From robi@latejoys.com Fri May 23 15:40:46 2003 From: robi@latejoys.com (robi@latejoys.com) Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 10:40:46 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Wiganpier] =?iso-8859-1?Q?George_Orwell=92s_birthday_party?= Message-ID: <49333.209.99.40.168.1053700846.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> You are invited to George Orwell’s Centenary Birthday Bash, a fundraiser for the upcoming production of "The Road To Wigan Pier: A (Socialist) Tea-Time Travelogue & Historical Musical Revue." The festivities will be held at The Lounge (4th & Colorado) on June 23, from 6:30 - 10:30pm. Entry fee is by donation, with a sliding scale starting at $5, going up to whatever you can bloody well afford (please). George Orwell turns 100 (or he would have, had he lived), and not a moment too soon. Come celebrate with us as we raise much needed cash money for Robi’s new play. There’ll be games of Bingo for fabulous prizes (called in the traditional English style by Paul Norton), live music by The Late Joy’s (more on them below), and a brief educational film by Lowell Bartholomee: "A Short History of Coal and Coal Mining in England." Plus, there’ll be readings of Orwell’s poetry and prose by a host of your favorite on-stage personalities (Robert Faires, Bernadette Nason, Kathy Catmull, and more). Mr. Faires will serve as compere, so you know there’ll be some intelligent, intentional humor amidst all our fooling around. For those of you with a large question mark still hanging before you, yes, the rumors are true, Robi has written a play -- with music -- and now he needs to raise some cash money to help put it on. This is what Orwell’s birthday party is all about. The play is all about miners in Lancashire in the 1930s, very amusing, we assure you. The Late Joy’s are the band that performs during the play, here ripped from fiction to warble for you, live. The Late Joy’s are David Jones, Matt Patterson, Gordon Gunn, and Robi Polgar, and they’ll play songs from the show and other sundry tunes for your pleasure (we hope). A recap: What: George Orwell’s Centenary Birthday Bash (a fundraiser for Robi’s play of exceedingly long title) When: Monday, June 23, 6:30 - 10:30pm Where: The Lounge, 4th & Colorado (Between Spaghetti Warehouse and the Bitter End) How Much: Sliding scale ($5 - $25 or more; cash or check only, please) Information: contact Robi Polgar via e-mail at robi@latejoys.com Website: www.latejoys.com (goes live 6/1/2003 -- you’ll get another e-mail blast to alert you to this glorious day, promise!) A splendid time is guaranteed for all. So please drop by and help support the play. To unsubscribe: You received this e-mail missive because you work/worked with Robi, you play/played soccer with Robi, you are/were Robi’s neighbor, you once saw a show Robi directed, or you were scavenged as someone who once foolishly expressed an "interest in theatre." If you wish to unsubscribe from this list, well, we’re sorry you have to go, but we understand. Reply to robi@latejoys.com with "unsubscribe" as the subject, and we’ll take your name off this list. From robi@latejoys.com Wed Jun 4 14:25:34 2003 From: robi@latejoys.com (robi@latejoys.com) Date: Wed, 4 Jun 2003 09:25:34 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Wiganpier] The Wigan Pier website is up Message-ID: <49289.209.99.35.104.1054733134.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> [Unsubscribe notice] We think we’ve worked the kinks out of our e-mail list, but if you believe you have received this message in error, we apologize. Please scroll down to the bottom where you will discover how to unsubscribe. For the rest of you... www.latejoys.com is the new Wigan Pier website (see below) George Orwell’s Centenary Birthday Bash is coming June 23 (see even further below) www.latejoys.com Finally, a mine of information (cough, cough) where you’ll find the latest in entertaining, educational, dare we say inspirational (we dare!) nuggets of gold/lumps of coal about the upcoming soon-to-be-heavily-hyped world premiere theatrical production, The Road To Wigan Pier: A (Socialist) Tea-Time Travelogue & Historical Musical Revue, by Mr.Robi Polgar. Now you can stroll around www.latejoys.com and -- -- Hear clips of the songs from the production -- Find background information on various topics covered in the play, including George Orwell, coal mining, trade unions, football (uh, soccer), and more -- Discover “why” Mr.Polgar wrote the play (if you can locate the rather well hidden link!) -- See who’s already helped us out on our list of thank you’s (thank you!) -- Find out how you can “muck in” to help the production George Orwell’s Centenary Birthday Bash is coming soon! Get all excited about our upcoming fundraiser that features bingo for fabulous prizes, called by Mr. Paul Norton of Leicester, England; readings of Orwell’s poetry and prose by local theatre luminaries; the now-in-progress-yet-not-yet-in-the-can comedic film, “A Short History of Coal and Coal Mining in England,” by Lowell Bartholomee; and live music by The Late Joy’s, all for your pleasure and our coffers. Your MC for the evening is the dapper Mr. Robert Faires. www.latejoys.com A splendid time is guaranteed for all. [Unsubscribe notice] If you received this e-mail it is because you have expressed an interest in The Road To Wigan Pier: A (Socialist) Tea-Time Travelogue & Historical Musical Revue, or because you still believe in the power of live theatre -- and good for you. If you have doubts as to your interest in the project or in theatre’s ability to move huge swathes of the community to action, please reply with “Unsubscribe” in the subject box, and you’ll never hear from us again. Thank you. From robi@latejoys.com Wed Jun 18 03:10:35 2003 From: robi@latejoys.com (robi@latejoys.com) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 22:10:35 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Wiganpier] George Orwell's birthday party is Monday night Message-ID: <49252.209.99.97.67.1055902235.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> George Orwell’s Centenary Birthday Bash is almost upon us. This splendid, summer Monday night (June 23) why not... Try your hand at Bingo for fabulous prizes, called by Leicester’s own, Mr. Paul Norton, assisted by local lass, Ms. Lara Toner? Listen to inspiring poetry and prose by Mr. O, read by some of Austin’s finest stage artists: Ms. Bernadette Nason, Mr. Brad Carlin, Mr. Brent Werzner, Mr. Gray Haddock, Ms. Kathy Catmull, Mr. Lowell Bartholomee, Mr. Matt Patterson, Mr. Paul Norton, and your Master of Ceremonies for the evening, the unflappable Mr. Robert Faires? Watch with bated breath, the short, short film by Mr. Bartholomee about our happy enterprise? Hear the debut of the pop combo, The Late Joys (Messrs. Polgar, Jones, Gunn, and Patterson), who’ll play selections from the production, as well as other and sundry tunes? The festivities will be held at The Lounge (4th & Colorado) on Monday, June 23, from 6:30 - 10:30pm. Entry fee is by donation, with a sliding scale starting at $5, rising to ludicrous sums of cash, as you see fit. George Orwell’s Centenary Birthday Bash is a fundraiser for the upcoming production of “The Road To Wigan Pier: A (Socialist) Tea-Time Travelogue & Historical Musical Revue,” penned and produced by Mr. Robi Polgar. For more information, http://www.latejoys.com From robi@latejoys.com Thu Sep 4 16:06:52 2003 From: robi@latejoys.com (robi@latejoys.com) Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 11:06:52 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Wiganpier] End of Summer Update Message-ID: <49446.209.99.35.108.1062688012.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> Hello all, and welcome back to Wigan and our Wigan Pier project website, http://www.latejoys.com. The website's been updated with new material, and more new stuff is on the way. Surf about (or should that be spelunk?) and find production dates, photos from the summer fundraiser, the current cast list (almost complete), and other sundry items (with 100% less tripe, guaranteed). Write us and tell us what you think. And do send us money. (No, really. Rehearsals start in 8 weeks, and it's time to shore up those pesky little details like props, rehearsal rooms, video rentals (gotta learn those accents!), and all that glorious PR (lies, lies, and more lies -- but entertaining lies, we think). Click on the "thank you" lump of coal, and see who's already helped us out! Click on the "muck in" lump to see how you can help! And just in case you thought that 1930s Wigan wasnt relevant to today's America, read this editorial from Wednesday's N.Y. Times about the growing unemployment problem in our fair land. With more than eight million Americans out of work, the creation of a new undersecretary post is at best