This season we proudly present students with a unique creative journey. Our adventure takes us deep into the Blue Ridge Mountains where we encounter - THE JACK TALES - These marvelous folktales center around Jack our teenage hero, the universal underdog who outwits the likes of some mighty big players such as giants, witches, robbers, and big brothers! This folk comedy by Rex Stephenson will be performed with live music, dance, singing, acting and puppetry!

For youth 8-18 years old

Session One: June 8 - 26, 2009
Monday - Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - noon
Performances: June 25 & 26 • 7:30 p.m.

Session Two: June 29 - July 17, 2009
Monday - Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - noon
Performances: July 16 & 17 • 7:30 p.m.

Registration Fee
Prior to May 29: $245.00
After May 29: $265.00
Registration is on a first come first served basis!

The Jack Tales Production - Co-Directed by Monica MacLean & local artist Barbara Alexander and we are pleased to announce Geff Crawford as Musical Director

Registration is on a first come, first served basis and class size is limited to 25 students for each session!

Don’t miss the fun - register today! Or call Monica at 209-257-0709!

Mail your registration and payment to:

Monica MacLean
P.O. Box 1422
Jackson, CA 95642

This season we proudly present students with a unique creative journey. Our adventure takes us deep into the Blue Ridge Mountains where we encounter - THE JACK TALES - These marvelous folktales center around Jack our teenage hero, the universal underdog who outwits the likes of some mighty big players such as giants, witches, robbers, and big brothers! This folk comedy by Rex Stephenson will be performed with live music, dance, singing, acting and puppetry!

For youth 8-18 years old

Session One: June 8 - 26, 2009
Monday - Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - noon
Performances: June 25 & 26 • 7:30 p.m.

Session Two: June 29 - July 17, 2009
Monday - Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - noon
Performances: July 16 & 17 • 7:30 p.m.

Registration Fee
Prior to May 29: $245.00
After May 29: $265.00
Registration is on a first come first served basis!

The Jack Tales Production - Co-Directed by Monica MacLean & local artist Barbara Alexander and we are pleased to announce Geff Crawford as Musical Director

Registration is on a first come, first served basis and class size is limited to 25 students for each session!

Don’t miss the fun - register today! Or call Monica at 209-257-0709!

Mail your registration and payment to:

Monica MacLean
P.O. Box 1422
Jackson, CA 95642

Saturday, July 18, 2009 - 8:00 pm $13 adv / $15 day of show

www.jeffreyhalford.com/

Halford just won "Songwriter of the year" at the Southbay music awards in Los Angeles in May 09. He has shared the stage with Robert Earl Keen, Taj Mahal, Dave Alvin, Los Lobos (David Hidalgo called him one mean guitarist). His live show cooks! Searing slide guitar work. His last cd "Broken chord " reached #8 on the Americana Charts.

This San Francisco troubadour serves up a rough and tumble assortment of swampy rockers and lazy, reflective R&B, all sung from the vantage point of someone who's lived life with a street-side view. Imagine Willie Nelson fronting Creedence Clearwater Revival and you get a hint of Halford's visceral perspective.

“Introspective, country-informed ballads, slashing-riff rockers, and Creedence-worthy swamp blues, all infused with Halford's evocative, hard-life lyrics and blazing slide guitar work, combine to maintain his status among the outstanding, essential voices in Americana today.”– San Diego Union-Tribune, Buddy Blue

"Smoking riffs add a nice hitch to this disc. Halford and band blow the roof off with the rollicking "Rent to Own" and approach genius with the touching "Railbirds."
What's Up Magazine, December 2005

“Halford is probably one of the finest slabs of roots rock and country fried blues and soul you’ll hear in this or any other year. Halford is the total package: an engaging singer with razor-sharp guitar chops who writes catchy songs loaded with storied lyrics—it’s almost frightening how good this guy is.”
Bill Frost
Salt Lake City Weekly

"Jeffrey Halford: Soulful blues-influenced storyteller and songwriter with a tight delivery. Halford and crew go well beyond a mastery of their instruments. They're performers, storytellers, and entertainers. Their impeccable improvisational skills make listeners feel that each moment of their performance is unique and special, and their energy could make you want to jump out of your chair and shake."
— Paula Munoz / Music Connection (Live show review)

"After five critically acclaimed albums, Jeffrey Halford has little to prove at this point. He's got a crack band in the Healers, he plays viseral guitar with slinky abandon and writes rootsy swampy blues songs that sting and soothe equally. Halford continues his quality streak with 'Broken Chord.'"
- Brian Baker, HARP MAGAZINE

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR VOTES FOR BEST OF THE A-LIST 2009.

