Registration Deadline is August 30

McGuire’s Resort in Cadillac will be humming with excitement during the CTAM 2008 Fall Conference, September 26, 27 and 28. Registration is now open and you are encouraged to register early to get the best workshops and rooms. Please see the enclosed Registration Form. It can be copied for distribution to others in your group; one form per person, please.

The overall theme this year is Planting the seeds of success: How does your theatre garden grow? Like a garden, it takes planning and spadework to get ready to plant the seeds of your season. You need to prepare the ground, find the right seeds, know what they are going to look like and get as much information as you can in advance before your plant the garden. Then you have to take care of what you’ve planted and watch over it faithfully, providing water and nourishment as it seems needed. Finally, the glorious harvest…your productions! Our workshops at this conference will help on the journey to your success.

We’ve arranged for very favorable rates at McGuire’s and everyone needs to call the hotel separately and make their own reservations. A toll-free number makes it easy: 1-800-632-7302. Be sure to mention CTAM to get the following rates, per room:

• Single or double occupancy: $89 per room per night
• Triple occupancy $109 per room per night
• Quad occupancy $129 per room per night

McGuire’s is one mile south of Cadillac on Mackinaw Trail, surrounded by northern Michigan’s beauty, golf courses, lakes, forests and all the recreational venues you could ever want. A lovely downtown area offers many stores and shops. You can check out the area at www.cadillacmichigan.com. You can also get an overview of McGuire’s at www.mcguiresresort.com. Nice place!

Our conference begins Friday evening at 7:15 with a welcome session for “First Timers” to let them in on all the happenings over the weekend. The official opening of the conference will be at 8:00 p.m. with some announcements and entertainment, then retiring to the Fireside Lounge for a get-acquainted party, next to the pool.

Saturday starts early with breakfast on your own and then workshops (two sessions), lunch and another workshop session. (See the separate article that describes the available workshops.) The Annual Delegates’ Meeting and will be held at 3:30 Saturday afternoon. The Collins Cocoa Hour reception will begin at 6:15, followed by dinner at 7 p.m. and awards presentations … and a little entertainment. The Saturday evening party is back again to the Fireside Lounge or in individual rooms.

Sunday begins with a mini-breakfast on your own before the roundtable discussions at 9:00 a.m. The real conference brunch with the raffle drawings starts at 10 a.m. and you can be on your way home by noon, if you’re packed and ready to rock and roll!

Other stuff you should know:

• The contest this year will be Newsletters. Please bring a small display with copies of three recent issues (if printed and mailed) or print-outs from your webpage if available to members or sent by e-mail. Please include a short summary indicating how many are printed/distributed, how often, who it goes to and any other information others might find interesting.
• Plan to bring a raffle prize for the Joyce Schultheiss Memorial Scholarship Fund raffle. Each group represented is asked to donate something, as well as many individuals bring a prize to donate. Raffle tickets will be sold all weekend long, with the drawing being held Sunday morning at brunch, starting at 10 a.m. Again, an anonymous donor has offered to match ticket sales, dollar for dollar, so the tickets you buy are multiplied by two!
• If you want to participate, the door-decorating contest will also be held again. Remember the theme is gardening and growing and flowers and no nails, screws or duct tape -- only masking tape -- is allowed.
• The dress at McGuire’s is casual, of course. But for dinner Saturday evening, please plan to dress up a little! (This is not a costumed affair, so tomatoes, carrots and dancing flowers will not be allowed!)

If you or several members from your group would like to perform Friday evening, please contact Chair Mary Lou Britton at mellbee@earthlink.net. She’s looking for individual songs or readings or scenes with a ‘garden’ theme, so look back through your repertoire and prepare something to entertain everyone. The other opportunities for you to perform will be Saturday lunch (as part of the Senior Reader’s Theatre workshop) … and Saturday evening (as part of the Page to Stage portion of the playwriting workshop series.)

Great workshops, fantastic resort atmosphere, marvelous people … what more could you ask for? Make your plans to attend the Fall Conference today. Plant the seeds of success, tend your garden as it grows, and revel in the glory of your harvest! You won’t be sorry.

