Theatre--Auditions

The Opelousas Little Theatre is holding auditions for the production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Dates:
Tuesday, April 28 @ 6:00 PM
Saturday, May 2 @ 10:00 AM

Auditions are open to people of all ages. Come to auditions prepared with a 1 minute monologue and a song. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.

Questions?
Ask: Ashley Brown
Phone (337) 308-7108

Theatre--Acting Workshop (Film)

Combining a casting call with an instructional seminar, the Cinematic Arts Workshop invites college-age participants for an afternoon of “Acting for the Camera” on Friday.

The Cinematic Arts Workshop is seeking male and female participants in the age range of 18-25, dressed in contemporary college attire, to perform as extras for a scene in a professional movie. The scene: an ivy-league college auditorium filled with students attending a lecture. Some extras may be selected for larger speaking roles. The movie is directed by Tom Krueger, the Cinematic Arts Workshop’s Artist-in-Residence.

No acting experience is necessary. Krueger will direct participants extensively in a workshop format so that participants gain educational experience from an internationally acclaimed director of photography. Krueger’s work includes music videos for U2, Bob Dylan, REM and Bruce Springsteen. Samples of his work can be seen at www.tomkrueger.com.

Interested participants should report to the UL's Griffin Hall, Room 215, at 1 p.m. Friday for the shoot. For more information, please call 482-5474.

Theatre--Performance

IPAL is preparing to present The Dixie Swim Club in June. This play is a special presentation not on IPAL's regular season schedule, and replaces the planned production of To Kill a Mockingbird. The Dixie Swim Club by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooton is the story of five southern women who became friends many years ago on their college swim team. They meet for a long weekend every August at the same North Carolina beach cottage to recharge their friendship. Starting with the characters in middle age, the play covers several of these weekends over a period of thirty-three years as the ladies catch up and meddle in each other's lives. One reviewer calls it "a hilarious and touching comedy about friendships that last forever." Director Mac Stearns has cast Donna Berard, Joyce Case, Gladys Chapman, Stephanie Judice and Susan Clark as the five women. Performances are scheduled for June 4th through the 14th.

Theatre--Performance

The IPAL presentation of Educating Rita, presented in cooperation with Cite Des Arts and with their permission, opens tonight at 7:30 and will run for two weeks.


Erin Segura as Rita White in Educating Rita


Vincent P. Barras as Frank in Educating Rita

Theatre--Performance

Catholic High School is presenting You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, a musical based on the "Peanuts" comic strips by Charles M. Schulz with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and Andrew Lippa. The show is directed by Jack Sorenson with assistance from student Travis Guillory (who also choreographed the show). Tickets are $8 in advance (available at the school) or $10 at the door. The performances will take place in the school cafeteria.

PERFORMANCE DATES:
Tuesday, April 28 at 7 pm
Wednesday, April 29 at 7 pm
Thursday, April 30 at 7 pm


CAST:
Charlie Brown-Phillip Smith
Snoopy-Travis Guillory
Lucy van Pelt-Lanie Marcantel
Linus van Pelt-Sarah Leonard
Schroeder-Lauren Broussard
Sally Brown-Cindy Broussard

Theatre--Performance

Lafayette High School presents Little Shop of Horrors! opening to the public on Thursday, April 23rd and running until Saturday, April 25th. Tickets are $7 and are available in the front office of the school. Performances begin at 7 pm.

Theatre--Performance

On May 1st through 10th, the 50 cast members of Firelight Children’s Theatre will perform their version of the children’s classic Alice in Wonderland. Under the direction of Laura Blum, the play features not only fanciful costumes and surreal sets, but also the high quality performance level for which the troupe is known. Performances, which are held at Cite des Arts, 109 Vine St, in downtown Lafayette, will be held in the evenings on May 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 7:00 p.m., with matinees presented on May 2, 3, 9, 10 at 3:00 p.m. For reservations or other performance information, call 291-1122.

Theatre--Summer Camp/Workshop

For parents looking for a summer activity that is focused not only on fun but on learning as well, Firelight Children’s Theatre has a perfect solution. For every summer in the past five years, the organization’s director, Laura Blum has presented a series of summer day-camps with a focus on performing arts. The camps are broken into two interest groups: all phases of acting, and Broadway-style singing.

The acting camp for children ages 5 through 8 starts on July 20 to August 2. T’Lights will meet on Monday through Thursday from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. With the exception of the final performance, all activities will take place in Firelight Children’s Theatre in Milton. The campers will learn acting, dancing and singing skills, along with memorization techniques, while working on a musical production of Mable’s Fables, which will be performed at Cite des Arts on July 31st and August 1st at 7:00 p.m. and on August 1 and 2 at 3:00 p.m.. In 2005, troupe members performed Mable’s Fables, which was written by Laura Blum, at Orlando’s Disney World.

Performers age 9 and above will enjoy the Firelight Children’s Theatre Camp, which will present Pinocchio as their play. Campers will learn acting, dancing, and singing, along with memorization techniques while working on the musical production. The camp will be held from July 13 to August 2nd on Mondays through Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Milton, LA. Pinocchio will be performed, along with Mable’s Fables, on July 31 and August 1.

Theatre--Performance

Another three local actors are moving from area stages to new venues. Allison Barron, Michael Caffery, Jr. and Evan Melancon will all be appearing this summer in the Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre's production of Oliver!

This is taken from the Mission Statement of the Summer Lyric Theatre:
Summer Lyric Theatre is a musical theatre performing organization based on the campus of Tulane University. Summer Lyric's mission is to preserve one of America's greatest art forms by producing the highest quality musical theatre. Our theatre exists to support and expand musicians, actors, singers, dancers, technical artists and most important, students of promise, as well as those whom are already established by bringing together both the university's resources and the community.

Each season Summer Lyric Theatre employs the talents of over 200 paid and volunteer actors, singers, dancers, musicians, directors, choreographers, designers and technical artists. Hundreds of individuals audition each year to be a part of the Summer Lyric experience, an experience many characterize as among the best and most professional theatrical opportunities in the Gulf South region. This standard of artistic excellence, for which Summer Lyric is known, has become a hallmark and gives young emergent talent the opportunity to work alongside professionals in a truly collaborative atmosphere.

Barron is well-known to local musical theatre audiences. A BFA graduate of UL-Lafayette, she has been featured in the UL productions of Les Miserables, Suessical the Musical, Into The Woods and Urinetown. She also starred as Eliza Doolittle in the IPAL production of My Fair Lady. Currently living and working in New Orleans, Allison is taking her first steps into the theatre world there.

Caffery is a familiar face at IPAL, having appeared in that production of Oliver! He has also been seen in Hello, Dolly, Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady and Little Shop of Horrors. He is currently a biochemistry major at Tulane University.

Melancon is a theatre student at UL-Lafayette. He was last seen in IPAL's Little Shop of Horrors, and has appeared in a number of Firelight Children's Theatre's productions (including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), as well as shows from St. Mary's Church in Lafayette (Fiddler on the Roof).

Oliver! will run from June 18th through the 21st. For more information, please check the Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre's website.

Theatre--Performance (postponed/rescheduled)

From Jody Powell, director of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the upcoming production of the Eunice Players' Theatre:


The show must go on! Such is the cry of many a director when faced with an unexpected turn of events that threatens to derail a production. And such is the attitude of director Jody L. Powell as she announces a new cast member and new dates for Eunice Players’ Theatre’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee.

“Despite the need to make a change at this late date, we’re fortunate to have the very talented Blaine Peltier assume the role of George,” Powell stated. With a BFA in Theatre, Peltier has over 20 theatrical productions and 2 films under his belt. Peltier is currently the head of the Theatre Arts Department for the Lafayette High School Performing Arts Academy and he is a co-founder of Acadiana Repertory Theatre, Inc., a non-profit, professional theatre company. A quick study, Peltier is up to the challenge of taking on George, a role he’s been waiting for the chance to play. “I know the character; he’s complex and fascinating. Just reading his lines in the script and feeling his mood shifts puts me in the right mind set,” Peltier commented following his first rehearsal with the cast.

As Peltier becomes acclimated to the local stage, the cast and crew breathe a sigh of relief that their show will go on, albeit a week later.

The play will now open with a matinee on Sunday, May 3 at 2:00 p.m. Evening performances are Wednesday through Saturday, May 6-9 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for these performances are $10 and available at David Ltd. Hair and Nail Salon on Second St. or by calling 546-0163. Dinner theatre is Tuesday, May 5 at 6:00 p.m. at Nick's on Second St., with the performance immediately following. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased at Nick's or by calling 457-4921.

