Hello! Welcome to our new Members News series!

We (the Board of PTP) hope to use this space to keep the membership up to date on board actions, upcoming events, highlights of members doings, and anything you might want to hear about! You can let me (Carol Charnock) know what you want to hear about by contacting me at membership@ptplayers.com.
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On September 15, 2020 the board met for its monthly meeting. Here are some highlights from that meeting:

• We are still financially solvent (always a good thing!) and since we no longer have a renter, will not be required to pay property taxes on the building. A good savings for us!
• Carol Charnock was voted onto the board as the new Chair of the Membership Committee.
• There is a Reader’s Theater performance of “The Importance of Being Earnest” recording which will be shown virtually in the near future. Watch our Facebook page for details of performance times!
• Due to COVID shutdowns, our one act performance of “True Colors” in an international competition in Canada was postponed until 2021. We have, though, been asked to submit a video performance of a shorter work by Kim Bessler entitled “Hide and Seek” for another competition. It is currently cast and will be filmed in the coming weeks. Good luck cast and crew!
• The Public Affairs Committee and the Membership Committee are making a concerted effort to improve our membership database. We will be posting a link to a form to have our membership provide us with current information for the database.
• Many renovations are underway. With the exception of the stage tower, all roof issues have been addressed. The side wall coverings have all been removed and carpet has been installed on the walls – it looks wonderful! Facilities has received the architectural plans for the Expanded Lobby (to include the Dry Cleaners space) and they have been presented to the La Plata Planning Department. We are waiting on the Planning Department’s response. The renovations for the expanded lobby will begin when those plans are approved. Once the renovations for the expanded lobby are completed, the plan is to use the front window as a “museum” to highlight some of our past performances, awards, etc. In order to protect the display from the sunlight, the board authorized the purchase of a canopy to go over that window. There will also be one purchased to go over the door to the right of the old ticket booth. If you would like to help with the renovations, you can check the Facility Calendar to see what renovations are planned, or navigate the website from ptplayers.com -> “About Us” -> “Facilities” -> “Facility Calendar.” Or you may contact Chris Magee (Facilities Chair) directly at facilities@ptplayers.com.
• We will be addressing the issue of a standardized program format for our productions.
• Our ticketing agent, Vendini, has been purchased by AudienceView. Mike Gahan is working with AudienceView and by November, we will have transitioned to that company’s program. Details will follow next month when we see exactly what the changes will entail.

Board meetings are open to membership to observe. Our next meeting will be on Thursday, October 8, 2020 at 7:00 PM. If you would like to observe, please contact facilities@ptplayers.com. Chris will send you a link to the meeting.

Did you know that PTP has an Amazon Wish List? You can help us out by purchasing (for the theater) items like hand wipes, plastic cups, trash bags, tools/accessories for the shop, batteries for our headsets, etc.!! In order to see our wish list and make a purchase, click here or navigate the website from ptplayers.com -> “Support” -> “Donate” -> and then scroll down to see the many ways you can support your theater!

We are going to do a Facebook Live tour of the theater to let you know about the renovations that have been done so far. Our Facilities Chair, Chris Magee, will give us an update of the changes and the comments will be open for questions. There will also be some FAQs for your information. If you have questions you would like addressed during the tour regarding the renovations, please send those questions to me at membership@ptplayers.com and I will forward them to the team. We will keep you informed when the tour will be presented.

Please help me keep you informed by keeping me informed! Let me know what you want to hear about, whether the information provided is of interest to you, and/or how I can help you get involved with the theater. This is OUR community theater – let’s stay connected!
– Carol Charnock, Membership Chair

Longtime PTP member Patricia “Pat” McConkey was a woman who was full of fire and her spirit always shone brightly through. Pat possessed a love of the fine arts throughout her whole span of life and loved to express this love mainly in singing and acting. She actively participated in many groups during her time in Southern Maryland.  Shortly after arriving in Prince George’s county in 1976, Pat became a member of the a cappella women’s barbershop harmony group, The Sweet Adelines. She was a part of the Sweet Adelines for many, many years. She was very proud to be part of an international organization dedicated to preserving the unique sound of a cappella barbershop harmony. She was also a participant in the Senior Idol competitions in Prince George County in the 2000s.