We WON BEST INDEPENDENT THEATRE FOR 2009!! THANKS TO YOU!!

Our 5th Annual Summer Stars Theatre Camp will run two 3 week sessions this year, June 8-26 and June 29-July 17, this year presenting "The Jack Tales" Please see our main calendar or "coming soon" for details.

We are running another Actor's Lab, Tuesdays, July 21-Sept 8. Details, click more information below in this box or see our main calendar by clicking at the bottom of the page.

Christmas Carol will run Fri Nov 20-Sun Dec 13 - Auditions will be in September. More to come later!

Where:
The Historic
Sutter Creek Theatre
When:
July 21 - September 8, 2009
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Fee:
9 week session
Register by July 20 – $225
Day of Class – $250

Contact:
To register or for more information, please call
Monica MacLean at 209-257-0709
The Actor’s Lab An improvisation and acting workshop for all levels –
from the beginner to the veteran performer.

Monica MacLean, a professional actor for the last 30 years and in Theatre Education for the 18 years, Monica MacLean brings a rich background to the historic Sutter Creek Theatre’s new Conservatory. Ms. MacLean is a member of all the performing arts unions. She was awarded a scholarship to study with Lee Strasberg at the Lee Strasberg Institute in Los Angeles in 1972. Ms. MacLean founded the San Carlos Children’s Theatre where she was Artistic Director from 1990-2000. There she received recognition and grants from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, and The Peninsula Foundation. She was given the California Oak Leaf for her outstanding work with children and young adults. Ms. MacLean moved to Amador County in 2005 and taught drama at rgonaut High School. In the summer of 2005 she became Artistic Director of the Sutter Creek Theatre (SCT). Her dedication to theatre education led her to offer the annual Summer Stars Theatre Camp. She also produces and directs an annual community theatre production of A Christmas Carol. In 2008 she created
an SCT production of The Velveteen Rabbit to allow local schools to enjoy live theatre within their own community.

The Actor’s Lab is a safe, nurturing place to work on all aspects of the craft of acting. This workshop is designed to improve your abilities while gaining
con!dence and having fun in a creative atmosphere – including relaxation
techniques, sense memory work, and acting exercises to increase concentration, improvisation and scene work.

Two great bands with an international flavor you just have to hear to believe.

Jessica Fichot appears with her band, and the Fishtank Ensemble appears as well.

Jessica Fichot, a chanteuse, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is a lot like her hometown of Paris: French at heart, but with a soul that's truly international. Drawing from her multi-ethnic French / Chinese / American upbringing, and backed by an amazing quartet of clarinet/sax, upright bass, guitar, and drums, her music fuses styles and languages, taking the listener on a twisting journey out of the French chanson tradition, into the lands of gypsy jazz, Chinese and Latin American folk music, and into the wilderness of her imagination.

Heavily laced with the graceful sounds of clarinet, cello and accordion, her recently released CD "Le Chemin (The Path)" swirls with cabaret style and elements of Paris street chansons, Chinese folk and gypsy jazz. But when combined with her sweet, clear soprano which warbles in French, English, Chinese and even Spanish (on the saucy traditional tune "Los Peces en el Rio") all that ultimately serves to underscore a wide-open sense of childlike wonder at the heart of her songs. It also gives her an oddly hip edge. Whether bemoaning the loss of innocent childhood in "Le Grenier," murmuring the seductive "Le Velours et la Soie" or reinventing the pop standard "Dream a Little Dream of Me" as "Dream/Les Yeux Ouverts," she sounds simultaneously sophisticated and schoolgirlish. Which, come to think of it, is a very American combo.

Fishtank Ensemble offers a unique musical experience--and a rollicking good time! From the smokey cafes of Bucharest to the Gypsy caravans of yesterday, this band evokes the spirit of a past age and the sounds of tomorrow.

