Passionate Performers. Passionate Volunteers.

Hurricane Irene almost brought us to our knees on August 28, 2011. But with the help of over 30 volunteers, the Spring Garden Mill was made whole enough in a few days to allow the interrupted production, Rabbit Hole, to get off three more performances before striking the set. Here are photos of just some of the wonderful people who make up Langhorne Players.

 

Ken Junkins

I worked on various theatrical productions with several past and present LP staples long before I ever visited the Spring Garden Mill. Community Theater is very incestuous, and whenever you work with someone new, you can bet that they have worked with someone who has worked with someone you have worked with before. When actors and technicians talk about working at LP, they talk with excitement. They talk about how wonderful it is to practice and develop your art here, and how respectful everyone is of each other’s talents. This buzz about town made me curious and eventually I came to see what everyone was excited about. The first show Kathy and I saw here was Incorruptible (in 1998) and we enjoyed it immensely. In the time shortly following that I worked in some capacity or other with just about everyone in that production; Joe and Ken and Natalie and Susan. And again, there was a buzz about LP, but this time it was about the cutting edge of theater that was selected to be performed here, and how audiences, well, if not craved these shows which were far from the familiar chestnuts, they at least conversed excitedly about them. I was hooked, and began looking for an opportunity to work here, to engage with this theater, its stalwarts and its audiences. I was (and am) known in local theaters for my scenic designs, though I have also been known to sometimes act, and sometimes sing, and sometimes even produce. Yet my first opportunity at LP came when I saw a call for directors for the 2009 production of Darwin in Malibu. With a handful of directing and co-directing projects behind me, I leapt at the chance to direct something new and fresh and in particular at the Spring Garden Mill. Having gratefully been given the opportunity, and being blessed with a successful production I looked toward volunteering in other capacities. I ushered, I signed on to design and produce November for Aaron Wexler, I designed Eurydice for Maurizio Giammarco, and at the end of the 2010 season I took on the responsibility for the scene shop, as, what I like to call, “Shop Boss”. In 2011 I am excited to be designing the sets for all five of the season’s shows, as well as having just produced End Days for my wife, Kathy. I am excitedly looking forward to volunteering for our fundraiser Showin’ Off in September, and I will be the featured gallery artist during The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. Langhorne Players is known for “Plays Worth Talking About”, but it is also a theater worth talking about, a volunteer experience worth talking about. People in every capacity and theatrical corner of this theater rich region talk about LP. I invite you to volunteer in some capacity, big or small, and experience for yourself why we are worth talking about.

Tyler Winthrop

 Reprinted from the program for END DAYS by Deborah Zoe Laufer, July 2011

It has been ten years since I have started coming here to the Spring Garden Mill, and I can honestly say I would not be doing what I do if it was not for this group.

When I first arrived, I was a novice to the theatre world, a bio geek at heart, who loved the stage. My first show here was dirtyBLONDE, and I remember feeling as I came out of the theatre that there was something special here, and that I had to start volunteering.

It started off small, ushering, helping with set construction, until I was asked to help assistant stage manage one of their shows Anton in Show Business.  I had never done anything like that before, and was surprised and relieved at how helpful everyone was. I was asked to run lights, again not knowing a thing about them, and again through the kindness of their hearts, the Players showed me the ropes on that too.

I think that is why I love this theatre more than any other, because of the way you get treated and everyone’s willingness to help others learn and grow as an actor, director, stage manager and person. You don’t have to be some creative genius, just a person who loves the arts and who is willing to learn.  And through this group I found a passion I never knew existed. It’s been ten years and in the fall I will be starting school for my Masters in Stage Management at Rutgers University. I never would have found this if not for the people of Spring Garden Mill, and I hope once school is over, I can return for another ten years.

Alice and John Weber

Reprinted from the program for SEASCAPE by Edward Albee, June 2011

We began our association with Langhorne Players in 2000 when Alice took on stage manager duties for Light Sensitive.  We had only moved to Bucks County (from Delaware County) a couple of years earlier and were still finding our way as far as what theater in this neck of the woods was like.  And we are fortunate that we discovered Langhorne Players shortly after we got involved in the theater scene in our new location.

