Saturday Night is SOLD OUT!

Well, it's officially...Saturday night's performance has officially sold out.  If you want to get in that night, it's waiting list only!

That leaves only TWO MORE CHANCES for you to see this show!  Secure your spots for Friday or Sunday while you still have the chance!

Looking forward to seeing you all at the show!

Closing weekend!

Aaaannd...we're back!

TUG!'s hiatus ends tomorrow - Thursday, September 5th - as the production comes back for its final five performances!

You've only got a few chances left to see this show - and tickets are going quickly.  Don't wait another moment to secure your spot!

This has been such a wonderful ride and we are eager to share the show with as many people as possible.  Don't let the weekend pass you by!

Remaining performances:

Thursday, September 5th @ 2:00pm

Thursday, September 5th @ 7:30pm

Friday, September 6th @ 7:30pm

Saturday, September 7th @ 7:30pm

Sunday, September 8th @ 2:00pm

For Tickets:

Call Festival Theatre's Box Office @ 715.483.3387

-or-

Visit the web site @ www.festivaltheatre.org

WE ARE OPEN!

Three years of planning.

18 months of writing and rewriting.

Three weeks of rehearsal.

Ladies and gentlemen, the curtain is up on This Untoward Generation!  Opening night on Saturday, August 10th started with a full house and ended with a standing ovation.  Sunday's matinee brought the weekend to a close with an exciting talkback with our second audience.  The production is now on hiatus until September 5th, when we'll begin a 5-show closing weekend.  Reserve your seats today!

Thanks to all who helped make this show a reality!  Sending lots of love in your direction.

The cast and crew of TUG! (minus director Cory Johnson, production designer Todd Reemtsma, and production coordinator Jaclyn Johnson) at the end of our opening weekend:

A few shots from Sunday's post-show talkback:

A BIG Thank You!

My files are filled with helpful feedback from friends who spent the last 18 months helping me polish this script.  THANK YOU to all those who read through earlier drafts and offered their thoughts.  This has been a team effort!

Final Rehearsal!

The cast is in for their final rehearsal with director Cory Johnson!

Yes, it's bittersweet....but we're looking forward to that full house tonight!

We've still got a few seats open for Sunday's 2:00 matinee.  Reserve your spot now!

Box Office Phone:  715-483-3387

Web Site:  http://www.festivaltheatre.org/this-untoward-generation.html

Shots from Friday's Preview

We had our first opportunity to share TUG! with an audience last night - thanks to all those who came!

Here are some shots of the cast tuning before the show.

...and we're ready to go!

Check out our new space!

Jackie painting our new risers.

Smile!

She's....supervising?

How's it look??

Opening Night is Sold Out!!

Yep, that's right.  Our Opening Night performance this Saturday has officially sold out.  

That leaves six opportunities for you to see the show -- don't wait another minute to confirm your spot!

FOR TICKETS:

Call:  715-483-3387

or visit the Festival Theatre web site at:  http://www.festivaltheatre.org/this-untoward-generation.html

Director Cory Johnson and the TUG! cast are about to make this barista scene look easy.

Master carpenter Fizz Kizzer is busy bringing our Elbow Room space to a new level!

FOUR days until Opening Night!

Only TWO performances this weekend, and tickets are going fast!  We've got nearly 50% of our opening weekend seats already sold.

If you want in, better reserve sooner rather than later...We can't wait to see you at Festival Theatre!!

Buy tickets online at http://www.festivaltheatre.org/this-untoward-generation.html
or by calling our Box Office at 715-483-3387.

Let the tech-ing begin!

Director Cory Johnson working with Braun & Peltz on "August & Adelaide".

The tech table!  (Director Cory Johnson, Costume Designer Andrew Benson, Stage Manager Isaac Bont)

Training in our stage ninja, Cameron Blair!  (Thank you Kimberly Braun for the photo bomb.)

"August & Adelaide"

Lonely little Cratchit.

The ghost of Jacob Marley!

 

Braun & Seward are all smiles during a break.

Stage Manager Isaac Bont is a very important human being.

Making sweet music.

