User:Jganae/sandbox/Gamut Theatre Group

Gamut Theatre Group is a Harrisburg, PA based theatre group specializing in Shakespeare and classical theatre. It is the combined theatre companies of the Popcorn Hat Players Children's Theatre (PHP) and the Harrisburg Shakespeare Company (HSC). Gamut Theatre also provides educational classes in the summer and school year for students aged 5-18.

History

In 1991, J. Clark Nicholson and his wife Melissa Nicholson founded the Popcorn Hat Players Children's Theatre in Harrisburg. In 1994 they started the Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival (later renamed the Harrisburg Shakespeare Company). By 2001, they had merged the two companies into one, The Gamut Theatre Group (GTG). Their mission, as stated on their website, is to "focus on presenting and preserving classic plays, classic stories, and classic ideas". Since the theatre's genesis they had rented space in a mall complex in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; however in 2014 the company bought the former First Church of God on fourth street in Harrisburg. The church is a historical building that had not been in use for some time. After a capital campaign, GTG unveiled the main stage of their new theatre in November of 2015. By 2018, the Alexander Grass Second Stage had opened for Popcorn Hat productions.

Actor/Manager Model

Gamut Theatre has a full time staff of actors consisting of around six members at a time, not including Clark and Melissa Nicholson. These actors will also take up some administrative responsibility as well as their acting job. Some of these jobs include, building sets, public relations, box office, writing grants, or "even clean the bathrooms" as it says on their website. These full time staffers are known as the Core Company. This system of having the full time staff act and run the theatre is the same system that William Shakespeare used with his theatre group, the Lord Chamberlain's Men.

Core Company

The Core Company is the group of actors and staffers employed by the theatre. Not only are they actors, but they also take up other roles of the theatre as well as teach Gamut Theatre School classes.

Current Core Company

• Clark Nicholson, Artistic Director (Since 1991)
• Melissa Nicholson, Executive Director (Since 1991)
• Ross Carmichael, Resident Scenic Designer and Technical Director (Since 2017)
• Erin Shellenberger, Office Manager (Since 2019)
• Lyeneal Griffin, Public Relations Manager (Since 2019)
• Abby Carroll, Resident Theatre Manager (Since 2019)
• Kim Greenawalt, Director of Development and Dramaturgy (Since 2020)

Past Core Company

• Sean Adams (2005-2006)
• Ellie Alayne (2008-2010)
• Amy Alleman (1997-1999)
• Hannah Avcin-Roda (2015-2016)
• Alex Bailey (2010-2012)
• Tara Bradway (2008-2009)
• Janos Boon (2019-2020)
• Robert Campbell (2005-2006)
• Krista Carter (2007-2008)
• Christina Closs (2010-2012)
• Kevin Cochran (2015-2016)
• Bill D'Agostino (2007-2008)
• Gabriella DeCarli (2015-2019)
• Maria Dever (1998-2005)
• Chris Dickson (2000-2003)
• Josh Drumwright (2001-2002)
• Alexis Dow (2006-2008)
• Bri Dow (2007-2015)
• Melissa Dunphy (2005-2006)
• Doug Durlacher (2004-2005)
• Zayn Garcia (2017-2018)
• Jeremy Garrett (2007-2010)
• Emily Gray (2012-2013)
• Tara Herweg-Mann (2013-2019)
• Theron Holmes (1999-2000)
• Michelle Kay-Smith (2015-2018)
• Jennie Kelly (2005-2006)
• Gwen Kelso (2002-2003)
• Jeff Luttermoser (2008-2009)
• Kate Magill (1999-2005)
• Eric Messner (1995-1998)
• Katie Miller (2012-2014)
• Ryan Miller (2000-2001)
• Will Mueller (2019-2020)
• Aneesa Neibauer (2018-2019)
• Alyx Nornhold (2017-2020)
• Andrew Nyberg (2015-2017)
• Norah Peach (2014-2016)
• Ian Potter (2006-2007, 2010-2012, 2013-2015)
• Mark Robinson (2002-2005)
• Peter Ruiz (2016-2017)
• Laura Sweeney (1995-1997)
• Amber Wagner (2003-2006)
• Nick Wasileski (2018-2019)
• Tom Weaver (2012-2019)
• Andy Webb (2020-2021)
• Ron Zapple (1998-2000)
• David Ramon Zayas (2009-2013)

Harrisburg Shakespeare Company

In 1994, Clark and Melissa Nicholson founded the Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival (now Company). They intended to bring the works of William Shakespeare and other classic works to Harrisburg. Each year the Theatre does a season of about 4 to 5 "mainstage" shows. These shows are put on by the full time actors as well as other local or professional actors. The HSC is the Visiting Resident Theatre Company of Penn State York, and it hosts Shakespeare-themed legal education programs in association with Dauphin County Bar Association. The HSC is a member of the Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA); in 2016, Executive Director of Gamut, Melissa Nicholson, was named president of STA. Her term ended in 2019.

