Friday, October 7, 2016

Valley Shakespeare Festival to stage 'Dracula' in Shelton, Fairfield


Tom Simonetti, VSF executive director

Drop in for a drink and a “bite” this month as Valley Shakespeare Festival presents its latest Shakespeare in the Bar offering, Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Valley Shakespeare Festival is Connecticut’s newest and most innovative nonprofit theater company and is dedicated to bringing classic works of literature to life in new ways, in unlikely places, and at reduced or no cost.   
This month it’s a script-in-hand dramatic reading of the classic gothic horror story, Dracula, in two of Fairfield County’s most popular eateries:  Shelton’s Caloroso and Fairfield’s Anna Liffey’s.  

Valley Shakespeare Festival’s focus has always been on “the word,” on keeping the integrity of the work intact by staying true to the writer’s original text.  
They believe that when the work is solid, all the traditional accoutrements associated with theatrical performances, like props and costumes, can be kept to a minimum while still creating an absorbing and entertaining production.  This is especially true of their “Shakespeare in the Bar” series where space and other limitations often make the use of these items challenging, if not impossible.

Dracula is no exception.  
VSF will be using the script made famous on the 1938 “Mercury Theater on the Air” radio presentation which starred Orson Welles, so the company will have some very big shoes to fill.

Because the story of Dracula is so profoundly “atmospheric," one of the biggest jobs in this production will be the handling of the sound effects and music.  
Tara Reuter


Tara Reuter will play the role of Lucy and had this to say:
“The radio broadcast was so much to listen to!  What made it work so well was the music. There were crescendos to increase the drama and silence to emphasize tension.  The sound effects were really effective as well because they made you feel like you were really on a boat or in a storm or in a crowd of people.  Having sound in VSF’s production will enhance an already creepy and suspenseful play and take it to the next level.”

Tom Simonetti, VSF’s Artistic and Executive Director, adds:
“Of course, the biggest challenge is making sure that sound and cues come on time.
"There are quite a few that will be extremely important to the telling of the story. But the real challenge will be to make sure that the audience is so swept up into the story and adventure that they do not realize that the lovely Kristen Kingsley (our sound engineer) is the one making all of these sounds happen. It becomes kind of like the wizard in The Wizard of Oz : “Pay no attention to the (wo)man behind the curtain…”    
Kristen Kingsley

Kingsley is a frequent and long-time performer with VSF who has also worked with the company as a stage manager on previous productions. She’ll again be doing double duty on DRACULA and feels that this time her biggest role will be the sound.

“The challenge is definitely getting everything together and played out perfectly. I will be balancing both pre-recorded sound effects as well as giving the audience the ‘real feel’ in the radio booth with live effects. For example, I have a special sheet of plastic that, as you shake it, will give us a thunder effect, and some coconuts for horse hoof beats.  I’m going to have so much fun!”

Sounds like the audience will, too!

Performances are Oct. 20 at Caloroso Eatery & Bar at 100 Center St., Shelton, and Oct. 21 at Anna Liffey’s Irish Pub at 1494 Post Road, Fairfield.  
Doors open at 6 p.m., performances begin at 7:30 p.m.  Food and bar service is available at both venues throughout the evening.

Admission is $20 in advance, $25 at the door; tickets are available for purchase online at www.vsfesival.org or by calling 203-513-9446.


This is a press release from Valley Shakespeare Festival. 

Irving School students in Derby get important safety lesson

Students check out out a FedEx truck as part of an International Walk to School Day event at Irving School in Derby. 

In the gym Valley Parish Nurses from Griffin Hospital and volunteers taught students about 'foggy conditions.' 

They held waxed paper next to their faces and walked across the gym to simulate fog that drivers sometimes confront.


Valley Parish Nurses, FedEx employees, volunteers, and staff who participated in the event posed for a group photo.

*I'm sharing photos from International Walk To School Day marked at Irving School that didn't fit in Thursday's Valley Voice, which you can read here.  
And here's a link to a post from Wednesday.


15th annual health and safety 'hoopla' planned at Warsaw Park in Ansonia

Halloween treats like those pictured, games, and health and safety information await families at the free 15th Annual Children’s Health and Safety 'Halloween Hoopla' Fair from 3-8 p.m. Oct. 28 at Warsaw Park in Ansonia./ Contributed photo


ANSONIA - The 15th Annual Children’s Health and Safety Fair will be “treating” families to Halloween fun from 3-8 p.m. Oct. 28 at Warsaw Park on Pulaski Highway.

Griffin Hospital Community Outreach and Valley Parish Nurse Program, The Valley Community Foundation, Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley, and Griffin Faculty Physicians encourage families to put on their Halloween costumes and come to a “Halloween Hoopla,” featuring free healthy treats, games, and information on a variety of health, wellness, and safety programs. 
The event will be held rain or shine.