Associate Artistic Director & Production Coordinator Jaclyn Johnson is not afraid of a little hard labor!

Time to start hanging lights!

Welcome to Tech Week!

Opening Night is THIS SATURDAY (August 10) and we are starting to fill up!

Seating is limited for this production, so don't wait too long to reserve those tickets --

visit Festival Theatre's web site or call our Box Office at 715-483-3387 to make it official!

Thanks for your support!

First Look: Come, Thou Fount

Shannon Mastel & Ethan Bjelland rehearse "Come, Thou Fount".

A burnt intellectual and an eager young seminarian crash minds at a city park in TUG!'s closing vignette.

"How do you prepare yourself for the rest of your life?"

First Look: Casey, the Barista, is a Free-Market Capitalist

The full cast (Seward, Bjelland, Braun, Mastel, and Peltz) in rehearsals for TUG!'s most highly-caffeinated vignette, "Casey, the Barista, is a Free-Market Capitalist".

The early morning coffee rush is the least of Casey's concerns, especially amid a daunting economic climate and the emotional backlash of a failed romance.  Desperate just to break even, Casey begins applying the unyielding rationalism of free-market economics to all aspects of her personal life with a mechanical, Darwinian fervor.  Can this emotional budget find balance?  Can this debt be resolved?

"In a balanced economy, there must be at least as much loss as gain."

Backstage Break

Started working with costumes today.

Jacob Marley's all dressed up with no place to go!

First Look: Marley's Lament

Ethan Bjelland, Erich Peltz, and Shannon Mastel rehearse "Marley's Lament".

After Jacob Marley's cell phone clamors from backstage during a small town theatre's production of A Christmas Carol, a seemingly dull post-show party becomes an existential appraisal of the gadgets that bind us and the tones, tweets, and texts that haunt our daily lives.

First Look: August & Adelaide

Erich Peltz & Kimberly Braun in rehearsals for "August & Adelaide", the first of TUG's four vignettes.

In this scene, former hometown sweethearts Gus and Addie anxiously reconnect to discover that distance has delivered surprising revelations in their lives apart.  How do their new adult lives match up to their teenage expectations?

"Was that some kind of miserable fluke?  Or, was it meant to happen that way?"

Wish you could hear what I'm hearing...

We're heading into our second week of rehearsals and Neil Powell's compositions are coming alive.

This cast is cool.

On-the-Job Training

Tomorrow, we block the behemoth Barista scene.

So, today, our cast and crew took a field trip to Cafe Wren in Luck, Wisconsin and received a crash course in espresso basics led by Stephanie Lundeen!

HUGE THANKS to Stephanie and Cafe Wren!

Aaaaannnd...we're off!

Director Cory Johnson arrived in St. Croix Falls on Friday.

Our cast sat down for their first read-through on Saturday morning.

And tomorrow...blocking rehearsals begin!

Stay tuned -- exciting days ahead!

Pop Quiz

Just go ahead and take this quiz.

There's no reason not to.

"How Millennial Are You?"

http://www.pewresearch.org/quiz/how-millennial-are-you/

Making midnight music in the moonlight...

Composer Neil Powell and Lead Musician Stephanie Seward are hard at work tickling those ivories, in preparation for the start of blocking rehearsals next week.  Neil's original music will be performed live by the cast in this summer's production.

One Month Until Rehearsals Start!

The marquee is up!

Blocking rehearsals start one month from today!

And Kelly Ortega (with Static Death Photography) came in to snap some publicity shots with the cast!

We're excited to get started!

The article that started it all...

Here's some required reading for TUG! fans.

The article that started it all:

What Is It About 20-Somethings? - NYTimes.com

Welcome to the TUG! Blog!

This summer, St. Croix Festival Theatre is producing the world premiere production of This Untoward Generation!, a brand new play by Seth Kaltwasser.

We invite those of you who just can't wait for August 10 to cozy up to our one-stop blog, where you'll see regular updates about the production, meet the cast and crew, and get a behind-the-scenes peak at the rehearsal process.  Follow us on Twitter (@TUGplay) and receive instant notifications whenever the blog is updated.

Thanks for your interest and support!  It's going to be an exciting summer!