by Natalie Shadrick. @ncshadrick.
CINCINNATI, Oh - Local actor Penny Newton confided today that she just isn’t quite sure how to list the Cincinnati Theatre Troupe’s weekly “Champagne and Showtunes” Zoom happy hour on her performance resume, the actor confirmed.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Newton clarified. “I’ve already listed the 25 ameteur Shakespeare readings I’ve done in the past two weeks. But I want to take this time and really build my resume. You know, by including every single thing I’ve done in quarantine that even vaguely relates to the performing arts.”
The happy hour, which takes place Wednesday nights, includes a game where the Cincinnati Theatre patrons drink at every musical reference in Something Rotten! Half of the actors belt along with Christian Borle and Brian d’Arcy James, while the remainder often pass out one minute into “A Musical.” Some performers are perfectly clear on how they’ll gonna credit the virtual rendezvous.
“I’m going to call it a Stanislavski workshop, because I drink a White Russian,” noted actor Vincent Wheeler. “And, you know, I used the ‘magic if’ a lot. ‘What if I had another drink?’ And then I did.”
Another troupe member, Assistant Props Manager Tiffany Hunt, decided to cater more toward the production side of theatre.
“I’m going to write something about my experience working with edibles - uh, I mean, consumables,” noted Hunt before quickly shutting her laptop.
At press time, Newton has already made plans to continue building her resume as theaters remain closed across the country. Though reluctant to share too many details, she hinted that her next credit would include a playwriting competition that she signed up for because she had “a really great idea” but then did not submit anything.