By Ann Leach
LETTERS ALOUD: Thanks, But No Thanks – The Greatest Rejection Letters Ever!
Paul Morgan Stetler’s biggest rejection led to his creation of a series of productions focused on letters.
“I’ve been an actor for many years in Seattle and I am no stranger to rejection,” Stetler said. “I wanted one role badly and was up for the lead role and I knew I was right for it. I gave the best audition of my life and came back for a callback and really felt like I had it. I didn’t get the part and it was devastating. I felt like I was losing something that I never got to explore.”
That event found Stetler thinking, “I can’t continue to put myself in a situation where other people are making decisions for me about what I can and cannot do.” So, he began creating and producing work and being someone in charge of his own vision. “And that led me to creating this show,” he said.
Stetler began curating letters he found and looked at how he could create an arc that would take the audience on a journey. “I started out with form letters of rejections and then moved to personal rejections early in your career, and what I found is that they are tremendously funny and what it’s really about is perseverance and people who don’t give up when they experience adversity.”
Audience members will be asked to jot down a quick rejection story of their own that will be collected and possibly read during the second act of the show. “This started when we got a letter handed to us in 2015 when we performed in a tiny Alaska town,” Stetler said. “She told us she was having fun and then described what she was wearing and where she was sitting and that we might want to watch out for her. It was so cute. So, we read her letter on stage and she loved it. So, thanks to Kayla, we have a new way of communicating with our audiences.”
Want to go? LETTERS ALOUD: Thanks, But No Thanks – The Greatest Rejection Letters Ever
Sunday • Feb. 4 • 2 p.m.Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex Beshore Performance Hall
Tickets: $30-$35, plus fees. Call the box office at 417.501.5550.
LIGHTWIRE THEATER
A semi-finalist on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” Lightwire Theater uses a cutting-edge blend of light, technology and music to tell captivating stories.
“We make our shows for people of no particular age,” said Lightwire co-founder Eleanor Carney, who founded it with husband, Ian. “We are definitely family. Your 7-year-old is laughing at one thing and the 40-year-old is laughing at something else, and we include a wide variety of music.”
The performance is given in an all-dark theater where suddenly light illuminates the actors’ costumes that are outfitted with the illuminescent wire and a personal battery pack (using rechargeable batteries) that allows each actor to dim or brighten themselves as their roles demand.
Ian and the crew build all the costumes and sets, including attaching the wire to the skeleton of each costume.
“You can spend a lot of time watching the show and thinking about how the actors are doing what they’re doing,” Eleanor said. “Or you can just surrender to the story and watch the ducks. Our work is very story-driven.”
Want to go? LIGHTWIRE THEATER
Sunday • Feb. 25 • 2 p.m.Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex Beshore Performance Hall
Tickets: Adults $15, children (3-17) free. Call the box office at 417.501.5550.
CHARLES McPHERSON
Charles McPherson was born in Joplin and moved to Detroit at the age of 9, where he studied with renowned pianist Barry Harris and started playing jazz professionally at age 19. From there, McPherson’s career took off, expanding rapidly and taking him to concert venues, festivals, orchestras and jazz halls across the globe.
Today he is 84 years old and just as passionate about his music as he has always been. “I’m in good shape and still travel,” he said. “If you live long enough and you’re healthy and your mind is still good, then it’s almost better in a way than when you were a youth.”
He elaborated on this thought and added, “Wisdom is what comes from living life and trial and error and if you can keep your wits, then a lot of times that creativity and that vision is bigger than when you were 35. And that’s the blessing. If you keep learning something and stay involved then you age more slowly, and your wisdom and you are a happier camper.”
His return-to-Joplin performance (he performed a year ago when the downtown mural depicting famous African American artists with a tie to Joplin was unveiled and his profile was included.) includes a mixed menu of original compositions and selections from the American Songbook. “I’ve got a wonderful band coming with me,” McPherson said. “We’ll be playing the Blues and some Bebop.”
Want to go? CHARLES MCPHERSON
Saturday • Feb. 10 • 7 p.m.Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex Beshore Performance Hall
Tickets: $30-$35, plus fees. Call the box office at 417.501.5550.
AMERICAN PATCHWORK
This diverse group of Grammy-winning and -nominated musicians is on a mission to reclaim the immigrant soul of American roots music. The American Patchwork Quartet draws on a repertoire of centuries-old American folk songs that highlight America’s immigrant roots. They showcase America’s dynamic present by combining the diverse talents of four U.S. citizens, each with a unique cultural background. They are celebrating their debut album that releases Feb. 9.
“We will perform timeless American folk songs from our album,” APQ founder, guitarist and vocalist, said Clay Ross. “These songs helped define our American identity before the commercialization of music. The songs have been passed down for centuries through the oral tradition and the power they have to reflect the human experience is still true today.”
Ross created the concept for APQ but did so with specific musicians in mind. “I try to create a framework where everyone in the group can contribute and feel a sense of ownership for their part in our musical collage,” he said. “The work has grown through an organic process of collaboration with input from each of the musicians.”
The response has been favorable from audience members. Ross said, “People often walk out saying our music has moved them to tears and that our message is a much-needed dose of hope and solidarity during a time of great division.”
Want to go? AMERICAN PATCHWORK QUARTET
Saturday • Feb. 17 • 7 p.m.Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex Beshore Performance Hall
Tickets: $30-$35, plus fees. Call the box office at 417.501.5550.