Current Season

• Chekhov Comedy: Love Hurts! (an anthology of The Boor and The Marriage Proposal) by Anton Chekhov (September 12, 2020-September 27, 2020)
• The Zoo Story by Edward Albees (October 9, 2020-October 25, 2020)

Free Shakespeare In the Park

Each year, the HSC puts on a free production of a Shakespeare play in Reservoir Park in Harrisburg. This show is open to public auditions and is performed in June for three weekends. In 2018, to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Shakespeare in the Park, Gamut put on a production of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", as it was the first FSIP production in 1994

Productions

• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1994)
• Romeo and Juliet (1994)
• Julius Caesar (1995)
• Hamlet (1997)
• Twelfth Night (1998)
• The Taming Of The Shrew (1999)
• Two Gentlemen Of Verona (2000)
• King John (2001)
• Othello (2002)
• Much Ado About Nothing (2003)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (2004)
• Henry V (2005)
• King Lear (2006)
• Comedy Of Errors (2007)
• Love's Labour's Lost (2008)
• Cymbeline (2009)
• As You Like It (2010)
• All's Well That Ends Well (2011)
• Romeo and Juliet (2012)
• Measure For Measure (2013)
• Antony And Cleopatra (2014)
• Troilus And Cressida (2015)
• Merry Wives Of Windsor (2016)
• MacBeth (2017)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018)
• Much Ado About Nothing (2019)
• Hamlet (2021)

Educational Outreach

Starting in 2004, GTG began preparing one Shakespeare work a season to work and tour to middle schools, high schools, and colleges. The actors- usually consisting of entirely Core Company- take the show on the road hoping to expose children to Shakespeare in a new way. The production usually includes narrations by the actors throughout the performance to help the audience follow along. Usually, after the show, the actors engage in a "talk back" with the audience, where students can ask questions about the script, process, or characters, etc. The Educational Outreach show is open to the public for a few weekends in the season.

Popcorn Hat Players

In 1991, Clark and Melissa Nicholson founded the Popcorn Hat Players, a children's theatre specializing in classic storytelling. The Popcorn Hat Players consists of all of the Core Company members. Each season, the Popcorn Hat Players put on about 8 productions and tour 4 shows around central Pennsylvania. Most of the PHP productions are retellings of classic fairy tales, folk tales, and fables. Harrisburg Magazine has named the Popcorn Hat Players "Simply The Best" in Children's Entertainment. The PHP also runs a program called the Theatre Alive! program where they tour PHP productions to inner-city schools, which won the PHP a spot in the Top Ten Most Innovative Non-Profits in Central Pennsylvania by the Central PA Business Journal. On July 14, 2018, the Popcorn Hat Players celebrated their 25th anniversary by putting on a special performance with appearances from past and present core company members

Current Season

• Sleeping Beauty Once Upon Online (September 26, 2020-October 31, 2020)
• The Adventures of Little Red Riding Hood (November 13, 2020-November 22, 2020)

Gamut Theatre Academy

Gamut Theatre provides Theatre School classes to central PA students aged 5-18. The classes are separated by level, where a student starts in the first level and works their way up. There are currently five levels.

Theatre Basics

Theatre Basics is the first level offered in Gamut Theatre Academy. It is offered to students aged 5-12. The class teaches students the basics of acting. Stage directions, characters, projection, etc. At the end of the semester the class will put on a short play to exhibit the skills they have learned throughout the semester.

Theatre Basics II

Theatre Basics II is the same class as Theatre Basics. It covers the same curriculum, teaching students the basic skills they will need for future acting experiences. This class is for students aged 9-14. This class also puts on a play at the end of the semester.

Acting One

This class is open to graduates of Theatre Basics. It offers a more in-depth study of creativity and how to form a character more roundly and perform it on stage. This class is offered to students aged 8-14. This class will put on a play or showcase at the end of the semester to showcase their character work.

Acting Two

Acting Two is offered to students aged 10-18. Students in this class have graduated from Acting One. This class exposes students to a more challenging role. Students will experience different styles of theatre: improv, Shakespeare, comedy, Greek, etc. Students will perform a play or showcase to demonstrate their knowledge of the different roles and styles covered in the class.

Performance Class

Performance Class is the final step of Gamut Theatre Academy Theatre School. This class is offered to high school students who demonstrate the proper maturity and commitment. All students have been approved by the instructor to enter the class. These students will work on skills necessary in the theatre profession in the first semester and produce a play in the second semester, to be performed at the end of the spring semester.

Other Educational Programs

Gamut Theatre Summer Academy

In 2011, Gamut Theatre Academy started the Gamut Theatre Summer Academy (GTSA). It is a summer camp offered to students for more theatre training over the summer. The camp is four weeks long, and students can go for one week or all four weeks, or any combination of weeks. Each week sees the camp put on a new play for the parents of campers. The first week is Comedy Week, where students learn about Shakespearean comedies all the way up to modern comedy. The second week is Tragedy Week, where students will put on a Shakespearean tragedy at the end of the week. The third week is Greek Week, the week where students learn about the history of theatre, dating back to its earliest form. Students will put on a traditional Greek play at the end of the week. The fourth week is called "Page to Stage". this is where students are put into groups and they adapt their own play from a traditional fairy tale or folk tale. Each group usually has a student director which allows the older campers to learn other theatre skills.

