Dietrich Theater News Flash:  George Graham of WVIA's "Homegrown Music" will emcee tonight's concert Gathering of Singers & Songwriters 8 at the Dietrich!  Join us for this amazing evening of acoustic music at 7:30 pm.  Featured artists include George Wesley, Kate Jordan, CJ McKenna, Tom Flannery, and Lorne Clarke.Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased at the door.    Call the theatear at 570-996-1500 for details.


At The Dietrich

by
Hildy Morgan

Next week will be five years since my mastectomy. It doesn’t seem that long ago, but it is. The other morning the fog and mist hung over the South Auburn meadows and I felt the chill of fear as I looked out the window. The morning my husband drove me to Wilkes-Barre General was just that sort of a morning. I was so frightened I couldn’t even talk to him. I just stared out the window into the impenetrable dawn and wondered if, by sheer strength of will, I could make time go backwards, like it so often does in the movies. From the moment they removed my breast, I believed, everything would be altered. Nothing would ever be the same. Life as I knew it would be over. The thought washed over me in such a tidal wave of despair that I leaned my head against the window and cried, the only time, I think, during the entire ordeal. My husband reached out his huge hand and patted my knee. “It’s going to be all right,” he whispered. “It really is.” But the words sounded tinny, like cheap wind chimes, and I burrowed deep into myself, unable, unwilling or both to take solace. There would be no comfort for me from that point on. Of that I was sure.

Except there was. Lots of it. My husband never loved me a bit less. My sister took care of me as if she were a distant relative of Florence Nightingale. My friends gathered round. I got cards from people I didn’t even know – hundreds of them. I read every one – especially the ones that told me that they had survived this breast cancer monster, and that their lives were good. I read those cards over and over. I knew them by heart. This person survived ten years, I’d think, and she says she had ten involved nodes. I didn’t have any nodes involved, so maybe I’ll make it to twenty, or ten, at least five. 
Six weeks after the surgery it was time to start chemo. Other women who had been on that miserable journey told me it was doable. Many of them worked through it so I decided I would, too. I’d get the chemo on Wednesday, lie about in most dramatic fashion until the following Wednesday when I’d go back to work for two weeks. Then on to the next round. It wasn’t great, but they were right – it was doable. I played head games all the way through – “okay, so this is my first so this won’t be too bad. Okay, this is the second which is the last of the beginning. Okay, wow, this is the third so after this I only have one more time. Oh, total wow! This is the last. I don’t have to do this any more! Great! Hooray. But wait! What’s fighting the cancer cells now? If I’m not doing chemo will I die now? Is that what happens? Oh, it’s not. It’s okay. I can concentrate on growing my hair back.”
And then, as the weeks passed, the fear began to retreat. And slowly as I entered my new life it came to be pretty much like my old life. Still had my dear friends, my work, a husband who didn’t seem to really notice the chemo weight gain, the missing part of my anatomy. The only noticeable difference is that I do so appreciate every day. Each day I see the wildflowers in my fields I see their colors with an intensity that wasn’t there before. Each day I think how good my life is to have so many beloved people in it. Each day I whisper to the heavens – “thank you – thank you for this day. I am so, so grateful.”
So many things have happened in the five years since that terrifying day. The theater has expanded, beloved dogs have come and gone, my adored daughter has come back into my life. If I never got another day, I would be ever, ever grateful for the days I’ve been given.
     
And now, a little late, I never miss a mammogram! Don’t you ladies miss yours either. I’m alive and (knock on wood) well, but it might not have turned out that way because I was so foolish. Don’t you be. 

And if you know someone going through this or any other kind of cancer, don’t tell them you know someone who had that cancer and it killed them. Oooooh, no. Don’t ever, ever say that. Talk about the person you know who had a zillion involved nodes and lived for forty years and died after they were hit by a truck. And at the autopsy, they were cancer free! That’s the kind of story we all need to hear!
     
See you at the Dietrich.

Now Showing

www.dietrichtheater.com/movie
or (570)836-1022 for times

Julie&Julia
August 7, 2009 -
August 20, 2009

The Ugly Truth
August 14, 2009 -
August 20, 2009

G.I.JOE: Rise of Cobra
August 7, 2009 -
August 20, 2009

Funny People
July 31, 2009 -
August 20, 2009


Coming Soon

www.dietrichtheater.com/preview
or (570)836-1022 for times

Inglourious Basterds
August 21, 2009 -
August 27, 2009

SHORTS
August 21, 2009 -
August 27, 2009


Events

www.dietrichtheater.com/event
or (570)996-1500 to reserve

Gathering of Singers & Songwriters 8
August 19, 2009


Classes

www.dietrichtheater.com/class
or (570)996-1500 to enroll

Decorative Painting, for ages 16 and up
July 15, 2009 - August 26, 2009

Introduction to Knitting
August 12, 2009 - August 26, 2009

Pottery & Sculpture, ages 13 and up
July 13, 2009 - August 31, 2009

Writers' Group
July 9, 2009 - August 27, 2009

Yoga for You
July 22, 2009 - August 26, 2009

Live at The Dietrich

by
Erica Rogler

Tonight’s the night for Gathering of Singers and Songwriters 8! I can’t wait to see this group of ultra talented musicians take the Dietrich stage. At 7:30 pm, join us as George Wesley, Kate Jordan, CJ McKenna, Tom Flannery and Lorne Clarke entertain us with stories, banter, and some of the best acoustic folk music out there today. Tickets are $5.00 each and can be purchased at the door. This is one of our favorite music events each year so we hope to see you there. 

 Can you believe that in just one month the Dietrich’s 7th annual Fall Film Festival will have begun?! That’s right. On Friday, September 18th at 6:00 pm, the festival will be kicked off with our Opening Night Gala. Jeffrey (our film buyer) and Hildy have outdone themselves again for this event. They are bringing in the bio-pic “Coco Before Chanel” about legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel for it’s national premiere. Just think we will have the opportunity to see this film starring Audrey Tautou before it goes to New York!   Opening night will also feature the British satire “In the Loop” starring Peter Capaldi and James Gandolfini.   In addition to great movies that night, there will delicious hors d’oeuvres from Epicurean Delight and some of the finest restaurants around and wine from Nimble Hill as well as the most sumptuous desserts from Epicurean Delight. Tickets are $40 each and can be purchased by calling the theater at 570-996-1500. This is an evening not to be missed so make your reservations early. 
 
In addition to the film festival starting up in September, our children’s classes will begin anew. For children ages 3 to 5, Amy Colley will be teaching a Mommy & Me and Preschool Art class entitled “Donkey Beads and Bells”. In these four-week series, young arties will learn about donkey beads, which are made by residents in rural areas of many Middle Eastern countries as good luck charms for their donkeys. In this class children will make clay beads and construct clay pots, which can be used to create musical sounds. The preschool class will be held on Thursdays, September 17, 24, Oct. 1, and 8 from noon - 12:45. The mommy and me series will take place on Fridays, September 18, 25, Oct. 2, 9 from 10:30 - 11:15 am. Admission is $35. 
 
For artists ages 5 to 12, Steve and Amy Colley will be guiding students on an adventure as they learn how to create very unique art pieces. They will learn how to turn an old pile of junk into artistic treasures. Students will also learn about recycling as they create this 3-D form of collage. For children ages 5 - 8, classes will offered on Fridays, September 18, 25, Oct. 2, and 9 from 4:00 - 5:30 pm. Students ages 9 to 12 can take a similar series on Thursdays, September 17, 24, October 1 and 8 from 4:00 - 5:30 pm. Admission is $35. Call the Dietrich at 570-996-1500 for more information about these and other class offerings at the theater.