Groton student to appear in “Spinning Into Butter”
September 17, 2006
Contact: Troy Siebels (781) 640-5625

GROTON: Village Theatre Project’s upcoming production of Rebecca Gilman’s play, “Spinning Into Butter,” scheduled to open at the Groton-Dunstable Performing Arts Center on September 29, will feature Groton resident and Groton-Dunstable High School student Timothy Harrington along with the theatre’s professional cast. Troy Siebels, the company’s co-artistic director, was enthusiastic about Harrington appearing in the play, noting “he’s really stepped up to the plate. It’s a great role, and has a lot of humor in it – and Tim’s been great to work with in rehearsal.”

“Spinning Into Butter” is based on a racial incident set on the campus of a small New England college. Dean of Students Sarah Daniels, (played by VTP Company member Christine Hamel, who teaches in the drama department at Boston University,) struggles to keep the lid on a pressure cooker of emotions. A maelstrom of intolerance leads to some surprising discoveries and painful insights, the consequences of which even she can't predict. Variety Magazine describes Gilman’s script as “a potent topic, and the playwright explores it with an admirable boldness as well as a nice leavening of humor.”

The play is currently in rehearsals in Boston, but will move next week to Groton, where last year the company constructed an intimate 150-seat “black box” theatre on the stage of the much larger Groton-Dunstable Performing Arts Center, creating an intimate and engaging performance space.

“Our performers are mostly from Boston and New York, making a home in the Nashoba Valley to perform,” explains Siebels. “Our audiences have been pretty widespread, with a major concentration in Groton, Harvard, Ayer and Pepperell; but with groups coming from Fitchburg, Tyngsboro, Concord and everywhere in between.”

The “Spinning Into Butter” cast will include Company members Dale Place and Shelley Bolman, both of whom appeared in last spring’s premiere, “Better Off Dead,” as well as Bill Mootos, Elizabeth Gotha and Vladimir Noel. Julie Jirousek will co-direct.

Tickets for “Spinning Into Butter” are on sale now, and are $35 for adults; $29 for seniors and $15 for students. Performances will run September 29 through October 15; Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm. For tickets or more information about performances, memberships and the theatre’s youth programs, call (978) 456-7898, email info@thevtp.org or visit www.thevtp.org.

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