Season ticket holders who made reservations should call the answering service to reserve a new date. Patrons who purchased individual tickets or a dinner ticket may exchange them for a different night by returning to the point of purchase. The Board of Directors regret any inconvenience this causes.

Season tickets may still be purchased by calling 457-2156 or 546-0163. For $20 a season ticket includes 3 shows, reservation rights, voting privileges and an invitation to the 40th Annual Irving Awards. Angel and patron packages are also available for purchase. The theatre is located at 121 S. Second St. in Eunice.

Theatre--Audition

Omni Artiste is looking for a WHITE MALE to play the 30-something boyfriend of a well-to-do Black woman. Her family is not thrilled by the relationship.
If you are interested, contact Dr. Alex Marshall as soon as possible at:
mars6853@bellsouth.net

Theatre--Performance

Educating Rita opens on Thursday, April 23rd, and runs Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, and Sundays until May 3rd at the Essenee Theatre in New Iberia. Rita White (Erin Segura), a hairdresser who wants to learn more, has signed up for an Open University course with a burnt-out has-been teacher named Frank (Vincent P. Barras), who has a fondness for alcohol. As he reluctantly prepares her for her examination, Frank discovers in her an eager mind and in himself the ability to be a good teacher again. It's a tale of redemption told through the lives of simple people who want more out of life.

Theatre--Performance

The Baton Rouge Little Theater seems to be welcoming more and more performers from the Acadiana area. Barret Berard of New Iberia, who participated in quite a few IPAL productions and is now living in Baton Rouge, has been cast in the BRLT production of Born Yesterday, which opens on May 1st. Congratulations to Barret!

Theatre--Actor's Notes

Duncan Thistlethwaite will be opening in The Vertical Hour at the Baton Rouge Little Theatre this week. He wrote this note about his experiences with the show, parts of which appeared in The Times of Acadiana. Thanks to Duncan for sharing this with us, and break a leg!

Actors of a certain age develop an eagle eye for auditions which feature characters of a certain age, so when I got an audition emailer for the Baton Rouge Little Theater’s production of The Vertical Hour, my eye did its eagle thing: “Oliver – mid-fifties British physician.” Being verifiably ‘mid-fifties’ myself, I drove over the next day and read for Keith Dixon, the director of the play and BRLT’s Artistic Director. I was thrilled to get cast. The Vertical Hour is a fascinating piece, debuting on Broadway with Bill Nighy and Julienne Moore in the lead roles at a time when the invasion of Iraq and the resultant quagmire of mayhem and chaos were at the very forefront of the world’s political stage. On one level, it’s an exploration of the political, moral, and philosophical ideas surrounding the whole event, but one shouldn’t assume that the play is a screed for political diatribes or yet another blatant attack by the foes of the Bush administration. David Hare is much more subtle than that.

Yes, the play examines what happened in Iraq from several opposite polarities, but more important to the theater-goer are the characters who inhabit those polarites. The central dramatic line through the play is the relationships between those characters and not their political view-points. All the political yak-yak takes a back seat to what is happening between them personally, and what a bunch of interesting characters they are.

My character, Oliver Lucas is an English physician, a GP (general practitioner) who lives in the remote countryside on the Welsh border. I’d never done a British accent before, and my joy at being cast was immediately followed by near-panic as I realized I’d have to come up with a solid British accent. I began attacking that immediately, working with Paul Meier’s excellent Accents and Dialects for Stage and Screen, and quicker than I thought, I found Oliver’s voice, surprising myself that he didn’t sound like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins (‘Allo Guv’nah!) or some over-the-top imitation of posh English aristocracy. Whew.

The script is demanding beyond accents. It is dense with ideas and high-stakes relationships. Oliver Lucas is wicked and sweet, smart and funny, kind and cruel, wounded and wounding, and all sorts of interesting things that are fun to play. I’ve never been presented with a character of his dimensions and depth. The play mainly focuses on the interplay between Oliver and Nadia Blye, his son’s American girlfriend who is an academic/journalist of high profile, much like CNN’s Christian Amonpour. They stand at their poles, fending with each other, using their political philosophies as a means to get at their personal truths. It’s a rich combination of things for an actor to play with: high stake personal relationships which are dismantled and rearranged through intense political discussions.

Keith Dixon is a nimble, accomplished director and has made the experience a joy from the get-go. Rehearsals are focused and business-like, yet fun and friendly at the same time. Part of the joy of being an actor is working through a script, refining moments and tweaking relationships, and Keith’s steady hand and clear view of what the play is about and who the characters are have made each session something I anticipate eagerly. The hour-plus commute to the theater out on Florida Boulevard in Baton Rouge isn’t even a minor hassle. It’s an asset really: a great opportunity to run lines (on the way there) and review what we just did (on the way back). I’m home before I know it.

Theatre--Classes/Workshops

CYT is the nation's largest youth theater program with over 300,000 people across the country watching their performances last year. They are a church neutral but Christ-centered program. The goal of CYT is to take children ages 4 to 18 and teach them to sing, dance, act and all aspects of theater. More importantly, CYT builds character in kids by teaching them self esteem and leadership with accord with Christian principles. The children involved will get to be in Broadway style performances for the community three times a year.

The great news is that Lafayette has just been approved by CYT National to be the next affiliate. They will be joining thirty other affiliates across the nation. They have been meeting with the local church community for the last two months and have had great response across multiple denominations.

CYT will officially begin classes in August. The next big event is the Parent Interest meeting on Friday, May 1st. This will be a great night for curious parents to come out and get all the information on CYT. Children ages 4 to 18 in attendance will be taught a small routine to perform for the parents at the end of the meeting.

Below is the link to CYT National:
www.cyt.org

Please feel to call (337-258-1130) or email Gerald and Patti Broussard with any questions. Gerald would be glad to also meet with anyone interested to better explain the program.

Theatre--Performance

Two area locals have shows opening in the 2nd Stage Series at the Baton Rouge Little Theatre this week. The shows, Blood Knot and The Vertical Hour, will run in rep for two weeks (April 16th-26th). Kyle Lemaire (who directed The Last Five Years at Cite Des Arts) has directed Blood Knot for the BRLT, and Duncan Thistelthwaite (actor, director and set designer) is appearing in The Vertical Hour. The rep schedule is as follows:
April 16--Blood Knot (7:30 pm)
April 17--The Vertical Hour (7:30 pm)
April 18--The Vertical Hour (2:00 pm)
--Blood Knot (7:30 pm)
April 19--Blood Knot (2:00 pm)
--The Vertical Hour (7:30 pm)
April 21--The Vertical Hour (7:30 pm)
April 22--Blood Knot (7:30 pm)
April 23--The Vertical Hour (7:30 pm)
April 24--Blood Knot (7:30 pm)
April 25--Blood Knot (2:00 pm)
--The Vertical Hour (7:30 pm)
April 26--The Vertical Hour (2:00 pm)
--Blood Knot (7:30 pm)

For more information, or to reserve tickets, call BRLT at 225-924-6496 or on the web.

Performance--Opera

The Marriage of Figaro, presented by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Opera Theatre and the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, opens on Thursday, April 30 at 7:30, with a second performance on Saturday, May 2 at 7:30. The student cast will perform on Sunday, May 3 at 3PM. All performances are in the Ducrest-Gilfry Auditorium in Angelle Hall. Tickets are for sale at the ASO office with prices ranging from $25 - $45.

UL students can get $5 tickets for the Sunday matinee only.

The cast includes:

Figaro - Andrew Wilkowske/Brian Sanford
Susanna- Julie Kinzey/Stacy Broussard
Count Almaviva- Jonathan Hays/Nathan Abbott
Countess Almaviva- Katia Escalera/Sasha Massey
Cherubino - Martina Chylikova/Jessica Wiltz
Dr. Bartolo - Ben Sellers
Marcellina - Lindy Waldmeier/Carolyn Broussard
Don Basilio/Don Curzio - Kevin Credeur
Antonio - Nick Manzo
Barbarina - Angela Prejean/Jenee Luquette

The opera is accompanied by the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra with conductor Mariusz Smolij.

The production is directed by Shawn Roy.

