The PTP Board of Directors have decided to go virtual for their next meeting. The meeting will be on Wednesday, January 19th.  If you would like to attend please send an email to Chris at president@ptplayers.com for the Zoom link.

Kimberly Ball​ - I have been a member of PTP since 2013/2014.  You’ve never seen me on stage but you have definitely seen me in the Lobby as House Manager for many shows beginning with Death by Chocolate (2014) and most recently for Twelve Angry Jurors and All Together Now.  Throughout the pandemic I have been sitting in on the Board meetings and learned a lot about the workings of our theater.  I, like everyone here, truly enjoy participating at PTP but we also need to remember that this is a business.  I think that I can offer a new voice and would love to be a part of ensuring PTP continues to thrive for many years to come. 

Kaitelyn Bauer Dieguez - has been a member of PTP since 2009 and has participated in 30 of their productions, as well as productions at HBP, NTP, and SMCM, in that time. She has acted, directed, makeup designed, costume designed, set designed, set constructed, and set painted throughout the past eleven years. She has also worked as a counselor for Camp Mockabee on and off since 2010. Kaitelyn has been nominated for four WATCH awards in makeup, one in hair, and one in set design and won makeup and hair in 2015 for PTP's Cyrano. Most recently, she designed makeup for 12 Angry Jurors, directed You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and is playing Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. She has also served as HBP’s WATCH representative for three years. Outside of her local theater community endeavors, Kaitelyn graduated from St. Mary's College of Maryland with a BA in English and Theatre in 2015 and then completed the MPS program in Publishing at The George Washington University in 2018. In 2015, she married fellow PTP member Anthony Dieguez, and they have a 2 year old daughter, Willa aka Peach, and 3-month-old son, Sebastian. After working as a copywriter and administrative assistant in real estate, she currently works full time as a mom. As a member of PTP’s board of directors this past year, Kaitelyn has been organizing the library and has started the process of scanning photos and programs from our previous productions. She would like to continue her work on the board and would appreciate your support.

Craig Hower - currently is completing a term on the Board of Directors as Properties Chair. He serves on the Renovation Design Committee, the Construction Committee, the By Laws Committee and is Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee. He has served on the Board twice before, once as Publicity Chair during which he started the For Openers Program, launched our website, revamped and launched The Odeum, did market research to find out who our audience is and how they hear about us and helped us join the Chamber of Commerce to improve our relationship with the businesses of Charles County. When he served as Facilities Chair he worked closely with our Design Review Committee and our various contractors to facilitate the purchase and 1.5 million dollar renovation of our building. He spent the last twelve years working in regional theatre with The Shakespeare Theatre Company and then with Arena Stage at The Mead Center for American Theater. He has previously served for six years on the Board of Hospice of Charles County, ten years on The Maryland Community Theatre Festival Association and currently sits on the La Plata Farmer’s Market Committee and the Keep La Plata Beautiful Committee, specifically on the Arts Work Group. He currently works in Legislative Services for the Town of La Plata.

Chris Magee - 2021 marks my tenth year at Port Tobacco Players, and let me say, what a journey it has been. The last two years have presented this community and our theater family with unique difficulties that no one could have imagined. Yet, regardless of these sometimes complex challenges, I am grateful to serve this theater community. I believe in this organization and want to continue guiding us through what promises to be an exciting new chapter in our proposed role as the new LaPlata Arts District anchor. 
The first time I ran for the board, my stated purpose was to build on my two years of experience on the Facilities Committee by pursuing a more forward-leaning approach to maintaining our physical structure.  Additionally, I wanted to expand, update, and grow our theater for the enjoyment of our patrons. Despite all the setbacks we had in the last 20+ months of a forced pandemic shutdown, I have met that goal. Through leadership, hard work, and the support of our community, we can now meet future challenges on a more solid footing, both physically and organizationally. With your continued support, I will help our theater grow in a positive direction that seeks to serve all of our changing community.

