EPAC enters the 21st Century!
Hi everyone, TJ here. You know, Lou’s wife. Yes, Lou has a wife, and it isn’t Annie Liguori.! By the way, Carly Liguori isn’t his daughter either! LOL.
So, we are preparing to celebrate EPAC’s first decade as a very busy performing arts center! Just think, it’s been ten years since Bob Corwin approached Lou Ligouri and Pat Foti about reviving the old Towne Theatre, and ten years since the formation of “The Dirty Dozen,” our core group of volunteers; without their blood, sweat and tears, EPAC would still be just a dream. If you go the “History and Renovations” section of the website, you can see some great before-during-after pictures of the theatre as it went through it’s growing pains to become the elegant old gal that she is today.
I’ve updated the website recently, but as soon as I can get a handle on using Flash, we’ll have a really spiffy new website that you’ll be extra-proud to send your friends to visit.
I’m hoping this blog will become a wealth of information about all things EPAC. Drop us a line and let us know what you think.
Your fellow Drama Queen, TJ
February 16, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Hello to one and all… Lou Ligouri here…
Thanks for stopping by our blog. Hopefully, it will be a great place to chat and exchange ideas about what’s going on and what will be happening in the future.
We just closed our run of 6 performances of TOMMY to rave reviews! The cast worked super hard and the band was par excellence! The Kids Theater Workshop is in full swing and working hard on The Wizard of Oz and Fame which will be going up in April-May.
The next EPAC Repertory production will be Cabaret in June and audition announcements will be sent out shortly.
Our 10th Anniversary celebration will be held in May and plans are in the works to make it a memorable occasion.
Stop by again… leave a comment!
see you at the theater…
Lou
February 18, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Here’s some trivia for you from Dennis Andrus, backstage volunteer extraordinare! Thanks Dennis!
Break a leg: Meaning:
Said to actors for good luck before they go on stage, especially on an opening nights.
Origin:
Theatrical types are well-known for their belief in superstitions, or at least for their willingness to make a show of pretending to believe them. The term ‘break a leg’ appears to come from the belief that one ought not to utter the words ‘good luck’ to an actor. By wishing someone bad luck, it is supposed that the opposite will occur. Other superstitions are that it is bad luck to whistle in a theatre, to say the final line of a play during dress rehearsal, or to say the name of ‘the Scottish Play’ in a theatre’s green room.
The word ‘break’ has many meanings – the OED lists 57 distinct uses of it as a verb alone. That gives considerable scope for speculation over what is meant by the phrase. The most common interpretation of ‘break’ in this context is, ‘to deviate from a straight line’, as in the cricketing term, ‘off break’. That is, unstraighten the leg by bending at the knee, by bowing or curtseying.
‘Break a leg’ also means, ‘make a strenuous effort’. There are many references to the phrase used that way, which pre-date the earliest theatrical good luck charm meaning. For example, from The Hammond Times, Indiana, 1942:
“Whatever the army or navy want, the Continental Roll [and Steel Foundry] will turn out … Or break a leg trying.”
From the Evening State Journal, Nebraska, 1937:
“With all the break-a-leg dancing there are many who still warm to graceful soft shoe stepping.”
So, it is possible that when an actor is told to ‘break a leg’, he/she may just be being exhorted to put on an energetic, exciting performance.
There are many other possible derivations in circulation, mostly referring to the ‘good luck’ message. In diminishing order of plausibility, ‘break a leg’ these are:
Put on a performance good enough that you will have to bend your knee in a bow or curtsey to acknowledge the applause.
Impress the audience so much that you will need to bend down to pick up the coins they throw onto the stage.
Pass out onto the stage to receive a curtain call (the side curtains on a stage are known as legs).
Go on stage and have your ‘big break’.
Evoke the powers of the celebrated actress Sarah Bernhardt, who had one leg.
A reference to John Wilkes Booth, who broke his leg when jumping on stage, attempting to flee after shooting President Lincoln.
It is tempting to believe the phrase to be ancient and to imagine it whispered to Tudor minstrels as they went on stage at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. There was an earlier meaning of ‘break a leg’ of that vintage (1670), which was ‘to give birth to a bastard’. This is now entirely out of use and is not related to the theatrical version. The current meaning is nothing like as old. The term originates in the American theatre in the 20th century and all the earliest references to its use are from US sources. The earliest citation we can find in print is from as late as 1948, from an edition of the US newspaper, the Charleston Gazette, in May that year. This is from their ‘Ask The Gazette’ column:
Q. What are some of the well-known superstitions of the theatre?
A. Superstitions of the stage are numerous and many are particular to individual actors and actresses. That it is bad luck to whistle in a dressing room is a widely accepted belief. Another is that one actor should not wish another good luck before a performance but say instead ‘I hope you break a leg.’
