Wheaton Drama

WDI President Stan Austin is accepting applications from members for the position of 2019/2020 Artistic Committee Chair. This individual will work with the chairs of the Play Reading and Musical Play Reading Committees, WDI Board representative(s), and at-large members to propose a slate of shows for the 2020-21 season.   Download the application form: WDI Artistic Chair Application 20-21

Deadline to submit the application has been changed to Sunday, June 15, 2019. The term of this position runs from Sept. 1, 2019 through Aug. 31, 2020.   More details can be found in the WDI bylaws, which can be found on our website. Other specific questions can be sent to wdipres2017@gmail.com.

Wheaton Drama (WDI) proudly announces auditions for the hilarious comedy, Murdered to Death, by Peter Gordon.  Directed by Annie Walker-Bright and produced by Rebecca Poole-Dumper.

Auditions will be held Sunday, January 6 and Monday, January 7, 2019 starting at 7pm, with callbacks as needed on Tuesday, January 8^that 7:30 p.m.  Auditions will be held at Wheaton Drama’s Playhouse 111, located at 111 N. Hale Street, Wheaton, Illinois.  Auditions are open, with no appointments required.  Cold readings from the script and sides will be provided for each character at auditions.

Murdered to Death will run March 22 through April 14, 2019; Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 3pm. Performances will take place at Wheaton Drama’s Playhouse 111, located at 111 N. Hale Street in downtown Wheaton.

Synopsis:

Murdered to Death is the first in the ‘Inspector Pratt’ trilogy of spoofs of the Agatha Christie ‘whodunnit’ genre, with a dash of Inspector Clousseau thrown in for good measure.

The play, set in the 1930s, takes place in an English manor, slightly worse for ware, with worn out decor and furnishings.  It introduces the inept and bungling Inspector Pratt, who battles against the odds and his own incompetence to solve the murder of the house’s owner. It soon becomes clear that the murderer isn’t finished yet; will the miscreant be unmasked before everyone else has met their doom or will the audience die laughing first?

Characters:

The characters in Murdered to Death are all deliberately based upon ‘whodunnit’ stereotypes. All of these characters are caricatures of typical English gentry, but according to director Walker-Bright, “My experience in directing most comedies shows that the humour works best when they are played relatively ‘straight’.”  Character ages below are for guidance only and can be varied, provided that the overall balance is maintained.  Director Walker-Bright gives the following advice: “I would rather see huge characters at first.  Show no fear in presenting over the top performances as one is then able to be pulled back if necessary.”

Mildred– Late fifties. Moderately wealthy owner of Bagshot House.

Dorothy– Mildred’s niece. Late twenties and rather plain but very appealing.

Bunting– The butler. Sixties. Pedantic and rather creepy.

Colonel Charles Craddock– Early sixties. Dresses in tweeds. Confident but over the top bluster.

Margaret Craddock– The long-suffering but acerbic wife of Charles.

Elizabeth Hartley-Trumpington – Mid twenties. Attractive and stunningly dressed. Very high society.

Pierre Marceau– A french art dealer in his early thirties. An exaggerated french accent.  Will need to hear cockney from this character as well.  Aha!!!!

Joan Maple – A spinster in her sixties. Amateur sleuth. Think of all the Miss Marples you have ever seen and this is Joan Maple.

Constable Thomkins– Young, bright uniformed village policeman, but well aware of Inspector Pratt’s pratness!!!!

Inspector Pratt – Inept, posing and clumsy. Thinks he so clever but we know better.  A master of malapropism, but this is not intentional.

Audition forms will be available at the theater during auditions or you may download for completion here: Murdered to Death Audition Form

Contact Director Annie Walker-Bright with questions at Bebrightannie@aol.com.

Wheaton Drama is a non-equity theater and offers no pay. Cast members will be required to complete membership with Wheaton Drama in order to participate.

A reminder to our members that the annual election of Governors will be held at our general meeting on Tuesday, May 15 at 7:30. The following slate was presented by the Nominating Committee at the April membership meeting:

Wheaton Drama, Inc. Board of Governors Proposed Slate FY 2018-19

Nominees – to take office July 1, 2018

Education – Elyse Willis (running for 2^nd term)

Secretary – Jackie Haiser (running for 1^st term)

Treasurer – Jim Van De Velde (running for 1^st term)

Facilities – Don Dumper (running for 1^st term)

Current Governors

President – Stan Austin (continuing term)

Vice President – Jay Pauer (continuing)

Sales – Barb Giblin (continuing)

Past President – Mike Boyna (continuing)

Marketing – Zach Gibson (mid-term replacement for Rob Reinalda)

As per our bylaws, there can be additional nominations made at the meeting, but any person being nominated must be present and agree to be nominated.

Questions? contact Past President Mike Boyna at pastwdipres2017@gmail.com.

The Board of Governors seeks a talented visual artist to be its next Design Director, beginning with work for the 2018-19 season.

Those interested in applying should fill out and return (by March 15) the application form: WDI-Design-Director-application-revised_2-14-18

The job description is below:

The Design Director is responsible for the concept to completion of all print and online promotional materials for Wheaton Drama.
These include a unique concept and design for each season, based on the shows to be produced, in the form of a large banner, brochure, etc. Each individual production will require a unique design, as well as multiple print and web pieces based on that design.

There is some pay.

Download the application here: WDI-Design-Director-application-revised_2-14-18

STUDENTS “ACTING IT UP” AT WHEATON DRAMA

Classes for Grades 1-8;
Fall session: Sept. 5 through Oct. 10
(Make-up date, if necessary: Oct. 17)

This six-week workshop is designed to strengthen acting “muscles.” Through acting games and exercises, students will work each week on a different aspect of acting technique including: movement, voice, characterization and pantomime. Teamwork, focus and listening are added benefits that youngsters can derive from this workshop.

To apply the skills they’ve learned, students will also rehearse a short 15-minute skit to be performed at the end of the final class.

New sessions will be posted throughout the year as registration opens (roughly a month before the class starts).

All sessions will be on Tuesday afternoons at these times:

Grades 1–4: 4 p.m. to 4:55 p.m.
Grades 5–8: 5 p.m. to 5:55 p.m.

Tuition: $100 per session per child

Note: Classes are subject to change based on enrollment. Registration for each class will be open one month before the class begins. If there are not enough students enrolled in any given session, the class may be canceled. Notification of a canceled class will be sent out one week prior to the start of class; all money will be refunded.

Staff: Cindy Bolds is excited to join us again this year as our after-school instructor. Cindy is a longtime WDI member who taught most of the after-school classes last year. She is a certified teacher’s aide.

All instructors undergo an extensive background check.

For more information, please contact Elyse Willis at wdieducation@wheatondrama.org, or call 630.260.1820 and leave a message about registration.