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!