Die Nasty and Eat Well with Summer and Smoke!

Die Nasty and Eat Well!

Patrons of Summer and Smoke at Walterdale this February get two great opportunities to make their ticket purchase go farther!

Die Nasty

Present your ticket stub or advance ticket for Summer and Smoke at the door for Die Nasty at the Varscona Theatre on the nights of February 11 or February 18 and you get Two tickets for the price of One!  Limit of two per customer. Redeemable only at the door on night of purchase.  No advance sales. Subject to availability of seating. 

Pack Rat Louie 

Use your Summer and Smoke advance ticket or ticket stub to book a special meal at Packrat Louie Kitchen & Bar!  Your ticket entitles you to up to $12 off a special meal package.  Some restrictions apply. 

Special dinner menu for patrons of the play:

1)  Choice of salad - Packrat Caesar or Ticinese Salad
2)  Choice of entrée - Chicken Supreme, Atlantic Salmon Fillet, Grilled Pork Chop
3)  Dessert - Sticky Toffee Pudding

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights only.  February 5-7, February 12 - 14, 2013.

Discounted cost of $32 per person plus GST.  No substitutions. Beverages not included.  18% gratuity will be added to the bill.

Call (780) 433-0123 to reserve seating.  If attending the play that evening a reservation time between 6 pm and 6:30 pm is recommended. 

An advance ticket or a ticket stub to the play "Summer and Smoke" for each customer must be shown to the waiter upon seating in order to activate the special menu.

A Little Bit of History about Summer and Smoke

On 6 October 1948, Summer and Smoke received its first performance at the Music Box Theatre, New York City, in a production staged by Margo Jones and designed by Jo Mielziner with Tod Andrews, Margaret Phillips, Monica Boyar, and Anne Jackson. The play ran for 102 performances.

In 1952, Geraldine Page played the lead role in a revival directed by José Quintero at the newly founded Circle in the Square Theatre in downtown New York. Her legendary performance is credited with the beginning of the Off-Broadway movement, putting both Page and Quintero on the map and vindicating the play itself. Page starred in an hour-long adaptation of the play on the radio series Best Plays in 1953 opposite Richard Kile. She would also to portray Alma Winemiller in the 1961 film version opposite Laurence Harvey earning an Academy Award nomination (as would Una Merkel playing her mother).

Information was taken from  wikipedia

Introducing Cheryl Vandergraaf - Nellie Ewell in Summer and Smoke

What is your role on this production? I play the part of Nellie Ewell, the adorable yet “precocious little imp” who is Alma’s young vocal student. She starts out as an energetic girl, who has found her crush and is head over heels for him. She abandons her preconceived notions of men (none of which were held in high esteem, due to her mother’s naughty habits with travelling salesmen) and, with some persuasion from “her” wonderful Dr. John, leaves town to learn how to become a lady at Sophie Newcomb’s Girl’s School. When she returns she has become quite the lady; her clothes and speech are most proper, but her youthful playfulness remains the same.

What drew you to this show? I have seen snippets of Summer and Smoke here and there – a scene for a theatre company, a monologue for a drama class – and it piqued my interest; it seemed like such a passionate play. When I met Rhiannon (assistant director) at U of A’s drama orientation and she mentioned auditions were being held at Walterdale, there was no way I was going to miss the chance to see what it was truly all about.

What is your background in theatre? My background in theatre starts out the same as many: school plays and Christmas plays at church. I found freedom in becoming someone I’m not under stage lights, so I pursued acting and attended Central Memorial High School, which has a program that specializes in theatre. After high school I took classes at the Company of Rogues Acting Studio and now I am studying drama at the University of Alberta. Being new to Edmonton, this is my first association with Walterdale.

Share with us a favorite memory involving either summer or smoke. My favorite memory… What a tough question – I could give so many answers!! I believe my favorite memory would be this past summer. My three friends and I were backpacking throughout Europe but hadn’t accounted for the Cannes Film Festival. We very rarely booked ahead, and this became a problem. After two nights in a lovely hotel in Nice, we were kicked out to accommodate those who had made reservations. Seeing how it was a Friday night and every room in the city seemed to be taken, my three friends and I took to the rocky beach and slept next to the ocean. Well, tried to sleep. Humans are not made to sleep on rocks. It was also a Friday night, so the beach was quite rowdy till the wee hours of the morning. We made plenty of friends and only one nemesis. Was the soreness the next day and immense exhaustion worth it, only to be able to say “I slept on a beach in France”? The answer is yes. Yes it was most certainly worth it.

Introducing Alan Westen, Sound Operator for Summer and Smoke

What is your role on this production? Sound Operator. Operates the sound console and all reproduction equipment during Technical Week and performance.

What do you do in your 'real' life? Currently I’m employed as a Marketing Designer with a North American based company with the head office based in Atlanta Georgia. My job entails supplying graphic elements to other branches in Canada and the west coast of the continental US.

What drew you to this show? Janet Maclean contacted me in September and asked if I would be interested in the sound operator position for this production.

What is your background in theatre? I’m a graduate of the Arts Administration and Visual Communication Programs at MacEwan University (formerly known as Grant MacEwan Community College). My major in the Visual Communications Program was 3 Dimensional Graphic Design. As well as Sound Operator, I’ve recently let it be known that I was interested in being more involved in the Master Builder role for a production. As well, I would like to learn the role of Lighting Operator and Set Designer.

Share with us a favorite memory involving either summer or smoke. Spending time around a camp fire and listening to the summer evening sounds.