Meeting scheduled for Masquers fall musical
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 11 months AGO
Mrs. Lovett (Cheri Barbre) has a gift for Sweeney Todd (Daren Vernon), the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, in last year's musical.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | January 6, 2016 12:45 PM
SOAP LAKE — People who want to work on the Masquers Theater 2016 musical, “The Little Mermaid,” are invited to a meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the theater lobby, 322 East Main, Soap Lake.
This isn’t the audition, said director Stacey Bresee; this meeting is for those people who want to work on the production behind the scenes. “We need folks to help with sets, costumes, props, choreography and lights,” Bresee wrote.
“I thought it would be good to get the planning going early in the year as we have to work around other shows all season,” she wrote. “This will be a big production, lots of different scenes (small and large), so this will mean many sets and costume changes.”
The musical is based on the Disney animated feature, which is based on the 1837 tale by Hans Christian Anderson. It tells the story of the undersea princess Ariel, who falls in love with a prince who lives on the land. The animated version was released in 1989, the theatrical version premiered in 2007 and a live-action film currently is in production.
The Masquers producers are working with the Wenatchee theater group Stage Kids to rent some of their sets, props and costumes, Bresee said. But the rest of the production – additional sets and costumes, all the choreography – will be the work of the Masquers cast and crew, she said. “It makes for each show to be one of a kind,” she said.
Masquers kicks off its 2016 schedule with “Them Three,” a trio of one-act plays, opening Feb. 12. One of the three, “Into the Window,” is an original work written by longtime Masquers actor Jeff Ames.
The company’s schedule also includes “Our Town,” the 1938 Thornton Wilder classic, directed by Cliff Bresee, with Stacey Bresee as assistant director. That’s another reason, along with some family obligations, why she wants to get a head start on preparation for the fall musical, she said.
The company also will present the world premiere of the original play “Aces are Feverish,” written by Spokane journalist and playwright (and former Columbia Basin Herald reporter) Matthew Weaver.
People who can’t make the meeting but want to work on "The Little Mermaid" can contact Bresee by leaving a message at the Masquers box office, 509-246-2611.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Moses Lake School District, teachers union reach tentative agreement
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Education Association announced late Friday night that the union has reached a tentative agreement with the Moses Lake School District. Classes will resume Monday, according to a press release from the MLEA.
Priest Rapids Dam oil spill still in cleanup stage
MATTAWA — People downstream of Priest Rapids Dam are being asked to look for evidence of oil on the waters of the Columbia River following a spill of mineral oil at the dam Wednesday. Department of Ecology officials are asking boaters to stay off the river between Priest Rapids and Pasco while crews work to clean up the oil, according to a PUD press release. Absorbent booms were put in the water to collect the oil downstream of the dam and are still there, said Christine Pratt, public information officer with the Grant County PUD, in the PUD press release. The booms will stay there until the Department of Ecology allows their removal.
Royal SD voters to decide on educational programs and operations levy in February
ROYAL CITY — Royal School District voters will be asked to accept or reject a two-year educational programs and operations levy request in a special election Feb. 10. If it’s approved, it would replace the district’s existing levy approved by voters in 2024. Royal Superintendent Roger Trail said the levy rate would remain unchanged.