Weekend Schedule of Events at a Glance Friday, September 26 3:00 p.m. Registration open 4:00 p.m. Hotel check-in available (Dinner on your own) 7:15 p.m. First-timer’s orientation and kick-off 8:00 p.m. Welcome and entertainment 9:30 p.m. Friday Get-Acquainted party Saturday, September 27 (Breakfast on your own) 8:45 to 10:15 a.m. WORKSHOPS - Session 1 10:30 to noon WORKSHOPS - Session 2 Noon to 1:30 p.m. Lunch and entertainment 1:45 to 3:15 p.m. WORKSHOPS - Session 3 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Delegates Meeting 6:00 p.m. Collins Cocoa Hour 7:00 p.m. Annual banquet and entertainment 10:00 p.m. Afterglow party Sunday, September 28 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Roundtable discussions 10:30 to noon Brunch, raffle and farewells 11:00 a.m. Check out

WORKSHOPS IN THE WORKS FOR THIS YEAR'S CONFERENCE

First Folio Technique: Suit the Action to the Words Workshop leader: Todd Heywood, Lansing. Often called ‘unrehearsed Shakespeare,’ this workshop will expose you to doing Shakespeare by following the clues, phrasing and punctuation as it was written by the master. It’s all there on the script. Actors should bring a monologue of their own choosing to the workshop to learn how to prepare the monologue. (It must be in poetry, no Shakespeare prose monologues, please.) If you’ve not done any Shakespeare before, this will give you a good basic understanding.

Directing Shakespeare Workshop leader: Todd Heywood, Lansing. As a natural follow-up to his first-session workshop, Todd Heywood will delve further into Shakespeare and discuss the various angles you must consider as you prepare to direct The Bard. Shakespeare is very helpful in his writing and gives hidden clues about meaning, language and intent. Suitable to all levels of interest and knowledge about Shakespeare.

Establishing a teen-friendly theatre group Workshop leader: Todd Heywood, Lansing. One of the untapped resources many groups don’t take advantage of is creating a teen-friendly atmosphere to attract teens to your stage – on both sides of the curtain. There are special needs of the young people, but they bring special skills and expertise we don’t have (anymore!). Todd Heywood will run you through some things to consider before starting a teen group, as well as some of the pitfalls to watch for.

Writing plays based on a common event Workshop leaders: John Kosik and Art Tucker, Birmingham Village Players. Participants will bring four copies of a ‘short play’ of maximum 10 minutes to read for class input. The subject matter of the play is to be the situation at last year’s fall conference when the bride’s mother set off the hotel fire alarm and sprinkler system by hanging the bride’s wedding dress on the sprinkler head in their suite on the 7 th floor. The sprinklers soaked through clear to the lobby and flooded the 7 th floor. Pick any real or imagined facet of this scenario and write a 10-minute, two or three-character play (8 to 10 typewritten pages). The class and workshop leaders will select several to be presented at the evening festivities. This workshop spans the two morning workshop sessions and participants should plan to stay for both sessions.

From Page to Stage Workshop leaders: John Kosik and Art Tucker, Birmingham Village Players. After a morning-long session to read and select several plays, this afternoon session will assign the actors and directors to prepare for the evening’s entertainment. Short and sweet with not a lot of preparation time, actors and directors are welcome to attend this session and be part of the evening’s entertainment.

Working with Wire: Making period millinery from scratch Workshop leaders: Ginger Keena-Hupp, Grosse Pointe. This special offering will run all three workshop sessions Saturday and conclude Sunday morning. There will be a ‘hat parade’ at the Sunday Brunch to show off these period hats made in the workshop. Using wire as the foundation, participants will make their own period hat to take home. Workshop is limited to 12 participants and there is a $20 materials fee, payable to the instructor. Fabric and supplies will be available, but feel free to bring your own fabric scraps (natural fabrics only, please), flowers, feathers and other trim you might want to use if you have a specific need in mind. Also, please bring a pair of needle-nosed pliers, scissors, several needles, a thimble and some thread.

