It's a Wonderful Life - Radio Show |
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James Welch |
William Jones |
Judy Miller |
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ANTHONY E. PALERMO (PLAYWRIGHT) is a radio-dramatist, performer, and educator based in Los Angeles. He has done over 2500 shows—heard on NPR and satellite radio, as well as audiobooks and radio-on-stage shows with L.A. Theater Works, California Artists Radio Theater, theater troupes, and on national tours. His holiday-themed plays, A Christmas Carol, It's A Wonderful Life!, Auntie Scrooge - a BACKWARDS Christmas Carol, and The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow have seen hundreds of productions around the world since 1996. His sound effects work on Yuri Rasovsky’s Sherlock Holmes Theater contributed to its winning an Audie Award--the Oscar of audiobooks. He directed the 60th anniversary production of Norman Corwin’s On a Note of Triumph—for which he also re-created Bernard Herrmann’s orchestral score. He provided live sound effects for shows such as Eric Idle's What About Dick? [currently on Netflix as a radio-on-stage film], CART's Together Tonight, Good House for a Killing, LATW's Hamlet, A Doll House and Copenhagen, as well as performing 65 solo shows at the California State Fair. His Sonic Storytelling Studio at San Francisco's Exploratorium is a permanent exhibit that has seen thousands of visitors since 2006. His Sparx Sound Effects Extravaganza assembly programs and workshops are popular with schools and colleges across California, the U.S. and the world. He also hosts the RuyaSonic radio drama website, offering info on writing, directing, scoring, engineering, and sound effects.
Northern Illinois Food Bank
Hunger has no place in our community.
Together, we can ensure that everyone in Northern Illinois has the nutritious food they need to thrive. An anonymous family foundation is offering to match gifts this season, up to $300,000! Your gift today can have twice the impact. Because of this generous matching gift, every $10 you give can provide a neighbor with $160 worth of groceries - and 96% of your gift will go directly to our feeding programs.
Again, Morris Theatre Guild is collecting donations for the Northern Illinois Food Bank. We ask that you please see one of our volunteers to provide your cash donation. The holidays are tough for all and many people go hungry during this time. Please help if you can. Thank You
Cast
Creative Team
Christine Johnson
Brian Pross
Ross Loftus
Matthew Johnson
Sarah Crisman
Local Theatre
PLEASE SUPPORT OTHER AREA COMMUNITY THEATRES
JOLIET DRAMA GUILD https://www.thejolietdramaguild.com/
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STAGE 212 https://www.stage212.org/
DIRECTORS WANTED
Morris Theatre Guild is always looking for directors. If you are interested please use the link below to fill out the application and when you are done email it to: info@morristheatreguild.org
Director application: Directors Application.
Morris Theatre Guild
Welcome, and thank you for your interest in our theatre. Morris Theatre Guild is a not-for-profit group formed in 1973 to create theatrical productions for our local communities. Our purpose is to promote the interest of the public, our patrons, and the general membership of the guild in the theatrical arts, to educate all interested persons in the various skills involved in theatre, to cultivate artistic expression and provide opportunities to participate and experience live theatre in our area. Please consider showing your support by making a donation.
Meet the Company
Elena Jones
This Elena Jones’s first time acting in a radio theatre play. She, a Jjc student, was thrilled and very grateful to participate when she first found out that she was cast. It’s a Wonderful Life is a movie quite dear to her. She hopes that listeners would enjoy the play and would take something out of it. She would like to thank the audience for supporting, her Dad for driving her, her friends for helping her practice, MTG for casting her, and most importantly God for giving her this opportunity. She would also like to thank Jesus Christ; she believes that she would not be here if it weren’t for Jesus Christ.
Jennifer Wallenberg
Jennifer is very excited to join the cast and crew for It’s a Wonderful Life. Acting has been a new experience and is her second perform as at the Morris Theater Guild. It goes to show you CAN teach old dogs new tricks. Here’s to a great show & please enjoy!
Joseph Ennenbach
In his five-decade theatrical career Joseph Ennenbach has appeared on numerous stages, but two of this favorite roles were at Morris Theater Guild: the insane genius Robert In the drama "Proof" (2013) and the irascible country club manager Mr. Bingham in the farce "The Fox on the Fairway" (2015). He has also directed plays and musicals ( "California Suite", ""I Do! I Do", "Steel Magnolias", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", "Deathtrap", "They're Playing Our Song" and "Arsenic and Old Lace", to name a few) including three at MTG: "Rumors" (2015) "The Dinner Party" (2019) and "I Ought to be in Pictures" (2021). Joe is a member of the MTG board of directors, one of three theater boards on which he currently serves. Earlier this year he was presented the Illinois Theatre Association's Award of Excellence for Community Theatre. The retired attorney resides in Peru with his wife, Maryann, who has been unstinting in her support for his theatrical avocation.