That pretty much rules out the Sarah Bernhardt and John Wilkes Booth interpretations which, as well as being rather fanciful, date from too far before any printed version.
There is a German saying, ‘Hals und Beinbruch’, meaning ‘break your neck and leg’, which dates back to at least WWII, as Luftwaffe slang, and is therefore earlier than any known English version. It may be that this is a corruption of the Hebrew blessing, ‘hatzlakha u-brakha’, meaning ’success and blessing’.
German and Yiddish were commonly used languages of the large Jewish contingent of the US theatre world. We can’t be certain of the origin of the phrase, but it’s highly likely to have migrated to English from the earlier German and Hebrew versions.
February 18, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Thanks Dennis, that’s cool!
February 28, 2008 at 8:01 am
Hi everyone, I can’t beleive it has been 10 years!! Congrats on all your accomplishments! I am proud to have been an original dirty dozen, and dirty is certainly the operative word there!! Many more successful years to come, and health and happiness to all my old friends!
March 8, 2008 at 9:39 am
Great to hear from you Kathy… I was going through a ton of pictures of the shows from the last 10 years and found a bunch of pics and video of the theater stage construction.
As I looked at the pics I saw several of you kneeling on stage with a hammer in your hand.. and many others of the dirty “dozen” who worked so hard to bring this great old theater back to life. I watched Bill’s video of the movie screen demolition and marveled at the scope of the project that we undertook… Raising the 50′ procenium girder using block and tackle, removing all of those rusted and rotten theater seats, recycling all the lumber that fell when we took down the screen, scraping the theater floor by hand, jackhammering out the floor so we could raise the steel and create the dressing room beneath the stage and so much more…
It is a testiment to the spirit, courage, and determination of so many community minded people that the Lyric theater lives again as the Endicott Performing Arts Center.
I call it the “miracle on Washington Ave.”
April 1, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Ten Years Ago Today
On a chilly April 1st, 1998, a group of community minded people with a passion for theater turned the key, opened the doors and entered the abandoned “Towne” movie theater.
Originally named the Lyric Theater, the building was built as a vaudeville theater in 1916 by Benjamin Dittrich with assistance from George F. Johnson. Over the years it served as a vaudeville theater, silent movie theater, and finally a “talkie” movie theater. Eventually, the Dittrich family sold the building to the Carroll’s Corporation who changed the name to the “Towne” theater and operated it as a movie theater until they closed the doors and walked away in 1993.
Bob Corwin, Pat and Steve Daglio, Sue Dunlap, Pat Foti and Lou Ligouri entered the abandoned movie theater hoping for the best, but seeing the worst. The theater which had been abandoned for the previous 5 years had fallen in horrible disrepair.
They made their way through broken plaster, falling ceilings, empty, mildewed, and rusted theater chairs, tattered, stained, and rotted curtains, ripped and deteriorated orange and brown wall coverings. There were extra theater chairs piled and stacked as far as the eye could see. Broken concession equipment filled the hallways and lobby. The heating system had long since frozen and quit. The electrical system defied logic. It was obvious that the theater flooded when it rained and water leaked through large holes in the roof and the theater’s rusted pressed tin ceiling. It was quite a sight.
When Bob, Pat & Steve asked Pat and Lou if they might be interested in spearheading the theater renovation project, they jumped at the opportunity. Bob Corwin wrote a check for the deposit on the purchase of the theater and the Endicott Performing Arts Center was born.
10 years later, the Endicott Performing Arts Center is proud of what it has accomplished through the efforts of so many volunteers over the years.
We have rescued an historic landmark and renovated it to its original purpose… a fully functional and beautiful performing arts facility that any community would be proud of.
We established the EPAC Repertory Company which presents high quality and affordable performing arts events to the community.
The EPAC Lyric Performers offer the opportunity for all people, regardless of experience to get involved in and enjoy the many benefits of theater,
The EPAC School for the Performing Arts offers private and group lessons in acting, voice, drums, guitar, piano, and dance.
The EPAC Kids Theater Workshops provides opporutnities for the young people of our community to learn and experience the many wonders and benefits of live theater. Many of our Kids theater alumni’s have gone on to pursue careers in the performing arts.
The EPAC Concert Series showcases regional and touring performing artists to our community.
