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First theatre festival starts June
20 at Aurora Theatre
By
Tanya Carroll
Special to GwinnettForum.com
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., May 15, 2008 -- Eight community theatres from
all over North Georgia representing 100 years of performance will
descend upon Aurora Theatre to participate in the first Gwinnett
County Community Theatre Festival starting June 20.
This two-week festival will feature a wide variety of avocational
theatre offerings from Shakespeare to Southern Comedy and even a
play in Spanish. Although the participants may vary from beginner
to folks who hold advanced degrees in theatre, they all participate
for the same reason---pure love of theatre.
Aurora Theatre: Site of the two-week festival |
All performances will be held in the intimate grandeur of Aurora
Theatre the last two weekends in June with shows running on both
its Family Stage and the Studio concurrently. The Gwinnett County
Community Theatre Festival offers participants the chance to perform
in a world class venue and work alongside professional arts administrators
and technicians.
All of the groups involved are non-profit and proceeds from the
festival will help to fund their future programming. For those who
are not able to get their fill of live theatre, a Festival Pass
offers unlimited admissions to any one patron for one low price.
The festival will bestow two awards; Festival Favorite for the
group that sells the most tickets, and Best Poster for artistic
poster design.
Anthony Rodriguez of Aurora Theatre explains: "It's like a
pot-luck dinner, only on stage. We are thrilled to be able to offer
such an amazing line up our first year. We are confident that this
festival will become one of the best arts events in the state, some
might say that it already is."
Participating in this year's festival:
- County Seat Players---Gwinnett County's longest running
community theatre.
- Lionheart Theatre Company---the resident company of the
Norcross Cultural Arts Center.
- New Dawn Theatre---performing in Duluth at Red Clay Theater
Arts Center.
- New London Theatre---just opened a storefront theatre
in their hometown of Snellville.
- North Fulton Drama Club---known for Shakespeare al fresco
in Roswell.
- Compañia Teatral Interludio---one of Georgia's
only Spanish language theatrical performance groups.
- Town and Gown Players---the oldest community theatre
in Georgia producing continuously since 1953. The company has
made its home in the Athens Community Theater since 1968.
- Winder-Barrow Community Theatre---now residing in the
new Colleen O. Williams Theater in Winder.
The Festival schedule at the Aurora includes:
- June 20 at 8 p.m. and June 21 at 1:30 p.m. in the Studio: New
London Theatre presenting the Best of the New London One Act
Festival; Family Stage: County Seat Players presenting A
Bad Year for Tomatoes by John Patrick.
- June 21 at 8 and June at 22 1:30 p.m. in the Studio: Winder
Barrow Community Theatre presenting Steel Magnolias by
Robert Harling; Family Stage: North Fulton Drama Club presenting
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.
- June 27 at 8 p.m. and June 28 at 1:30 p.m.in the Studio: Teatro
Interludio La Cuota del 25 Percent; Family Stage: New Dawn
Theatre presenting Dearly Departed by David Bottrell and
Jessie Jones.
- June 28 at 8 p.m. June 29 at 1:30 p.m. in the Studio: Town &
Gown Players presenting Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet;
Family Stage: Lionheart Theatre presenting Radio TBS (Trailer
Park Broadcasting Scandals) by Mark L. Smith.
Ticket prices are $15 for adults, and $12 for seniors and students.
With the festival pass you may attend as many performances at the
festival as you like for one price: $40 for adults and $30 for seniors
and students. For reservations, call
678.226.6222 or go to www.auroratheatre.com.
With Bob Barr in race, stranger twists may
be coming
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
MAY 16, 2008 -- After all this hoopla of the major national party
candidates contesting to see who will be their nominees, where are
we now?
Brack |
The Republicans have chosen their standard bearer in John McCain.
While the Democratic winner isn't quite official as yet, it appears
that it will be Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton seems to have so little
chance that most everyone is seriously counting her out.
So, if McCain and Obama are the nominees, what do we have? In both
candidates, there is a residual of non-support by many in their
party. At best, each party's nominee is no better than a second
choice for many. Both McCain and Obama have not appealed to the
mainstream of their parties.
For McCain, his stance on several issues sets him apart from other
more mainstream Republicans. He is viewed by many in his party as
something of a maverick, not always walking the straight party line.
His moderation on several subjects makes him plain suspect to them.
For Obama, many see him as an extreme opportunist, and a Johnny-come-lately,
not listening to nor wanting advice from the party regulars. These
bigwigs of the Democratic circles see him the same as do the bigwigs
of the Republican Party see McCain. Again, neither is the second
choice of these professional politicians, and many would not even
want their nominees as the third or fourth choice.
But….both nominees will be the candidates of their parties,
and no matter, the professionals are stuck with them. The question
becomes: just how strongly will they support their candidates. Will
these professionals hold their nose while they support the party,
or will some of them simply stay away from the polls?