Morgan Caracci
This is Morgan’s second production with The Morris Theatre.
In her free time, Morgan likes to drink Chinese teas and all kinds of holistic herbs in the off chance she can live forever.
Currently, its working..
William Jones
William Jones is new to Morris Theatre Guild. The last time he was on stage was 59 years ago during that time he was a missionary and humanitarian in 7 different countries mainly far east Asia! William also served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. William has been a substitute teacher and now is a caregiver.
Jim Welch
Jim Welch is thrilled once again to be performing on the MTG stage. Jim's last appearance was as Paul Burnside in Star On The Door. You may have seen Jim in other productions such as, Paul Sheldon in the MTG's presentation of Misery. Also, “The Odd Couple”, “The Alto's”, “Over the River and Through the Woods” and "Squabbles." He also portrayed Herr Schultz in The Just Passing By Theatre Companies production of “Cabaret”.
Jim has directed such stage hits for the MTG such as, “Lost In Yonkers” “Wait Until Dark”, “Steel Magnolias” and “Bill W & Dr Bob”. Jim will be directing a reboot of "Seeing Stars In Dixie," this winter.
Jim is employed with Heniff Transportation as a hazmat tanker driver and loves spending time with his family. Jim is a diehard White Sox fan and enjoys boating, fishing, and swimming, and relaxing at his cottage on Delavan Lake Wisconsin. and camping at The Grundy Co Rod & Gun Club. Jim has been a board member for the Morris Theatre Guild for 37 years, and is currently serving as Vice President. He is looking forward to many years ahead with the MTG
Judy Miller
Judy got involved in MTG as both actor and director back in the 70’s, when Judy & MTG were both young. Retiring after years of teaching and doing plays at Morris High School, Judy has enjoyed returning to MTG. Favorite acting roles include Sister Lee in Black Patent Leather Shoes, Ouiser in Steel Magnolias, Julia in New York, and Emma in Over the River and Through the Woods. Directing favorites have been Harvey, Plaza Suite, and Miracle Worker. Judy retired from teaching speech at Joliet Junior College and currently serves on the MTG Board of Directors. She thanks her husband Alan for his help and support. She is active in the Morris Lions Club, and her hobbies include reading, baking, and MTG.
Dane Ferrara
Dane Ferrara is a younger member in the theatre, he has played as Nick in Godspell, and had played Johnny the Bartender and Jarvis the Butler in his previous. He is a Sophomore in Seneca High School, he is a participant in its Speech and Theater Program. Dane does the live sound effects and plays Sam Wainwright, Nick the Bartender, Georges brother Harry, and the Sheriff of Bedford Falls.
Cole Johnson
Cole has had no theatre experience before being in Godspell with Morris Theatre Guild this summer, but has done acting. He likes singing and having conversations, and playing video games and making movies
William Gillespie
William lives in Morris. Bill has been in many productions with Morris Theatre Guild. Some of Bill’s most recent shows were: " Star on the Door", “Squabbles”, “Sex Please We’re Sixty”, “Fox on the Fairway”, “On Golden Pond” (Engle Lane) and “I Hate Hamlet” (Lat 41). Bill has appeared with several other community theatre stages from IVVC, Lat 41 and Engle Lane. Bill has three children and is an avid down hill skier and mountain climber.
Colleen Stroup
Colleen Stroup is 20 years old and excited to be returning to the Morris Theatre Guild stage. They first began acting in MTG's 2012 production of Miracle Worker, and has since appeared in several of productions. Most recently, Colleen played the role of Uzo in Godspell. In their free time, they enjoy reading, art, and spending time with friends and family.
John Marsaglia
John is extremely excited to be apart of his very first Morris Theater Guild production. At the urging of his family and friends, John decided to reach out to the guild and offer volunteer assistance and was soon thrown into the fire by accepting special effects artist duties, a job that requires him to be on stage. John was surprised by this news. Hailing from Coal City, John has been involved in the performing arts from grade school all the way through college in many capacities including: stage plays, musicals, show choir, speech team, sketch comedy and dance.
After graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, John moved to southern California where he obtained his MFA in film and television producing from the prestigious Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University. Since then John has gone on to produce and direct many award winning projects ranging from music videos for Grammy winning artists, feature and short films, and online branded content. John is grateful for the opportunity to work with such a talented and tight-knit cast and crew and hopes you enjoy the show.
