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Broadway Boot Camp taps into local talent

Broadway Boot Camp taps into local talent

By Cynthia Prairie ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC T he finale for Weston Playhouse’s first ever Broadway Boot Camp nearly brought down the house Friday afternoon as parents, family, friends and members of both the Playhouse’s Young Company and its professional cast gave the 20 student actors a standing ovation. (Click on any photo to launch […]

Upcoming events: Learn about new recycling law; sip coffee with Chester Police; bid farewell to Hales; 'General' airs at FOLA; flea market in Ludlow; library book sale set; dine and chat with author on 1960s, 'Silver Palate' cookbook writer; music at Grounded4Life; and 'Glass Menagerie' kicks off Masters series at Weston

Upcoming events: Learn about new recycling law; sip coffee with Chester Police; bid farewell to Hales; ‘General’ airs at FOLA; flea market in Ludlow; library book sale set; dine and chat with author on 1960s, ‘Silver Palate’ cookbook writer; music at Grounded4Life; and ‘Glass Menagerie’ kicks off Masters series at Weston

For more upcoming events, click here for The Chester Telegraph calendar. To be included in our Upcoming events briefs, email Susan Lampe-Wilson at calendar@www.chestertelegraph.org. Photos welcome. No PDFs, please. Community Aug. 20: Londonderry Group to discuss new recycling law In 2012, Vermont’s legislature passed the Universal Recycling Law, Act 148. Esther Fishman, recycling  coordinator for […]

'Road to Where' with energy, wit and intelligence it's worth the trip

‘Road to Where’ with energy, wit and intelligence it’s worth the trip

By David Lampe-Wilson ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Other Stage at Weston’s Rod and Gun Club has been transformed into a warm, intimate faux Irish pub, complete with tables and chairs at which audience members can consume a liter or two of ginger beer as they enjoy the Weston Playhouse’s latest production, The Road to […]

'Guys and Dolls:' Great possibilities when it finds right pace

‘Guys and Dolls:’ Great possibilities when it finds right pace

By David Lampe-Wilson ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC High-rolling gamblers, low-life gangsters, free-spirited showgirls and sanctimonious soul savers take to the stage in a workman-like version of Guys and Dolls, playing through Aug. 22 at the Weston Playhouse. Filled with wit, heart and hummable songs, Guys and Dolls is based on Damon Runyon’s stories “The Idyll […]

Jamie Townsend artwork featured at NYC gallery

Jamie Townsend artwork featured at NYC gallery

Springfield artist Jamie Townsend’s artwork will be featured at the New York City Agora Gallery in Chelsea from Friday, July 31 to Thursday, Aug. 20. The exhibit, Idiosyncratic Expressions, features the works of eight artists who, according to the gallery, offer “themes from the past, present, and future in an exhibition of nostalgia and re-imagination. […]

Powerful vibrancy to Weston Playhouse's lean 'Other Place'

Powerful vibrancy to Weston Playhouse’s lean ‘Other Place’

By David Lampe-Wilson ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC While Weston Playhouse’s Main Stage provides a space for lavish music and dance productions, its Other Stage concentrates on honing small gems in bare-bones productions. The emphasis at the Other Stage is on character and intimate playing, and its current production The Other Place offers a host of […]

BIG BUZZ, LITTLE BUZZ: Local carver takes young Tennessee apprentice under his wing

BIG BUZZ, LITTLE BUZZ: Local carver takes young Tennessee apprentice under his wing

By Shawn Cunningham ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC Summer school never looked — or sounded —  quite like this. For the past week, Barre Pinske has been teaching a master class for one in chainsaw carving at his Depot Street studio in Chester. That’s nothing out of the ordinary except Pinske’s student is a 14-year-old who […]

WPTC's 'Peter and the Starcatcher' is 'fast-paced, deliciously daffy'

WPTC’s ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ is ‘fast-paced, deliciously daffy’

By David Lampe-Wilson © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC The power of the imagination, once freed, seems limitless and releasing that power is the task set forth by Peter and the Starcatcher, the five-time Tony Award winning play now on stage at the Weston Playhouse. You really have to admire how the cast takes the stage, […]

'Pump Boys and Dinettes' serves up non-stop, high-octane fun

‘Pump Boys and Dinettes’ serves up non-stop, high-octane fun

By David Lampe-Wilson © 2015-Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse serves up a heapin’ helpin’of piping-hot, southern-fried jubilation with its opening production Pump Boys and Dinettes, an unpretentious evening of song, dance and musical fun. The show, seen during a preview performance, has a slim thread of a plot that runs through it, but that never […]