Carol Russell
I began my relationship with Port Tobacco Players after my retirement.  I volunteered my skills as a seamstress in May of 2014.  It seems as though the costume loft has been a second home ever since.  I have served in the loft in some capacity for all but a handful of shows.  In shows small and large, I have measured, sewn, altered, dyed, laundered, sparkled, repaired, and/or was a dresser.  I took the plunge as costume director for Hairspray and Blithe Spirit in 2016.  In 2019, I costume directed two shows that were WATCH nominated for Outstanding Costume Design:   James and the Giant Peachand Guys and Dolls.  
Meanwhile, in 2015, I stepped right out of my comfort zone  (a gift to my sixty-year-old self).   I auditioned and was cast in the ensemble of Oklahoma and later in A Christmas Carol as Mrs. Fezziwig.  Two years later, I was honored to be cast in Sister Act ensemble.  It gave me the view of the hive of activity and expertise that goes into each and every show.  
It is an honor to be currently serving five months on the PTP Board of Directors since a position was vacated.   
​
I was raised in Prince George’s County.  Undergrad college years took me from Syracuse to Southern California.  Graduate years were spent at UMUC and UMBC. My two bachelor’s degrees are English and Secondary Education.  Master’s degree and doctoral work are in the field of administration.
My thirty-four career years were spent in the Charles County Public Schools and I have been a county resident for thirty-two years.  I have been a teacher, vice principal, principal, and pupil personnel worker.  
Further management and leadership roles have been honed through my membership in Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary organization for women educators. I served in many chapter committee and officer positions.  As well, I have served at the state level For the Maryland Executive Board as historian and as newsletter editor  I currently am newsletter editor for the Southeast Region

I have learned a respect for community theater in my years at Port Tobacco Players.  It survives on the gifts, backbone, skills, and tenacity of volunteers.   It never seems to sleep and requires consistent tending of both the physical structure and its diverse community of members.  There are small jobs and large ones that support the vision of Port Tobacco Players.  It requires the whole village and that is often a balancing act.  
I was blessed with a career that taught me problem solving, patience, balance, organization, cooperation, compassion, the benefits of hard work, and the importance of maintaining a sense of humor.  It would be an honor to serve in yet another capacity at the theater.  

Janice Nash Sagers - has been a member of Port Tobacco Players since she joined the cast of "The Producers" in 2010, as an ensemble member playing one of the delightful old ladies, and her favorite, a Bavarian singer. She later appeared onstage one other time in 2014's production of "Annie" where she played the cook, Mrs. Pugh. Jan is more comfortable offstage, mostly helping when her son, Quentin Nash Sagers, has designed costumes at PTP. She is always first to volunteer to be a dresser, notably with very complicated and multiple changes, like "The Westing Game", "Hairspray", "White Christmas" & "Sister Act." A newer member of the Costume Guild, Jan can also be found in the loft helping sew costumes (she sewed almost every button on the 1776 jackets the summer of 2016), providing color commentary, or doing show laundry - in such shows as “James & the Giant Peach”, “Boeing Boeing”, “Guys & Dolls” and most recently the fundraising performances of “All Together Now.” She is currently expanding her role in the loft by codesigning costumes for the first time with Carol Russell for the Spring 2022 musical, "Little Shop of Horrors." Not one to shy away from any task, Jan has also helped build, paint, & decorate sets, usher, and also been helpful in providing food for volunteers during rehearsals, shows, strike, and especially during the renovation of the Lobby over the last year & a half. Jan would love to continue to support Port Tobacco Players with a new challenge; on the Board of Directors.

Due to the rise in COVID cases, the Board of Directors of the Port Tobacco Players has determined that it would be safer to hold our winter membership meeting virtually again this year.
 
It is not a decision we have come to lightly, but we don’t want to expose additional people to possible contagion. 
 
We will meet by Zoom on February 19, 2022 at 6 PM.  In order to join the meeting, send an invite request to president@ptplayers.com.  You will then receive the link to the zoom meeting.
 
Ballots for the elections will be mailed out shortly.  Please bear in mind that you cannot vote and will not receive a ballot if you have not paid your membership dues.  Our membership year runs from July 1 to June 30, so you must have renewed your membership after July 1 to be current.  Bios for the candidates will be posted on the website for your information.  If you would like to receive hard copies of the bios, please let Carol know (membership@ptplayers.com) or call the box office (301-932-6819).  We can mail you the bios or you can schedule a time to pick them up at the theater.

Can't wait to see you all there!

The PTP Board of Directors will be holding a virtual meeting on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022 at 6pm. This will fall between their regularly scheduled, monthly meetings. The topics to be discussed is plans for the dealing with the Omicron variant and window tinting for the museum windows.

If any member is interested in attending please contact Chris Magee at president@ptplayers.com for invite information. 

Hello and welcome to issue 6 of the Members News!  As always, please be sure to let me know if you have anything you would like to include in this forum.  If you want to share a special upcoming event involving our members or something theater related that might be of interest to folks, please send me a note at membership@ptplayers.com.

