Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown
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A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT.

Hello and welcome to The Murder at Haversham Manor.

We are thrilled that the Cornley University Drama Society is now performing at the legendary Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown in Jamestown. We can only apologize to those involved with the originally planned performance of the national tour of Hamilton, which do to a clerical error is now being performed in the Cornley University Gymnasium. We hope there are no hard feelings but we do expect to be reimbursed for the last minute international flights.

The question everyone at Cornley has been asking is: are we ready for the Little Theatre? The answer is "yes".

The cast and I rehearsed for weeks using only the best acting teachings to inspire us. We read that Sanford Meisner once said, "Acting is behaving truthfully," so we immediately changed all the names in the play to our own names and cut the murder, the manor house setting and any other element that we hadn't personally experienced. We then found the piece rather flat, and it only ran at 17 minutes. So we went back to the Meisner book and we realized the full quote was in fact: "Acting is behaving truthfully... under imaginary circumstances," so we reinstated the cuts and we were then quickly back on track.

We found the teachings of Michael Chekhov less confusing. He says, "An actor has to burn inside with an outer ease." So that evening it was vindaloos all round at the Sunam Balti House on Cornley High Street. However, try as we did to not react to our burning insides, it was certainly noticeable that we were all in significant discomfort, which just goes to show how tough acting can be. At the end of the evening, Dennis was actually sick in the restaurant bathrooms. We always knew he was one of the weaker actors.

All this hard work and preparation has left us with an ensemble piece that has achieved such critical acclaim as "VERY INTERESTING" from Mr. Harwood, esteemed head of Design Technology at Cornley University, and "RATHER UNSETTLING" from real-life police chief Mr. Greaves of the Cornley Volunteer Police Force. I'm sure that with a full audience, the piece will truly bring down the house.


CHRIS BEAN
President of the Cornley University Drama Society &
Director of The Murder at Haversham Manor

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Directors Corner.
Meet the Cast.
​Production Credits.
Special Thanks.

Location
18 East second Street
​Jamestown, NY 14701

What Our audiences Are Saying

-> We are so impressed with the quality of these shows.  Come see for yourselves!

-> Very nice experience and tons of talent!

-> Great place for large entertainment on a small scale. I have been to several different shows over the years and even was in a couple of them many years ago. The quality of performances is still very high.

-> Loved all my years spent at little theater. It was my home away from home. I continue to wish them a very prosperous future and pray the lights will always be on. I don't think people realize what a gem this is in our community.

Contact Us

Our Box Office is currently open by appointment only. 
Please email [email protected] 

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  • Home
    • The Play That Goes Wrong
  • About
    • Our History
    • Board of Directors
    • Hall of Fame
    • In Memoriam
    • Previous Shows
  • 2023 Season
    • Tickets & Reservations
    • Season Tickets
  • Auditions
  • Become a Volunteer!