Pat also participated as a soprano singer in the Chesapeake Choral Arts Society (CCAS) from the fall of 2003 to the spring of 2017. Pat performed many great works in her tenure with the choir, singing in such pieces as “The Magnificat” by John Rutter, Handel’s “Messiah,” and “Requiem” pieces by both Rutter and Brahms. Pat particularly enjoyed the ‘Pops’ concerts performed by the choir, where she could allow her spirit to show with solo performances such as Kids from Bye, Bye Birdie, The Firefly, from Ogden Nash’s Animal Crackers, and The Thing-Ummy Bob (That’s Going to Win the War), by Gordon Thompson and David Heneker. A highlight of Pat’s singing career was when she had the chance to perform in Vienna, Austria and in Prague, Czech Republic as part of a vocal tour with Pilgrim Church, Church of Christ which included members of CCAS. Pat was also active in many summer vocal workshops in the 80s and 90s, hosted at Port Tobacco Players theater.

In 1981 Pat, along with her son Michael Santana, became part of the Port Tobacco Players performing theater group, with her first show being “A Christmas Carol”. In 2002, Pat was nominated for a The Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) award for Outstanding Cameo in a Play, for her role as “Gay Wellington” in You Can't Take It With You. During her time with PTP, Pat performed in several shows at the Black Box theater in Indian Head MD and was one of the last original members of PTP’s Encore Adults group, a local traveling troupe sponsored by PTP, performing from the 1980s to the 2010s. Working to continue the spread of viewership for the arts, Pat participated in the Center Stars touring show from the Richard R. Clark Senior Center in her later years.  She sang in the troupe with the Silver Tones and also played hand bells for the group.

Pat was also an active participant in the community theater group located at the College of Southern Maryland, where she worked regularly with CSM staff members Emmitt Woodey and Keith Hight, largely in musical theater productions. Other groups in which Pat spent time in theater include the Tantallon Community Players, in Fort Washington Maryland, where she performed in a variety of shows from 1980 to the early 2000s.
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She will be sorely missed in the performing arts world of Southern Maryland.

The PTP Board of Directors has been reviewing Governor Hogan's 3 stage reopening plan, as well as information from the Charles County Arts Alliance and other local theater groups. Based on this information, Port Tobacco Players has decided to move forward based on the assumption we will not be able to get audiences back into our theater until March 2021. Therefore, the Board has voted to move the remainder of our 2019-2020 season back a full year until our prospective March 2021 reopening date, on the following tentative schedule:
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• You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown: March 2021
• Dearly Beloved: Spring 2021                
• Legally Blonde the Musical: Summer 2021

Patrons who have previously purchased single tickets to any of these three productions will be contacted by the Box Office staff and offered the opportunity to change to Flex tickets, turn the purchase into a donation, or receive a refund. PTP Season Pass holders should contact publicaffairs@ptplayers.com for more information. 

La Plata, MD — Today, Port Tobacco Players delivered 65 masks and caps to Charles Regional Medical Center ICU. The masks and caps are much needed personal protective equipment (PPE) that will help medical personnel serve the community in a safe and hygienic manner. Members of the local theater have been sewing the masks and caps for the past few weeks, using material from the theater’s costume department and personal sources.

Having completed the first group, next up they will be working on 150 masks and caps for CRMC’s ER. Masks have also been delivered to local nursing homes, clinics and residents. Sewing has been completed by: Chris and Lisa Magee, Joselle Gilpin, Pat Brennan, Christin Lockhart, and Christy Dewees Orthner.

Founded in 1947, the Port Tobacco Players have been entertaining Charles County in their current location since 1974. PTP performs six shows per season and countless road productions with their Encore and Encore Kids touring companies. The Port Tobacco Players are dedicated to continuing the tradition of providing quality theater to the citizens of Southern Maryland.
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For more information, press only:
Jason Klonkowski, publicaffairs@ptplayers.com