Between the two of us, we’ve filled every role possible at Langhorne (pun intended) – we have played lead and supporting parts, stage managed and directed, ushered and handed out programs, helped built sets, run lights and sound, sold tickets and set out refreshments, produced sound effects from scratch as well as borrowed them from outside sources, written and recorded scripted materials to be used during scene changes and even recorded the curtain-opening speeches one season.  And we wouldn’t have it any other way!  Because to enjoy the full experience of Langhorne Players, you need to take part in every facet of a production. 

What we found in Langhorne Players is a place that strives to be on the cutting edge.  A place that produces shows that are lesser known, but much more rewarding, both for the audience and those involved in the productions.  There are higher standards to be met here, but the results are always worth the extra effort.  If you are reading this now, then chances are you have been to a few shows here before, or perhaps you’re a season ticket holder.  Then you know what we say is true – you will not see shows of this quality and this uniqueness in very many other places.  And a Langhorne Players ticket is very affordable, considering what you will receive in return. 

Theater is very important to us.  It changed our lives.  We met doing Ten Little Indians in high school and sometimes wonder what our lives would have been like had one of us not been cast, or if one of us decided not to audition for that particular play.  We have worked separately and together in theaters all over the Delaware Valley and, looking back over it all, we can truly say that there is nowhere that comes close to the Langhorne Players experience.  We are proud to be associated with Langhorne – we have grown in so many ways and hope that our contributions help this theater continue to grow. Long live Langhorne Players!!

Jim and Lauren Perry

Reprinted from the program for ORSON'S SHADOW by Austin Pendleton, October 2010

We have had the pleasure of calling Langhorne Players, and the Spring Garden Mill our “Home Theatre” for a combined 27 years! Jimmy joined the theater in 1993.

“Of all the places I’ve worked in my theatrical career, I always truly feel ‘home’ when working at Langhorne Players. Maybe it’s the open, collaborative, way the theatre troupe operates, or maybe it’s just the familiar scent of the building that reminds me of wonderful summers of my early adolescence, a time where my passion for theatre began.

"My first show was Shivaree by William Mastrosimone. I had just turned 19 and was playing a teenaged boy who suffered from Hemophilia and who was in love with a belly dancer who lived next door. I was young and excited because this was a big role! I couldn’t wait to tell my Mom. The conversation went something like this:

Jimmy: Mom! I got the lead in show!
Mom: That’s great news Jimmy. Good job!
Jimmy: There are so many lines.
Mom: You’ll do fi ne, you always do.
Jimmy: I get to have a love scene with a really hot girl that plays a belly dancer!
Mom: You WHAT?!”

Since that fateful conversation, Jimmy has gone on to do just more than just perform on Langhorne’s stage. He’s run lights and sound for numerous productions, designed lights and sets, acted as chair of the Tech Committee (building a number of sets), and served on the Board of Directors as Member at Large 2002 to 2004, again in 2005, and Vice President 2006 to 2009.

Lauren started working at The Mill in 2000. “I made my LP stage debut in 2001 with our production of A Fair Country, and followed that with a role in the next production of the same season, As Bees in Honey Drown. But in 2003, I had my most adventurous moment, being directed in Laundry and Bourbon by my then-boyfriend Jimmy. We didn’t quite know how it would work as a Director/Actor team, but we made it through without causing any bodily harm. We wed in 2005, so we’re pretty sure it worked out okay!

"I continued my LP fun, joining Jimmy on the Board of Directors, first as Secretary 2002 to 2004, then 2005 through 2008, and finally stepping into the role of President last year. In between I did a little stage managing, and of course, was your regular at the season ticket table 2001 through 2009.

"Together, we’ve participated in a number of productions throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, but Langhorne Players is truly our home—it’s our version of a playground. We come to feed our imaginations, building new worlds and creating a space where any and all are welcome to set aside the cares of the world and experience something new each night the lights go up.

"We have always enjoyed our time at The Mill. It’s more than just the excellent work the theatre produces. The lasting friendships we have developed with so many wonderful people over the years are ones we will cherish forever; and we hope to add new faces and new friends in the years to come.

"On a personal note…in the 1950’s Jimmy’s mother Julie was a member of Langhorne Players, so he’s second generation – how cool is that? And in January, 2011 we are expecting to welcome our first little one—the third generation Langhorne Players Member for our family—that’s even cooler!"