More than ever in the election of 2008, it seems to boil down to
individual voters giving maybe lukewarm support to their candidates.
And then this week we come to former Georgia Congressman Bob
Barr, who announced he will seek the Libertarian Party candidacy.
It could make Mr. Barr something of a spoiler in the race, particularly
for Mr. McCain. Add to this scenario that the independent voters
may especially this year be the deciding factor in this year's race.
Will these independents choose a moderate 71 year old Republican…..or
will they choose a young black candidate that came out of nowhere
to win a nomination……or will they simply defy both major
parties and support someone who offers an alternative to both these
parties in Bob Barr?
Remember, Mr. Barr says that he offers to people who are hungry
for an alternative to the status quo who would dramatically cut
the federal government. At the same time, Mr. Barr advocates pulling
American troops out of Iraq. Both these points will appeal to many
people. Perhaps they will appeal enough to greatly influence the
election. Remember, 19 percent of the people supported the last
major third party bid, for Ross Perot!
Yet the winner, we presume, will probably come from the major parties.
While McCain seems to be the candidate of conservatism, this doesn't
engender the same spirit as the Obama campaign has generated among
newcomers to politics. There may be something of the aura of the
John Kennedy era associated with Obama, who seems to electrify voters
in ways that McCain will never electrify them.
We're pleased with the excitement and interest in the political
process this year, with so many more people voting. But politics
can take strange turns. We'll have to stay tuned.
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is the Gwinnett
Chamber of Commerce. From answering your questions and providing
a host of useful information, to promoting growth in our county,
there are people working every day to help make Gwinnett a place
where businesses thrive and success lives. For more detail, go to
www.gwinnettchamber.org.
Going
away
Another great cartoon by Bill McLemore:
Duluth
to honor American troops in ceremony May 24
On May 24, Memorial Day Weekend, the City of Duluth will honor
American servicemen and women. The City of Duluth, in conjunction
with American Legion Post 251, will declare May 24 Blue Star Salute
Day.
A Blue Star Service Banner displayed in the window of a home is
an American tradition to let others know that someone in the home
is serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
At 6 p.m. that day on the Town Green, there will be a Memorial
Service along with a ceremony of recognition for our active duty
U.S. Armed Forces, our National Guard and Reservists along with
their families. The American Legion Riders, a sanctioned organization
of veterans and their motorcycles, will perform a "Flag Retirement"
to honor those who have served and are serving, for those who are
still missing and those who did not return.
Air Force Reserve
Band to play at Suwanee concert May 23
The 43-piece concert band of the United States Air Force Reserve
returns to Suwanee's Town Center stage for a Memorial Day Weekend
concert Friday, May 23. Also dropping in will be members of the
Silver Wings parachute demonstration team.
The Sugar Hill Latter-Day Saints Choir will open with a 7 p.m.
performance. Around 7:30 p.m., members of the Silver Wings parachute
team will land at Town Center Park. The U.S. Air Force Reserve concert
band performs at 8 p.m.
The concert, which is sponsored by the Gwinnett Daily Post,
is free, but attendees are asked to bring a canned good to donate
to the Gwinnett County Food Bank.
The concert band's varied repertoire ranges from classical overtures
through Sousa marches to Broadway show tunes, popular music, movie
themes, and patriotic favorites.
An airborne tradition since 1958, the Silver Wings, or Command
Exhibition Parachute Team, is part of the U.S. Army Infantry based
at Fort Benning. The team's mission is to demonstrate advanced freefall
techniques, while being available for research and development of
start-of-the-art precision freefall techniques and equipment.
Food and beverages will be available for purchase or bring your
own picnic, but no glass bottles or alcohol may be brought to Town
Center Park. Bring low-back lawn chairs, blankets, and a canned
good to be donated to the Gwinnett County Food Bank.
Art on Courthouse
Square coming to Lawrenceville May 23-24
On Friday-Saturday, May 23-24, the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse
grounds come to life with a colorful selection of works created
by local and regional artists. Artwork will include paintings, prints,
pottery, jewelry, photographs, and more!
Art on the Historic Courthouse Square will be from 10 a.m. to 8
p.m. on Friday, May 23 ending with the kick-off moonlight blues
concert. Come back for day two on Saturday with friends and family
and stroll the fine arts and crafts from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 24.
Art on the Historic Courthouse Square is brought to you by The
Dunwoody Arts and Crafts Guild and The Lawrenceville Tourism and
Trade Association. For more information, visit www.visitlawrenceville.com.
First Georgia Gwinnett
College study abroad now underway
The first faculty member ever hired at Georgia Gwinnett College
has tapped his impressive network of international business connections
to create the College's first-ever study abroad offering, a virtual
"dream trip" for business and marketing students.
On May 12, GGC Business Professor Spero Peppas and 14 GGC students,
who have completed a series of intensive pre-departure classes,
embarked on a 10-day whirlwind study tour of Belgium, France and
Switzerland. The trip will include VIP visits to the Coca-Cola headquarters
in France, the European Parliament and UPS headquarters in Belgium,
the Swiss Bankers Association in Switzerland, and more.
