Summer Theater, Music, and Art Opportunities

Muhlenberg Summer Music Theater is offering high school students behind the scenes theater internships; students must be 16 by May 1, 2016. Interns will receive a $400 stipend and spend the summer working with theater professionals and college students on two productions; Gypsy and In the Heights. Rehearsals are in the evenings May 24 – June 14, and June 21 – July 21 respectively, with performances scheduled for June 15 – July 3, and July 13 – 31, 2016. Internship application deadline is listed at March 1st! The Theater is also looking for technicians, costumers, carpenters, electricians, props tech, light and sound board operators, stage crew, costumers, and wardrobe crew. College students and professionals are welcome to apply for these paid positions – deadline is March 9, 2016. Muhlenberg Summer Music Theater is held on the Muhlenberg College campus, 2400 Chew Street, Allentown, Pa.

The deadline to apply for the juried art show held in Lower Saucon Township in June is March 19th. Cash prizes will be awarded. Applications are online for second annual Saucon Creek Arts Festival, scheduled for June 4th, 2016, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Heller Homestead Park, Friedensville Road, Bethlehem, Pa.

Wings of Hope, a local non-profit “uniting families impacted by cancer” and fundraising to fight the disease, is looking for singers for the three choirs performing at this year’s Wings of Hope Benefit Concert on June 26, 2016 at the Colonial Theater, Phoenixville, PA. Additional information on the music and the rehearsal schedule can be found on the registration form. The first rehearsal is March 12th, so don’t wait to sign up!

The Wings of Hope Benefit Concert is an uplifting event. It truly shows that when we join together the power of music and community can make a difference.

This will be another memorable evening, celebrating those who have lived with cancer and the lives of those who have passed.  The mood of this night is one of hope, gratitude and love.   Proceeds benefit Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania and For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation.

Big News:  this year there are 3 choruses!!!
WOH Chorus:  SATB
WOH Children’s Chorus (ages 8 to 18)
WOH Chamber Chorus:  SATB divisi (those seeking an extra challenge with a gorgeous a cappella piece; best suited for HS age and adults)

Who can sing in the WOH chorus?  Anyone!  The music is SATB.  Ideally the WOH chorus music is for Middle School aged children up to adults.  If you want to sing, then you can sing with us! There is no pressure for perfection.  Make a joyful noise and join this awesome group.  Children in elementary school may join the WOH chorus if they have sung in WOH before and/or if they are singing with a parent in the WOH chorus.  This is a great way to sing together with your children.  We have had young children sing successfully with us before; for supervision purposes, they just need to have a parent singing in the WOH chorus.

Sign Ups are now open for WOH Chorus 2016.

This is a great community event and it would be even better with your involvement!

And don’t forget to sign up to be part of Make Music Upper Perk, this year on Tuesday, June 21, 2016. Anyone of any age who can make any type of music is welcome to join in the celebration. This free, all volunteer, all open to the public, event takes place indoors and outdoors throughout the Upper Perkiomen Valley. If you’d like to set up and perform on your front porch or in a venue of your choosing  (for which you have permission), let us know and we’ll happily add you onto the program so the audience can find you.

Volunteers Wanted!

Just a reminder that we are holding our first volunteer meeting this Saturday, February 20th, 2016 for MMUP 2016 – everyone interested in volunteering is welcome to attend the meeting; 10 a.m. at Java Good Day Cafe, 231 Main Street, East Greenville, PA

MMUP 2016 is up and running; online registration for musicians opened on February 1st, we’ve begun putting up Make Music Upper Perk 2016 flyers, and plans are underway for this year’s Kickstarter fundraising campaign that will begin on March 1, 2016.

The first volunteer meeting for this year’s Make Music Upper Perk event will be on Saturday, February 20, 2016 at 10 a.m. at Java Good Day Cafe, Main Street, East Greenville. MMUP is an all volunteer non-profit event, and it takes a great many volunteers in the days and months leading up to June 21st, as well as volunteers throughout the day, and evening of Make Music Upper Perk. There are many roles to be filled; from publicity to student outreach to roadies to site hosts to social media mavens to “maestros of spontaneous fun,” and more!

You can download flyers and postcard handouts to print and distribute today.

You can also sign up to volunteer (even if you can’t attend this week’s meeting).

New for MMUP 2016 – Songwriters in the Round

Guest blog by Tom Cooney

SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND session at Make Music Upper Perk 2016!

One of the special sessions at this year’s Make Music Upper Perk festival on June 21 is a “Songwriters in the Round” session. It’s an opportunity for songwriters of all levels, including beginners, to share songs with each other in a relaxed and informal environment.

The “in the round” format is fun! Everyone sits in a large circle with their instruments and we “pass the song” … Meaning, we go around the circle and each share one song at a time. Each person sets up the song they are sharing with a brief intro, and then they play it live. (If you have any pre-recorded accompanying track(s) you want to use, that’s ok.)

