From PopCulture: ‘Mom’ and Allison Janney Receive Big Emmy News Despite CBS Cancellation
Mom received three major nominations for the 2021 Emmy Awards this year following the CBS show’s cancellation. Mom ended back in May after Season 8 came to a close, and many fans and critics praised the show in hindsight. Now, the people behind the series — including co-star Allison Janney — are seeing that praise come to fruition.
Janney is nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance on Mom this year, alongside Aidy Bryant for Shrill, Kaley Cuoco for The Flight Attendant, Tracee Ellis Ross for Black-ish and Jean Smart for Hacks. Mom is also nominated for Outstanding Directing For a Comedy Series for the episode “Scooby-Doo Checks and Salisbury Steak,” directed by James Widdoes. Finally, the same episode is nominated for Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing For A Comedy Series, highlighting editor Joe Bella.
These two friends chat as they explore Gage’s warning about the conservative Christian attempt to take over the government in her DANGERS OF THE HOUR along with Gage’s vision of a “true” religion of freedom and justice in PUTTING THE FEMALE BACK INTO GOD.
Every year for decades my family and friends have gathered at my home for one of my favorite Christmas traditions, a reading of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens.
This year our Dickensian evening was a bit different, we brought the victorian classic to the internet age. We gathered across time zones and miles via zoom.
Here are tips on how to have your very own Zoom “A Christmas Carol” party.
Download the PDF of “A Christmas Carol” above. This is Dickens’ full story not the script of the play. It takes place in five chapters called “Staves”. It helps if everyone is using the same text because it is easier to follow along. Our party had some attendees using their own copies and they do fine. But they had to pay attention to where we were in the story if they had glanced away to fill their glass or let the dog out.
HAVE A MODERATOR OR DIRECTOR IN PLACE.
Have a host in charge that can keep the event moving.
They need to be able to:
Stay for the entire story.
Be familiar with zoom so that they can mute and unmute as needed.
Keep an eye open for Admitting late comers into the meeting.
Reassign parts on the fly at the start of each Stave.
TAKE BREAKS.
Break between staves if needed. This will also give you a moment to chat about something or grab a snack. Let participants know that they can take breaks as needed to tend to things that come up and to turn off their video so it doesn’t distract from the reading.
Cast list download above. Here is the list of speaking parts in each stave. Assign the parts to participants before hand and you’ll have the most fun. People will stay on because they know they are needed for the “performance.” On the PDF above next to each character in parentheses is the page number cue. Again, this is helpful if everyone is using the same text of the story.
Things to keep in mind when casting:
Narrators should love to read out loud. Try to cast strong readers for the narrator and Scrooge. Strong readers will relax everyone else.
Share the Scrooge and Narrator parts. Assign someone new for each stave or alternate.
The 4th Stave features cockney accents. These can be fun but long and tedious unless the readers are nimble.
The Spirit of Christmas Future has no lines. Don’t assign to someone who likes to speak.
I reserve the part of Jacob Marley every year. Assign to an enthusiastic over actor!
If you want to see these characters performed beautifully watch the 1951 film version starring Alastair Sim. Watch the trailer and find out where you can watch here.
The Theatre Association of New York State (TANYS) festival is going virtual this year. As Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage..”
The festival is two days of workshops and features a keynote speaker each day. Mimi will be the keynote speaker on the second day of the event, Saturday 11/21/20.
TANYS serves nonprofessional theatre in New York State. Specifically community, university and college, secondary school drama departments, and Children Theatres across the state.
The organization strives to foster the contribution of theater to the lives of NYS citizens. TANYS promotes the high standards of theatre practice through education and example. This encouragement allows for the exchange of ideas through creative expression and gives individuals an outlet to receive and transmit these interactions.
“I’m thrilled to participate in a festival that celebrates community theatre and the community that theatre brings to our lives. To be asked by my hometown theatre, The Rochester Community Players is a true full circle moment.” – Mimi Kennedy.
Mimi’s mother, Nancy was actively involved in the Rochester Community Players and served many roles including as board president.
The festival is a great resource for anyone interested in theatre. Whether you are already a member of a community theatre organization, an educator or an aspiring actor-there is a workshop for you!
Mom Season 8 sees Christy (played by Anna Faris) leaving to go to law school after the actor who plays her suddenly announced her departure earlier this year. Anna Faris may be out of the show, but Mom continues with its remaining cast members, which include Oscar-winning actor Allison Janney.
Janney, as well as other Mom co-stars like Mimi Kennedy and Jamie Pressly, have spoken about Farris’ departure from the CBS comedy.
Most of these comments come courtesy of an interview with Entertainment Tonight. In this, Janney led the tributes to Farris, saying: “It’s a huge loss for the show to not have Anna…we will miss her so much.
Kennedy’s take on Farris leaving was as follows: “I had the dressing room next to her and I played her sponsor. And I got to know how smart she is… and I really, really enjoyed talking to her. She was also very funny and very witty and I’m going to miss that.”
Wendy actor Beth Hall added: “The thing about Anna was she was always so encouraging. If you were funny, if you did a great scene, she was always the first one to compliment you and tell you how well it went.”
