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How to wish an actor good luck

Break a leg?

What do you say to an actor to express the wish that things go well?
That’s the topic for this month’s chat from Dan Pessano.
This is Bethany, daughter of Jennifer Money from our box office.  Jennifer says she bought her family to our still-shut theater to take pictures, just because she is missing it so much.  We all are, and we’re now having employee get-togethers on Zoom, just to see each other’s faces and catch up.  As for Bethany, she clearly has star charisma.  We may be showing this photo again in 18 years when she premieres on Broadway.
Patrons pitch in to help.  Jim Irvine talks about the
Go Fund Me campaign he started with Donald Munro.

You’re helping us too!

Getting the virus under control is what will enable theaters to thrive again.
We are ready and eager to open the doors, fire up the grill and light up the stage just as soon as we reach that point.
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“All the world’s a stage”

I’m sure you’ve been watching the news about the virus in California.  So it will come as no surprise that we’re still in a holding pattern.  Dan Pessano speaks for all of us in saying, “It’s just way too quiet around here.”
Dan Pessano reveals some of the secrets of the stage at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater
 

Junior Company member Stella Freeman is expressing her love of theater by using her art to try to help performing groups in the Fresno area.  You can read about her efforts HERE.

Meanwhile, arts angel Jim Irvine has upped the ante in his assistance project for our theaters.
“All the world’s a stage” is the phrase that begins a monologue from William Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy As You Like It, spoken by the melancholy Jaques in Act II Scene VII.

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts”

Not the August we ever imagined!

Good Company Players at
Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater
Looking back while we wait to move forward.
Early 1978 –
working to convert an old Sprouse-Reitz Variety Store into a Dinner-Theater.
Planning, discussing, worrying… and excitement.
Greeting patrons of our young dinner-theater.
Laying out the weekday buffet.
Getting ready before a show.
And having some fun.
Going strong 40+ years after opening.
More than ready to get going again when the virus shutdown is over!

Shows that were postponed during the shutdown will be presented when we reopen, and your tickets will be transferred to new dates.  We’ll send out new season schedules when the time comes and contact single ticket holders about reserving new dates.

Gift certificates you have purchased never expire.  But those we have donated generally expire at the end of the year.  Because of the virus shutdown we are extending those through December 30, 2021.
Dan Pessano and “The Bathroom Song”

Highlights and Gratitude

Good Company Players at
Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater
Stay safe!  That’s what we all need to do as California works its way through this painful pandemic.  As bad as we feel about the prolonged closure of our dinner theater, our hearts break for those who have lost family, friends or livelihoods to COVID-19.  And we ache for the exhausted health care workers who risk their own health in caring for victims of the virus.

So, we hope for the will to pull together as a state and a nation to stop the spread of this Coronavirus.  And we wait for the time when we can safely invite you into our theaters once again.
Here’s another look back at moments from past shows.
What is better than being told you are loved?  Our hearts are full after reading the many comments on a GoFundMe page, organized by Jim Irvine and Donald Munro.  Unbeknown to us, they launched the project to assist us in weathering the COVID-19 shutdown and its aftermath.  The kindness on display is breathtaking.  Thank you!
You can view the comments here
Here are more memorable moments from past shows

July News

Good Company Players at
Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater
As we begin July, we’re still waiting for any hint of good news about a safe date for reopening at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater.  The news instead over the weekend was that COVID-19 cases in Fresno County have nearly tripled over the past month.

Last Sunday was an anniversary for us, though we never expected to be observing it in shutdown.  June 28 marked 42 years for Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater and 47 years since Good Company Players inaugural performance at the old Hilton Hotel downtown.

When we finally can reopen safely, we’ll present all the rest of the 2020 season and honor everyone’s tickets, but some of the shows obviously will have to slide into next year.
We’re really missing the fun of live theater
so we gathered some video clips of past
Good Company Players’ musicals to
cheer us up.  We’re just itching
to get going again!
Watch here!
Wearing a mask is something one does for our community
much more than for one’s self. 
Good Company Players’ first show in June of 1973 was “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”.  For its first 5 years, GCP did 3 shows each summer, first at the Hilton and then at Memorial Auditorium and the Del Webb.  GCP began performing year-round in 1978 with the opening of Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater.

Mid June

Good Company Players at
Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

With the consistent increase in COVID-19 cases in California and Fresno County since Memorial Day, Good Company Players has decided to delay opening The King & I until January, 2021 at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater. Both companies are working on plans to downsize shows and streamline dinner service in ways that make it safe for actors, tech staff, wait staff and patrons, and we wanted to update you on our newest approach to living with coronavirus.  Please bear in mind that all subsequent information is subject to change (and most likely will have to change again). Naturally, all our proposals must be approved by local health officials.

