the Mac
 
MAC BTE

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble

BTE 2010-2011 Season

Mystery of Irma VepThe Mystery of Irma Vep
by Charles Ludlam
directed by ensemble member Connie Canaday Howard
featuring ensemble members Bryan Burke and William “Sandy” Smillie

Tickets: $23 to $33. For more information, call the MAC Ticket Office at (630) 942-4000, or purchase tickets online.

Sept. 23 to Oct. 17, 2010 (see performance calendar below)

Outrageous, ingenious and hysterical, The Mystery of Irma Vep is the tale of Lord Edgar Hillcrest and his new young bride, the second Lady Hillcrest. Set on an estate on some distant moors, the first Lady Hillcrest, Irma Vep (anagram for vampire) and the Hillcrests’ only son were killed on the moors by a wolf, or were they? Eight roles are played in rapid succession by two actors, complete with cross-dressing, double-entendre and comic exaggeration. The result is wicked, farcical fun.

FrozenFrozen
by Bryony Lavery
directed by ensemble member Bryan Burke

Jan. 20 to Feb. 6, 2011 (see performance calendar below)

Tickets: $23 to $33. For more information, call the MAC Ticket Office at (630) 942-4000, or purchase tickets online.

Featuring ensemble members Michael Sassone and Connie Canaday Howard Chilling, horrible and compelling, but ultimately a play of hope and redemption, the 2004 Tony nominated play Frozen is an extraordinary story about terrible loss. Nancy Shirley is a mother whose child disappears, and the two decades that follow allow us to see how three very different characters, who have been psychologically “frozen,” begin to thaw.

Private LivesPrivate Lives
by Noel Coward

May 5 to May 29, 2011 (see performance calendar below)

Tickets: $23 to $33. For more information, call the MAC Ticket Office at (630) 942-4000, or purchase tickets online.

Directed by ensemble member Amelia Barrett featuring ensemble member Robert Jordan Bailey Sophisticated, elegant and quintessential Coward, Private Lives, set in 1929, introduces us to long-divorced Amanda and Elyot, who meet again on the eve of each other’s honeymoons with their new spouses, where they confirm their fear – they are still deeply in love with one another. A passionate, volatile tale of kindred souls – those who can’t live with one another, nor without – it is a ridiculous, sentimental and very funny romp.

Faith HealerFaith Healer
by Brian Friel
directed by Brad Armacost
featuring ensemble member Bryan Burke

July 7 to 24, 2011 (see performance calendar below)

Tickets: $23 to $33. For more information, call the MAC Ticket Office at (630) 942-4000, or purchase tickets online.

Lyrical, haunting and quietly suspenseful, in Friel’s classic Faith Healer we meet “the Fantastic Francis Hardy,” a traveling faith healer whose gift is genuine if capricious, as well as Grace and Teddy, who complete the traveling band. A mystery, these three individually tell us stories of their shared history, and, while the events they relate are essentially the same, the details are widely discrepant in each version. Which tale is true ultimately becomes less important than the increasing understanding that each person creates their own version as a balm, when the challenges become too great.



BTE directors photo BTE Directors: Connie Canaday Howard (left), Amelia Barrett
 

BTE Vision


Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (BTE) is rooted in the idea that an acting ensemble and company, who have a history of working together and have developed a sense of trust and community, can create better art. BTE is committed to the American tradition of creating believable characters in the context of the production's style.
 
Connie Canaday Howard (BTE Artistic Director) is a member of BTE's acting ensemble and has also directed numerous productions for BTE. Other favorite directing projects with C.O.D., where she is Director of Theater and has directed countless productions, have been Taming of the Shrew and The Heidi Chronicles, which received the award for best non-professional production in Chicagoland. Connie holds a M.F.A in directing, and has worked regionally with Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival, City Theatre Company, Belvoir Terrace, Drama Workshop, Down River Dinner Theatre, Ingersoll Theatre, Charlie's Showplace, and tours of both theatre and dance, as well as helping to create and perform several improvisational shows. Ms. Canaday Howard is COD’s Outstanding Faculty for 2003-2004.
 

 

The Company

Artistic Director
Connie Canaday Howard

Associate Artistic Director
Amelia Barrett

Business Manager
Ellen McGowan

Designers
Allison Greaves
Jon Gantt
Donald A. Hood
Michael W. Moon
Barbara Niederer
Galen Ramsey

Ensemble
Robert Jordan Bailey
Amelia Barrett
Bryan Burke
Connie Canaday Howard
Loretta Hauser
Kurt Naebig
Micheal Sassone
William (Sandy) Smillie
 

Events

September 18
MAC Wine Tasting Benefit
Celebrate the McAninch Arts Center's 25th Anniversary Season.
 

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