Pictures from 2001's "The Almost Just-So Stories"

In 2001, the UU Players put on the world premier of Rebecca Wright's "The Almost Just-So Stories." Below are some pictures from the production:

Cast surrounds Rebecca Wright, who wrote the musical.

If you can identify the characters and actors in any of the pictures above, please comment below so we can add the information. Thanks!

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Weekly news from the UU Players

For information about rehearsal schedules, cast members should check their email!

TEE SHIRTS!
Don't miss out on the cast and crew tee shirt! This is a fundraiser for our group, and a keepsake for you! The order form will also be available at rehearsal on Friday and Sunday at coffee hour and rehearsal. The deadline is Sunday, so don't delay! Thanks for your support! If you can't make it in over the weekend, you can contact Cindy Wilbur at lunadaughter@comcast.net.

COSTUMES!
We need a sewing machine, and optimally, a portable one! Can anyone help with this? We need a machine that can be used at church.
Our play is set in the 1950s. We need farm clothes and fairgoer clothes. Overalls, button down short sleeve shirts, sundresses for the fair, jeans, rubber boots or work boots, sandals, other fifties-era clothes and footwear.
We're still figuring out the animals. They may be solid color sweats, so please check your closets! Thanks very much!
Contact Amy Barr-Saxena for more information or with offers to help: barrsaxam@gmail.com or 232-3435

BLOG
Our blog is accessible through the website -- www.uuplayers.org -- and the webmaster Steve M-C is looking for contributors! If you've taken photos or have something to say about rehearsals, the show, past UU Players experiences, please chime in!

FACEBOOK
There have been some questions about the Facebook page that our enterprising Wilbur (Sam Kauffman) set up for the UU Players, mostly from adults who haven't ever been on Facebook. Don't worry! You can look at it if you like (looking requires registration with Facebook) but no one is required to read the Facebook page or set up a Facebook account. It's just something nice that Sam did for the troupe and it should help generate some interest among the teen Players and their pals, which is great for us! The Facebook page is separate from our website and blog, which can be accessed by anyone who goes online.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Mastering some pretty tough music

UU Players gathered in Fiske Hall to rehearse on Sunday afternoon.

After taking the stage Friday night for the first time -- for a few minutes anyway -- the cast focused on singing at Sunday afternoon's rehearsal. Duncan, our director said that "Charlotte's Web" has some of the toughest music that the troupe has ever tackled. That's the bad news. The good news is that Duncan is convinced the cast can handle the challenge. Whew!

More of the cast trying to master the music!

And here's Duncan and Sherry, our assistant director, paying rapt attention:

Finally, here's Sam, who's playing Wilbur in this year's production:

Thanks to Mary Majerus-Collins for taking photographs today!

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Cast List for "Charlotte's Web"

1st fairgoer -Grace Luipold
1st spectator- Daniel Padberg-Bartoo
1st spider - Abby Connor
1st woman at fair -Elizabeth Narwold
2nd fairgoer - Wesley Saxena
2nd spectator -Mary Majerus-Collins
2nd spider - Christine Tulikangas
2nd woman at fair - Maggie Brown
3rd Fairgoer - Connor Brown
3rd spider -Morgan Levitt
Announcer - Bobby Iwerson
Avery (Brother) - Kiernan Majerus-Collins
Barker at fair - Alex Healy
Bat -Avery St. Germain
Charlotte - Sara Conner
Concessionaire - Katie Konigsberg
Doctor - Dick Brigham
Edith (Aunt) - Lisa Smith-Horn
Farmer with potato at fair - Brianna Meredith
Fern - Delaney Wilbur
Gander - Andrew Krebsbach
Goose - Phoebe Evans
Homer (Uncle) - Bill Meredith
John (Dad) - Ron Porta
Judge - Sam Palczewski
Lamb - Naomi Padberg-Bartoo
Lurvy/Livvy (Farmhand) - Kayla Lanza
Martha (Mom) - Jen Krebsbach
Official at fair - Natalie Padberg-Bartoo
Owl - Wesley Saxena
Photographer - Kasey Miller
Reporter - Gabriella Smith-Rosario
Sadie - Joyce Schirm
Scantily clad woman - Wendy Kaufman
Sheep - Alaina Monts
Spelling Girl - Sarah Healy
Templeton - Steve Theaker
Uncle (Aunt) - Sandee Kush
Wilbur - Sam Kaufman
Woman - Olivia Poriello

