"LADY SUSAN" Gets Its First Read-Through

On December 17th, the newly assembled cast of Lady Susan assembled at the Grand Theatre of Clarkdale for its first read through of the script. A little over half-way through, we took a break so the Actors could pose for a moment with the Stage Manager and Director for the 'Before' shot.
Watch this space for more!

'LADY SUSAN' Production Team Taking Shape!

The Staff and Crew for Verde Valley Theatre's March 2010 production of Lady Susan will be joining the Cast this Thursday, December 17 for the first production meeting and read through.  We are delighted to have assembled some of the most talented managers, technicians and artists in the Verde Valley to help create the show:


Director Michelle Lambeau will be assisted by Danielle Bonfig. Co-producer Guy Darland will double as lighting designer (on top of playing the role of Charles Vernon).  Amy Bayless will be stage manager. Our set will be put together by photographer Kitson Southward, assisted by Madison Leavens. Props will be created and managed by Cathy Ransom, and Sarah Ann Lesslie has agreed to take charge of costumes and make-up. Clemie Cyburt will lend a hand with the sewing, and James Ball, already appearing as Sir James, will arrange and perform our show's music. Jesse Majewski, who will also appear as Mr Johnson, has agreed to design the graphics and program. Carla Armstrong will be our House Manager, and we hope to secure the assistance of  Rachel Rehborg and Jessica Summers to operate sound and lights.


There's going to be plenty to do, and we would love to have you involved if you can join us! Contact the director Michelle Lambeau at michellelambeau@gmail.com or co-producer Guy Darland at ghdarland@gmail.com to find out how!

Announcing the Cast for "LADY SUSAN"

After a couple of well attended auditions this week, we are pleased to announce the cast for Verde Valley Theatre's March 2010 production of Lady Susan, as dramatized from Jane Austen's untitled work of c. 1794, by director Michelle Lambeau.


The title role of Lady Susan goes to Alyssa Majewski, longtime actress and director in her own right, and teacher of English at the Mingus Union High School (MUHS). Tera Ponce, MUHS Senior, will play the role of her daughter, Frederica. Lady Susan's brother-in-law, Charles Vernon, will be played by Grand Theatre manager and lighting designer Guy Darland. He is husband to Catherine, whose role is held by local musician and voice teacher Brittany Smith. Landscape photographer Brent Jones will make his stage debut in Arizona in the role of the dashing Reginald De Courcy. Ashly Lawler, currently enrolled in Yavapai College, is cast as Lady Susan's close friend and ally, Alicia, wife of the eminently respectable Mr Johnson, played by veteran actor and graphic designer Jesse Majewski. The cast is rounded off with the talent of James Ball in the role of Sir James Martin. James is well-known to theatre-goers throughout the Verde Valley since he has not only appeared on the Clarkdale stage a number of times, but is also Theatre and Choir Director for MUHS.

Announcing VVT's March 2010 Production of 'LADY SUSAN' dramatized from a Jane Austen piece by Michelle Lambeau

We are so pleased  to announce that Verde Valley Theatre has decided to stage an original dramatization of a minor work by Jane Austen for its March 2010 production.

This production will be a first for VVT: A rehearsed reading of one of its members' original scripts. The staging will be contemporary: we will forgo the traditional sets of so many of our shows and rely on lighting and sound to engage the audience's imagination while keeping up a strong pace as the action unfolds. We will be inviting viewers' input to improve the script. And we will be running the show for one week only instead of the usual three.

Though never published during her lifetime, Jane Austen completed this her first novel when she was around 19 years old. It was a novel of letters, a common literary device back in the 18th century. Little is known about the circumstances surrounding the creation of the manuscript. Jane Austen never gave it a title, and it was not published until many years after her death--even then, over strenuous though unexplained objections by other family members. The publisher simply named it after the main character, Lady Susan, and it became a sensation among Jane Austen devotees, such as your humble blogger. Even so, it was never counted among her major literary accomplishments, and has been relegated heretofore to collections catagorized as 'minor works' or 'juvenilia.' Shame!

Lady Susan is the 19-year-old Jane Austen's recounting of the eponymous heroine's romantic rampages through the hearts of the men she ensnares with her charms--and the wretched women she leaves in her wake. We follow her exploits as she grapples with the challenge of securing enough money to survive along with her daughter in a society determined to hold women in check by keeping them forever at the financial mercy of their menfolk. The one way out is matrimony. And matrimony has been the grail of romantic female aspirations since the dawn of money. 

Even at this early age, Jane Austen offers us all the insight into the deepest darkest motivators of social discourse which keep her as essential to understanding the human heart today as she ever was two hundred plus years ago. And she presents her story with all the wit and elegance of language that ensures her generation after generation of appreciative fans.

It is my plan for this production that cast and crew be given an opportunity to deepen their knowledge of this extraordinary writer, her gifts and the society in which she lived. In terms of stagecraft, we shall try to gain a little familiarity with English accents and intonation. And actors will be encouraged to overcome the acoustical challenges of our Clarkdale Memorial Auditorium.

Reminder: Auditions are this Dec. 9 and 10, 7 pm, at the Clarkdale Grand Theatre, 919 Main Street, opposite the 10-12 Lounge and the Classic Car Gas Station. The show will run from March 4-7, 2010, only. There are still plenty of ways to get involved, on or off stage, so please come to the auditions to get all the information.

You may also email the director at michellelambeau@gmail.com, or call 928.282.4664.

Thank you!

Michelle Lambeau

Writer, Director