‘Annie’ arrives in Philly this week. It’s a second act for one member of the show’s national tour

When it came to discovering life’s much-vaunted Second Act that begins with retirement, elementary schoolteacher Eileen Loveless wasn’t finding much to help her with the feeling of being at loose ends.

That disappeared when she answered an intriguing help-wanted job posting that put her in a place where second acts and stages are common: the theater.

Her new job title? Set teacher.

This week, she’ll be in Philadelphia, guiding the educational progress of seven orphans who squeeze in school between rehearsals and performances of Annie, the musical playing at Kimmel Cultural Campus’ Miller Theater through Oct. 16.

“I was sitting around doing nothing and I needed to do something,” said Loveless, who taught in Scarsdale, N.Y., and retired after 30 years on the job. “I was looking for something new.”

Set teachers are independent contractors hired by an agency that supplies them to the producers of plays, movies, or television shows. Loveless is traveling with the Annie tour. She was with the tour in Syracuse last week and when the show closes here, she’ll move with her “orphans” to North Carolina and stay with them until the tour ends in Tampa in June.

“It’s been exciting for me, too,” she said. She also worked with children on the sets of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and the upcoming musical comedy film, Theater Camp.

“My two boys are grown and living independently,” she said. “I don’t have a relationship. I don’t have a dog anymore. I felt fate had introduced me to this job.”

In Philadelphia, Loveless is looking forward to taking her students on a field trip to the city’s historic sites. To do that, she must coordinate with the tour’s stage manager, who runs everyone’s schedule and must approve a few hours off in the middle of the day for the student actors to check out the Liberty Bell.

Her students, in grades 4 through 10, are all enrolled in online educational programs approved by their home school districts. Loveless monitors their progress and keeps track of their study time to make sure they receive the legally-required 15 hours of instruction a week.

Fitting instructional hours into the schedule can pose a challenge, particularly for Annie, who appears in nearly every scene and has more demands on her time than the other orphans.

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Like most teachers, Loveless worries about fitting all there is to teach into the allotted time.

For example, to prepare for Annie, the child actors had to learn the history of the Depression era. They had to learn about Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They learned about Hooverville, and that radios and the Monopoly game were created during the Depression, she said.

All important stuff for the show and for general historical knowledge.

Loveless’ day begins at 11 a.m. By law, her student performers need 12 hours off between their stints on stage and their return to work, even if the work is schoolwork.

Loveless sees how her students light up when they perform on stage. “After I teach, I watch them. These girls love what they do.”

“They are extremely talented,” she said. “It’s amazing with what all these girls are managing — so much pressure on stage and then, they are managing school. That can’t be overstated.”

And it can’t be overstated how much Loveless loves her second act. “I needed a new adventure,” she said. “I needed to shake it up.”

(Through Oct. 16, at the Miller Theater, 250 S. Broad St., Phila., 215-893-1999 or kimmelculturalcampus.org)

Black Angels Over Tuskegee at the Delaware Theatre Co. tells the story of six courageous men who struggled with Jim Crow and racism and overcame challenges to become the first Black aviators in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Written and directed by Layon Gray.

(Oct. 12-30, Delaware Theatre Co., 200 Water St., Wilmington, 302-594-1100 or delawaretheatre.org)

Simpatico Theatre and Jouska PlayWorks present a weekend of plays by Black playwrights — part of the pay-what-you-decide Jouska PlayWorks New Play Showcase. The Black playwrights who have formed Jouska PlayWorks believe in creating theater that entertains, empowers, and awakens the moral conscience.

The plays are each performed once. They are: The Translated Body Politic of Miss, Mother, Sista by Teresa D. Miller at 7 p.m. Oct. 14; Celebrity Dream Date by Keenya Jackson, 3 p.m. Oct. 15; “ … and stones,” by Megan Schumacher, 5 p.m. Oct. 15; Psalm 46, by Josh A. Campbell, 7 p.m., Oct. 15; ReWombed by Nikki Brake-Sillá, 3 p.m. Oct. 16, and Play On by Quinn D. Eli, 6 p.m. Oct. 16.

(Oct. 14-16, Jouska PlayWorks New Play Showcase; Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake, 302 S. Hicks St., Phila. Reservations are required. Visit https://www.simpaticotheatre.org/jouska-playworks.)

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong for all the wedding crashers at the Wedding Crashers’ Ball at Glen Foerd, Philadelphia’s public park and cultural site on the banks of the Delaware. Part theater and part Glen Foerd fund-raiser, this event will give the audience (the wedding crashers) a chance to experience magic, slapstick, music, and dancing on the grounds and in the mansion itself. Guests are requested to wear black tie, old wedding and bridesmaids’ dresses, or any festive or business attire. The music comes from the West Philadelphia Orchestra, a Balkan brass ensemble. InFLUX Theatre Collective will create the theatrical chaos. Reservations required.

(Oct. 21, Glen Foerd, 5001 Grant Ave., Phila. 215-632-5330 or www.glenfoerd.org)

Camden Rep presents a free reading of Real Women Have Curves by Josefina López. Set in a tiny sewing factory in Los Angeles, it’s the story of five Mexican American women sewing nonstop to keep their business afloat, all the while hiding from immigration officers. As they work, they talk about their families and futures.

(Through Oct. 12, Camden Rep, 445 Mechanic St., Camden. 856-580-2530 or camdenrep.com)

Check with individual venues for COVID-19 protocols.

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