Theatre--Auditions

The Eunice Players’ Theatre will hold auditions for the first play of the 43^rd season, The Murder Room on Monday, February 27  and Tuesday, February 28 at 6:00 p.m. each night at the theatre at 121 S. Second St.in Eunice (between Nick’s on Second St. and Bertrand’s Office Supplies).  Director Jody L. Powell needs 3 adult men and 3 adult women, ages 20’s to 50’s to fill the cast.  More people are needed to assist with set decoration, backstage duties, costuming, etc.  The play is a two-act mystery farce by Jack Sharkey, with rehearsals throughout March and production scheduled for mid-April.  Auditions are open to everyone who wants to get involved with their local community theatre. 


FMI, or to schedule an audition time, call Jody at             337-580-1787      . 

Theatre--Auditions

Auditions for IPAL’s Blithe Spirit will be held Monday, March 26, from 6:30 – 8 p.m, and Tuesday, March 27, from 6:30 - 8  p.m. at the Essanee Theater, 126 Iberia St. in New Iberia. This classic comedy by Noel Coward will have a cast of 2 men and 5 women, ages 20 – 60-plus. No special advance preparation is required; cold readings from the play will be performed at the auditions. Run dates for this show are scheduled for May 31–June 3 and June 7-10.


 For more information call the theater at 364-6114 and leave your name and phone number, or email us at ipal@cox.net

Theatre--Performance

"Rockets and Polar Bears" Plays by Gabrielle Reisman

WhenSat, February 25, 7:30pm – 9:30pm

Where109 Vine Street/Downtown Lafayette off of Jefferson (map)

DescriptionOne Act Plays by Gabrielle Reisman, Directed by Regina Sullivan

Theatre--Performance

Abbey Players presents Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, directed by Dianne Moss.

Opening night is Feb. 24th and is a "Patrons' Night" open to the public.  Tickets for this premier performance are $35, and include a catered dinner, drinks, dessert and the show.

Regular performances continue weekends until March 31st.  Tickets are priced at $15.

Tickets can be purchased online at abbeyplayers.com, or by calling the theatre at 893-2442.

Theatre--Performance

LOVE LETTERS opens on Friday, February 10th at 7:30 pm at Theatre 810.  A love story told through letters, this is the perfect beginning to Valentine's Day.  There will be only 2 presentations of the show, Friday evening and Sunday afternoon at 3 pm.

For tickets, call or text (337) 873-1548.

Performing Arts--Scholarship

Guidelines for the L. Hill Bonin, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Award, administered by Performing Arts Society of Acadiana (PASA), are available for high school and college students pursuing short-time educational and training opportunities in performing arts or arts administration as well as for non-profit organizations or groups that propose performing arts productions or activities which involve and benefit high school or college students. 

Completed forms and all attachments must be submitted to the PASA office by 5 p.m. on March 15, 2012 to qualify for the 2012/13 scholarships. To request scholarship guidelines and an application please go online to www.pasa-online.org or call PASA at (337)237-2787 ex. 206.

The L. Hill Bonin, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund was created to award talented and deserving students of the performing arts with funds for enhancing their talents through participation in advanced study or classes beyond those available in their present study programs.  Now awards may benefit groups that provide opportunities to students for enhancing their performing arts talents.

To be considered for an award, students must be enrolled in any high school or college in the parishes served by PASA, be planning to pursue a career or professional training in performing arts or arts administration, be a citizen of the United States and a Louisiana resident, and have an overall grade point average of ‘B’ or higher on their high school or college transcript. For a non-profit organization or group to be eligible it must propose a production, performance, or activity that involves high school or college students and ensure that the funds will be used for the enhancement of the talents of the students in the performance.

Recipients are chosen by the PASA Bonin Scholarship committee, composed of PASA board members and a representative of the Bonin family. Recipients, after meeting eligibility criteria, are chosen on the basis of the artistic merit of the proposed training or project, planning and design of the proposal, and appropriate request and plans for the use of the funds.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the L. Hill Bonin Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund, you may mail a check to P.O. Box 52979, Lafayette, LA  70505.