Taken from the play by Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro follows the plot of The Barber of Seville. It is 3 years later. The Count is now married to Rosina (the Countess) and he is already cheating on her. Figaro is now the Count's personal valet and is engaged to Susanna, the Countess's chambermaid. The Count is determined to get his hands on Susanna before the wedding night, so Figaro, Susanna and the Countess devise a scheme to make a fool of the Count and hopefully stop his philandering ways. With the assistance of Cherubino, the pageboy (who a teenager and in love with everything in a skirt!), they will send Cherubino, disguised as a woman, to meet the Count in the garden that night for a rendezvous. This is foiled when the Count catches Cherubino in Susanna's room and sends him off to join the military.

Bartolo and Marcellina have a plot of their own. Figaro borrowed some money from Marcellina and cannot pay it back, so she insists on marrying him for payment. Bartolo is still bent of revenge for stealing Rosina away 3 years ago, so he agrees to assist her. We learn later in the opera that Marcellina and Bartolo are actually the long lost parents of Figaro, so the contract is null and void and Figaro and Susanna get married. That night in the garden, the Countess herself dresses as Susanna and the Count is actually wooing his own wife. When she reveals herself, he apologizes for his wrongs and the opera ends happily.

Theatre--Auditions (Omni Artiste)

Omni Artiste Productions, Inc will hold auditions for its next production, Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine by Lynn Nottage, at Cite Des Arts on Saturday, April 18th (from 2-4 pm), Sunday, April 19th (4-6 pm) and Monday, April 20th (6-8 pm).

Ths show is a social satire about an ambitious and haughty African-American woman, whose husband suddenly disappears after embezzling all of her money. Pregnant and on the brink of social and financial ruin, Undine retreats to her childhoold home in the projects.

This production requires multicultural and multiple role casting. The roles to be cast are:
Undine--African-American woman (30 to 35)
Guy/Herve/Lance--Caucasian (30-35)
Stephie/Counselor/Devora/Pregnant Woman/Applicant--(25-35)
Agent/Duval/Flow/Rapper/Drugdealer/Mover/Ensemble/Applicant--African-American (35-39)
Doctor Khdair/Grandma/Inmate#1/Case Worker--African-American (55-65)
Allison/Mother/Rosa/Inmate#2/Addict/Ensemble/Applicant--African-American (50-60)
Bablawo/Father/Gregory/Applicant--African-American (45-50)

Theatre--Performance

John Patrick Bray's Trickster at the Gate was produced Off-Off Broadway with the At Hand Theatre Company in March, 2009. It received outstanding reviews from The Huffington Post, NYTheatre.com, and Stage and Cinema. Trickster at the Gate premiered at the Cite des Arts in April, 2008, as part of The Renaissance of Zora Neale Hurston, and continued its run through Festival International. It was commissioned by the Performing Arts Society of Acadiana under The Big Read Acadiana Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.


Goodnight Lovin' Trail by John Patrick Bray will be produced during The Colors of Life evening of one-acts at the Producer's Club in NYC. Goodnight Lovin' Trail was John's MFA Thesis at the Actors Studio Drama School, and has been produced in various venues. In 2007, GNLT was produced during the first Hub City Theatre Festival at Cite des Arts, and won three awards: Audience Favorite, Best Actor (Myles McGinn), and Best Production Design (Rachel Adams).

John Patrick Bray's full-length play, Hound, will be produced during the Planet Connections Festivity in NYC (Off-Off Broadway) this June. Hound received its World Premiere at Cite des Arts in October, 2007. Currently, John is looking for friends who are willing to donate to the project (his goal is to raise $1,000 during the month of April, which will off-set all production costs). He is asking everyone he has ever met for $10. So far, John has raised over $2,000, which has paid for entry into the festival, a press agent, and Actor's Equity insurance. The remaining $1,000 will cover rehearsal space, post-cards, costumes, and make-up. If you are interested in making a donation, you can reach him at JohnPatrickBray@yahoo.com. For more information about the Planet Connections Festivity, please visit www.planetconnectionsfestivity.com.

Theatre--Performance

Tickets are now on sale for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the first show of the Eunice Players' Theatre's 40th anniversary season, written by Edward Albee and directed by Jody L. Powell. The play begins with a matinee on Sunday, April 26th at 2:00 p.m. Evening performances are Wednesday through Saturday, April 29th through May 2nd at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for these performances are $10 and available at David Ltd. Hair and Nail Salon on Second St. or by calling 546-0163. Dinner theatre is Tuesday, April 28th at 6:00 p.m. at Nick's on Second St., with the performance immediately following. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased at Nick's or by calling 457-4921. Season tickets may still be purchased by calling 457-2156 or 546-0163. For $20, a season ticket includes 3 shows, reservation rights, voting privileges and an invitation to the 40th Annual Irving Awards. Angel and patron packages are also available for purchase. The theatre is located at 121 S. Second St. in Eunice.

Theatre--Performance

Duncan Thistlethwaite is a well-known local actor (as well as director and set designer) who is now appearing in a repertory performance at the Baton Rouge Little Theatre. Kyle LeMaire has also appeared in local productions (most notably the UL-Lafayette production of Into The Woods).

The Baton Rouge Little Theater 2008 - 2009 2nd Stage Series will be performed in repertory in April. The fall 2008 production of Blood Knot was postponed due to Hurricane Gustav. The Vertical Hour was already scheduled for April 2009.

"Putting the shows in rep gives us a unique opportunity to present two world-class plays in a short period of time. The plays will rotate performances in our 2nd Stage space beginning April 16, 2009," says BRLT Managing Artistic Director Keith Dixon.

Blood Knot
( written by Athol Fugard, directed by Kyle LeMaire)
(Opening night Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 7:30PM)
CAST
Ronald Coats Morris
Jarrod Smith Zach

One of Fugard's most powerful and poignant works, Blood Knot has received critical praise in Africa, Europe and America. The story follows a white and a black brother, born of the same woman. They live in a hovel, the white man as the black brother's servant. The white man cooks and the black man brings home the money. They are saving to buy a farm to which they hope to retire, but the dream is threatened by the desire for a romantic relationship for one of them. The solution is a lonely hearts club, and the response and picture they get will devolve brotherly love into humiliation as they await her visit - a visit which may never come.

The Vertical Hour
(written by David Hare, directed by Keith Dixon)
(Opening night: Friday, April 17, 2009 at 7:30PM)

CAST
Neil Bond Dennis
Drew Lomonica Arms Nadia
Duncan Thistlethwaite Oliver
Joel Sunsin Philip
Tonika Davis Terry

David Hare's new play, The Vertical Hour, is a thought-provoking exploration of how the political can sometimes intersect, collide with and ultimately dismantle the personal. In the play, Nadia and Phillip visit Phillip's father in the Welsh countryside, where the trio get into heated discussions about love, death, marriage, parenthood and the Iraq war. Brimming with cogent and fascinating arguments involving the current political situation, Hare fills his play with several of these ethical and philosophical quandaries that serve not only as dramatic conflict between the three main characters, but also metaphorically as the basis for several of the arguments politicians and intellectuals are having these days concerning the role that America and the West are playing in Iraq, the Middle East and beyond.
The productions are sponsored by WRKF 89.3FM and DOW Louisiana Federal Credit Union.

Performance Schedule:
Thursday, April 16th (7:30PM) Blood Knot

Friday, April 17th (7:30PM) The Vertical Hour

Saturday, April 18th (2PM) The Vertical Hour
(7:30PM) Blood Knot

Sunday, April 19th (2PM) Blood Knot
(7:30PM) The Vertical Hour

Tuesday, April 21st (7:30PM) The Vertical Hour
(Post-show discussion)

Wednesday, April 22nd (7:30PM) Blood Knot (
Post-show discussion)

Thursday, April 23rd (7:30PM) The Vertical Hour

Friday, April 24th (7:30PM) Blood Knot

Saturday, April 25th (2PM) Blood Knot
(7:30PM) The Vertical Hour
Sunday, April 26th (2PM) The Vertical Hour
(7:30PM) Blood Knot


Call (225) 924-6296 for more information.

Theatre--Review (Opelousas Little Theatre)

Ray Blum reviews the Opelousas Little Theatre's production of the Complete Wrks of Wllm Shkspr(Abridged) in the Friday, April 3rd edition of the Daily Advertiser.

