The Chadron State College theater department opens its second show of the season tonight…the dark comedy God of Carnage.

The play, recommended for mature audiences, is in the intimate Black Box Theatre on the second floor of Memorial Hall…with show times 7:30 tonight through Saturday night at 2:00 Sunday.

God of Carnage was written in French by Yasmina Reza, premiered in Zurich in 2006, opened in both Paris and London in 2008, and garnered Tony Awards in New York for best play, best actress and best direction. A film by Roman Polanski came out last year.

The play has a cast of just 4…portraying two sets of Brooklyn parents who meet to resolve a playground altercation between their 11-year-old sons. Director Roger Mays describes what happens as “a comedy of manners, without the manners.”

James Steel and Erin Neal portray one of the couples, the Novaks, while Hannah Clark and Micahel Kruger are the Raleighs. Steel and Neal say audience members may be hard-pressed to like either family, in part because some of the “warts” that come out may hit too close to home.

Hannah Clark says the emotion and pace of the play poses challenges for the actors, forcing them to be well-grounded in who their characters are.  Clark says Reza’s dialog is often overlapping, fast-paced, and improvisational…leaving the actors little chance to think.

A video with Mays and the actors talking about God of Carnage and their preparations for can be seen at the “Behind the Scenes” link of the CSC theatre website.

Because of the limited seating in the Black Box Theater, advance seating is recommended. Tickets may be obtained by contacting the CSC box office at 308-432-6207 or boxofficecsc.edu.

The Chadron State College theater department opens its second show of the season tonight…the dark comedy God of Carnage.

The play, recommended for mature audiences, is in the intimate Black Box Theatre on the second floor of Memorial Hall…with show times 7:30 tonight through Saturday night at 2:00 Sunday.

God of Carnage was written in French by Yasmina Reza, premiered in Zurich in 2006, opened in both Paris and London in 2008, and garnered Tony Awards in New York for best play, best actress and best direction. A film by Roman Polanski came out last year.

The play has a cast of just 4…portraying two sets of Brooklyn parents who meet to resolve a playground altercation between their 11-year-old sons. Director Roger Mays describes what happens as “a comedy of manners, without the manners.”

James Steel and Erin Neal portray one of the couples, the Novaks, while Hannah Clark and Micahel Kruger are the Raleighs.  Steel and Neal say audience members may be hard-pressed to like either family, in part because some of their “warts” may hit too close to home.

Hannah Clark says the emotion and pace of the play poses challenges for the actors, forcing them to be well-grounded in who their characters are.

A video with Mays and the actors talking about God of Carnage and their preparations for can be seen at the “Behind the Scenes” link of the CSC theatre website.

Because of the limited seating in the Black Box Theater, advance seating is recommended. Tickets may be obtained by contacting the CSC box office at 308-432-6207 or boxofficecsc.edu.

25 girls between the ages of 7 and 17 will be in Chadron on Sunday for the 2013 Miss Chadron Outstanding Teen and Little Miss Chadron Pageant. The pageant begins at 3:00 in the Chadron High School auditorium, with tickets available at the door for $5 each, with children 8 and under free.

Miss Nebraska Mariah Cook and Miss Nebraska Outstanding Teen Lianna Prill will be the co-hosts and will entertain along with the three outgoing local Outstanding Teen title holders…Miss Chadron Sara Richter, Miss Northwest Emerie Gifford, and Miss Dawes County Allie Boggs.

Pageant coordinator Riki Cornish Hunter is excited by the number of contestants, which allows her to offer 4 crowns: Miss Chadron and Miss Northwest Outstanding Teen and Little Miss Chadron and Miss Northwest. The Outstanding Teen Contestants are between 13 and 17, the Little Miss Contestants are 7-to-10.

The Outstanding Teen program is part of the Miss America system and was started in the last decade as a training ground for possible Miss America contestants.

It’s judging is the same as for Miss America with the exception that the swimsuit is replaced by a physical fitness demonstration category.

The Little Miss Chadron and Little Miss Northwest titles are not part of the Miss America system. Hunter says she got the idea for them after judging at a local contest in Hot Springs back in February and discovering that it…and many other South Dakota pageants…offered Little Miss competitions as local fundraisers

Hunter…herself a 2-time Miss Nebraska contestant…is quick to add that while her Little Miss competitions and those in South Dakota do give the young girls a taste of pageant life, the events are nothing little those seen on reality tv shows such as Toddlers and Tiaras.

