Director's Note & Press Release: House on the Cliff

Here's the director's note for my first show directing with Houghton College.  This show will always have a special place in my heart.  I loved it from the get-go.

I read several scripts before settling on House on the Cliff.  In order to preserve the mystery, as well as the element of surprise I was determined to find a lesser known play.  I had never read anything by George Batson, but took an instant liking to this one.  It preserves the traditional aspects of a good mystery while avoiding clichés.  I thought the central plot was very unique and found the characters to be interesting and fresh. 

     I’ve had a great experience working with this cast.  We’ve had a lot of fun together.  It will be a shame when the production concludes and we no longer have an excuse to get together anymore.  They have each put a lot of hard work into this show and I, like you, look forward to seeing the finished product.

-Nic


Below is the press release that went out to local papers.  Hilary actually wrote this one.

Houghton College will be presenting a murder mystery this Halloween weekend! It’s the perfect show for a spooky evening, so bring your friends, family, everyone!

In George Batson’s House on the Cliff, a widow (Alice Browning) and her step-daughter (Rachel Stowe) struggle to heal from a recent family tragedy, while the arrival of two strangers (Eric Mikols and Carly Trask) brings an atmosphere of uncertainty into the equation.  Death lurks around every corner. Who is safe? And who will save the household? 

Join us for a time of intrigue and suspense this Halloween weekend! Shows are 7pm on October 29, 30, and 31 (plus a 2pm matinee performance on the 31^st) in the Tysinger Auditorium at the Houghton Academy (9790 Thayer Street, Houghton, NY). Tickets will be available at the door. Contact Director Nic Gunning at Nicolas.Gunning05@houghton.edu with any questions.

Hilary Gunning 

Houghton College

Press Release & Director's Note: Art

Here's the press release and director's note for Valley Theatre's second show, Art.  This one was directed by Hilary and Amanda.  These were written by Hilary.

Press Release
The Valley Theatre of Houghton, NY is back this September with a vibrant production of Yasmina Reza's

Tony award winning play "Art". This is the Valley Theatre's second show, coming after the well received musical from last September, "She Loves Me!"

Now veterans from that production Ethan Stowell and Mike Cox are joined by their former director, Nic Gunning, for this critically acclaimed comedy. In it, long-time friends Marc, Serge, and Yvan exchange amiable banter and biting sarcasm as they struggle to reconcile their mounting differences.

Join us at 7pm on September 10, 11, and 12 in the Houghton Fire Hall for an evening of comedy, irony and drama. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online or at the door. Visit our website, [www.facebook.com/valleytheatre], or email thevalleytheatre@gmail.com for more information.



Director's Note:

     We have wanted to put on a production of Art since reading it as students.  We were immediately captured by its easy, effortlessly comical dialogue and the completely real definition of friendship it constructs, but never really thought we could pull it off until watching Nic, Ethan & Mike working on it together.  The innate camaraderie

they share gives their portrayals a natural flow.  Now, we are so pleased to be able to share it with you.  We hope you will embrace as we did the quick banter, frank phrasing and exquisitely awkward pauses that make up this Tony Award winning play.

Director's Note: Telephone Roulette

For Valley Theatre's second production we did a set of two shorter plays.  We began with Jack Finney's Telephone Roulette which centered on two bored female friends (Amanda Cox and Noelle Winkens) looking for a date for the weekend.  The main feature was Yasmina Reza's Art which focused on the strained friendship of three guys (Mike Cox, Ethan Stowell and me).  Both used the same set.  I directed Telephone Roulette and Hilary & Amanda co-directed Art.  Here's my note from the program.

Director’s Note:

     I am so thrilled to be getting the opportunity to bring some of Jack Finney’s work to life on stage.  I have been a fan of his novels since accidentally stumbling across a copy of Time& Again nearly 10 years ago.  As soon as I discovered that, aside from being a prolific novelist, he had also tried his hand as a playwright, I was determined to track down a copy for The Valley Theatre. As it is quite an obscure work by Finney, this very well may be the first production of Telephone Roulette since 1956!