Theatre--Actor's Story (Eunice Players')

Gabe Ortego, a local actor and director, is currently beginning rehearsal for the Eunice Players' production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? He has offered to share his experiences from the actor's point of view with this blog. This is Part 1:

I love Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. I have been in love with this play since I saw OLT’s production almost ten years ago. It is one of those plays that will entertain you and make you think all at once. Every time I have read the play or watched the classic movie, I have always walked away with a new view on the strange and twisted events that unfold that night at George and Martha’s house. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me break down the story for those of you who may not be familiar with Edward Albee’s play. The play is set one fateful night at the home of George and Martha. After returning home from a faculty party thrown by Martha’s father, who is president of the university where George teaches, the couple is expecting guests. The guests are Nick and Honey, a new Biology professor (or Math professor if you listen to Martha) and his wife. Once the young couple arrives, they are quickly caught up in the perverse mind games that George and Martha play to help pass the time. When Edward Albee first wrote this play back in 1962, it was groundbreaking because never before had mature subject matter like this been presented in mainstream theatre. Even the movie was considered ahead of its time, it even lead to the institution of the MPAA rating system we have for movies today.

Are you interested yet? Good, I wanted to get you interested. I am hoping that this blog will make you interested enough to make the long trek to Eunice to see our show. I promise you won't want to miss this one.

Let me just tell you about the glorious cast that our incredibly talented director, Jody Powell, has assembled for this production. Deborah D. Ardoin (Debbie to us in the cast) gets to add Martha to the long list of varied character parts that she has portrayed throughout her theatre career. There is absolutely no one who has graced the Eunice stage that can begin to touch Debbie in this role. I really am enjoying watching her build this character and I believe she is bringing things to the role that Uta Hagen ( the original Broadway Martha) herself would have never thought of bringing to the role. Then there is David McGee who is playing George. He wanted this part so bad; you could see it in his eyes at auditions. I believe David has quite a few cards up his sleeve that he is not showing us yet at rehearsal. I can’t wait till he does show them because it will be fireworks for sure when George and Martha perform their exorcism (you will get this reference after you see the show).

The other member of the cast besides myself is the wonderful, Bonnie Pitre. I am so excited to share the stage with her again. I have been performing in community theatre for almost ten years now and I have never acted opposite a more giving actor. This girl never has a “Look at Me” moment. There is absolutely no vanity with her on stage and that is something almost unheard of in the theatre. I have been joking that Bonnie and I will become the poor man’s Van Reed and Kevin Miller (that joke is for the Eunice Patrons who will know who I am talking about) because this is our second play within six months where we play opposite each other. Now instead of being the gay guy and the hippie chick from Providence, we are the sexy younger couple who might have a few secrets of their own. I guess you can’t accuse Bonnie and I of not trying to stretch as actors because trust me our parts in this play couldn’t be more different than the ones we played in Providence. If you don’t believe me then ask Jody because she directed us in both plays.

So far after the first two weeks of rehearsal, we have finally blocked the play. I know that rehearsing this three act monster will bring about new challenges and some fun back stage stories. Next week I hope to have a few to share with you and I will also post some pictures. And maybe together, we can finally answer the age old question: Who exactly is afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Theatre--News Note

Most of you are probably aware of the potentially huge cut to arts funding in the state of Louisiana. Cody Daigle has sent the following note about the cuts and the effect that it would have on the arts community in our area. Many of the local theatre companies rely at least in some part on grants to help fund their productions. This is not meant to be political in nature; it is meant to alert those who have not heard about the cuts that they are impending and it is the time to educate ourselves about the reasons advanced for the cuts and to decide whether or not each of us individually supports the cuts to the artistic community.

As always, the comments to this blog are moderated. Anything submitted as a comment which is in any way offensive to the editor or potentially offensive to any person or any group will not be posted.

Every member of the Acadiana arts community has a reason right now to worry. Gov. Jindal's proposed budget features a really radical cut to arts funding or our state, and those cuts, if they materialize, will have a profound effect on our community.

I strongly recommend reading the Huffington Post article, because it contains some great statistics and analysis that I don't have at my disposal right now. (Check Wednesday's Advertiser for a full story on the local implications of these cuts.)

But here's the gist: decentralized arts funding (which many small midsize arts organizations in our area rely on) is being cut by 83 percent. Roughly, that means last year's $2.5 million will not be $500,000 -- and that small sum must be divided among all the parishes in the state.

Already competitive grant races will get astronomically more competitive, and the funds won by those organizations lucky enough to get funded will be significantly smaller.

This spells disaster for our community. Many of our arts organizations aren't large enough to compete for federal funds, so state funds from the decentralized grant program are a necessity. If these funds evaporate, these organizations may not be able to continue operations.

For larger organizations, the decentralized funds helped with community outreach and education programs. These are now at risk of disapearing.

The budget also completely eliminates the Louisiana artist fellowships and individual artist grants in folk life categories. These awards helped support area artists continue their work preserving the local traditions and culture, and helped them bring their work (and our culture) to other parts of the country.

This money is now gone.

All of you know how vital our arts communty is, and we're facing a serious threat to that vitality. Take this money out of the community, and you take arts organizations out of the community. If arts organizations disappear, we could lose artists. And if the cuts threaten arts-in-education programs, we could be hurting our ability to cultivate Louisiana's future artist as well.

This is an issue that affects all of us, even if we have never received a single direct dollar of state arts funding.
---Cody Daigle

Here is the link to the story to which Cody alludes in his article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howie-klein/bobby-jindal-dont-like-no_b_180462.html

Theatre--Performance

The Lafayette High School Performing Arts Academy is presenting The Nerd, beginning on Thursday, April 2nd and running through Sunday, April 5th.

Dance--Performance

The UL-Lafayette Department of Performing Arts presents An Evening of Dance Thursday, April 2nd through Saturday, April 4th at 7:30 p.m. and April 5 at 2 p.m. All performances will be at the Ducrest-Gilfry Auditorium at Angelle Hall on the UL Lafayette campus.

This eagerly awaited annual production will showcase original dances choreographed and performed by students from the Department of Performing Arts and community dancers from the Acadiana community. The 2009 production promises an evening of concert dance that is thoughtfully diverse in its subject matter and richly innovative in its approach.

Tickets for An Evening of Dance are only available at Angelle Hall prior to each performance. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for UL Lafayette alumni, senior citizens, children and students. UL Lafayette faculty, staff and students with a valid ID are admitted free of charge.

Theatre--Review (IPAL)

Five years ago, the Iberia Performing Arts League (IPAL) of New Iberia put on a full-length musical, Oliver. Since that production, IPAL has continued presenting spring musicals with Hello, Dolly, Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, and last year’s unusual Little Shop of Horrors. I recently attended their latest production, Oklahoma!, one of the classics of musical theatre. I cannot proclaim it the best—I did not see Hello, Dolly, and I am rather biased towards a certain production in which I played Henry Higgins—but it certainly ranks with the best of them.

Having seen some thirty West End productions in London over the past fifteen years, I have been pleased with the quality of IPAL plays. For its last four musicals, IPAL has managed to assemble an incredible orchestra conducted by the incomparable Bob Morgan. In no way do I wish to detract from the first two musicals which only featured piano accompaniment, but I can testify that a full orchestra adds immeasurably to the magic of live musical theatre. It forms a crucial element, almost another vital character, even if that character can only be appreciated through the sense of sound. This production’s orchestra had some welcome returns (Tommy Benoit on fiddle particularly) and some new members. This seventeen-member ensemble performed admirably in crafting that extra character.

The uniformly good cast ranged from IPAL veterans (Michael Parich, Carmen Nicholson, Travis Guillory) to some pleasant new faces and voices (Brittany Monaghan, Brett LeBlanc). I have noticed in most musicals—and this is even truer of Oklahoma!—that supporting roles are much more delicious fun than the leads. In his best role since the Artful Dodger in Oliver, Travis Guillory, a well-deserved last-minute replacement as Will Parker, is energy personified as he challenged his fellow thespians to meet his frenetic force. Matching him was a lovely Martha Diaz as the man-crazy Ado Annie, who by far had the best songs, even if she was not provided the best microphone with which to sing them. As characters, Will and Ado Annie come across much more interestingly than Curly Mclain and Laurey Williams, who actually play psychological games on each other that seem to fit today’s high school crowd. Thank heavens Brett LeBlanc and Brittany Monaghan, who fit nicely together on stage and who blend well in this production, rescue these almost stereotypical protagonists from the pages on which they were written.

If I had to single out one performance in this splendid endeavor, Michael Parich deserves it. Though he certainly detests that in three musicals, he has played villains and has died in all three productions, he brought a depth to Jud Fry that was heart breaking. His Jud was a fully developed human being, and Parich crafted his character in such a way that the audience would easily understand the conflicting emotions evident in his expressive face. The audience could see his frustration when other characters looked down upon him, his yearning for a woman who could appreciate and love him, his desire to rage against the hand that fate had dealt him. His singing was also extraordinary, adding humor and pathos to the duet "Poor Jud is Dead" with Brett LeBlanc.

