Tag Archives: Jane Morgan Balgavy

Creative Class 2016: Jane Morgan Balgavy

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cc16-balgavyFrom attorneys to local news anchors to MTV actors to Fortune 500 executives, Jane Morgan Balgavy, has molded many lives in her career teaching theatre, debate, and forensics.  As an actor, she has graced many stages in Little Rock and Central Arkansas.  Among her most recent performances are Grace in Bus Stop, Carrie in The Trip to Bountiful, M’Lynn in Steel Magnolias and Jane in A…My Name Is Alice.  She also appeared in the 2014 Listen to Your Mother.  As a director, she has helmed many productions at area high schools and for non-profits.  She is currently rehearsing the cast for her upcoming Little Shop of Horrors.

But it is in role as a teacher she has probably made her most lasting impression.  Whether the students ultimately end up on stage as a career is not her goal. Her primary aim is to use the arts to instill confidence, self-worth, a zest for life, a zeal for learning, and respect for others.  Currently she is the Department Chair of the Arts District at the new Jacksonville High School.  When not on stage, she is usually taking her students to see shows at various Central Arkansas theatres.  She has won numerous awards as an educator, but she would probably say her biggest title is to be: Rocky & Neva’s daughter, John’s wife, Hayden’s mom, and lover of animals.

LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER on Mother’s Day

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ltymListen To Your Mother is a national series of live readings in celebration of Mother’s Day – quite literally giving motherhood a microphone. This year, LTYM shows will take place in 32 cities across the country, and appear in Little Rock for the very first time!

Local writers, bloggers, and storytellers will share their own original writing, showcasing motherhood in all its complexity, diversity, and humor. Listen To Your Mother is the perfect way to spend your Mother’s Day. Come with your f­amily or a group of your friends, and get ready to be amazed at the stories Little Rock has to offer!

LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER: Little Rock

Sunday, May 11, 3:00 pm at The Rep

Featuring stories from:

  • Jane Morgan Balgavy
  • Carolyn Bechtold
  • Katherine Blackmon
  • Leah Braswell
  • Bobby Harrison
  • Ginny Hensley
  • Allison Herndon
  • Jennifer Holsted
  • Julie Kohl
  • Melissa McCurdy
  • Sarah Orsborn
  • Jennifer Barnett Reed
  • Barbara Scorza
  • Kendra Skaggs
  • Stacey Valley

 

Listen To Your Mother aims to support motherhood creatively through artistic expression, and also financially–through contributions to non-profit organizations supporting families in need. Each LTYM show donates a minimum of 10% of ticket proceeds to a local cause, as well as providing the cause awareness/fund-raising opportunities.

For tickets, call The Rep at (501) 378-0405.

CTLR offers THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL through May 10

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CTLR TripHorton Foote’s Tony winning play The Trip to Bountiful is the next offering of the Community Theatre of Little Rock.

This is the poignant story of Mrs. Watts, an aging widow living with her son and daughter-in-law in a three-room flat in Houston, Texas. Fearing that her presence may be an imposition on others, and chafing under the watchful eye of her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Watts imagines that if she can get away and return to her old home in the town of Bountiful, she is sure to regain her strength, dignity and peace of mind.

She attempts to run away, and when she reaches a bus station on the last part of her short journey, she falls into the hands of a sheriff whom her son and daughter-in-law have put on her trail. The sheriff, a kindly fellow, allows her to complete the final stage of her journey, so she proceeds to Bountiful and makes a lonely pilgrimage to the scene of her old home.

Only too soon she learns that the friends of her youth have all died or scattered, and her home is no longer the spacious mansion of her memories but a crumbling wreck. But she has the supreme satisfaction of plunging her hands into the strength-giving earth, and this leaves her with a sense of that strength and dignity that will give her the courage to survive. When her son and daughter-in-law appear on the scene to take her back to Houston, she consents to return quietly, secure in the knowledge that the remainder of her existence will be enriched as a result of her last contact with Bountiful.

The cast is led by Jane Morgan Balgavy as Carrie with Chuck Massey as her son, Ludie and Susan Troillet as her daughter-in-law Jessie Mae.  Others in the cast include Kate Lauck, Chris Boggs, Mark Troillett, Jerry Woods and Tim Sopel.

The production is directed by Harold Dean with Jerry Woods as Stage Manager.  Chris Boggs is Executive Producer with Liz Turner as producer.

The production opens tonight at 7:30.  Performances are April 25 & 26, May 2 & 3, and May 9 & 10 at 7:30. Matinees at 2pm are offered on April 27 and May 4.

The Trip to Bountiful will be presented in the Mini-Auditorium of NLR High School Freshman Campus (2400 Lakewood Rd) behind Target.

 

A…My Name Is Alice @ Weekend Theater

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The Weekend Theater’s production of A…My Name Is Alice wraps up this weekend.

The show was conceived by Joan Micklin Silver and Julianne Boyd, with contributions from multiple collaborators. It opens Friday, May 4 and runs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through May 20.  Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $16 for students and seniors age 65 and over.

The cast features area actors Antisha Anderson-Scruggs, Jane Morgan Balgavy, Sarah Scott Blakey, Rachel Hampton, Erin Martinez, Danette Scott Perry, Samantha Porter, and Beth Ross, who will portray various characters in the 20 or so scenes.  When casting the show, director Duane Jackson was looking for women of all ages, sizes, shapes, colors, and life experiences.

While each scene is self-contained, the overarching connection is always the lives of women: the friendships they share, the trials they face, and the joys of sharing this journey of life. Most consist of songs, and there are a couple of monologues, as well as a series of short poems interspersed throughout the show.

Among the scenes are “Sisters,” which details a lifelong sibling rivalry that reaches a bittersweet conclusion. “At My Age” is a duet between a 50-something widow and a teenager, both preparing for long-awaited dates with excitement and trepidation. In “Good Thing I Learned to Dance,” a woman goes from past to present recalling how dancing gave her a sort-of-safe way to let out her inner “bad girl.”

To make reservations or get more information, visit the online ticketing system at http://www.weekendtheater.org; tickets will also be sold at the door on performance days, based on availability. Reservations are no longer accepted by phone, but you can get information about the production by calling (501) 374-3761.