The camp also offers a variety of classes such as Improv, Voice, Dance, Stage Combat, Acting, Writing, and more.

Popcorn Hat Camp

This camp is taught by the Popcorn Hat Players. It aims to teach kids basic skills. The camp is offered to students aged 6-12. At the end of the camp the students will put on a play, typically an adaptation on a traditional folk tale or fairy tale.

PHP Young Acting Company

In 2010, the PHP Children's Theatre put on its first production under the Young Acting Company (YAC). This is a show put on each spring consisting entirely of students aged 5-18.

Productions

• Snow White (2010)
• Robin Hood (2011)
• The Jungle Book (2012)
• Cinderella (2013)
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (2014)
• Journey to the West (2015)
• Snow White (2016)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2017)
• Robin Hood (2018)
• As You Like It (2019)
• The Cinderella Project (2020)

TMI Improv

TMI Improv Troupe is GTG's resident improv troupe. It was founded in 2007, and it has since become one of Harrisburg's biggest troupes in the growing improv scene. TMI performs on the reception lobby stage at Gamut on Fridays. Members of the troupe include Gamut co-founder, Clark Nicholson joined by various current and past Core Company members, as well as local improv performers.

Improvapalooza

April of 2016 marked the first annual Improvapalooza festival hosted by Gamut Theatre. This festival occurred on April 1, and was a large Improv festival where all of Harrisburg's top improv troupes were invited. Troupes would be scattered around the theatre performing their work, and at the end of the evening, all the troupes do one final act all together.

Notable Improv Troupes

• TMI Imporv
• The Oxymorons
• Harrisburg Improv Theatre (HIT)
• Safe Word

Stage Door Series

In 2009, a group of Gamut alum and former Core Company formed the Stage Door Series (SDS) ensemble. The mission of SDS is to present performances of classic literature to the public. All SDS productions are put on by volunteers, and all of the profits go directly to Gamut Theatre. SDS productions have included staged readings, original works, radio performances.

Performances

• The Conqueror Worm: An Evening With Edgar Allen Poe (2010)
• Shakespeare in Hollywood (2010)
• Nonsense & Narrative (2010)
• Fight 'Til the Last Gasp (2011)
• Sonnet Inspirations (2011)
• Dracula (2011)
• Rhinoceros (2011)
• Women's Voices: A Night of Poetry (2012)
• Under Milkwood (2012)
• Beowulf (2012)
• Classic Rock Cabaret (2013)
• The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow (2013)
• The Importance of Being Earnest (2014)
• Fight 'Til the Last Gasp: Cry Havoc (2014)
• Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines (2014)
• 1984 (2015)
• Shakespeare in Hollywood (2016)
• Choose Your Own Adventure: Space Vampire (2017)
• Tartuffe (2017)
• Gallathea (2018)
• Murderess (2019)
• The Monster Mash-Up: A Hybrid of Humor and Horror (2019)
• Journey to the Center of the Earth (2020)

Critical Reception

Critical reception of SDS has been overwhelmingly positive. Local magazines and critics have raved about the storytelling and the performances. The leading Harrisburg magazine and news source, PENNLive, writes reviews of local theatre productions and had this to say about:

Dracula

• "Dracula will give you a pause, stir your imagination and provoke your mind. It is good to encounter a show that dares to challenge the theatre and its audience to full participation." (September 22, 2011)

Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines

• "It's a more piercing look at the lives of women in any age, but viewed through a Shakespearean prism....Some you may wish did not end quite so soon." (September 20, 2014)

Importance of Being Earnest

• "Gamut Theatre Group's...production of Wilde's drolly incisive evisceration of the snooty set is an exceptionally entertaining evening of theatre...." (January 19, 2014)

References

• DeCarli, Gabriella. "Mission and History." Gamut Theatre Group. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 May 2017.
• DeCarli, Gabriella. "Staff." Gamut Theatre Group. N.p., 2016. Web. 20 May 2017.
• "2016-2017 Season." Gamut Theatre Group. Gamut Theatre, 2016. Web. 20 May 2017.
• DeCarli, Gabriella. "Harrisburg Shakespeare Company." Gamut Theatre Group. Gamut Theatre, 2015. Web. 20 May 2017.
• "Popcorn Hat Players." Gamut Theatre Group. Gamut Theatre, 2015. Web. 20 May 2017.
• "Stage Door Series." Gamut Theatre Group. Gamut Theatre, 2015. Web. 20 May 2017.
• "TMI Improv Troupe." Gamut Theatre Group. Gamut Theatre, 2015. Web. 20 May 2017.
• "Young Acting Company." Gamut Theatre Group. Gamut Theatre, 2016. Web. 20 May 2017.
• DeCarli, Gabriella. "Gamut Theatre Academy." Gamut Theatre Group. Gamut Theatre, 2016. Web. 20 May 2017.
• "Summer Camps." Gamut Theatre Group. Gamut Theatre, 2015. Web. 20 May 2017.

External links

• Gamut Theatre website[1]
• Gamut Theatre History [2]
• Gamut Theatre Staff [3]
• Yelp Page for Gamut Theatre [4]