The Dream Sequence following the song "Out of My Dreams" deserves great praise as well, for it is often an overlooked element in major musicals, but not here. In this production, Matthew Couvillon has produced a marvel of original choreography, aided by two extremely talented dancers. Mandy Phillips & Sean Comiskey play the Dream Sequence Laurey and Curly, respectively, and their time onstage is heavenly. These two artists, as well as the other talented dancers, added something special to an already incredible first act, and the lighting flowed beautifully and ominously from dream to nightmare as Laurey’s fantasies took a dark and dreadful tone. When the dance ended, the audience clapped furiously.

Before I become persona non-grata forever at IPAL, I will dare to say that there were a few—only a few, please remember—missed opportunities. Though he had one of the best supporting roles as the peddler Ali Hakim, Mike Labiche, a talented singer, was wasted in a role that called for almost no singing. He commanded songs as Alfred P. Dolittle in My Fair Lady, and although he dominated the song "It’s a Scandal," the chorus did all the singing while Mike screeched his words to the point of incomprehensibility. Except for that song, he delighted the audience with his Persian kisses and outrageous accent. (Somebody please find a musical for Mike Parich and Mike Labiche.) In general, the play’s cast did a great job of changing scenes quietly behind the curtain while performers continued to act in front, but the final scene change in Act II was noisy enough to detract from Guillory and Diaz, an amazing feat considering their ability.

I have reviewed several productions in this area in the last twenty years, but none more enjoyable than this. My hat goes off to Doc Voorhies for pulling this together, to the various collaborators (Bob Morgan-conductor, Miss Helen Hodge-music director, Matthew Couvillon & Mandy Phillips-choreography, Julie Kilgore-costumes) for developing crucial elements of the play, and to a wonderful cast of actors, singers, and dancers. From opening to closing, I was enthralled and, to use a line from My Fair Lady to show my delight, "I could have danced all night."

---Vincent P. Barras

Theatre--Summer Camp

Registration for the Summer Youth Shakespeare Ensemble 2009 has begun. Now in its seventh year, the camp will run from July 5th-19th and 23rd-26th, 2009 at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, 101 W. Vermilion Lafayette, LA. Students ages 10-senior in high school will study all aspects of the performing arts: acting, music, dance, design, etc., and apply their studies to the lab production MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.

For more information, or to register, call (337) 739-4273.

Theatre--Performance

Gnostic Coincidence will be at Cité Des Arts this week. This production features Andrew Hunter II, Blaine Peltier, Jessica Quinn, Yvonne Olivier, Jessica Leblanc, April Peltier, and musical contributions from seven local musicians. The piece blends the realism of two strangers meeting in a park with the abstract representation of dreams. Can the two main characters see through the material illusions which keep them chained to unfulfilled lives or will they listen to their muses and accept the deeper vision which will let them see and pursue a more meaningful existence?

WHEN: Friday March 27th at 7:30pm
COST: $10.00

For additional information and reservations, please contact Cité at 337-291-1122

Theatre--Reviews

Trickster at the Gate (John Patrick Bray's original work) has received 2 more reviews on its performance in New York:

http://stageandcinema.com/tricksteratthegate.html

http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/showpage.php?t=tric8081

Theatre--Auditions (IPAL)

Iberia Performing Arts League (IPAL) has announced a change in plans for the Spring-Summer season. IPAL originally planned to present To Kill a Mockingbird but was denied permission to present the play because it will be presented professionally in Lafayette in October. Under the circumstances, IPAL is pleased to announce that Mac Stearns will direct the comedy-drama The Dixie Swim Club which will be presented in early June. The play requires 5 middle aged women who will have to use their acting and the use of makeup to cover a significant passage of time during the course of the play. Unfortunately, there are no parts for young actors.

Stearns will hold open auditions on Monday, March 30th, and Tuesday March 31st at 6pm at IPAL’s ESSANEE Theater on Iberia Street in New Iberia. No special preparation is necessary and any and all women are encouraged to try out.

Theatre--Performance/Review

John Patrick Bray is a former adjunct professor of theatre at UL-Lafayette who is now at LSU in the doctoral program in theatre. His play, Trickster at the Gate, originally written and performed for PASA's The Big Read, is currently in production in New York City at the Ted Bardy Studio. A review of the production can be found here.

Theatre--Website

The Eunice Players' have a new website.

Theatre--Performance

Gnostic Coincidence, a new theater piece by local author Steven
Cooper, finishes its initial run this week. The show features Andrew Hunter II, Blaine Peltier, Jessica Quinn, Yvonne Olivier, Jessica Leblanc,April Peltier, and musical contributions from 7 local musicians. The piece blends the realism of two strangers meeting in a park with the abstract representation of dreams. Can the two main characters see through the material illusions which keep them chained to unfulfilled lives or will they listen to their muses and accept the deeper vision which will let them see and pursue a more meaningful existence? The show runs Friday, March 20th and Thursday, March 26th at Acadiana Open Channel on the corner of Lee and Main St. It continues on Friday, March 27th at Cite Des Arts on Vine St. Tickets and time for all shows will be $10 and 7:30. For more information, call 337 849 8627.

Theatre--Summer Camps/Classes

Firelight Children's Theatre is now registering for Summer Camps 2009. For more information about these camps, along with an online registration form:
http://www.firelightenterprises.com/TheatreCamps1.html

New for the summer of 2009, Firelight will also offer Broadway style singing camps. The classes offered will be Broadway Babies for ages 4-8:
(http://www.firelightenterprises.com/BroadwayBabies.html )
and On Broadway
(http://www.firelightenterprises.com/OnBroadway.html.

Theatre--Review

Ray Blum has a review of IPAL's production of Oklahoma! in the February 20th edition of the Daily Advertiser.

Theatre--Audition

Cité des Arts announces auditions for their upcoming theatre production of The Miracle Worker directed by Bruce Coen. This story portrays the volatile, emotional relationship between the lonely teacher, Annie Sullivan and her blind charge, Helen Keller. Helen, trapped in her silent, secret world, is bitter, violent, spoiled and almost animal-like. Annie's success with Helen comes only after some of the most turbulent, emotionally intense scenes ever presented. The story of Helen Keller is one of the most admired plays of the modern stage.

Casting will be for the following roles. All ethnic backgrounds welcome:
Annie Sullivan: mid-20's to early 30's
Helen Keller: 12-16 (could be older but has to look younger)
Kate Keller: late 30's to early 40's
Captain Keller: Late 30's to mid- 40's
James Keller: early 20's
Aunt Ev: 40's -50's
Aganos/Doc: 40's-50's
Viney: 30's
Martha: 12-14
Percy: 8-10

WHAT: Cité des Arts announces auditions for their upcoming theatre production of The Miracle Worker.
WHEN: Auditions will be held on Sunday, March 29, 1:00pm - 3:00pm; Monday, March 30, 6:30pm - 8:30pm and Wednesday, April 1st, 6:30pm - 8:30pm. The production runs May 14th - 30th. (Thursdays through Saturdays).
WHERE: Cité des Arts, 109 Vine St., downtown Lafayette between Jefferson St. and Third St.

For additional questions and information please contact Cité at 337-291-1122.

Theatre--Performance

Jennifer Miller-Frank and Dramatiks Productions presents Sisters Of The Gospel at Cite Des Arts for one performance only. Written by Stan Hood and directed by Jennifer Miller-Fran, this story features Sister Noah, Sister Ruth, Jezebel, Peter's Wife, Martha, Mary Magdalene, Sister Deborah, Woman with Issue, Woman at the Well, and more...

These GOOD and BAD Sisters of the the Gospel are funny, compassionate, sexy, strong, convincing, and spunky. Each character has a unique personality that will connect to your inner emotion for a life changing experience.

WHAT: Sisters Of The Gospel
WHEN: Sunday, April 5 at 7:00pm
WHERE: Cité des Arts, 109 Vine St., Downtown Lafayette, between Jefferson St. and Third St.
COST: $10.00
For more information or for reservations, please contact Cité at 337-291-1122.