The King & I will still be included in your current season ticket or regular pre-purchased ticket and GCP fully intends to produce its regularly scheduled 2020 Season at both Roger Rocka’s and 2nd Space Theatre, but realizes that many of the 2020 shows will have to now move to the 2021 Season. That means your current Season Ticket and reservations will still be valid—just with a bit of delayed gratification. GCP has, however, come up with some smaller-scale entertainment options in the interim.

Once it is safe for both companies to re-open this year, we are planning to celebrate with a special Good Company Players’ Concert Event, In the Meantime…, featuring such GCP all-stars as Ed Burke, Meg Clark, Janet Glaudé, Kaye Migaki, Emily Pessano, Sara Price, Shawn Williams and more! There is also a possibility of adding another small-cast production until we are able to safely resume Good Company Players’ regularly-scheduled season. You can purchase the added productions separately or trade one of your season ticket shows for a new production.

Good Company Players’ 2nd Space Theatre will be ready to re-open once allowed with two small-cast, socially-distanced productions beginning with a production of Love Letters, featuring Tessa Cavalletto and Gordon Moore, and, hopefully, followed by This Random World. GCP hopes to continue with the regularly-scheduled season at 2nd Space Theatre as soon as allowed.

As we said before, all of our current “plans” are subject to change. This is definitely not how any of us expected this year to go, but what we can do is adapt and make the best of it. We want you to know how much we truly appreciate your support and patience as we all adjust to the realities of this uncertain time.  Thank you for your continued flexibility and understanding. Please continue to stay safe and take care of one another.

June News

Good Company Players at
Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater
There is a chance that we may be able to reopen next month.    We’ve been working to make things as safe as we possibly can.  But much will depend on the cooperation and support of  our audience.

However anyone may feel individually about the dangers of the COVID-19 Virus, our commitment at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater is to try to protect the most vulnerable among us.  That means we’ll be expecting you to wear a mask when you arrive and leave, and any time you get up from your table.  We wear masks to protect not ourselves but for those around us, in case we unknowingly carry the virus.
We’ll be slashing our capacity and setting up seating with adequate space between parties.  But that means you may not be sitting exactly where you’re used to.  And moving would defeat the purpose.  We’ll all need to respect each other’s safe space.

The buffet will be gone for the foreseeable future.  We’ll be bringing your food from the kitchen and our staff will be togged out for safety.  We’ll be using our linens since washing kills the virus.  But bread baskets and shared items will be replaced with individual servings.
We want to make things as safe as possible for the people in our audience, many of whom are old friends who have been with us for decades.    At the same time, we want to make the evening as comfortable and enjoyable as ever.

The same holds true for Good Company Players’ and its 2nd Space Theatre.  As most of you know, we are two separate companies – working together since 1978 on the strength of a simple handshake.  (Remember handshakes?)
As soon as we have a definite opening date, our box office will send out updated schedules to season subscribers and will begin calling to reschedule everyone who had tickets for a cancelled performance during the closure.

If you need to reach us, our kitchen table box office is open Tuesday through Friday from 1pm to 5pm.  (559) 266-9494.  Or email anytime at tickets@rogerrockas.com.
(Photos are from earlier Good Company Players’ productions of The King & I.)

The “Annas” of our King and I

Sequestering – but looking forward to The King and I

Like you, we’re hunkering down in our homes and following the recommended actions to stay healthy.  Our Box Office is temporarily closed while we make the necessary changes to access the database and handle the phones from home.  But we’re sure looking forward to when we can finally invite you back to Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater to see Good Company Players’ production of The King and I.  Rehearsals were completed before the shutdown and the show is all ready to go, as Dan Pessano explains in this short video.

Audience info during the temporary COVID-19 shutdown

 

Good Company Players at
Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater
We appreciate your encouragement, your good wishes and your support.  We have our plans in place for when we finally get the okay to be up and running again.  We’ll make sure we’re as safe as possible by limiting audience size, assuring adequate spacing, and so on.  We are mindful of the fact that a fair portion of our audience is older (as are we) and presumably a bit more vulnerable to the virus.  At the same time, we’re looking to protect our staff and cast members, since some closer contact is inevitable in the course of work.

During the temporary shutdown, our Box Office is operating from the kitchen table at home.  Our hours for now are Tuesday through Friday from 1 P.M. to 5 P.M.  Call (559) 266-9494, or you can email any time to tickets@rogerrockas.com.  We’ll be glad to answer any questions you may have.
The day will come when all of this is in the rear view mirror as we sit down to a fine meal and a great show!