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

UU Players stakes out space on Facebook

Sam Kauffman, who's playing Wilbur in the current production of Charlotte's Web, set up a Facebook page for the group today. Take a look at it here, if you can, and sign on as a friend if you're a Facebooker.
Way to go, Sam. Let's spread the word everywhere we can.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Starting to sound like a show

The beginnings of a show are starting to come together.
Director Duncan Bockus called the whole cast to rehearse again today and focused on songs, but not before providing more inspiring words and some encouraging information.
Artist Maude Cronkite, who has worked on sets for the UU Players in the past, is back again, Duncan told the cast. He said she will be designing the set for Charlotte's Web and doing the painting.
"Maude is a wonderful artist," Duncan raved, adding that she now has her own studio in Hartford and will be doing most of the work there.
Duncan tried to explain that Maude's work will be able to be changed for various scenes and will look "like a bamboo curtain" in how it is displayed -- a task he left to Sam Lanza, tech czar. Sam tried to figure out how the heck he was going to pull that one off.
Duncan also announced that Kim Richard, a talented choreographer who has worked on many UU Players productions, will once again help the cast get all their dancing feet moving in the right direction.
The return of Maude and Kim was music to our ears, but Duncan didn't stop with announcements. He praised the group, telling them they were great last week. Then he put them to work on the music.
Most of the people hadn't seen any of the music until today, but UU Players Committee member Gretchen Fountain, who was listening, sounded pleased when she said it was starting to sound "like a show."
The songs are tougher than expected, though. Veterans, including Steve Theaker, agreed that the music is tricky.
"It's a learning process for everybody," said Duncan. "We're gettin' there. It's a process that is going to take some time."
Nobody worked harder today than pianist Julie Rockmore, who is longing for a second pianist to help share the joy -- and the burden -- of playing the challenging score.
Anybody know a willing and able pianist looking for a way to make the world a better place through theater?

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

What A Mornin'

"Mornin' ... mornin' ... what a mornin'."
And with that, from the show's first line, many of the play's main characters gathered for rehearsal last night began to sing "Charlotte's Web" together.
Duncan Bockus, the director, had the cast sing together to get the hang of the show. Nobody had to pull off a first-night solo, to Phoebe's relief.
Scores were handed out to some of the cast members who have a lot to learn. Sam Lanza, one of the members of the committee that oversees the UU Players, warned everyone not to write anything more than a few notes in light pencil on the scores because the books need to be sent back to the publisher in April without damage.
A full cast rehearsal is slated for Sunday afternoon from 1 to 4 p.m.
It looks like everything is coming together quickly. Hopefully, a few minor issues can get worked out Sunday so that a full cast list can be released.
As an aside, anyone connected to the UU Players is encouraged to write about their thoughts and experiences for this blog. Pictures are also welcome. Let's pull together to produce an ongoing record of what we're doing!

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

The first day of the new show

The cast for Charlotte's Web is all set -- though it was nip and tuck until the last minute -- and we're ready for another great musical production.
Duncan Bockus is back as the director after a two-year hiatus. He's been at the helm for many of the group's best shows over the years.
Today, with the cast surrounding him in folding chairs, Duncan told everyone what to expect from him.
He said he wants the actors to show imagination on stage, to try things and to make the characters their own.
"Every line," Duncan said, "you have to find out what's important in that line" and make it come alive.
"Every one of you has that capability," he said.
Duncan warned that he's sometimes a little gruff.
"I'm going to pick on you like nobody ever has," he warned, but not because he's mean-spirited.
Instead, he said, it's about doing the best possible job to make the show sing.
"I want every one of you to feed off each other's energy and joy," Duncan said.
The new assistant director, Sherry Williams, a 30-year veteran of teaching junior high school drama, got in the spirit as well.
"This is a magical kind of effort we do," she said. "That's what we create here."
After the introductions, and getting a quick overview of the group and the way it runs, the cast began the first reading of the show.