Local teens are taking part in Avenue Q School Edition. (Photo courtesy Project Arts)

Here’s a chance to support a new local high school musical project and help make a change in the lives of some talented teens who are facing cuts in their school music programs.

West Philly Local has already written about “Avenue Q School Edition,” an after-school program and show currently being put on at The Rotunda by Project Arts. The project has finally reached the costly production stage, which includes the construction of an intricate set, puppet rental costs, mic rentals, and the hiring of a great crew of teachers and workshop leaders, according to Rich Wexler, Project Arts executive director.

“We have improvisation classes, a history of puppetry workshop, puppetry manipulation workshops, vocal and acting coaching, and diversity training for our cast. This process gives our teens the tools to excel in our production. But we need help to provide our teens with all the necessary tools we need to make this production successful,” Rich wrote in an e-mail.

Rich and the teens and teachers involved in the project are reaching out to fellow West Philadelphians with the following request:

“If you believe in our work, please give whatever you can. Our last production (Rent School Edition) really had a great impact on the lives of our cast. In our own way, we changed some of their lives. We worked harder this year to do outreach to youth that did not have any access to theater programs or productions, as well as casting a very diverse cast.”

Project Arts was able to get $10,000 in grants for this show through a partnership with The Rotunda and their goal is to produce two to three productions a year with children and teens. They still need to raise about $3,500 to pay for all of the production costs.

If you would like to support this project please go to this Indiegogo page to make a donation:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/project-art-s-avenue-q-school-edition-fundraiser

And here’s information on the upcoming “Avenue Q School Edition” shows:

Dates: March 21st – 30th (7 shows )
Times: 3pm, 7pm, 8pm (various nights)
Venue: The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street
Cost:  $10-15
Tickets on sale here: http://projectartsavenueqschooledition.bpt.me

Practicing the battle cry. (Photo from the Team Sunshine Performance Corporation’s website).

Fancy taking part in an epic battle in Clark Park on a sultry summer eve? This year Shakespeare in Clark Park is staging Henry IV complete with a battle scene and they need your help.

The Shakespeare in Clark Park folks are teaming up with the Team Sunshine Performance Corp. to recruit and train 100 volunteers to take part in the late July performances. Tryouts will be held during the weekend of April 5-6 and you must be at least 12 years old to participate (which unfortunately eliminates some of the kids who go at it with all manner of medieval foam weapon every weekend in Clark Park). Your commitment includes a half-dozen rehearsals and five performances in mid- to late-July and early August.

“Anyone who can learn and remember basic instructions, be outside in July, can get up to a light jog and can be enthusiastic about joining an epic performance should participate!,” according to the tryout invitation. “No previous performance experience is required.”

The tryouts are:

Saturday, April 5th, 10:30am – 1:00pm
Sunday April 6th, 2:30pm-5pm
Sunday April 6th, 6:30pm-9pm

For tons more information about tryouts – including an FAQ – go here.

Archived photo/Joel DeGrands.

This afternoon, some West Philly Local readers reported to us that there was no water service around S. 45th and Baltimore/Springfield. We contacted Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) for details but found out that no one had reported the problem to them yet. When there’s a disruption in water service, please make sure to call Water Emergency Hotline at: 215-685-6300 and provide your exact address so that PWD can dispatch their crew, PWD spokesperson Laura Copeland told West Philly Local.

Since this is the season of water main breaks and frozen pipes PWD would appreciate if residents let them know without delay if there’s a problem with water.

By the way, the water service at 45th and Baltimore was restored at around 3 p.m.

Police are searching for a person who robbed the Garden Court Eatery at 4725 Pine Street early Saturday morning, according to Joseph Murray of Southwest Detectives. The robbery happened shortly before 1 a.m. and the suspect is described as a 25-year-old black male with a beard wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and armed with a gun. A female employee was at the store at the time of the robbery, according to police. The suspect took an unknown amount of money and cigarettes and fled the store. No injuries were reported.

This is the second time that the Garden Court Eatery has been targeted in the past month. There was a robbery attempt on January 23 when a male suspect walked into the store, pointed a gun at a female employee and demanded money. After the woman started screaming, the suspect ran away.

Here are a couple of updates from local businesses.

West Philly acupuncture fans rejoice: after a few delays and setbacks West Philly Community Acupuncture is finally opening its doors at 4636 Woodland Ave on Tuesday, Feb. 25, according to owner Sarah Lefkowich. “It’s so exciting to be finally accepting appointments,” Lefkowich told West Philly Local via e-mail.

A $10 treatment special we told you about earlier is now from Feb. 25 until March 25 and you can schedule it online at www.westphillycommunityacupuncture.com or by phone: 215-222 -2303. WPCA is open Tuesday/Thursday: 3-7 p.m., Wednesday/Friday 9 a.m.-1 p.m., and Saturday: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

In other news, West Philly’s popular coffee shop, Green Line Cafe, has started accepting credit cards at their Baltimore Avenue location. The news prompted some lively discussion on Twitter:

Cash only NO MORE at Baltimore Ave. Bring yr cards! @westphillylocal http://t.co/0Cf7StCXLa

— Green Line Cafe (@GreenLineCafe) February 21, 2014

@WestPhillyLocal @GreenLineCafe woohoo! Welcome to the 20th century everyone, it’s gonna be awesome!

— kyle cassidy (@kylecassidy) February 21, 2014

@kylecassidy @WestPhillyLocal … ’bout time…we know! 🙂

— Green Line Cafe (@GreenLineCafe) February 21, 2014

If you want to leave a tip, there’s an option of cash or credit card, so no worries.
 

Photo by Claire Horvath.

Continuing its season of exploring themes of gender roles and identity, Curio Theatre Company will premiere its production of Brian Friel’s “Dancing at Lughnasa” tonight at 8 p.m. on Curio’s Mainstage, 4740 Baltimore Avenue.

Directed by Gay Carducci, “Dancing at Lughnasa” is Friel’s epic, weaving narrative of five unmarried sisters living in the fictional town of Ballybeg in Ireland’s County Donegal during the summer of 1936. Set around the Celtic harvest festival, Lughansadh, Friel’s TONY award-winning play follows Kate, Maggie, Agnes, Rosie, and Christina as they realize their long buried desires and dashed dreams while dealing with rising tensions that threaten to unravel their close-knit home life. Originally premiered in April 1990, “Dancing at Lughnasa” is loosely based on Friel’s mothers and aunts who lived on the west coast of County Donegal.

“We planned a season with emphasis on gender. ‘Dancing with Lughnasa’ is a memory play. It is a play about hard economic times, deflated dreams, hope, pain, love. It also deals with five adult, in married sisters and their place in the world,” said Carducci in a press release. “To me personally, it is mostly a play about change and how change [affects] us all differently. In this, I find this play to be timeless. All of the themes are themes that will always be present. It is beautiful, lyrical, and touching on so many levels.”

Performances start at 8 p.m. and run Thursday through Sunday night until closing night, March 15th. Tickets are $20 to $25, and can be purchased here or by phone at 215-525-1350.

–Annamarya Scaccia