Barefoot in Nightgown by Candlelight by Don Nigro Oct 29, 30 & 31 at 8 PM
Featuring Maria Cina, Kylie Miller and Jade Wood
This performance is made possible by arrangements with Concord Theatricals
BIOGRAPHIES
MARIA CINA - ALICIA
MARIA CINA - ALICIA
MARIA CINA - ALICIA
Maria Cina is so very SPOOKED to be sharing her second Rankin Theatre Guild performance with all you lovelies! Maria would like to begin by thanking Corey, Jade, Kylie and Marie for inspiring her this Halloween season.
Maria is a transfer student at University of Minnesota: Twin Cities studying both Communications and Theatre Arts and plans go on to pursue her Masters post graduation. Currently, she lives in a cozy studio with all her good plants and her little, black kitten, Knives.
Previous performance appearances include Seneca Howland in Men on Boats (Strollers Theatre, Sean Langenecker), Kendra in The Gulf (Rankin Theatre Guild, Corey Helser), and Jane Bennett in Let’s Eat Mary (Rotate Theater, Richard Paro).
KYLIE MILLER - CATH
MARIA CINA - ALICIA
MARIA CINA - ALICIA
Kylie is very excited to be acting in her first production with The Rankin Theatre Guild. She is also excited that she got to work on this project with Corey, Jade, Maria, and stage manager Marie. Kylie is a student at Madison College and will transfer to Edgewood this spring, she intends to go into Art Therapy while there and Theatre as well. Kylie has been in many productions at Madison College but this is her first film production she's done, so she is very excited to a part of this process. She hopes to grow and do more film in the future if given the opportunity, and she hopes everyone who watches this film has a super spooky time !!
JADE WOOD - BELLE
MARIA CINA - ALICIA
MARIE HELSER – SAFETY/STAGE MANAGER/PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Growing up, Jade Wood dreamt of becoming an actress. She pursued acting in high school and majored in theatre in college. After realizing the world of acting isn’t as easy to get into as she thought, she went to school to become an aesthetician. She fell in love with her new career choice but acting still has a place in her heart. She currently works at a med spa and owns her own eyelash extension business. Jade will always have acting in her life and hopes to do more projects like this in the future!
MARIE HELSER – SAFETY/STAGE MANAGER/PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
MARIE HELSER – SAFETY/STAGE MANAGER/PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
MARIE HELSER – SAFETY/STAGE MANAGER/PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Marie Helser is a junior transfer student at UW Milwaukee, majoring in Theater Education with a minor in American Sign Language. As a stage manager, she misses real theater very much and cannot wait to get back to it (safely and smartly). This project was a beautiful experience during the drought of art that we are all living in. Thank you to her friends, family and this amazing group from Barefoot. I love you J, M and K!
D COREY HELSER – PRODUCER
MARIE HELSER – SAFETY/STAGE MANAGER/PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
D COREY HELSER – PRODUCER
Corey has spent a lifetime in the theater. It started in middle school, high school, then Carroll College for a double major in Theater and Journalism, minor in Spanish. UW-Madison, MFA in Technical Theatre with an emphasis in Stage Management and Lighting Design. During Grad School, he and business partner/friend George Tzougros started The Rankin Theatre Guild and had three-four years of success producing theater at Carroll College during the summers. After Grad School he worked for American Players Theatre, The Madison Rep, Next Generation Theatre, Skylight Opera, Madison Opera, Dance Wisconsin, Melrose Motion Company and a few more that no longer exist. Then, he settled in for thirty-two years at Madison College as the manager of the Mitby Theater, add on the responsibilities as Events Manager for the past 10 years, as well as teaching Stagecraft I and II. Corey has also designed, built and lit most of the shows for the student productions at Madison College. During this time he was also an officer with the Wisconsin Presenter’s Network, grant panelists for Dane County Arts Commission and Wisconsin Arts Board. He established Theater Support Services to assist local arts organizations with infrastructure support, including three years as lead consultant to the Stoughton Opera House during their renovation and start up. And still, Corey has worked as a scenic designer, technical director, and lighting designer for several local companies: Four Seasons Theatre, Madison Savoyards, Children’s Theatre of Madison, Dance Wisconsin and fifteen years as lighting designer for Epic Systems in Verona. Whenever possible, Corey takes students out on these jobs to give them the hands-on experience working in the theater. It’s utterly amazing to work so long and hard, be so frustrated and exasperated, yet still unable to hold back the smile at the end of the day – that’s joy.
PRODUCER's NOTES
Additional Information
Over a year ago as I was pouring over scripts when I came across Barefoot in Nightgown by Candlelight. Don Nigro’s tale of three young women in an old boarding school, pushing each other beyond their limits was intriguing and painful and super creepy – right up my alley! But the script pushed the envelope in a way that would have made it difficult to produce as live theater. Plus it was only 15 minutes, so it went to the back burner.