Theatre--Performance (cast list)

As the Eunice Players’ Theatre opens its 40th anniversary season, Jody L. Powell brings a classic piece of American theatre and cinema to the stage, Edward Albee’s explosive Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Written, staged on Broadway, and brought to the silver screen in the 1960’s, the same decade as the origin of EPT, this drama about the complexities of human relationships and the games we play with ourselves and each other tells the tale of marital warfare between George and Martha. Rarely does a playwright seek to entertain with such a caustic couple, but Albee uses these namesakes of American history to draw the audience into their harrowing descent, just as they do the unsuspecting couple of Nick and Honey who appear on their doorstep for a late-night drink.

Stage veteran Deborah D. Ardoin of Eunice gives us Martha, daughter of a college president, who still struggles for her father’s acceptance. Debbi is no stranger to difficult roles, having played Chick in Crimes of the Heart and Annie Wilkes in Misery, for which she won the Best Actress Irving Award, and Yente in Fiddler on the Roof for which she also served as music director. Debbi has also directed several plays at EPT including Agnes of God, ’Night Mother, and the musicals The Fantastiks and The Sound of Music.

Former EPT actor David McGee returns to Eunice to play George, a history professor at Martha’s father’s college. Now living in Jennings, David has been active in their community theatre as an actor and set builder. EPT audiences may remember him in the roles of Bo Decker in the original Bus Stop and Bill Sikes in Oliver. He also sang his way through many of EPT’s earlier musicals including Guys and Dolls, L’il Abner and Damn Yankees.

The role of Honey, a plain, sickly woman disillusioned by marriage is played by Bonnie Pitre, a Eunice native who returns to the stage following her Irving Award-winning performance in last season’s Providence. Bonnie appeared in several plays at LSU while earning a minor degree in theatre; she has also been seen on the EPT stage in Woman and The Sound of Music. She also ran the lighting for If the Shoe Fits.

Rounding out the cast as Nick, the college’s new and ambitious biology teacher, is Gabe Ortego of Opelousas. Gabe was previously seen on the EPT stage in Never Get Smart with an Angel, The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Fiddler on the Roof. Gabe has many credits from Opelousas Little Theatre, including director of Monky Business and The Last Five Years.

The show will open with a matinee on Sunday, April 26 at 2:00 p.m. Dinner theatre is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28 at 6:00 p.m. at Nick's on Second St., with the performance immediately following. Other performances dates include April 29 - 30 and May 1 - 2 at 7:00 p.m. Individual tickets for the show are not on sale yet although season tickets may be purchased from any board member. For the price of $20.00, a season ticket includes 3 shows, reservation rights, voting privileges and an invitation to the 40th Annual Irving Awards. Angel and patron packages are also available for purchase.

Theatre--Articles (IPAL)

There are two more articles about the IPAL production of Oklahoma! currently running in New Iberia--one on Abbevillenow.com and one on the Daily Iberian's website.

Theatre--Performance

Cité des Arts continues this weekend with our theatre production of Educating Rita.

Educating Rita is a wonderful stage comedy written by British playwright Willy Russell and directed by Maureen Brennan. The local actors in this production, Vincent P. Barras and Erin Segura, do an incredible job of playing the roles of Rita White and Dr Frank Bryant. Their chemistry on stage makes for a very enjoyable evening. The set that was designed by Walter Brown and Erica Thibodeaux must also be mentioned. It really pulls the piece together. Take some time to come out and support local theatre!


When: March 19th, 20th, 21st (Thursday-Saturday)
Time: 7:30 pm
Where: Cité des Arts, 109 Vine St. downtown Lafayette between Jefferson St. and Third St.

For more information, or for reservations, please call Cité at 337-291-1122

Theatre--Audition/Meeting

Clayton Shelvin is directing and choreographing a series of songs from famous musicals for the UL-Lafayette Department of Performing Arts Spring Showcase. He is looking for 15 to 20 performers to be in possibly 9 musical numbers. There is no formal audition! He wants to meet with everyone interested and from there will have sign-ups for the pieces that auditioners would like to be in. From that point, he will hold more nearly formal "auditions".

The meeting will be Monday, March 23, 2009 at 7pm in the Ballet Studio in McLaurin Hall on the UL campus. Please dress appropriately to move and warm-up those singing voices. Do not stress about being the best singer or dancer; the idea is to give everyone a chance to take part in some musical performance. The cast will make a decision on rehearsals--just be prepared to bring your talent and have some fun.

He is looking for a diverse mix of performers to pull this off.

Below is the list of songs (tentative list):

"Because You're Mine" (Wicked)
"Hey Big Spender" (Sweet Charity)
"On Broadway" (Smokey Joe's Cafe)
"La Vie Boheme" (Rent)
"Bend And Snap" (Legally Blonde the Musical)
"Out Tonight/One Song Glory" (Rent)
"Let The Sun Shine In" (Hair)
"Welcome To the 60's" (Hairspray)
"America" (West Side Story)

Theatre--Review

IPAL has begun its 2009 season with the iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, Oklahoma!. The remaining run is March 20th-29th, with Friday and Saturday performances at 7:30 P.M. and the two Sunday matinees at 3:00 P.M. The ESSANEE theatre is located at 126 Iberia Street in New Iberia. Check the availability of seats by calling 364-6114.

With Oklahoma!, IPAL has become THE PREMIER musical production company in this area, and I’m including professional companies. One reason is that there is another director on call in New Iberia to spell Katherine Caffery, the doyenne of musical theatre for IPAL, namely Donald “Doc” Voorhies, the director of Oklahoma!.

I first met Doc when he was just a “kid”- in theatre years, anyway. He quickly moved up the ranks, seamlessly managing the complicated scene changes in My Fair Lady (directed by Katherine). Last year he directed the delightful and successful Little Shop Of Horrors. Anyway, there is a rumor afoot that in a couple of years, with two competent directors to handle such ambitious productions, IPAL may move to an almost exclusively musical season.

A good director may be necessary, but is not sufficient, for such a successful show. This play has a cast of nearly sixty, and a production staff almost as large. This staff consists of choreographers, lighting and sound specialists, carpenters, and musicians- in fact, it seems all of New Iberia and surrounding towns. But the one presence that seems a common element in all these successes is orchestra conductor Bob Morgan and his talented ensemble. It has been at least fifty years since I’ve heard "Oh! What A Beautiful Morning" and "Oklahoma". I’ll admit that I had a lump in my throat when Morgan and the group played them in the overture.

It is virtually impossible to recognize all of the talent in this production. But you will be delighted by the budding relationship between the lovers Brett LeBlanc (Curly) and Brittany Monaghan (Laurey). When they sang, "People Will Say We’re In Love", I thought, “You’re absolutely right!” Brittany has a lovely voice and is absolutely convincing as Brett’s love interest. Brett has a wonderful stage presence and made a believer of me when he sold his pistol to buy her hand in marriage. But wait a minute, Brett! Weren’t you Orin Scrivello, D.D.S., a sadist in Doc’s last production? Oh, well- you are versatile.

I must admit that I was thinking of myself and future financial security when I got some of the other young stars to sign my program. A great casting coup was the other young couple, Martha Diaz as Ado Annie and her eventual sweetie, Travis Guillory as Will Parker. Both of these young people are triple threats. They can act, sing and dance. They also have the two funniest numbers in the play, "I Cain’t Say No!" and "All Er Nuttin’". If you are from out of town and don’t know them, Martha is number three in the multi-talented Diaz family–-the local version of the Barrymores. Legend has it that Travis was off-book in a dozen musicals when he was three.

Anyway, I have their autographs along with those of Doc, Carmen Nicholson (Aunt Eller), Jacqueline McCarthy (Virginia) and Carmen Gonsoulin (Chorus Child). I’m saving it in liquid nitrogen for twenty years, when the young ones, anyway, will be stars. I will then sell it on ebay. If you are interested you better start filling your check book.

---Robert D. Sidman, Ph.D.

Theatre--Article

The Daily Iberian has an editorial concerning the IPAL production of Oklahoma! which opened on Friday, March 13th and will run Thursday through Sunday until March 29th.

Theatre--Performance

Acting Up (in Acadiana) is proud to present Play. Music. Heal., an original workshop production. With stylized staging and psychological rawness, Louisiana-inspired characters live life with all of its complexities: poverty and wealth, love and marriage, illness and death, a new generation challenging and questioning family obligation and tradition, and music’s ability to lift them up as individuals and as a community. Performances will be held at the Acadiana Center for the Arts March 19th through the 21st (Thursday through Saturday) and 26th through the 28th (Thursday through Saturday)t 8 pm. All tickets are $10 and are available at the door. Box office opens at 6:45 pm on Thursdays and 7:15 pm for all other shows. Material may not be suitable for young children.