Christine Johnson
Brian Pross
Ross Loftus
Matthew Johnson
Sarah Crisman
Multimedia
UPCOMING SEASON
Friday, January 24, 2025 - Sunday, February 2, 2025
"Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek...." And thus begins the tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wisecracking Donkey and a feisty princess who resists her rescue. Throw in a short-tempered bad guy, a cookie with an attitude and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you've got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there's one on hand... and his name is Shrek.
March 7-16, 2025
And Then They Came for Me is a unique theatrical experience: a multimedia play that combines videotaped interviews with Holocaust survivors Ed Silverberg and Eva Schloss with live actors recreating scenes from their lives during World War II. Ed was Anne Frank's first boyfriend, and she wrote about him in the beginning of her now-famous diary. Eva Schloss was the same age as Anne Frank and lived in the same apartment building in Amsterdam. Her family went into hiding the same day as the Frank family. And like the Frank family, they were betrayed. On Eva's 15th birthday, her family was arrested by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps. Eva and her mother survived, and after the war her mother married Otto Frank (Anne's father). Part oral history, part dramatic action, part direct address, part remembrance, the ensemble-driven And Then They Came for Me breaks new ground and has been acclaimed by audiences and critics in world-wide productions. This production is like a historic newsreel brought to life on the stage.
May 9-18, 2025
The Drowning Girls, a ghost story about three British women who, all murdered by the same man in the early years of the last century, were considered–and considered themselves– insubstantial. Insubstantial, that is, until their murderer charmed them into marriage, thereby making them, as one of the trios says, “a useful member of society.”
July 18-27, 2025
At an abandoned motel on a desolate American road, a mother meets with a cult deprogrammer, believing she will be reunited with her runaway daughter. What happens instead – in this smart, harrowing, edge-of-your-seat thriller – is something that will shock her to her core. What will a mother do to get her daughter back? Whatever it takes.
Auditions
And They Came for Me:
Jan 5th & 6th, 2025, from 6:30-8pm;
5 Males and 4 Females
Show Dates: 3/7/2025 – 3/16/2025
Characters: Young Ed, Ed’s Mother, Ed’s Father, Hitler Youth, Young Eva, Heinz, Mutti, Pappi, Anne
Synopsis
And Then They Came for Me is a unique theatrical experience: a multimedia play that combines videotaped interviews with Holocaust survivors Ed Silverberg and Eva Schloss with live actors recreating scenes from their lives during World War II. Ed was Anne Frank’s first boyfriend, and she wrote about him in the beginning of her now-famous diary. Eva Schloss was the same age as Anne Frank and lived in the same apartment building in Amsterdam. Her family went into hiding the same day as the Frank family. And like the Frank family, they were betrayed. On Eva’s 15th birthday, her family was arrested by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps. Eva and her mother survived, and after the war her mother married Otto Frank (Anne’s father). Part oral history, part dramatic action, part direct address, part remembrance, the ensemble-driven And Then They Came for Me breaks new ground and has been acclaimed by audiences and critics in world-wide productions. This production is like a historic newsreel brought to life on the stage.
The Drowning Girls:
Feb 23rd 1 to 4 & Feb 24 from 6-8pm;
3 Females
Characters: Bessie, Alice and Margaret
Show Dates: 5/9/2025-5/18/2025
Synopsis
The Drowning Girls, a ghost story about three British women who, all murdered by the same man in the early years of the last century, were considered–and considered themselves– insubstantial. Insubstantial, that is, until their murderer charmed them into marriage, thereby making them, as one of the trios says, “a useful member of society
The directors will consider all ages for the roles to be filled but will also be looking for the appropriate demographic balance in casting to retain integrity and believability.
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Morris Theatre Guild’s main mission has been to bring a quality, live theatre experience to the Illinois River Valley and provide a meaningful opportunity for those aspiring to perform and participate in the theatre arts — all at an affordable box office price. We need your support today to help us keep getting those “curtain calls” and keep our dream alive!
MTG has remained an all-volunteer organization, always operating on a shoestring budget and striving to hold the line on costs. Author royalties and scripts sometimes add up to thousands of dollars. Then there is the expense of creating costumes, purchasing supplies, building sets, maintaining equipment for lights and sound, and printing programs and posters.
We gratefully appreciate the continued financial support of our members, patrons and area residents. With every donation and every show, we keep our supporters in mind and try to remain faithful stewards of your donations. Thank you very much for your consideration! See you at the show!
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