![The Amazing, Historic, Hedgerow Theatre]()
by | May 16, 2018 | Articles
Playwright & Executive Director of Gypsy Stage Company
My writing partner and I went to the Hedgerow Theatre this past weekend to see their production of “The Importance of Being Earnest”, written by Oscar Wilde. What a fabulous professional performance it was.
For those of you who may not know, The Hedgerow was started 95 years ago, in 1923 and many surrounding theatre groups grew out of first working at the Hedgerow not to mention the launching of the careers of so many artists along the way. But, the thing that excited me most was the fact that the Hedgerow is an “Ensemble” theatre. To quote their playbill, “Theatre made as an ensemble, where the artists know each other and also know they are working together long term, creates a dynamic of shared responsibility, diligence, collective good above individual that creates dynamic theatre, theatre that by its very nature is unique.”
I was very fortunate to have been a part of an ensemble group in the 1980’s and, recently, along with others, we formed the “Gypsy Stage Company” (www.gypsystagecompany.com) in order to recreate that model. Our goal, like the Hedgerow, is to build our family of professionally minded performers to get to know each other extremely well and be able to work together so strongly that the caliber of performance is enhanced tremendously. And, already, we have several award-winning and well-traveled performers such as Michael Schiumo and Meg Arbo and we’d love to hear from others in our area that share our vision and would like to participate.
We have already been invited to make our home base at the Smoke and Mirrors Magic Theater in Huntingdon Valley, PA (www.smokeandmirrorstheater.com) beginning with our production of the scandalous comedy, LOVE AND MERGER, from June 7-10 but, like gypsy actors of the past, we are deliberately planning to travel to different venues throughout our area, including theaters, restaurants, clubs, retirement communities and more, in order to bring our performances to many audiences that might not otherwise get to see what we do.
Seeing that performance at the Hedgerow was such an inspiration to me and makes me only more committed to making the “Gypsy Stage Company” the finest ensemble group it can be.
by Tracy Byrne | Feb 5, 2018 | Interviews
We’re so fortunate to have Brian McKay, the mid-day DJ voice you hear on Country 92.5 WXTU, join the Gypsy Stage Company and just as excited to have him interview our own founder, Judith Sapperstein of J&G Unlimited, LLC and TLC Scripts.
In this interview, Brian asks Judith about Gypsy Stage Company and the whys and wherefores of its birth and growth. Give him some likes and forwards on Facebook, wont you?
See Brian Live at the Smoke & Mirrors Magic Theatre opening for Gino Mozzarella on Feburary 9th. Learn more here.
![The Amazing, Historic, Hedgerow Theatre]()
by Tracy Byrne | Jul 15, 2016 | Awards
The Gypsy Stage Company cast accepting the award for best performance in Liverpool Nova Scotia
The Gypsy Stage Company is back and we are victorious! From where you ask? Why, The Liverpool International Theatre Festival in Liverpool Nova Scotia Canada of course! We were invited to perform a work of our choosing to compete against countries from all around the world including Argentina, Columbia, Egypt, Georgia, India, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Portugal, United States of America, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
Liverpool International Theatre Festival
We performed a rather entertaining piece called “Women are from Venus, Men are from Uranus,” written by Judith Sapperstein & Gary Murway. Normally a full length play, they adapted it for us to fit within the 60 minute time allotment. Judie and Gary were so amazing in all the help they gave us in getting ready and getting there!
Our director, Ruth K. Brown, was already an internationally acclaimed director in her own right and boy did she deliver on this trip too! It was amazing representing the United States in this festival and we are so grateful to everyone in Liverpool Nova Scotia for their outstanding hospitality! We had a great time!
Women are from Venus, Men are from Uranus is a comedy by Sapperstein & Murway who wrote it one day while speculating, “what if God were a Lab technician and Adam and Eve were actually in a petri dish.” Well now we all finally know the truth about the origin of Mankind! It all began in a Petri Dish at the Genome Observation Department … who knew? If you’d like to learn more about this silly 4 person play, please visit the page at TLC Scripts, where their works are represented: Just Click Here.
Well, the other theatrical groups and their chosen works were outstanding and we’re all certain it was a tough call for the judges. It was such an honor to be a part of this, to be among such talented peers and with a devoted and giving community such as this.
The Gypsy Stage Company was fortunate to come home with lasting memories with this the First Place award for our performance of this amazing work. The whole trip was very exciting and it was a lot of fun to perform this very funny and touching play for an international audience. Here are some photos from our trip and the performance…