“For those in need of having their dervish whirled, the Bay Area's Fishtank Ensemble are the rompin', stompin' leaders of cross-pollinated Gypsy music. French fiddler Fabrice Martinez paid dues gigging Europe in a mule-drawn caravan, including stints in Romani villages. El Douje is the master of 21st-century flamenco guitar, while Aaron Seeman is the king of punk accordion. Audience eyes tend to focus on Ursula Knudson, not only for her virtuosic saw playing and a voice that sings in octaves not yet invented, but also for her sensual beauty. The mix includes a Japanese shamisen player and a rock-bottom upright bassist, and we have a young band that is one of the most thrilling live acts on the planet.”
— Michael Simmons, LA Weekly

Cindy Kalmenson is an original voice in Nashville weaving deep sentiments with honesty and humor. Inspired and influenced by her favorite artists: Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Neil Young, Joan Baez and Emmylou Harris, to name a few, Cindy has developed a unique and heart felt sound very much her own.

California girl leaves her native state for Nashville in '96 after a brief stint at being an actress in LA. In her 20's she taught bilingual second grade in Santa Cruz and Santa Monica as well as high school Spanish...After 7 years teaching school she was ready to chase her dream. At age 35 with no more than a car load of stuff, Cindy moved to Nashville to concentrate solely on writing and singing. Within a year she came out with her debut CD, Let Me Out HEre. The title track was featured in the HBO comedy BIG LOVE in 2006 and the title track also won first place in the 2003 International SOngwriting contest. In 2002, she co-produced Witness, with grammy award winner, Jon Randal. The title track won first place at the prestigious Chris Austin songwriter's contest at MerleFest in 2002. In 2005 Cindy gave birth to her first and only child, Sara. Naturally things changed. Now almost 3 years later, she's back on the road, family in tow, celebrating the release of her 3rd independent release, I'm Not Leaving which is quite ironic since her house is currently on the market in Nashville.

Seemingly a natural comedian (and something of a goofball, in the highest-praise sense of the word), she freely shares the stories behind her songs. Many of these tales left the crowd in stitches, and made the songs all the more poignant in the singing.

You will also undoubtedly learn that not only does she have a great voice and a natural feel for the guitar, but also that she used both talents to showcase the incredible natural acoustics of our early-20th-century theater. Forgoing the amplification system partway through the show, she revealed the engineering genius of the original designers and bulders of this theater. The quietest notes from her guitar rang clearly out into the room, and it's hard to imagine any high-tech engineering marvels making her voice any sweeter than it was that night, unaided by anything but the human soul.

Just about all of folks who took a chance on an unknown-in-these-parts act left the theater glad that they did. Join us on August 29th, and prepare to be enthralled.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009 - 8:00 pm $16 adv / $18 day of show

www.rosieburgess.com

With her quirky and original tunes, Rosie Burgess and her band are captivating audiences wherever she goes. She brings both her love of music, and her engaging sense of humor to the stage, securing a growing fan base of acoustic roots and folk lovers around the globe.

A Victoria Rocks Touring Grant award having propelled her around Australia on national tour, Rosie Burgess has firmly secured a place for herself and her unique brand of urban folkroots music, in the Australian music scene. Playing straight from the heart, Burgess consistently shows us why she is being called “one of our country’s best rising stars.”

Her quirky and original tunes captivate audiences wherever she goes. She brings both her love of music, and her engaging sense of humor to the stage, securing a growing fan base of acoustic roots and folk lovers around the globe.

Her current band line up featuring Sam Lohs from Fruit, on both backing harmonies and percussion, and the UK's Sophie Kinston on electric violin, is a live performance not to be missed.

Mel Watson is the winner of 19 Australian Music Awards for creative achievement in and around the highly acclaimed band Fruit, including 9 awards for 'Most Outstanding Instrumentalist'.

Continuing on from Fruit’s success, Mel is one of the most creative and innovative independent artists to come out of Australia. As a trail-blazer, Mel is unique and exciting, crossing genre’s and uniting new ideas with a fresh approach.

A multi instrumentalist, Mel sings, plays guitar, trumpet, saxophone, flute, tenor horn, bass guitar, and percussion.

She has played with artists such as Michael Frante, ISSA (Jane Siberry),
Catie Curtis, Erin McKeown, Bruce Cockburn, The Neville Brothers and Tommy Emmanuel, to name a few.

Mel has been a part of over 15 independent releases including 3 solo albums. ‘Seed’ is her latest and most ambitious release.
Recorded in her home studio in Seattle, Washington, a self-produced and self engineered release. The beginning of a new era.

Her live performance uses technology to enable her to create beautiful layered pieces, thought provoking and cutting edge.
She uses guitar, vocals, trumpet and saxophone, taking improvising to a new level. Her voice is a dynamic instrument, with a range of four octaves, enabling her to create interesting and subtle aural flavor.