On Thursday, March 19th and Thursday, March 26th, Acting Up (in Acadiana) will host a champagne pre-show discussion at 7 pm with members of the collaborative production team. All other shows will be followed by a wine post-show discussion with members of the team.

Play. Music. Heal., directed by Amy Waguespack, features performances by Hannah Briggs, Ricky Briggs, Ryan Broussard, Brian Cruthfield, Lian Cheramie, Kara Guarisco, Katie Lahey, Megan LeBleu, George Saucier and Cissy Whipp. Clare Martin serves as lead writer. Music contributors include Chris Courville, Carol Fran, Henry Gray, Bernard Pearce, and Chris Stafford with Andy Cornett as lead musician. Johanna Divine is videographer. The show was assisted by collaborators from The Actor’s Gang--Kaili Hollister and Justin Zsebe. Marla Kristicevich designs.

For more information, please contact Paige Krause at (337) 309-4964.>

Theatre--Performance

Oklahoma!


Curley (Brett LeBlanc) and Laurey (Brittany Monaghan) talk about concealing their feelings for each other in "People Will Say".


Ado Annie (Martha Diaz), Ali Hakim (Mike Labiche), Aunt Eller (Carmen Nicholson) and Laurey (Brittany Monaghan) discuss the peddler's wares.


The cast of Oklahoma! dances in "The Farmer and the Cowman".


Laurey (Brittany Monaghan) explains her ideas about love in "Many a New Day".


Will Parker (Travis Guillory) and his friends finish demonstrating the new dances from "Kansas City".

The IPAL production of Oklahoma! opens tonight (March 13th) and runs through March 29th. For more information or for tickets, call IPAL at (337) 364-6114.

Theatre--Article

Check out Cody Daigle's "On Stage" in the Times Of Acadiana, for information on most current local productions.

Theatre--Review (Cite Des Arts)

Educating Rita at Cite’ Des Arts was a delight to the ear, the mind and the eye. Written by Willy Russell, it is a two-person show that tells the story of a college teacher, Frank Bryan (Vincent Barras) and Rita (Erin Segura) an outspoken hairdresser attempting to improve herself by education. The comedy arises from Rita’s fresh, unschooled reaction to the classics of English literature. Much of the fun for the audience is to be able to keep up with the very literate script. Watching the show, one can hardly avoid thinking of Pygmalion (or at least My Fair Lady). But throughout this show, the thought that is never far from the viewer’s mind is who is educating who? Or is it whom? Whichever, don’t miss the show. It plays Thursday, Friday, and Saturday through March 21. Attendance is mandatory!

As Rita, Erin Segura stole the show. With a constant series of costume changes, intellectual developments, and personal insights she morphs from a naïve, simple housewife/hairdresser to a truly educated person with a profound understanding of her teacher, her world, and the literature he himself has written. Erin maintained a near-perfect working-cast British accent throughout the play, and she was exciting to watch. Eyes, body, and language all contributed to her character.

As Professor Frank Bryan, Vincent Barras was every bit the staid, alcoholic, and somewhat snobbish tutor for Rita. Barras well portrayed the vacuum which had become Frank’s life. As time passed, he became filled with Rita. Frumpish at the beginning, towards the end he is nattily dressed--yes, even professors can learn.

The set as designed by Erica Thibodeaux and Walter Brown provided a perfect stage for the two characters in this story. Light entering the playing area through a window onto the college lawn was particularly eye-catching. Congratulations to Maureen Brennan and Cite’ des Arts for continuing to bring interesting, provocative, and entertaining arts to Acadiana.
---Donald "Doc" Voorhies

Theatre--Auditions (update)

This is updated information on the open auditions to be held by the Abbey Players for their production of Cheating Cheaters. The auditions will be held at the Abbey Theatre on Sunday, March 15 at 1 PM and on Monday and Tuesday, March 16 and 17 at 6 PM.

The script is a comedy and calls for 2 men and 3 women. The women are two sisters who pretend to be nuns in order to get money for "charity". Their niece, an art student, is returning from France and the sisters are worried about her response to their scheme. The niece has a few money-making schemes of her own. Added to the mix are a crooked, blackmailing policeman and a young lawyer who falls for the niece.

Theatre--Performance

Acting Up (in Acadiana) will present Play. Music. Heal.at the Acadiana Center for the Arts for 2 weekends--Thursday, March 19th through Saturday, March 21st and Thursday, March 26th through Saturday, March 28th--at 8 pm.

The show features Louisiana-inspired characters lwho ive life with all of its complexities: poverty and wealth, love and marriage, illness and death, a new generation challenging and questioning family obligation and tradition, and music's ability to lift them up as individuals and as a community. It is presented in "The Style", a technique evolved from a collaboration with The Actors' Gang.

Tickets are $10. For directions or more information, please contact Paige Krause at 337-309-4964 or Amy Waguespack at 337-739-4273 or by e-mail at actingupinacadiana@gmail.com.

Theatre--Performance

Gnostic Coincidence will be back at Acadiana Open Channel (live at AOC) on Thursday, March 12th and Friday, March 13th and at the Whirlybird on Saturday, March 13th.

Theatre--Auditions

The Acadia Players will be holding auditions for their upcoming production of Steel Magnolias at 6 pm on March 16th and 17th at the Crowley Flower Shop. Women 18 and older are encouraged to attend the auditions. Performances are scheduled for mid-June. They will also need stage and production crew, and information on how to apply for these positions will be available soon.

Theatre--Explication

Educating Rita by Willy Russell will play at 7:30 PM on Thursday through Saturday for the next two weekends at Cite Des Arts, located at the corner of 3rd and Vine in downtown Lafayette.

The play concerns a young, working class woman from Liverpool who wants to get an education and the burned out writer who becomes her tutor. It is a version of My Fair Lady and like the musical, it ends with the female protagonist transformed from a girl to a woman, confident in herself and able to participate in a broader and richer world. The play is hardly a slog, though. The characters are witty and there are plenty of laughs resulting from digs at elitist and anti-elitist snobbery.

Educating Rita is a worthwhile theatre piece for two themes. One is that education is worth having in its own right and worth effort and sacrifice to attain it. And the second, equally important theme, is that education is not the same as training. Rita is not truly educated when she can knows the meanings and uses of literary theory. She becomes educated when she understands that these terms are the tools for creating art which is worth the reader's time and effort and which repays that effor with a deeper understanding of the world and the human condition. She becomes educated when she learns to recognize that the point of culture is not to know WHAT but rather to know WHY.

See Educating Rita to enjoy a fine production and to remind yourself that education and culture exist to make us happier and more resilient.

---Walter Brown

Theatre--Auditions

Abbey Players are holding open auditions for their upcoming spring production of Cheating Cheaters by John Patrick. It will be directed by Gloria Breaux.

Auditions will take place at 200 South State Street in Abbeville on Sunday, March 15th at 1 pm, Monday, March 16th at 6 pm and Tuesday, March 17th at 6 pm. They are looking for 3 women, 2 men, all age ranges. Anyone looking to assist this production, in any capacity, is welcome to attend. No experience is necessary.

Visit the Web site, www.abbeyplayers.com, or call (337) 893-2442 for more information.

Theatre--Performance

Will Grubbs (as Andrew Carnes) and Martha Diaz (as Ado Annie) prepare for the IPAL production of Oklahoma!, opening Friday, March 13th.

Theatre--Explication

Gnosis is a mystical transcendence of the material world to a deep understanding of the spiritual plane of existence. It values an ecstatic rejection of materialism since the material world is transitory and fleeting whereas the spiritual world is both eternal and real in a fundamental sense.

Gnostic Coincidence is a new theatre piece by local author Steven Cooper which concerns itself with a Gnostic revelation in search of both a teacher and a pupil. A seemingly random meeting in a park between the homeless Buzbee (Andrew Hunter II) and a stressed corporate climber named Ralph (author Steven Cooper) sets the stage for a series of dream encounters with each character's deepest hopes and fears. The dreams are portrayed in dance, song and choral speech by four Muses (Jessica Quinn, Yvonne Olivier, Jessica Leblanc and April Peltier) and a mysterious antagonist called The Shadow (Blaine Peltier). Can these two men see through the material illusions which keep them chained to unfulfilled lives or will they listen to their muses and accept the deeper vision which will let them see and pursue a more meaningful existence? Keep in mind that gnosis can be pursued on the material plane as well as on a nonmaterial plane. In gnosis, Death and Life are really the same existence experienced in different ways. Cooper's play explores both possibilities.