I want to remind everyone that a new membership year began on July 1, 2021.  Membership information was sent out to all previous members and I hope, if you haven’t already, you will consider renewing your membership for this membership year (2021-2022)
The membership cycle runs from July 1 to June 30.  Regardless of when you join (or renew your membership), the period of membership will end on June 30.  Membership dues are $20 per year for Adult (16 and older) and $15 per year for Junior.  Your Adult membership in PTP allows you to vote each year for the people who will run this organization.  And your continued membership allows you run for the board of directors and have input into the way we move forward.  
Board Changes
There have been several changes since I last put out a Members News.  New Board members were announced at the Winter Membership Meeting.  Going off the board were Melissa Gilpin Ball and JaNeene Sanders.  New members to the board were Ben Simpson and Kaitelyn Bauer Dieguez.
In June of 2021, Neil Twohig resigned from his position on the board and JaNeene Sanders was asked to return to the board – she agreed.  She was voted back onto the board at the July Board Meeting.
In August of 2021, Stacey resigned from the board since she had moved to Arizona.  Carol Russell was asked to serve on the board, and she agreed.  She was voted on to the board at the September Board Meeting.
In October of 2021, JaNeene Sanders resigned from the board due to other commitments.  Craig Hower was asked to serve on the board, and he agreed.  He was voted on to the board by vote on Facebook.  He attended his first meeting in November.
The people asked to serve on the board were selected based on the tallies from the Elections at the beginning of 2021.  They were asked in the order of the voting.  Their willingness to run for the board previously made them the best candidates to fill the vacated positions as they arose.
The current board of the Port Tobacco Players is as follows:
President/Facilities – Chris Magee
Vice President/Productions – Tara Waters
Secretary/Membership – Carol Charnock
Treasurer – Mike Gahan
Public Affairs – Jason Klonkowski
Costumes – Ben Simpson
Education – Carol Russell
History/Library – Kaitelyn Bauer Dieguez
Properties – Craig Hower
Updates from recent meetings:
Financially, we are still doing well.  Thanks to several grants, including a Shuttered Venue grant that gave us funds to support many of the repairs to the building, such as the roof.  We were contacted by Merle Turner (a past PTP supporter) who has made a $1,000 donation to the scholarship fund in the name of Norma Neergaard, a past member of PTP and a frequent actress on our stage.  We have almost $82,000 in our Scholarship fund.

Our new season opened with 12 Angry Jurors, which was well received by our audiences.  All Together Now! – a musical revue – is in rehearsal and will open on November 12, 2021.  It will only run for 4 shows (1 Friday night, a Saturday afternoon and evening, and a Sunday afternoon). Ticket prices are $15 across the board. I hope you can get to see this talented group and since we are not paying any royalties for the performances, this is a great fundraiser for the theater.

Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol is in rehearsal.  It is a wonderful family show and only runs about 45 minutes, so it’s a great show to introduce our younger audiences to live theater.  Ticket prices are $10 across the board.

With our opening of the theater, came new requirements for our audience members.  In order to try and keep everyone safe, we are requiring all attendees to provide proof of vaccination and wear masks while they are in the theater.  These changes went into effect for 12 Angry Jurors.  We had a few audience members who were not in agreement with the changes and we refunded the price of their tickets.  In general, patrons were happy to comply with the requirements. 

Our Winter Membership Meeting will be in person this year.  It is scheduled to be held on February 19, 2022 at the American Legion Hall in La Plata.  Details are still to be finalized, but it will be wonderful to see everyone again!

Along with the winter membership meeting comes the election of new officers to the board.  Because of the resignations during the year, we have a total of 5 positions open for this year.  There are 3 positions that will be for 3 years, 1 position for 2 years and 1 position for 1 year.  The slots will be filled by the number of votes received.  If you are interested in running for the board, you must have been a continual member of PTP since January of 2020 and must have participated in 2 shows since September of 2019 (time extended due to COVID shut down) or have been a member of a standing committee.  Our nominating committee this year is led by Tara Waters and her committee members are Kathy Mead and Kyle Bailey.  If you are interested in running for one of the open positions, please send an email to productions@ptplayers.com.  The committee will verify your qualifications and then put you on the ballot.  

Please consider helping us out by becoming a part of the team that will keep this group moving forward.

I don’t know if you are aware, but the one of the board responsibilities is to attend our shows and be there to help out, if needed, with ushering, seating issues, any questions from patrons, etc.  Board membership doesn’t just mean sitting at board meetings.

I hope you have found this issue informative and welcome any input you have for including information and keeping the membership up to date on what’s going on with the community.

​Carol Charnock, Membership Chair