The trip marks the pinnacle of an upper-level business and marketing
course at GGC designed to help students enhance their intercultural
communication skills while examining the theories, practices, differences,
and similarities of a diversity of companies and organizations,
and their functional areas of operation.
Each student will keep a daily journal during the 10-day trek,
and do a research paper and presentation as part of the course.
Peppas says: "We'll also do a Swiss Cultural Experience where
we drive over the mountains, into the Alps, from the French-speaking
part of Switzerland to the German-speaking portion." The group
will also take time to ride the famous bullet trains from Brussels
to Paris, and from Paris to Montreux, and see the Louvre Museum,
Notre Dame, and Versailles.
A blog is posted on the College's website, www.ggc.usg.edu
and click the "Study Abroad" site. The students are posting
this site regularly while on the trip in order to keep classmates,
faculty, staff, and family updated as they tour Europe.
Graphic Communications
announces its "Green" Certification
Graphic Communications Corporation (GCC) of Lawrenceville announces
its "Chain of Custody" certification by the Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC). GCC joins a select group of certified commercial
printers in Georgia that can provide eco-conscious customers with
paper with the FSC logo. This logo ensures that its papers are a
product of certified, well-managed, sustainable forests worldwide
and that the Chain of Custody----from forest to pulp manufacturer
to paper manufacturer to paper merchant to printer----has not been
broken.
Ann Stallard, GCC executive vice president, says: "This process
is basically the food chain of print. More and more of our customers
are as concerned about the environment as we are. With FSC certification,
we take another step in 'going green' and being responsible stewards
of our planet. We have trained our staff and written our own manual
to handle FSC certified paper separately, from segregated storage
to packaging identification, from delivery tickets to invoicing.
And our clients who specify FSC certified paper benefit by incorporating
the FSC logo on their printed pieces."
GCC has long been in the forefront of sustainability practices,
offering customers recycled paper options, recycling waste paper,
scrap metal, plastic wrap and cardboard, and using plant-based inks
(no alcohol or petroleum based chemicals). It also updates equipment
for a cleaner, more efficient work environment, adhering to the
best green practices in the printing industry. GCC is in the process
of taking sustainability and energy conservation to other levels
as well, soon recycling energy from its Heidelberg presses.
GCC President Hoyt Tuggle says: "Our commitment is to be good
corporate citizens and to ensure that forests are there for future
generations. This includes being environmentally and socially responsible
to the earth and its inhabitants." Graphic Communications Corporation
was founded in 1972 and is a full service commercial printer and
point-of-purchase communications. company
- An invitation: What
Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your
best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have
read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus
what book you plan to read next. --eeb
Atlanta
native among first recorded Western folk singers
Charles
Nabell, an Atlanta native, was one of the first singers to record
traditional Western folk songs, either commercially or for folk
song archives. Born blind on January 13, 1887, Charles E. Nabell
was the son of Mary and William Nabell. His father was a native
of Germany and worked as a gardener, day laborer, and cotton-mill
worker. Nabell was one of at least six children, but little else
is known about his early life. Soon after his father died in 1914,
Nabell moved to Joplin, Mo., where he established himself as a local
entertainer and drew his income from performing music and working
at odd jobs such as broom making.
Nabell's brief recording career began when he traveled to St. Louis,
in 1924 and recorded four songs for the OKeh Record Company. Most
of his career recordings consist of country music songs performed
in the high, pinched, nasal vocal style that was typical of central
Georgia country music at the time. His guitar playing was confined
to the strumming of chords. Among the recordings from this first
session is his best-known and first Western song, "The Great
Round Up." Two other recording sessions followed. In 1925 he
recorded eight songs, including another Western song called "Utah
Carl," a version of the traditional "Utah Carroll."
"Utah Carl" (backed with "Follow the Golden Rule")
was his only recording to be issued on a 12-inch 78 rpm disc. Later
that year he recorded six more songs for OKeh, but no Western songs.
No other Nabell recordings are known to have been made.
Nabell's recording of "The Great Round Up" is considered
something of an oddity by some folk-music scholars because the variant
melody he used originated in Montana, and there is no indication
of how Nabell came to know it. A probable explanation comes from
interviews conducted by field researchers of people who remember
southern Missouri in the 1920s. As the zinc and lead mining industry
expanded in the state, workers began to arrive from the West. Bars
and entertainment establishments sprang up in the mining boom towns
as a result of this influx, and Nabell likely expanded his repertoire
through interactions with musicians from other areas of the country.
Nabell disappeared from the music scene with the coming of the
Great Depression and the subsequent closing of many recording companies,
including OKeh. He died in Joplin in 1970.
Something changes whenever
you make this move
"The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give."
-- American Poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892), via Cindy Evans,
Duluth.
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