Friday, September 11, 2009 - 8:00 pm $16 adv / $18 day of show

www.skysong.com

In the best of Gypsy fashion, Kim Angelis can change before your eyes. This internationally acclaimed composer and violin virtuoso is often described as “transforming herself from a soft-spoken, modest and spiritual person into a wild creature of the violin with flying skirts and hair, a few broken bowstrings and stomping heals. She is the composer and performer of an international range of pieces written for specific stories and, like Vivaldi, paints the story with surprising color and detail.

You may have heard the passionate, gypsy-inspired music of Kim Angelis on Network TV, PBS,NPR, or during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, when world champion gymnast Kui Yuanyuan of China used music by Kim Angelis for her floor exercise. NBC gave Kui Yuanyuan's performance prime-time coverage, exposing Kim’s music to the “world’s largest audience”. The independent film, Sweet Nothings, released in Feb. 2001, exclusively features music by Kim Angelis, which was nominated for Best Original Score by the California Independent Film Society; the same film was also nominated for Best Score by the International Independent Film Tour. Recently, Kim Angelis signed an exclusive publishing agreement with DSM Producers, one of the entertainment industry’s top placers of music in major films and network television - a deal that certainly validates Kim’s exceptional compositional gifts. Her 1996 CD, Esperanza, was selected as a “Choice Recording” by prestigious Strings magazine, and it received a nomination by Just Plain Folks for Best Instrumental Album! Kim’s most recent CD, Gypsy’s Odyssey, has increased her international fan base with radio airplay in Europe and Australia. This same CD has made “Top Ten” lists in places as diverse as Santa Cruz, CA, and Herford, Germany!

Kim Angelis has enthralled concert audiences from Ancud, Chile, to Alaska and over the seas to Asia with her dazzling virtuosity and exuberant stage presence. Some of the violinist’s most memorable experiences took place on foreign soil; Kim treasures her two concert tours of Taiwan - replete with humorous situations - which culminated in multiple-encore appearances at Taipei’s prestigious National Concert Hall. A pair of extended concert engagements in Chile, which included performances at Universities, Galleries, and the spectacular Palacio Vergado, provided fertile ground for the composer’s imagination.

“What we now commonly think of as Eastern European ‘Gypsy’ music was actually the folk music of that region, kept alive by Rom musicians,” says Angelis. “So... I have taken the varied influences of classical music, flamenco music, and Eastern European folk music, and tried to combine them into a homogenous style of my own. A rather ‘Gypsy-esque’ thing to do, yes?”

Husband Josef's flamenco-styled guitar artistry has been inspired by such luminaries as Manitas de Plata and Sabicas. In addition to accompanying his wife, Kim Angelis, Josef has produced five of her six recordings.

Kim Angelis and guitarist Josef Gault will perform their special brand of gypsy and classically inspired music. A former Mother Lode resident now living in Oregon, Kim's music has been heard on network television, PBS, and National Public Radio. In August 2002, she was voted the "Best Musician" by the readers of the Calaveras Enterprise. Don't miss this rare California appearance!

From her albums you can tell that she is a gifted songwriter with a beautiful voice. From other people's comments about her you can learn that she is a natural story teller with a fantastic sense of humor. But until you see her in person, you never really believe what you've been told about her. Besides, almost half of the songs she does during her shows haven't been recorded!

If your idea of a folk singer/songwriter concert is a bunch of people clapping politely after songs, and then sitting quietly while the performer says things like "This next song is about ...", well, you've never seen a Cheryl Wheeler concert before. Cheryl's concerts are more like what you would find at a comedy club than expect to find at a folk music concert. She will tell a story that has you rolling in the aisles, and then sing a song that leaves you wiping tears from your eyes. She will talk about some serious current event, and then sing a song that will have you howling with laughter. Her entire concert is a emotional roller coaster.

Ellis Paul is one of the leading voices in American songwriting. He was a principal leader in the wave of singer/songwriters that emerged from the Boston folk scene, creating a movement that revitalized the national acoustic circuit with an urban, literate, folk pop style that helped renew interest in the genre in the 1990's.

“When I first heard Antje I knew I was witnessing something very special. She creates an entire, detailed world in verse, and takes you there with beautiful and understated melody. Her songs are stunning paintings of color and shade and always generate the heat and light that real art should.”
— Neil Dorfsman, producer of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Dire Straits

Imagine the Beatles at the beginning of their career - during their Hamburg days, before the suits, haircuts and fame. Couple the energy and drive of those early performances with the diversity of all the Beatles records we know so well. Put it onstage and you have a Sun Kings show, one that will leave your audience screaming for more.

