the cast or crew are compensated.
• A membership organization. Membership is not required to audition. If cast, all actors (and in fact, all volunteers), are required to become members of Providence Players of Fairfax ($25 per individual or $60 per family – three or more) for the season (if not already a member).

Casting Announcement

Providence Players is casting 8 roles (5 Women and 3 Men).  No roles are precast, and all roles are open.  All backgrounds, ages, ethnicities welcome and encouraged to audition!  All welcome!

Download all three documents: Audition Announcement, Form and Theater Access Schedule.

Audition Dates

• 7:00 p.m. Monday, February 24
• 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 25
• Callbacks, by invitation only:  7:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 26

PLEASE RSVP to info@providenceplayers.org with the date you plan to attend.

Actors who audition one night may be asked to come back a second night, if available. You are not required to be available multiple evenings to be considered. The Director reserves the right to extend the audition period pending initial audition response. Read more

“This is an absolute gem of a production in an intriguing, more than intimate, space. Go see it. Leave the kids at home. Then look at each other and wonder.”

“The two actors, Ari Post as Thomas Novachek and Andra Whitt as Vanda Jordan give two of the best performances I have seen all year. They are, simply put, mesmerizing.” 

~Mary Ann Johnson, Maryland Theater Guide Critic.

(Read the full review by clicking the banner below)

Audience members shared:

“Wonderful performance… this show is smart, funny and surprising.”
“Fantastic! Very entertaining.”
“Excellent production in an intimate and fun space at The Italian Cafe in Falls Church.”  

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But tickets are already gone for the first weekend!  Three performances remain!

Don’t delay!

Thomas is a playwright and director, desperately in need of an actress. When Vanda arrives several hours late to her audition for a play based on a nineteenth-century erotic novel, Thomas is less than impressed. But Vanda’s masterful performance flips the script on his expectations and turns the session into a tango for dominance between actress and director, woman and man, a provocative exploration of gender roles and the intricate dynamic of artistic collaboration.  Hailed as “seriously smart and very funny” by The New York Times, Venus in Fur is a laugh-out-loud study of the politics of sex and power that’s guaranteed to charm and mesmerize.  This play contains strong language, sexual situations and adult content. Read more

A remarkable director and cast present Venus in Fur, by David Ives.  Opens Thursday, January 30.

MEET THE DIRECTOR

Jimmy Gertzog is a long-time member, marking over two decades of creativity at Providence Players.  He recently directed Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike in spring 2017 and the award-winning production of Side Man in early 2012.  Jimmy played Ed Carmichael in PPF’s revival of You Can’t Take It With You, and Jim in Big Tree Falls.  More often his credits come from technical roles, especially sound design, set construction, and lighting (Bobby Gould in Hell, Lovers & Executioners, The Front Page, Phantom Tollbooth, Calendar Girls, Of Mice and Men, Little Shop of Horrors).

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On behalf of Providence Players of Fairfax, Director Michael Donahue is pleased to announce the cast of Picnic, by William Inge.

On a sweltering Labor Day morning in a small Kansas town, the women of a quiet neighborhood on the wrong side of the tracks are preparing for the annual picnic. Their lives are disrupted when Hal Carter, a muscular and charming young drifter, hops off the freight train, and heads straight for Mrs. Potts’ hospitable home.  Hearts are broken and lives are changed, as Hal’s lively, dangerous, masculine energy wakes up the sleepy community.  William Inge’s Pulitzer Prize winning drama explores themes of sexuality, repression, restlessness, and rites of passage.  Picnic won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play in 1953, and featured Paul Newman in his Broadway debut.  Single tickets on sale now!

CAST

Madge – Jaclyn Robertson
Rosemary – Jayne Victor
Millie – Raeanna Larson
Irma – Anastasia Brunk
Christine – Tara Tripp
Mrs. Potts – Deborah Davidson
Flo – Sara Joy Lebowitz
Hal – Ari Post
Alan – Alex Marshall
Bomber – Mike Sarisky
Howard – Bobby Welsh

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On behalf of Providence Players of Fairfax, Director Jimmy Gertzog is pleased to announce the cast of Venus in Fur.

Thomas is a playwright and director, desperately in need of an actress. When Vanda arrives several hours late to her audition for a play based on a nineteenth-century erotic novel, Thomas is less than impressed. But Vanda’s masterful performance flips the script on his expectations and turns the session into a tango for dominance between actress and director, woman and man, a provocative exploration of gender roles and the intricate dynamic of artistic collaboration.  Hailed as “seriously smart and very funny” by The New York Times, Venus in Fur is a laugh-out-loud study of the politics of sex and power that’s guaranteed to charm and mesmerize.  This play contains strong language and adult content.

Cast

Vanda Jordan – Andra Whitt
Thomas Novachek – Ari Post 

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