Chester quilter Ippolito makes history with top two awards from state quilt fest

Chester quilter Ippolito makes history with top two awards from state quilt fest

Norma Ippolito of Chester received the top two awards at the Vermont Quilt Festival held this past weekend at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction. Along with a ribbon for Exceptional Merit, her quilt, “Celestial Sedona,” won ribbons for Best of Show and the Governor’s Award for the best Vermont Quilt. This is the […]

Weston's 'Junie B. Jones' a sugar cookie delight for kids, adults alike

Weston’s ‘Junie B. Jones’ a sugar cookie delight for kids, adults alike

By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC There are many things to look at in judging whether a show is successful or not. There are the performances, of course, but there’s also lighting, sets, costumes, staging and choreography among others. When it comes to a show for kids, however, there’s one more thing – […]

Vermont venues offer a summer of musicals, dramas and comedies

Vermont venues offer a summer of musicals, dramas and comedies

By David Lampe-Wilson © 2015 – Telegraph Publishing LLC Vermont’s summer months offer an array of pleasures – from long hikes on hidden trails to backyard get-togethers with friends and family. In addition to the natural wonders of a short, cherished season, we also look forward to the arrival of the summer theater season. From […]

Weston Playhouse offers discount tickets to Vermonters

Weston Playhouse offers discount tickets to Vermonters

The Weston Playhouse Theatre Company kicks off its 79th season with a family-friendly performance schedule and discounts for Vermonters. “There’s something for everyone on our stages this year,” says Producing Artistic Director Steve Stettler, “and with our ability to offer major local discounts, we hope that our neighbors from throughout the state will come make […]

Weston Playhouse offers two summer theater programs for students

Weston Playhouse offers two summer theater programs for students

The Weston Playhouse Theatre Company is offering two fun theater opportunities for students this summer. Weston’s Student Ambassador Program provides 15 students with free admission to all seven summer shows, and an opportunity to discover how professional productions go from planning to stage. Backstage tours, first read-throughs, tech rehearsals, actor/director talkbacks and more are part […]

Weston Playhouse awarded $15,000 NEA grant

Weston Playhouse awarded $15,000 NEA grant

The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company a $15,000 grant to, in part, support the newly developed American Masters Series, which seeks to bring both iconic and contemporary master theater works to the stage. American Masters launches late this summer, with Tennessee Williams’ drama The Glass Menagerie, which will […]

Weston Playhouse Theatre Co. wraps 8th annual Artists Retreat

Weston Playhouse Theatre Co. wraps 8th annual Artists Retreat

The Weston Playhouse Theatre Co. concluded its 8th annual Artists Retreat with an Artists Salon and Reception at the Wilburton Inn in Manchester on Saturday, May 2.  Actors, composers, directors and playwrights who had spent the week living and working in Weston spoke about and shared examples from their work before an invited group of theater […]

Upcoming literary events include Independent Bookstore Day at Misty Valley Books; expanded Story Time at Wilder; reading with pups in Putney; ‘Story of Vermont’ in Chester; and plant donations sought to benefit Rock Library

May 2: Local authors fête Independent Bookstore Day Saturday, May 2 is Independent Bookstore Day, a national observance that points out the importance independent bookstores have as community champions of reading and writing. On that day, Misty Valley Books, on the Green in Chester, will host five local authors: Rick Blaisdell of Chester; Bill Walters […]

Weston Playhouse honored with Actors' Equity diversity award

Weston Playhouse honored with Actors’ Equity diversity award

Weston Playhouse Theater Company has been awarded the 2015 Rosetta LeNoire Award from the Actors’ Equity Association, recognizing its long commitment to diversity in casting,  programming and the cultivation of new works. Only one LeNoire Award is given out annually. Weston artistic producer Steve Stettler accepted the award on April 10 in New York City […]

Weston Playhouse presents Broadway Boot Camp for teens

Offering high school students an opportunity to learn what it takes to be a Broadway performer, Burr and Burton Academy is partnering with Vermont’s oldest professional theater company in presenting The Weston Playhouse Theatre Co.’s Broadway Boot Camp in Manchester from Monday, Aug. 3 to Friday, Aug. 21. After working with the cast of Weston’s […]

103 Artisans Marketplace showcases works of three New England craftsmen

103 Artisans Marketplace showcases works of three New England craftsmen

103 Artisans Marketplace is featuring 3 Guys Makin’ Stuff, highlighting the works of woodcarver Mike Earle, Joseph Bedard, who creates reclaimed wood furniture and bowls, and metal artist Payne Junker, through Sunday, March 29 at the gallery. Junker’s work combines traditional ironwork techniques combined with plasma torch and heat, movement and play of light on […]