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BUCKHAM ALLEY THEATRE PRESENTS "Shanty"
AN ORIGINAL PLAY BY Joe Mishler

Joe Mishler, a local playwright known for his plays about Vietnam, has written a play about the Civil War. “Shanty” is about the relationship between two aging Union soldiers as they struggle to put the past to rest.

“Shanty” will open in Fenton on August 12, 2010.

Stephen Dennis owned a shanty next to the Manistee National Forest near Big Rapids. He and others would spend from April until the snow fell at the shanty. He and his buddy Virgil served in the Army of the Potomac from Antietam to Gettysburg. At Gettysburg their best friend was killed and they made promises that they couldn’t keep. Now, late in life, they are plagued by the past. The spirits of their friend and his fiancée are restless. Stephen and Virgil come together one last time to solve things and they are helped by Stephen’s thirteen year old granddaughter.

“Shanty” is a full length drama. The cast includes: Jonathan Smith, Mary Whitt, Becky Coggins, JR Nunley, and Jon Coggins. Jonathan Smith has appeared with the Fenton Village Players numerous times. Jon Coggins and JR Nunley are long time Flint area actors and both recently appeared in Buckham Alley’s Escanaba in da Moonlight and Escanaba in Love productions. Mary Whitt recently appeared in Escanaba in Love, she has also appeared in productions at Fenton Village Players and Holly High School. Becky Coggins has also appeared in numerous plays. The play is directed by Joe Mishler who has written four other plays produced by Buckham Alley Theatre.

“Shanty” will be performed over three weekends at different locations. “Shanty” will be performed at The Fenton Village Player’s Playhouse at 14197 Torrey Rd. on August 12, 13, 14, 2010, at 7:30pm, and August 14 & 15 at 2pm. “Shanty” will be performed at the Clio Cast & Crew Theatre on August 19, 20, 21, 2010, at 7:30pm, and on August 21, 22 at 2pm. The final weekend for “Shanty” will be a Kearsley Park in Flint on August 26, 27, 28, 2010, at 7:30pm, and August 28, at 2pm.

The Fenton Village Player’s Playhouse is located at 14197 Torrey Rd. in Fenton. The Clio Cast & Crew is located at Theatre 57, 2220 W. Vienna Rd, Clio, MI. Kearsley Park is located at 120 E. Fifth St., Flint MI. It is off from Robert T. Longway near Mott Community College and performances will be held in the Pavilion.

TICKET PRICES: adults $10, students/seniors $8. Ticket prices are different at Clio. For reservations call 810-964-0791 or the Greater Flint Arts Council 810-238-2787.

“Shanty” is sponsored in part by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 175 Genesee County and other contributors. Buckham Alley Theatre also receives support from Greg Fiedler and the Greater Flint Arts Council.

For further information call Joe Mishler at 810-348-9960, or e-mail him at jmm1967@comcast.net.

Click here to download flyer...
 

Contact:
Joseph Michael Mishler
President, Buckham Alley Theatre Board of Trustees
810-348-9960
jmm1967@comcast.net

A message from the President...

October 2009

Like my predecessors I love the bare stage and the challenge of producing and directing a play. Buckham Alley Theatre provides those types of opportunities. We are Flint’s only Alternative Theatre.

Since becoming president in 2007 Buckham Alley Theatre has undergone radical changes. Buckham Alley Theatre has survived the past two years without a permanent home. We have done it with the unwavering support of Greg Fiedler and the Greater Flint Arts Council. They have offered us a temporary home, a place to store things, and more. We have survived in a rotten economy. At this moment, money is a serious issue.

While we all miss the old theatre, it is time to move on.

During my first year as President we were fortunate enough to receive a generous grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation. This grant enabled us to present five plays over the course of the year. Playwrights Forum was produced through a mini-grant from GFAC.

We have been producing plays and will continue to do so. Our productions have taken place in a number of venues. Cost is always an important consideration. Attendance has been up and down. Part of it is our fault. We have learned that not having a building requires you to think and act differently. Recent productions include "Escanaba In Love", "The Underpants", Moonlight and Magnolias", and "Big Criminals".

Our Board of Directors is a dedicated group consisting of Jon, Coggins, Steve Munsell, Mary Powers, Dennis Sykes, Jr. Nunley, Alaina Wiens, Barb Mirsky, Pat Naughton, Bill Toll, and Christine Lambert. These members have directed, produced, starred in, and donated much to Buckham Alley Theatre’s survival.