There will be no talent competition, no evening gowns, just the girls walking on stage, doing a little modeling, and answering a question such as why they chose their favorite color or their best friend.

The winners of the Little Miss pageant will receive a crown, sash, trophy and bouquet and will represent Chadron and Northwest Nebraska for a year.

The winners of the Outstanding Teen titles will get the same things, but will also receive paid entry to the Miss Nebraska Outstanding Teen pageant held in North Platte in conjunction with the Miss Nebraska Pageant in June. The state winner will advance to the Miss America Outstanding Teen pageant later in the summer in Orlando, Florida.

Three of Sunday’s 9 Outstanding Teen contestants are from Gering…Brittany Eckerberg, Holly Walker, and Jessica Helt…while two are from Mitchell…Alexis McGlone and Chloe McGlynn. The others are Mariclaire Prill of Holdrege, Alex O’Connor of Keystone, Bryttnee Lemmon of Crawford and Mikaela Hastings of Chadron.

Chadron, understandably, provides the lion’s share of the Little Miss contestants – 9 of them…Gracie Jones, Alyssa Snyder, Sarah Smith, Brinnley Hudson, Hollie Morsett, Aliyah Mills, Tatum Bailey, Kennedy Trueblood, and Aspen Graves.

Three are from Crawford…Megan Wendland and sisters Carly and Hannah Lemmon…and two are from Alliance..Shaylee Messersmith and Chloe Blumanthal. Rounding out the field are Jadyn Wetherington of Mitchell and Paige McCannon of Keystone.

KCOW Radio will broadcast live from the Keep Alliance Beautiful’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Fair that will take place Saturday, November 17.

The fair runs from 9-1 and KCOW will be on the air from 9-11.

The fair will take place at the Alliance Performing Art Center.

The mission of the 3R’s fair is to educate people on the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Admission is free.

There will be vendors, information booths, demonstration tables, activities, games, and entertainment.

There will be a Reused Clothing Fashion Show at 10:25 and a Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle Magic Show at 11:40.

There will also be Free Electronics Recycling  courtesy of Samsung.

For more information, please contact the Keep Alliance Beautiful office at 762-1729.

The annual Box Butte General Hospital (BBGH) Auxiliary Fall Luncheon held Thursday, November 8 in The Lunch Box at BBGH, had plenty of great salads sampled by hospital staff, Auxiliary members and others while they listened to an information presentation.

Above is Auxiliary President Pat Nelson (standing at left) as she introduces Diane Lauder, RN, of Prairie Haven Hospice.

Ms. Nelson’s introduction included a heartfelt thank you to that organization for the help and comfort they provided her family this past year.

Ms. Lauder’s program discussed the mission and services of Prairie Haven, as well as the importance of volunteerism in a community.

The theme for the 2012 Christmas Parade in Alliance is “Celebrating A Hometown Christmas”.

The parade date is Saturday, December 1st at 1:00 pm which is a new time slot.  The goal is to get as many participants as possible and bring people downtown to create a festive holiday atmosphere and really emphasize  the theme of “Celebrating A Hometown Christmas”.

The parade is sponsored in part by KCOW which is sponsoring the prizes of $50.00 in Chamber Bucks for the 1st Place entry in each category of Youth (under 18); Commercial; and Non-Commercial Winners.  Other sponsors of this event are the Kiwanis; Historic Main Street Alliance and the Alliance Chamber of Commerce.

The route will be the same as in past years with the line-up being on Box Butte Avenue between 10th Street and 8th Street and the parade will begin at 8th Street and ending at 4th Street with entries turning east on 4th Street.  Line up will start at 12:15 and the parade starts at 1:00 pm.

Entry blanks are available at the Alliance Chamber Office; it was published in the November Chamber Newsletter and it can be sent via email.   Get your entry in now!  Let’s make this the biggest Christmas Parade in years!  For more information, please contact the Alliance Chamber of Commerce, 305 Box Butte, Alliance, NE  69301, Ph 308.762.1520, Fax 308.762.4919, Email: [email protected]