Rehearsal Techniques: Tending your garden before it blooms Workshop leader: Betsy Willis, Petoskey. Casting, rehearsing and performing … the three segments of a play. Fully one-third of the process is devoted to rehearsals and here is an opportunity to learn how to make that period most beneficial for the actors and tech crews, making the best use of everyone’s time and getting the most out of your actors. This session will look at trouble spots, getting difficult actors to produce, and how to know when you are at the right point at the right time. Actors, directors and stage managers will learn from this interesting and fun session.

Exploring Senior Theatre Workshop leader: Barb Elliott, Eastpointe. Senior Theatre is an exploding trend nationally and many groups are looking at the genre as a way to keep their older, more experienced members active in the performing arena, as well as offering some community outreach. This session will look at things to consider before you start a senior group, as well as resources available and where to find suitable material.

Senior Reader’s Theatre Workshop leader: Barb Elliott, Eastpointe. Senior theatre groups generally use reader’s theatre to avoid blocking and memorization. This session will share some material, practice some readings, and prepare participants to read several pieces at Saturday lunch. Come, learn and be ready to show off for everyone.

Stage Drapery Workshop leader: Bill Ebeling, Whitmore Lake. Bill will first review the terminology of stage drapery, talk about tradition and why things are the way they are, and then look at where stage fabrics and drapery are going in the next several decades. He’ll cover: Pleated or flat, meeting fire codes, repairs and cleaning, and general stage masking. If you know you need to be replacing your soft goods backstage, here’s an opportunity to learn what you need to know to make intelligent decisions.

Projected Scenery Workshop leader: Bill Ebeling, Whitmore Lake. New things are happening on stage flats and projected images are becoming the way to go. You can now project on curtains, flats, floors and people to get specific effects and moods. Learn what’s new and what you need to do it … and how to do it. There’s a whole new world of gobos for your lighting instruments, as well as projectors meant for specific effects.

New Technology in Lighting Workshop leader: Bill Ebeling, Whitmore Lake. You probably don’t even know what you don’t know! Let Bill bring you up to date with the new technology in instruments, dimmers, bulbs, etc. He’ll feature ‘intelligent fixtures’ and other advances that will make your shows better. He’ll also allow plenty of time for Q&A to respond to your specific problems and issues.

Season Selection around the state Statewide panel discussion. How do you select your plays and your season? There are as many ways to do it as groups…and no one is right and no one is wrong. It’s just what works for you. But hearing how others do it is also helpful information. This statewide panel discussion will hear from those who select plays, then directors; who select directors who submit specific plays; who select a season from plays people are willing to direct; and any other variations on a theme. Sure to be interesting, no matter how YOU do it!

Getting rid of bugs, pests and critters in your volunteer garden Workshop leader: Mary Jo Denolf, Grand Rapids. So your garden is growing fine, the fertilizer you used is working and you’re starting to see some blossoms. But, suddenly, a negative volunteer, or an irresponsible member, or some malfeasance threatens to ruin your bountiful harvest. How do you get rid of negativity? Can you fire a volunteer? How do you handle contagious negativity? It isn’t easy, but Mary Jo is the one to give you some insight on how to do it with the least repercussions. All Board members and volunteer managers need to invest an hour or so in this workshop.

101 ways to thank your volunteers (and reap greater harvests!) Workshop leader: Mary Jo Denolf, Grand Rapids. “They” say you must thank volunteers seven times before the message sinks in that they are appreciated. Of course, “thank you” works, but finding clever and unique ways to do it puzzles many. But not Mary Jo. She has some great ideas to share and you’ll go home with a list of ways you and your Board of Directors should be thanking your members and volunteers all the time.

In addition to the Saturday workshops, CTAM traditionally has less formal roundtable discussions on specific topics on Sunday morning…before the brunch. Everyone interested just sits at the marked table and shares ideas and thoughts, with members of the CTAM Board of Directors guiding the discussion. This year, roundtable discussions are planned for the following topics:

Entering AACTfest 2009 in Monroe
Marketing ideas that work
Sharing resources among CTAM members
Increasing CTAM membership
Challenges of producing

to reach a secure online registration form for Fall Conference, 2008