Chester Theatre Group

Save the date!

Auditions for Adam Bock’s play “The Receptionist”, directed by Jeff Knapp, will be held on Sunday, October 11 and Tuesday, October 13 and 7:30 PM at the Black River Playhouse.

The Receptionist is a dark comedy about office life… and it might be about torture.  Or not…

To let Samuel French summarize:  “At the start of a typical day in the Northeast Office, Beverly deals effortlessly with ringing phones and her colleague’s romantic troubles. But the appearance of a charming rep from the Central Office disrupts the friendly routine. And as the true nature of the company’s business becomes apparent, The Receptionist raises disquieting, provocative questions about the consequences of complicity with evil.”

Character Breakdown:

Beverly Wilkins (late 40s-50s), the receptionist:

Lorraine Taylor (late 20s, mid-40s), A co-worker. Single.

Edward Raymond. (Early 50s) Their boss. A young grandfather.

Martin Dart (Mid-30s), Married, with a child

The audition will consist mostly of script readings.

Actresses auditioning for the role of the receptionist, should have a one-sided telephone call prepared.  Portray the OTHER person’s story using only your side of the conversation.  There’s a lot of that sort of thing in the play that may be difficult to convey in a cold reading, so being able to sell your ability to listen and react will be key.  You’ll also be asked to read from the script.

Due to popular demand, here are pages from the script that show Beverly’s one-sided conversation.  Feel free to familiarlize yourself with this instead of preparing your own: The Receptionist – Beverly Side

The show opens November 21 2009 and runs into December.

“A deceptively complex work that intends to reinvent the concept of the office comedy, The Receptionist plays with the idea of who knows how much and how good a thing that ultimately is.” – Tom Avila, Metro Weekly

“The genially mundane goings-on in this blandly average workplace are throw into macabre relief when … a single, jarring line of dialogue sets the calm surface of the play rippling with creepy currents.” – Charles Isherwood, New York Times

This Saturday, August 29th at 10:00 AM we will be gathering at the theatre to Clean Out the Shed.

We are looking for any and all help.

Wear your grubbies and if you have them, bring a pair of gloves.

We hope to be done by lunch time so the more hands on deck the better and quicker the task will be completed. And for all the hard workers there will be dogs and burgers and chips and soft drinks to be had….if you are not into getting that dirty – you can come and volunteer to man the barbeque grill! Either way, please let Ellen know if you can make it or not…if you can, just get your work gloves or your hot dog tongs and come, help and catch up with each other…

It’s a great way to get involved!

One November Sunday (TBA), CTG and the 4As will present a staged reading of Alan Ayckbourn’s Man of the Moment.

Vic Parks is a celebrity criminal who has written his autobiography and is now living in a villa in Spain.  Seventeen years later, TV show host Jill Rillington intends to bring him together with Douglas Beechey — the unassuming clerk who foiled the robbery.

General admission tickets are available for $5 by calling the box office.

Once again, CTG has been honored by New Jersey Association of Community Theatres with nominations in major categories in the 2009 Perry Awards.

Our production of On Golden Pond is nominated in 7 categories, including Outstanding Production of a Play.

Our production of Home for the Holidays is nominated as Outstanding Production of an Original Musical.

Congratulations to all nominees! The awards dinner will be held September 20, 2009 at the DoubleTree in Somerset.

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play

• Ellen Fraker-Glasscock, On Golden Pond

Outstanding Costume Design for a Play

• Cast, On Golden Pond

Outstanding Properties

• Lynn Hart, Pat Dougherty, On Golden Pond

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play

• Scott Hart, On Golden Pond

Outstanding Production of a Play

• Lou Savarese (Producer), Scott Hart (Director), On Golden Pond

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play

• Rich Maloy, On Golden Pond

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play

• Eileen Waite, On Golden Pond

Outstanding Production of an Original Musical

• Roseann Ruggiero (Producer) and Mary Saarmann (Director), Home for the Holidays

Candid photos from our production of Nine.