Author: June Alane Reif

When the Napa Valley Performing Arts Center at Lincoln Theater gave us dates to choose from for a production, the first available were during the first week of January. There are very few theater companies that plan to put up a show that week. The logistics of it are simply a nightmare. Most people are away (and can’t rehearse) during Christmas and New Year’s. People, in general are distracted by the holidays and don’t always pay a lot of attention to what’s coming up after the first of the year. Our first thought was, quite simply, no. We did not, however, wish to pass up the opportunity. We thought our best bet was to find a small cast, one-act play with minimal set requirements.   As it happened, June Alane…

Born in London in 1930, Harold Pinter was one of the most influential, provocative and poetic dramatists of his generation. Inspired in part by Samuel Beckett, he created his own distinctive style, marked by terse dialogue and meaningful pauses. His plays are particularly famous for their use of understatement to convey characters' thoughts and feelings. In 2005, Pinter was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The eccentric behavior and dialogue in Pinter's plays are frequently very funny, and audiences laugh hard and long, yet there is an underlying feeling of danger in his plays, and critics frequently describe them as "comedies of menace." We, the audience, have the same need for verification that the characters have, and Pinter artfully makes us experience their uneasiness. His plays are funny, but agitating.

[caption id="attachment_136" align="alignright" width="300"] "Ganymede Moon" by Debbie Ames[/caption] The beautiful photography you will see adorning Richard and Sarah’s home in our production of The Lover is the work of a creative local artist, Debbie Ames. You can see more of her work at http://www.debbieamesphotography.com/ and at the establishments listed below: Chimney Rock Winery 5350 Silverado Trail Napa, CA 94558 [caption id="attachment_135" align="alignleft" width="200"] "Iguazu" by Debbie Ames[/caption] Artist of the Valley Gallery (Art Gallery Napa Valley) 1307 First Street, Napa Open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. "The photographs of NVOS artist Debbie Ames are filled with her exuberant love of all that she sees. Approaching her work with a love of world cultures, history, and nature, and with her positive outlook and ebullient personality, Debbie seeks to…