Performance--Theatre (Musical Theatre)

Chicago-The Musical  is the hottest ticket in town! For THURSDAY March 15 and THURSDAY March 22 tickets are available at Paul’s Flower show and Accentrics on Main Street.   For FRIDAY, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY performances tickets are available but must be purchased directly from IPAL. This may be done by calling IPAL at 364-6114 or by emailing IPAL at ipal@cox.net  . In any case, please leave your NAME, your TELEPHONE NUMBER, and the date and times you wish tickets. NO tickets are currently available at Delaune’s Pharmacy.

We thank you all for your continuing support of IPAL and interest in its many activities. WE are only here because of YOU!

Theatre--Performance

Loren Farmer  and the Eavesdrop Theatre will produce the tense new drama by David Mamet called Race at Cite des Arts, 109 Vine Street Downtown Lafayette, February 3, 4, 10, 11, & 12.  Evening performances will be at 7:30pm, Sunday matinee’s will be at 2:00pm. Tickets are $10.00 and may be purchased at the door, or from the website www.citedesarts.org

David Mamet tackles America’s most controversial topic in a provocative new tale of sex, guilt, and bold accusation.  Two lawyers find themselves defending a wealthy white executive charged with raping a black woman.  When a new legal assistant gets involved in the case, the opinions that boil beneath explode to the surface.  When David Mamet turns the spotlight on what we think but can’t say, dangerous truths are revealed and no punches are spared.

Theatre--Performance (Musical Theatre)

UL Opera Theatre and The Compound are pleased to announce their collaboration on an exciting spring production: a revival of GRAND PRÉ, a musical by local playwright Cody Daigle and local composer Roy Bertucci.

In 1755, British military at Grand Pré, Nova Scotia, began a forced removal of all Acadian civilians, sending them on boats to other corners of the world. This removal would cast the Acadian people out of their homeland, tear apart families, and force the Acadians to resettle in ports all along the Eastern Seaboard, finally settling in Louisiana after many years of travel.

GRAND PRÉ musicalizes the beginning of the “Great Removal,” set against the story of a family already at war with itself. As the LeBlanc family struggles to accept the inclusion of a British solider to their family by marriage, forces in the outside world move to dismantle the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia for good. GRAND PRÉ is a musical about a moment of sweeping historical change, the human cost of history and the price we pay for loyalty.

Originally commissioned in 2005 by the Acadian Cultural Center and Cite des Arts, GRAND PRÉ was first produced in 2005. This version of GRAND PRÉ is a significantly revised version of the original show, containing an overhauled book, a new character and a new musical number.

GRAND PRÉ features performances by Jonah Slason (Louis), Alexandra Hollerman (Helene), Jenee Luquette (Cecile), Sadie Bekurs (Isabelle), Garrett Guidry (Thom), Tessa Espinosa (Alice), Jay Broussard (Allain), Shelby Runyan (Barillot), Aren Chaisson (John Winslow), and Holden Greene (Charles Lawrence).
Shawn Roy directs this new production with David Boudreaux supplying musical direction and new orchestrations. Duncan Thistlethwaite (scenic design) and Gina Baronne (costume design) round out the artistic team.

GRAND PRÉ marks a unique collaboration between two local producing agencies. UL Opera Theatre has supplied Acadiana with top-notch musical offerings for several years (including last year’s exciting THE MIKADO and THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD), and The Compound is one of the area’s newest companies, having scored a major success with their workshop production of the new play WILLIAM AND JUDITH.

This collaboration brings together two exciting companies in an effort to bring a new musical to life.

GRAND PRÉ will run March 8-11 at the Ducrest-Gilfrey Auditorium at Angelle Hall on the U: Campus. Curtain on Thursday, Friday and Saturday is 7:30 p.m. The Sunday matinee curtain is at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door.  There will also be a free school show on March 9th at 10 am.

For more information, call 482-6012.

Theatre--Performance

The Abbey Players takes great pleasure in announcing the cast of their forthcoming production of Steel Magnolias.