You have to hear them to believe it. The Sun Kings will send more than one amazed shiver down your backbone with their uncanny renditions of your favorite Beatles songs. This group of top-notch musicians shares a common love and deep respect for the music of the Beatles. From the trademark harmonies to the orchestrations, it’s all there. Not a tribute band in the obvious sense; there are no collarless jackets, wigs or fake moustaches. The Sun Kings are about the music, and their love for it shines through in every song. It’s an enthusiasm that’s contagious, with a backbeat you can’t lose!

Whether you want to listen, sing along or dance the night away, The Sun Kings offer something for everybody. From ballads to belt-it-out rockers, and everything in between, they play your favorites just the way you remember them.

The EDLOS: A Cappella Broadway! is a revue comprised entirely of original
a cappella arrangements by The EDLOS themselves. It presents a full evening
of the best-known and best-loved hit songs from Broadway’s finest
productions, all delivered with the unique brand of costumery and humor that
has come to define every EDLOS performance. Representative shows include
The Music Man, Man of La Mancha, Fiddler on the Roof, Les Misérables, West
Side Story, The Fantasticks, Hair, Guys and Dolls, Cabaret, and many more. A
Cappella Broadway! had its world premiere in April of 2007, receiving
overwhelmingly enthusiastic reactions from critics and audiences alike. If
you’ re a fan of a cappella or the music of Broadway – or just a fan of
entertainment that makes you laugh and feel good – then The EDLOS: A
Cappella Broadway! is a show you’ ll not want to miss!

Tony Furtado grew up in Pleasanton, CA and took up the banjo at age 12. At age 19, he entered himself in the banjo playing competition at the venerable bluegrass festival in Winfield, Kansas (Walnut Valley Festival) and won the Grand National Championship. He has also won it a second time. Hailed as a banjo prodigy, he got his first record deal in 1992 and has been making music and releasing records ever since. As he was cementing his reputation as banjoist extraordinaire, Furtado was also developing himself into an equally virtuosic slide guitarist. And now, with his latest release, Thirteen (Funzalo Records, 2007), this restless artist makes an exponential leap into the wide-open spaces of mythopoetic America, a terrain inhabited by such personal heroes as Cooder, the Band, Creedence, Petty and Waits. No two ways about it - this heartfelt, multileveled work completes Tony Furtado's ascent from the folk circuit to the big leagues.

Furtado mixes rootsy, old time, folk, indie-rock, blues, and jazz styles. He has released 13 albums and played with and opened for such notable musicians as Greg Allman, Jerry Douglas, Keith Richards, Eric Johnson, Derek Trucks, Alison Krauss, The String Cheese Incident, Little Feat, Leftover Salmon, and Taj Mahal. He has released numerous solo albums, including Swamped, Within Reach, Full Circle, American Gypsy, Live Gypsy, Roll My Blues Away, These Chains, Tony Furtado Band, and Bare Bones.

Since the mid 1970's Pierre Bensusan's name has been synonymous with contemporary acoustic guitar genius. Working in open tuning with his steel strings tuned to the modal, mystical-sounding DADGAD, Pierre is a composer, singer, and acoustic guitar visionary of passionate intensity with an extraordianrily tender, joyful touch. His unique musical sensibility combines thnic folk themes and classical melodies, as well as free and fusion styles with Latin and North African rhythyms and vocals in the world jazz scat tradition.

In addition to many other awards, he was named Best World Music Guitar Player by USA 2008 Guitar Player Magazine Readers Choice Award

Saturday, December 19, 2009 - 8:00 pm $20 adv / $22 day of show

Swingin’ tunes! Cowboy crooning! Yodeling pyrotechnics! Side-splitting humor! Yes folks, all this and more can be yours at the only show on the planet where you can witness a man in a ten gallon hat, yodel, play accordion, two-step and twirl a lariat - all at the same time. Sagebrush artist, Sourdough Slim, transport us to a whimsical, infectious world where vaudevillian camp and cowboy lore intermingle, producing grins galore, with the Saddle Pals, providing that great "silver screen" cowboy trails music we all love.

The Faux Renwahs are an acoustic trio, specializing in Old-Time style music with an original twist. Using traditional instruments including fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, octave mandolin and bass violin, they cover a wide range of music. American and Celtic fiddle tunes, old and new songs blend harmoniously with their own compositions.