Gnostic Coincidence will be performed at the AOC building at the corner of Lee and Main Streets in downtown Lafayette March 6th, 12th, 13th, 20th and 26th. Performances are at 7:30 and tickets are $10.00.

There will also be a special performance at the Whirlybird in Opelousas to benefit the Stonewood Foundation on March 14 at 3:30 PM. That ticket is $30.00 and includes dinner after the show. For information on all performances, call 337-849-8627.

This is a great opportunity to support local theatre and original theatre. Gnostic Coincidence is a highly theatrical presentation which mixes realism and surrealism; naturalistic moments with song, dance and poetry. Although this piece is challenging in some ways, it is also very accessible and suitable for all ages (although there is one technical sexual reference).

---Walter Brown

Theatre--Preview

Cite des Arts will have an auspicious start to its 2009 season with the production of Educating Rita by British playwright Willy Russell. Curtain time is 7:30 pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, running from March 5th through March 21. Tickets can be reserved by calling Cite (109 Vine Street) at 291-1122.

Director Maureen Brennan didn’t have to search too deeply in her Rolodex to come up with a perfect cast for the two character play. Briefly, Susan White (“Rita”) a young working class hairdresser from Liverpool--a“Liverpudlian” to our cultured readers–-takes a literature course from Dr. Frank Bryant, a middle-aged university lecturer. Her motivation is to become “educated” by passing an exam that will prove her class status. We follow them through a semester of course work leading to her metamorphosis.

I started thinking "Pygmalion" and there was Vincent Barras (Bryant), a gentler “Henry Higgins” with a stash of scotch hidden around his office, and Erin Segura (Rita), an “Eliza Doolittle” with a mouth. Of course, you all remember Vince in “My Fair Lady” and Erin in a slew of uproarious British comedies.

Erin as Rita has some of the more memorable lines. In a “critical essay”, probably three lines long, Harold Robbins and Somerset Maugham appear in the same sentence. A critique of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt avers that “It would be better on the radio”.

Anyway, reserve a seat, enjoy the play and know that playwright Russell was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company!

---Robert D. Sidman, Ph.D.

Theatre--Performance

Acting Up presents PLAY. MUSIC. HEAL., an original workshop production which presents Louisiana-inspired characters who live life with all of its complexities: poverty and wealth, love and marriage, illness and death, a new generation challenging and questioning family obligation and tradition, and music's ability to lift them up as individuals and as a community.

The show will be presented on Friday, March 6th at 7 pm at Outreach Center's Downtown Lafayette campus (125 S. Buchanan Street--corner of Second Street and Buchanan Street). For directions or more information, please contact Paige Krause at337-309-4964 or Amy Waguespack at 337-739-4273.

Theatre--Performance

Local actor and set designer Duncan Thistlethwaite has gotten a role in the Baton Rouge Little Theater's upcoming production of The Vertical Hour. Written by David Hare, this new play is a thought-provoking exploration of how the political can sometimes intersect, collide with and ultimately dismantle the personal. In the play, Nadia and Phillip visit Phillip's father in the Welsh countryside, where the trio get into heated discussions about love, death, marriage, parenthood and the Iraq war. Brimming with cogent and fascinating arguments involving the current political situation, Hare fills his play with several of these ethical and philosophical quandaries that serve not only as dramatic conflict between the three main characters, but also metaphorically as the basis for several of the arguments politicians and intellectuals are having these days concerning the role that America and the West are playing in Iraq, the Middle East and beyond.

CAST
Neil Bond as Dennis
Drew Lomonica Arms as Nadia
Duncan Thistlethwaite as Oliver
Joel Sunsin as Philip
Tonika Davis as Terry

The show will be directed by Keith Dixon. Set design for is by Chris Adams. Lighting design is by Emily Coley. Costumes are designed by Marcia Melius. Props are by Carole Cross and Kathy Dubin.

The Vertical Hour will run April 17th through the 26th on the BRLT's Second Stage. For more information about the production and/or tickets, please call the BRLT's box office at 225-924-6496.

Theatre--Performance

The orchestra, under the direction of Mr. Bob Morgan (not pictured), rehearses for the March 13th opening of IPAL's Oklahoma!.



The dance cast of the Dream Ballet sequence of IPAL's Oklahoma! (original choreography by UL-Lafayette graduate Matt Couvillon) takes a break from rehearsal.

Theatre--Peformance and Season

Cité des Arts opens its 2009 theatre season this on Thursday, March 5th with Educating Rita, the award-winning stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell. Directed by Maureen Brennan and starring Acadiana favorites Vincent P. Barras and Erin Segura, the story follows the relationship during the course of a University semester, between Susan White, a young woman from Liverpool and working class hairdresser and Dr Frank Bryant, a middle-aged University lecturer. The play deals with England's class system, the shortcomings of institutional education, and the nature of self-development.

This show runs for three weekends opening on March 5th and closing on Saturday, March 21st. Performances are Thursday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., at Cité des Arts, 109 Vine St., downtown Lafayette, between Jefferson St. and Third St. Ticket prices are $15.00 for adults and $10.00 for senior citizens (65+) and students of any age. For additional information and reservations, please call Cité des Arts at 337-291-1122.

Season Tickets are on sale for $50.00, which is a savings of $10.00 for the four shows. Besides Educating Rita, the 2009 Season is as follows:

THE MIRACLE WORKER: May 14th–-30th, 2009 (Thursday – Saturday):
The Miracle Worker, written by William Gibson, is the story of the young Helen Keller, who is blind and deaf since infancy. She is frustrated by her inability to communicate and as a result, is subject to frequent violent and uncontrollable outbursts. Unable to deal with Helen, her terrified and helpless parents contact a school for the blind and Annie Sullivan, a former student, is sent to their home to tutor the child. What ensues is a battle of wills as Annie breaks down Helen's walls of silence and darkness through persistence, love, and sheer stubbornness.

CRIMES OF THE HEART: July 9th–-25th, 2009 (Thursday – Saturday):
Crimes of the Heart is a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Beth Henley
At the core of this tragic comedy are the three Magrath sisters, Meg, Babe, and Lenny, who reunite at Old Granddaddy's home in Hazlehurst, Mississippi after Babe shoots her abusive husband. The trio was raised in a dysfunctional family with a penchant for ugly predicaments and each has endured her share of hardship and misery. Past resentments bubble to the surface as they're forced to deal with assorted relatives and past relationships while coping with the latest incident that has disrupted their lives. Each sister is forced to face the consequences of the "crimes of the heart" she has committed.

WIT: September 10th--26th, 2009 (Thursday – Saturday):
Wit is the first play written by American playwright Margaret Edson. The play focuses on the last hours of Dr Vivian Bearing, a university professor of English, who is dying of ovarian cancer. She recalls the initial diagnosis of Stage IV metastatic ovarian cancer from her oncologist, Dr Harvey Kelekian. Dr Kelekian then proposes an experimental chemotherapeutic treatment regimen consisting of eight rounds at full dosage. Vivian agrees to the treatment. Over the course of the play, Bearing assesses her own life through the intricacies of the English language, especially the use of wit and the metaphysical poetry of John Donne.

Season Tickets are now on sale at Cité des Arts. For additional information and reservations, please call Cité des Arts at 337-291-1122.

Theatre--Performance

Blaine Peltier as Shadow in Barrelmaker Production's Gnostic Coincidence, which opens on Thursday, March 5th at 7:30 pm at AOC.

Theatre--Performance

The world premier of Gnostic Coincidence is Thursday, March 5th and Friday, March 6th at Acadiana Open Channel. The play will be performed live. You can not watch this from your home on AOC.

Theatre--information

The State of Louisiana Play Festival was a resounding success and two great shows have been selected to represent the state at Regional Competition.The two shows to advance to the Region 6 Festival in April are:
Opelousas Little Theatre's production of Of Mice and Men
City Park Players' production of The Dinner Party

In the event that these shows are unable to go to the Region 6 festival, the two alternates are:
UpStage Theatre Company's production of A Song for Coretta
Le Theatre des bon Temps production of Murder is a Drag

There was also a rousing meeting for the formation of a state organization. More information about this will be available shortly.

Theatre--Performance

Part of the Women's Chorus of IPAL's Oklahoma!

More of the Women's Chorus

The IPAL production of Rogers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! opens on Friday, March 13. For more information and/or ticket reservations, call (337) 364-6144.