“The Halloween Hoopla will be a safe, family-friendly environment where children can do their trick-or-treating and the whole family can learn about important information that will keep them safe and healthy on Halloween and year-round,” said Daun Barrett, RN, Director of Griffin Hospital's Community Outreach and Valley Parish Nursing Program.

Interactive health, wellness and safety displays at the event will include poison prevention, good hand washing, and how to call 9-1-1. 
There will also be a bike helmet clinic and a safety house exhibit to teach about safety features in homes. Free bike helmets will be available for the first 500 children.

For more information, call 203-732-1337 or 203-732-7584.

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital. 


Elementary school students in Seymour learn emergency preparedness

Bungay School fourth grade teacher Cindy Botti pictured with her students and CERT Bob Wilson./ Photo by Rich Kearns

Chatfield-LoPresti School fourth grade teachers Kyle Mullaney and Jara Ciocca pose with Police Officer Jack Harkins and students./ Photo by Rich Kearns

SEYMOUR - On Aug. 31 a proclamation was issued by President Barack Obama declaring September as “National Preparedness Month.” 
Last week all Seymour Public Schools fourth grade students participated in the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s “Students Tools for Emergency Planning” program, also known as STEP.  
This is the 10th year Seymour students have participated in the STEP Program, which was piloted in Seymour in 2008.  

Seymour Public Schools Director of Security Rich Kearns received national recognition when FEMA modeled the program nationally after the Seymour program.  The STEP Program is sponsored by FEMA and the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.  
Kearns has been presenting the program for the last 10 years to all fourth grade students at Bungay Elementary School and Chatfield-LoPresti Elementary School.  
Seymour Police Department Community-School Resource Officer John Harkins and Seymour Citizens Emergency Response Team President Robert Wilson assisted Kearns this year showing students the steps on how to prepare student's families in the event an emergency or disaster was to strike. 
Each student was given a backpack to take home that contained items to help start building their own family emergency kit along with information to share with their families to better prepare them in the event of an emergency.  
The goal of STEP Program is to provide some resources to families in the community to better prepare them for emergencies as it is found that if people are better prepared to deal with a crisis the outcomes and recovery process will be that much easier for them.  
Throughout September Kearns, Seymour Fire Marshal Tim Willis, Seymour Emergency Management Director Tom Eighmie, Seymour Police Department Community-School Resource Officer Jack Harkins, as well as other first responders conducted emergency response drills district-wide with all students K-12.  

All Star Transportation Safety Supervisor Brenda Bass and school bus safety team members also joined Kearns in conducting school bus evacuation drills for students in the district who ride the bus to school.  
All of these programs and drills are part of a continuous effort by Seymour Public Schools and Seymour Emergency Services Personnel working together to better prepare our schools and families in the event an emergency were to occur and to help make our schools a safer place.   


This is a press release from Rich Kearns, Director of Security, Seymour Public Schools.

Ansonia business leader inducted to Junior Achievement Hall of Fame

Bernadine Venditto, president, Junior Achievement of Western CT, and Board member Adam Dworkin present an award Tuesday to Philip White, CEO of Better Packages in Ansonia./ Contributed photo

BRIDGEPORT - Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut's Dr. George R. Dunbar Free Enterprise Hall of Fame event was held Tuesday at the Holiday Inn. Title sponsors were People's United Bank and R.D. Scinto.

More than 260 local Junior Achievement supporters attended the banquet, including U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Hall of Fame Honorary Chairman John Ciulla, President of Webster Bank, Fairfield First Selectman Mike Tetreau, and many others.

The following prestigious business leaders were inducted into the Hall of Fame: 

Jack Barnes, President & CEO of People's United Bank, Traci Morris, CEO of Brookfield Global Relocation Services, John Stafstrom Jr., Member, Pullman & Comley and Philip White, CEO of Better Packages.

"Our Hall of Fame inductees are successful business and community role models who demonstrate leadership, entrepreneurial spirit and community caring to our Junior Achievement students," said Bernadine Venditto, President, Junior Achievement of Western CT.

Junior Achievement also presented the Outstanding Educator Award to Bethel High School teacher, Monica Black, and the Outstanding Volunteer Award to Jennifer Brand from Prudential Annuities.

Proceeds from the event support Junior Achievement's programs that will reach more than 22,600 students in western Connecticut this school year.

This is a press release from Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut. 
For more information visit http://www.jawct.org.

Fall book sale slated at Derby Public Library

DERBY - The Derby Public Library has scheduled its Annual Fall Book Sale.  

It will begin Oct. 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and will continue from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

Shoppers are invited to fill a bag for $7. Bags will be provided. 

Adult and children's fiction and non-fiction, paperbacks,
magazines, videos, DVDs, and audio materials will be available.  

For more information, stop by the Library, 313 Elizabeth St., call 203-736-1482, or visit www.derbypubliclibrary.org


This is a press release from Cathy Williams, Director, Derby Public Library.