The 2009-2010 season offers us more opportunities. We have a new vice-president Amber Dillard. We started the season with a successful world tour of "Escanaba in da Moonlight". We have several shows planned for after the first of the year. We will be announcing them after our November 9th board meeting.

What can you do to help us? A building would be nice. We need actors, directors, tech people, people who know something about publicity, and, more importantly, people who love theatre. We need places to perform that are free or don’t charge much. We have several openings on the Board of Directors.

If you would like to help, but are unable to do so physically, we could use financial support. Any donations would be greatly appreciated. Money goes toward productions, a building fund, and other needs of the theatre.

If you have suggestions for places to perform, plays to produce, or anything else, feel free to contact me.

Buckham Alley Theatre has been around for 26 years and we plan to extend that even further.

Help us keep the theatre alive and well in our region.

Joseph Michael Mishler

Awards

The following awards were presented at the September 29, 2009 Annual Meeting.

Jon Coggins for his commitment and dedication to Buckham Alley Theatre. Jon has been involved recently in 5 productions and is our past president.

Matt Coggins, Jon’s son, for his commitment and dedication to Buckham Alley Theatre. Matt has been involved in five recent productions. Not only has he acted, but he has done tech and artwork for the theatre.

Jeff Johnson was awarded Volunteer of the Year for 2009. He helped us immensely with the "Escanaba in da Moonlight" production at Almont. He is also a past board member.

Mary Powers was awarded the Volunteer of the Year for 2008. Mary is past vice president and long time board member. She has directed, acted, and produced plays. She also handles our phone and reservations.

Steven Munsell was awarded Volunteer of the Year for 2009. Steve is our current secretary and long time board member. He has acted in recent productions and has designed the sets. He also handles box office and concessions for the theatre.

We presented Greg Fiedler and the Greater Flint Arts Council with a plaque thanking them for their generous support.

About Buckham Theatre -
Flint's Original "Alternative" Theatre

Buckham Alley Theatre first opened its doors in 1983, as the Agree Reality Theatre. It was located on the third floor of the old Fisher Wallpaper & Paint building on the corner of Third and Harrison.

Birthed by psychologist Sadie Agree Schrieber, the troupe of players improvised in Psycho-Drama. In 1987, under the direction of Jonathan Round, who added great breadth, the company moved to its 512 Buckham Alley location - the old Beach & Stull Printing Warehouse and changed its name to Buckham Alley Theatre.

After extensive renovations, the theatre was opened to the public, with Chris Coddington bringing directing style. The theatre became a host facility for outside groups as well as a producer of its own shows. After some financial difficulties the theatre became (almost exclusively) a host facility and for a short time completely closed its doors.

Never to die an infant, the theatre did some reorganizing, acquired some funds, reopened its doors and pressed on. Remaining primarily a host facility, except for the Back Alley Players Comedy Improv Troupe (the old Psycho-Drama people), the theatre continued to survive by the skin of it's teeth until 1990 when we again started producing our own shows.

Continuing seasons have brought many outside productions and class offerings to Buckham as well as a variety of core (Buckham produced) shows. The Back Alley Players’ Improv Troupe continues to offer improv classes and performances sandwiched between more traditional theatrical offerings. Throughout the year Buckham offers children’s productions including the Annual Mano Breckenridge Memorial Youth Theatre Production, Bunny Tales, Tales From The Pumpkin Patch, Christmas Tales and others. We provide a venue for original theatrical plays in our Annual Playwright’s Forum (now in it’s 14th year) as well as non-traditional performance art, music and experimental theatre.

A major fundraising effort by our members and matching grant support from the Greater Flint Arts Council and the Ruth Mott Foundation in 2006 brought the theatre's finances back "into the black" and we began working with consultants to reorganize and look for a new location (the sale of our building was becoming inevitable as renovations and growth in the downtown area began encroaching upon us).  In May of 2007, the sale of our building forced us close our space at 512 Buckham Alley before we were able to secure a suitable new home. We have temporarily moved into the Greater Flint Arts Council building at 812 S. Saginaw St. (just a block down the road). Our productions will be staged at various venues in the Flint area until we have found another permanent location.

For more information about Buckham Alley Theatre productions and classes, contact the theatre at 810-964-0791.

Or email us at Buckham Alley Theatre

The original BAT building lives on in the hearts of thousands of theatre fans and hundreds of actors and theatre technicians.

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