It’s a supportive setting where fellow songwriters express their appreciation for what you play. It’s NOT a songwriting workshop or a critique session. It’s just playing and sharing. There’s usually a small audience at these sessions too.

Some normal guidelines for this type of session are: All styles of music are welcome; You can record your own song(s) when you play it, but not record the songs of others; Also, your song should be yours, of course, and somehow copyrighted. (Please refer to copyright rules for information. Note that a song is protected from the moment you record it in a replayable format, and the file has a date and time stamp; the paperwork can be submitted later.)

So, sign up for this fun session and share your craft with fellow musicians and listeners in a relaxed and supportive space!

Hot Tickets for this Cold Month

On Golden Pond opened this week at Civic Theater, 19th Street, Allentown and stays on stage until February 28th, 2016. Tickets may be bought online or at the box office.

The flawed hero and villain, Norman Thayer, is turning eighty; and his aging heart is arrhythmic. He and his unfaltering wife Ethel, who is ten years his junior, have returned to their summer home on Golden Pond, in Maine just as they have done for many years past. The house itself is a narrative of their life together, with memorabilia, photographs, books, and bric-a-brac marking the interior, like the dog-eared pages of a worn and well-read book. In this organic setting on Golden Pond among all the natural phenomena and living things a man battles nature’s ebbs and flows. Ethel is Norman’s anchor, however, she is not blind to his faults: he is proud and willfully controversial, an “old poop,” really, but, for her at least, a lovable one

For one weekend only, February 18-21, 2016,  students at Cedar Crest College (100 College Drive, Allentown) perform Legally Blonde, The Musical . Tickets may be purchased at the door, or in advance for a $5 discount online.

Elle Woods appears to have it all. Her life is turned upside-down, however, when her boyfriend dumps her so he can start getting serious about his life and attend Harvard Law. Determined to get him back, Elle uses her charm to get into Harvard Law.

While tickets will be on sale at the door for the Upper Perkiomen Middle School musical, Into the Woods, Jr, there are usually only a few tickets left by showtime so you are better off buying your tickets in advance (money and forms may be dropped off at the UPMS office). Wednesday afternoon’s 3:30 show on February 24th is free, but for senior citizens only. Public performances for this (abridged) Sondheim musical are Thursday, February 25th and Saturday, February 27th at 7 p.m. and Sunday, February 28th at 3 p.m.  There will be NO FRIDAY performance. All shows will be performed in the Upper Perkiomen Middle School auditorium, 510 Jefferson Street, East Greenville, PA. All seats are general admission and tickets are $5 . Deadline to purchase tickets in advance is Friday, February 19th, 2016.

No tickets are required, and admission is free, for Perkiomen School’s musical comedy, Little Shop of Horrors. Performances are scheduled for Friday, February 19th and Saturday, February 20th at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 21st at 2 p.m. at Krieble Theater, Keh’s Hall, 200 Seminary Avenue, Pennsburg, PA. Don’t miss your chance to see, and hear, the infamous singing, growing, and people eating plant as it tries to steal the show (among other things).

And if you are having a hard time waiting for spring and spring training baseball, head over to Montgomery Theater, 124 Main Street, Souderton, PA for the one man show Philly Fan. This play runs February 11 – March 6, 2016. Tickets may be bought online or at the door.

The Philly Fan is a one man tour-de-force: Two-time Barrymore Award winner Tom McCarthy takes audiences on a hilarious journey through the last fifty years of Philadelphia’s sports history, embracing the triumphs and frustrations of being a Philly fan.  Hailed by The Philadelphia Inquirer as “a theatrical love letter to the knowledgeable, unapologetic, demanding but ultimately forgiving [Philly] fans.”  This production is an in-your-face, tell-it-like-it-is romp through the eyes of a hard core sports fanatic, well-practiced in seeing sure-thing victories turn into “oh-my-God-they-blew-it” defeats.

Calling All Musicians!

All music makers, of all ages and abilities, are invited to perform on the first day of summer, Tuesday, June 21, 2016, as part of an all day, free, fun, public celebration of music in the Upper Perkiomen Valley, known as Make Music Upper Perk (MMUP).

Performers will sing, and play their instruments, in local green spaces, parks, coffeehouses, libraries, businesses, and non-profit community areas throughout the day and into the evening on June 21st.

Now is the time to sign up to be a part of this event – musician registration is open from February 1 – April 20, 2016.

If you don’t play an instrument, or sing outside of the shower, you can still be a part of MMUP, behind the scenes (or in front, introducing the music makers).  Volunteer registration will remain open until June 20th (although sooner is better than later). Bands, singer-songwriters, a cappella groups, bagpipers, drummers – all are welcome.

All photographs above were taken by Kristi Morris of Littlewing Studio, Pennsburg, during Make Music Upper Perk 2015.