Last year alone, we brought over 20,000 people down to the Washington Avenue Business District for well over 200 performances, rehearsals, classses and events.
What has been accomplished here on Washington Avenue is nothing short of a “miracle”. It is a tribute and testament to the core group volunteers who gave their time, sweat, and blood to help make our community a better place to live.
This original group of volunteers grew to call themselves the “dirty dozen” with deserved pride. They gave up vacations, weekends, evenings to watch a dream become a reality. It is proof that a community can be changed for the better by individuals with a common cause and passion.
This email is a very sincere and heartfelt thank you to the original “dirty dozen” and the many dozens who have followed over the past 10 years to help EPAC accomplish its mission of helping to make our community a better place to live. It’s a thank you to each member of our community for their support in so many ways. It’s a thank you to the many performing artists and arts organizations who have joined with us in spreading the word about the arts and the wonderful effects that they have on our lives and our economies. Spread the word… miracles can happen…
From Lou Ligouri, Pat Foti, and the Board of the Endicott Performing Arts Center…
God bless you all…. here’s to the winners… and the miracle on Washington Ave.
April 1, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Ten Years Ago Today
On a chilly April 1st, 1998, a group of community minded people with a passion for theater turned the key, opened the doors and entered the abandoned “Towne” movie theater.
Originally named the Lyric Theater, the building was built as a vaudeville theater in 1916 by Benjamin Dittrich with assistance from George F. Johnson. Over the years it served as a vaudeville theater, silent movie theater, and finally a “talkie” movie theater. Eventually, the Dittrich family sold the building to the Carroll’s Corporation who changed the name to the “Towne” theater and operated it as a movie theater until they closed the doors and walked away in 1993.
Bob Corwin, Pat and Steve Daglio, Sue Dunlap, Pat Foti and Lou Ligouri entered the abandoned movie theater hoping for the best, but seeing the worst. The theater which had been abandoned for the previous 5 years had fallen in horrible disrepair.
They made their way through broken plaster, falling ceilings, empty, mildewed, and rusted theater chairs, tattered, stained, and rotted curtains, ripped and deteriorated orange and brown wall coverings. There were extra theater chairs piled and stacked as far as the eye could see. Broken concession equipment filled the hallways and lobby. The heating system had long since frozen and quit. The electrical system defied logic. It was obvious that the theater flooded when it rained and water leaked through large holes in the roof and the theater’s rusted pressed tin ceiling. It was quite a sight.
When Bob, Pat & Steve asked Pat and Lou if they might be interested in spearheading the theater renovation project, they jumped at the opportunity. Bob Corwin wrote a check for the deposit on the purchase of the theater and the Endicott Performing Arts Center was born.
10 years later, the Endicott Performing Arts Center is proud of what it has accomplished through the efforts of so many volunteers over the years.
We have rescued an historic landmark and renovated it to its original purpose… a fully functional and beautiful performing arts facility that any community would be proud of.
We established the EPAC Repertory Company which presents high quality and affordable performing arts events to the community.
The EPAC Lyric Performers offer the opportunity for all people, regardless of experience to get involved in and enjoy the many benefits of theater,
The EPAC School for the Performing Arts offers private and group lessons in acting, voice, drums, guitar, piano, and dance.
The EPAC Kids Theater Workshops provides opporutnities for the young people of our community to learn and experience the many wonders and benefits of live theater. Many of our Kids theater alumni’s have gone on to pursue careers in the performing arts.
The EPAC Concert Series showcases regional and touring performing artists to our community.
Last year alone, we brought over 20,000 people down to the Washington Avenue Business District for well over 200 performances, rehearsals, classses and events.
What has been accomplished here on Washington Avenue is nothing short of a “miracle”. It is a tribute and testament to the core group volunteers who gave their time, sweat, and blood to help make our community a better place to live.
This original group of volunteers grew to call themselves the “dirty dozen” with deserved pride. They gave up vacations, weekends, evenings to watch a dream become a reality. It is proof that a community can be changed for the better by individuals with a common cause and passion.
This email is a very sincere and heartfelt thank you to the original “dirty dozen” and the many dozens who have followed over the past 10 years to help EPAC accomplish its mission of helping to make our community a better place to live. It’s a thank you to each member of our community for their support in so many ways. It’s a thank you to the many performing artists and arts organizations who have joined with us in spreading the word about the arts and the wonderful effects that they have on our lives and our economies. Spread the word… miracles can happen…
From Lou Ligouri, Pat Foti, and the Board of the Endicott Performing Arts Center…
God bless you all…. here’s to the winners… and the miracle on Washington Ave.