Employment -- Performers 2012
Employment -- Tech 2012
Thoroughly Modern Millie -- Millie and The Moderns
Jekyll & Hyde -- Grating, with smoke and light effects for the "burning"
THE SCHEDULE
Your schedule will vary from day to day, and yes, it will be quite full, but there is also regular time off.
Performers get lots of stage time, with 15 performances over the two-week run. Matinees and evening shows are Thursday through Sunday the opening week, and Wednesday through Sunday the second week. Rehearsal times work around the performance schedule.
The children’s theatre shows perform on Friday and Saturday mornings during July and August.
Tech departments generally work a similar daily schedule to the performers, although when a show is starting rehearsal/production their days might be shorter and then get longer as it gets closer to opening.
It is busy, but it’s also so rewarding, and so much fun to be busy doing what you enjoy so much!
HOUSING
The theatre owns several houses in and near the village of Chatham. We admit it, they’re old, and while not fancy, they are adequate, with all the basic necessities. All the houses have fully equipped kitchens, and either eat-in kitchens or dining rooms, and ample sized living rooms. There are some single bedrooms, but most are shared by two or three people.
Most of the performers live at a property with two houses on it; one is a large, old Victorian house, the other is a converted carriage house. This is a little over a mile from the theatre.
Directors, designers and job-in performers usually stay at a duplex house, with mostly single rooms. It’s less than ½ mile from the theatre, and right across the road from a gas station/mini-mart/ice cream shop.
Another small house is about 3 miles away, in the hamlet of Ghent. Usually people who have worked here for several seasons stay there; it has 3 bedrooms that can be single or double, and kitchen, dining and living room areas. A car is necessary for people living at this house.
Now, about housing for the tech crew people: until the middle of last summer we had a house with two large apartments for them. Unfortunately, during the season, it burned down. So, right now we are hard at work seeing what our best option will be to replace it. We might be able to buy another house, we might be able to put up something on the property the old house was on, we might have people in private homes – or it might be a mix of any of those. We promise that we will have housing for the whole crew, we just don’t at this point know what or where it will be.
The furnishings are like the houses, adequate but nothing fancy. Most are hand-me-downs, but they are completely functional. The kitchens have all the basic equipment and appliances. There are heavy comforters for the beds, but you will need to bring your own pillows, linens and we’d suggest a light blanket. You also need your own towels and so on, of course.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHATHAM AREA
WEATHER
Northeast weather is nothing if not variable: last year was cool and rainy, the year before temperatures soared, one year it snowed during rehearsals for the first show! Generally when you first arrive it is cooler, especially at night, and you’ll want a jacket or sweatshirt. If this summer is ‘normal’, temperatures will be in the 80’s during the day and lower 70’s at night, with low to moderate humidity .
LODGING
There are no large “chain” motels in the immediate area; there are some small ones nearby, and many Bed & Breakfasts. The Box Office will have a list on recommended ones (we recommend the ones which advertise in our program).
TRAVEL
Airplane: Albany International Airport serves several major airlines
Train: Amtrak comes to Albany-Rensselaer and Hudson, NY
Bus: Greyhound and Trailways have terminals in Albany; Peter Pan in Pittsfield, MA
Driving: the theatre is on Route 203, about ½ mile west of the intersection of Routes 66 and 203 in Chatham; we are near the Berkshire Spur of I-90 and also the Taconic Parkway. for GPS, the street address is 1925 State Route 203, Chatham, NY, 12037.
BANKING
Chatham has five banks. No, we don’t know why a town this size needs five banks. These are:
Bank of America, First Niagara Bank, National Union Bank of Kinderhook, Bank of Greene County and Trustco. You may open accounts at any of these.
FOOD
Groceries:
Price Chopper Supermarket in the small plaza on Route 66 at the south end of the village
Hannaford Supermarket in Valatie by the circle at the intersection of Routes 9 and 9-H
Mini Marts:
In the gas stations by the Route 66 and 203 intersection and on Route 66
Farm Markets:
Organic produce and other goodies at the market store on Church Street, between the traffic light and the theatre, open Wednesday through Saturday
Organic produce and other goodies at The Berry Farm, on Route 203 about 2 miles west of the theatre
Eating Out:
There is an eclectic assortment of restaurants, pizza places and other eating places in and around Chatham. Check the program book, we’d love for people to patronize the places that support us. Also ask the Box Office for suggestions.
LAUNDRY
There’s a Laundromat on Route 66/Hudson Ave. just north of the traffic light; there’s also one in Valatie that will do drop off.
SHOPPING
Check out the shops on Main Street, they have a diverse selection of things from vegan clothing to books.
Family Dollar in the plaza on Route 66 for general items of all sorts
Super WalMart is in Hudson, about 15 minutes away
There are Malls in Albany and Pittsfield, with all the usual mall stores, movies and food courts
ENTERTAINMENT
The Crandall Theatre in Chatham is a gem, showing current movies at $5.00, popcorn is only $1.50.
There are movie-plexes in Hudson, about 15 miles, and in the malls in Albany and Pittsfield.
OTHER THINGS TO DO
There are many historic, scenic and interesting things in the area, some of these are:
Museums and historic sites:
Lindenwald, the home of 8th President Martin Van Buren, near Kinderhook
Olana, the Moorish castle style home of artist Frederic Church, near Hudson
The House of History in Kinderhook, also the Van Alen House near there
Outdoorsy things:
There are several hiking areas nearby, Columbia Land Conservancy sites offer easy hiking and great scenery, one is just outside the village of Chatham and several others are very nearby.
More rigorous hiking may be done at Beebe Forest, about a 20-minute drive, or in the Catskills or Adirondacks, 45 minutes to a couple of hours drive.
Shopping:
As mentioned, the stores in Chatham have a very varied assortment of things
Hudson has Walmart, Kohls, TJMaxx, and downtown Hudson is wall to wall antique and kitschy little shops
There’s an outlet mall over in Lee, Massachusetts
And the regular malls in Albany and Pittsfield
Swimming:
At Crellin Park, on route 66 at the edge of the village, just past the street to the performer cast houses