a feeble effort: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/03/opinion/03WED2.html?ex=1063621551&ei=1&en=3a3dbdc847d08c09. We're not even going to THINK about listing links that connect George Orwell's bleak imaginings to current events around the world. There wouldn't be enough room! Finally, it's au revoir to drummer Matt Patterson, who leaves The Late Joys on a free transfer to the English First Division side London Utd. He'll be juggling balls in good ol' Blighty come the new year. From robi@latejoys.com Tue Oct 28 03:09:25 2003 From: robi@latejoys.com (robi@latejoys.com) Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2003 22:09:25 -0500 (EST) Subject: [Wiganpier] Wigan in the the fall Message-ID: <49344.207.170.90.248.1067310565.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> Prospective visitors to Wigan Pier, prepare yourselves... It's almost 10 weeks away. No, not the Iowa caucus, something REALLY big: The Road To Wigan Pier: A (Socialist) Tea-Time Travelogue & Historical Musical Revue, an original play with a stellar cast, fanciful tunes, occasional banter, and more than a few cups of tea. Read all about it (and skip the rest of this windy missive) at http://www.latejoys.com. Now, we don't mean to boast, but it doesn't get any bigger than this. Well, all, right, it DOES, but our heads are so firmly stuck up our collective Orwellian "haitches" that we have no idea what else may be going on across this great big conker we call Earth. But we do know what is going on UNDER it -- miners are hacking away at the coal face! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, coal is back in fashion, so the lads (and lassies) of the 7th Street Working Men's Club are stepping forward to enlighten and entertain you as to the high-couture world of the "black stuff." We've got our cast and we've got a finished script, snippets of which you can preview on the good ol' highly functional Wigan Pier website: http://www.latejoys.com Click on over, surf around a bit, tell your friends how screamingly funny we are (or just lie to them, we don't care how you get rope them in). And, if you haven't yet, do consider making a contribution to the project; now that NPR has finally made its millions, it's time for us lesser lights of the strictly NOT-for-profit arts world to make ours. Next newsletter (never fear, it might show up some time in December, provided we don't forget): word on how to get tickets to this slightly-less-than-lavish theatrical enterprise, and MUCH MUCH MORE. You've stopped reading this, haven't you? To those who've made it this far, a hearty thank you from Robi and the cast, crew, and captives of Wigan Pier http://www.latejoys.com From robi@latejoys.com Tue Dec 16 16:39:32 2003 From: robi@latejoys.com (robi@latejoys.com) Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 11:39:32 -0500 (EST) Subject: [Wiganpier] The Road To Wigan Pier Christmas Update Message-ID: <49579.207.170.91.204.1071592772.squirrel@webmail.pair.com> Get Stuffed! Yes, dear reader, it has come to this sorry state: On a recent, cold, wintry morning, we held up our empty Christmas stocking, shook it with major miner's ire, and willed it to stuff itself with the things we need to keep our play on course for a smooth opening that is A Mere Month From Now (genuflect, genuflect, genuflect). Of course no amount of prayer or scolding or shaking (or the subsequent sneezing -- wow, that is one dusty old sock!) had the desired effect. Our stocking was still empty. Oh! where was the jingle jangle of copper and silver (bells, that is)? So we turn to you, dear reader/theatre supporter/friend of Wigan. Help us to stuff our musty old stocking this season and we'll bring you a play like no other you've ever seen. Click on the URL at the bottom of this peon's paean to jump to the new and improved, contributor-friendly, satirical-historical tea-time information machine that is our website and see what's new in Wigan, as well as the myriad ways you can muck in. There. We got all the way to the end of this missive without even once mentioning the word "money." Oh. Next month: "How to become a member of the 7th Street Working Men's Club," or "I used to be called a 'ticket,' but the playwright likes to hear himself speak, so now I am a 'membership card.' Sigh." http://www.latejoys.com Happy Holidays from the lads and lasses of the nearly infamous 7th Street Working Men's Club. See you in 2004!