Fast forward (or rather plod reluctantly) into the midst of a global pandemic and, like all of us, my creative juices were bottled up. My advice to others has been “work on your craft” and “make your own opportunities.” So, I decided to follow my own advice. As I looked over the fall calendar, it all fell together: Halloween, a creepy short story, a small social pod to do the work, and move to a video format. Suddenly, the challenges of the script could be solved through camera shots and editing. It was on!
I can’t say enough about the four young women involved in this project. None of them had ever done a video project like this before, so it was a learning experience for us all. In addition to the challenges of the shooting schedule, eight different sets, the incongruity of recording for video, and the weather (locations shots in 40 degree weather in nightgowns! Ha!). Then, add in the pandemic and it was a lot. But these women were completely professional, handled every challenge, and took care of themselves so we could take care of each other.
There’s more about the pandemic in the section below – but, I will say here, I picked people I could trust to take this seriously. People who follow protocols of masks, and hand washing, and limiting their contact with the outside world. We built our own little social pod. But, if you disapprove of what we did, how we did it, please disconnect and leave. We don’t need negativity or your $5.
Disclaimer: Since I’ve been with Madison College for 32 years, and I invited past students to this project, it is natural to assume there is some connection. However, this project is not affiliated with Madison College, The Mitby Theater, or The Performing Arts Leadership Team at Madison College. This project was conceived, cast, costumed, designed, directed, edited, funded, and produced by me and now under the moniker of The Rankin Theatre Guild.
The Rankin Theatre Guild was born in Waukesha, WI when two alumni of Carroll College decided to start a company at their alma mater. We did three summer seasons in between bouts of Graduate School. Eventually, full time jobs and families replaced the dream of building our own company. But, as I now approach retirement – RTG will be my next stepping stone. This project is just one short hop to the first small stone.
Special thanks to Sun Prairie Civic Theatre for allowing me to rent your rehearsal space and shop.
Now, with all that, we’d love for you to join us. We’re asking a minimum contribution of $5 per household. If you liked what we did, you can contribute more – or invite others to the watch party! We will take the revenue and split it five ways. Each of these women still have expenses for their past and future education. Anything will help them in their current and future endeavors. As for me – I’ve invested my own money in this project. This is my investment in their hands on education, as well as my own. Plus, my gig at Epic wasn’t canceled – so there’s that! Ha!
Thank you for your support!
D. Corey Helser
Current project
Additional Information
Yes, it's a difficult time to create art. But, anyone in this business knows we take calculated risks with every show we do: artistic risks, financial risks, and yes, even health risks.
As a lighting designer and electrician, I've climbed into places very few people ever care to venture. I look at all of the risks, I take every pre-caution, and I move forward with doing the work. This project was no different. I selected a project that had some built-in advantages: monologues, scenes with voice overs, and a short time frame. I picked people who I could trust to take care of themselves and each other. We created our own little social pod; only five of us on this project from start to finish. Masks were employed whenever filming didn't require them. There are some shots you may see masks and hear muffled voices. Silent portions had fans running in the background to circulate the air and no shot filmed took more than 10 minutes. But, we checked in every day, made sure everyone was healthy, took temperatures, and filmed this project in six days. All rehearsals were online before we ever stepped into our filming location. In the end, we all came out exhausted, happy, and healthy.
If you have a problem with the project, please disconnect and leave. Negativity is not welcome here! Everyone worked to hard, put their entire heart into the project - and, like all good companies, we looked out for each other! Is it perfect - oh, hell no!! But we learned a lot, worked on our craft and ourselves.
One More Disclaimer: For those of you who know me from my work at a certain two year college in Madison, WI - please know: this project is NOT affiliated with Madison College in any way. Yes, I'm staff and these are former students - but this project was conceived, produced, directed, built, filmed, and funded completely by me.
So, if you care to join us for this little, creepy adventure, please join us by purchasing a ticket. We'll split the revenue five ways - as each of the girls (Jade, Kylie, Maria, and Marie) are continuing their education, and any funds will benefit their tuition needs. I'll recoup what I can, but my current goal is to follow my own advice and make my own opportunities! I was reminded of this quote the other day by Howard Thurman:
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
Marie does a health check-in and temperature reading every day of shooting.
Welcome
Named in honor of May Nickel Rankin who began the theatre program at Carroll (College) University in 1896 with an inaugural production of “Richelieu” by Bulwer Lyton. She went on to establish the first theatre organization in the state of Wisconsin, and developed the curriculum for theatre arts at Carroll.