A Vision of a Theater

It's wonderful to live in a place with a vision nearby, especially if it's your kind of vision and your kind of place.

There is so much that appeals to me about my new home. One of the most wonderful ones is the little old theater in the picture, revamped and upgraded but still oozing old-fashioned charm and redolent of popcorn and memories. I've written about it here before, but have not yet become jaded--if anything, I'm even more enchanted the better I get to know it.

I'll be involved in the Short Play Festival, helping choose the plays, directing one or two, and maybe even acting in one if there's a suitable role. We're accepting submissions now, but hurry, The deadline for submissions is tomorrow. All nine plays selected will be ten minutes long, and all will be about the movies, and they must come from someone with a residence, full- or part-time, in Ulster County, NY. I love the project and have great respect for my fellow judges/directors. Can't wait to read all the submissions--I've read eight and can tell you the quality is excellent and it's not going to be easy to choose. I'll get my next batch by next Monday and then we shall meet to select the nine best and most appropriate to our guidelines, hold auditions the weekend of June 1, and present the program the weekend after July 4. It's wonderful fun.

The theater is undergoing a major renovation to bring it up to code while retaining its old-timey charm. One of its big needs is a wheelchair life and we are raising funds to have that installed as soon as we can. You can vote for funds to help that happen here, and then we'll move on to other more glamorous renovation projects.

Next weekend will be the performance (Shiva Arms) I wrote about in my most recent post (advance tickets already on sale) and then comes the Short Play Festival. This is just the way I wanted to spend my retirement. Oh, and there's a beautiful movie playing tonight, Leonie, with Emily Mortimuer playing Isamu Noguchi's extraordinary mother. See you at the show!