Center: Anna Edwards......(Shelby) 

bottom, left, with glasses: Laurie Hayes......(Annelle) 

top, left. boat-neck top: Patsy Hebert.......(Ouiser) 

top, center with pearls: Jenny Felder.......(Clairee) 

top, right, V-neck: Patricia Townsdin........(M'Lynn) 

bottom right, fur collar: Sandra Cormier........(Truvy) 

Theatre--Performance

Love Letters, a play involving two actors reading their love letters to each, was a hit when it premiered in 1989, and it returns to the Lafayette area for two performances shortly before Valentine’s Day. The author A. R. Gurney created a poignant story involving two friends who begin writing notes to each other in school, and from there, they developed a life-long relationship, both complicated and touching. One of the first performances in the Acadiana area was at the Lafayette Community Theatre located on Jefferson Street.

“It was 1996,” Vincent P. Barras recalled, “and I watched two actors on stage reading letters to each other, and I thought, ‘This is mesmerizing. I want to do this one day.’”

It’s sixteen years later, but dreams can come true. Gurney’s play Love Letters will be performed the weekend of February 10th at Theatre 810, also ironically on Jefferson Street. First published in 1989 and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, this play has had a history of famous actors and actresses read the letters of Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner. In 2007, it was performed in a fundraising event featuring James Earl Jones and Elizabeth Taylor.

“I’m presently rehearsing for IPAL’s production of Chicago set to open March 9th in New Iberia,” Vincent continued, “but when Theatre 810 had an unexpected opening in their schedule, I realized it was now or never.”

The play’s intimate style is reminiscent of reader’s theatre, where actors sit and read a script before an audience and then ask for their input. For this play, however, the letters form the heart of the play: two actors reading the love letters that they’ve written to each other over a fifty year time span.

Amanda Newbery, a Lafayette Parish Talented Teacher, will play the part of the free-spirited yet unstable artist Melissa Gardner. A transplant first from England and then from New Orleans, she starred in the Evangeline Players’ production of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts and recently finished a two-week revival of Wendy Wasserstein’s Uncommon Women and Others at Cité des Arts.

“It’s a gem of a play,” she mentioned wistfully, “and its premise requires little memorization, which is a good thing considering our time frame! It’s both lovely and bittersweet.” Amanda just finished orchestrating a successful presentation of plays titled Out of the Box this past weekend, all performed by students in the Talented Program of Lafayette Parish.

Vincent P. Barras will play the part of the dutiful Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, who in the course of the play becomes a United States Senator. A regular on the IPAL stage and the St. Martinville DuChamp Opera House, he also performs with Acting Unlimited, Inc. and the Eunice Players.

The play follows the “near misses” between Andrew and Melissa from their first letters in school to their college days to middle age and beyond. It’s an unpretentious look at two characters beginning in 1937 and traveling over half a century through boarding schools, wars, discoveries, and even political campaigns.

“I’m just so grateful to Theatre 810,” he noted of the new stage directly next door to Carpé Diem Gelatto-Expresso Bar. Amanda even added, “It’s a wonderfully intimate gathering, and during the intermissions, people can trot next door to Carpé Diem and get the most exquisite ice cream and hot chocolate.”

Theatre 810, a welcome addition to Lafayette’s incredible theatre tradition, just finished three productions in its new space at 810 Jefferson Street. They opened with Cody Daigle’s William and Judith, a new adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and David Ives’ series of one-act skits in Lives of the Saints. Two weekends after Love Letters, Acting Unlimited, Inc. will present PG-50, a collection of three locally written one-act plays about life after age 50.

“There are just so many opportunities for theatrical experiences in this area,” Amanda marveled. “Isn’t it fantastic?”

Love Letters will run for only two performances, one on Friday, February 10th at 7:30 pm, and another on Sunday, February 12th at 3:00 pm. Tickets are $10, and can be reserved by calling 337-873-1548. The box office at Theatre 810 opens one hour prior to all performances, and tickets are also available at that time

Theatre--Performance (Musical Theatre)

Tickets are now available for IPAL’s Chicago – the Musical. Performances are Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (Matinee) March 9 thru March 25.

You can purchase them in New Iberia at Delaune’s Pharmacy, Paul’s Flower Shoppe, or Accentrics on Main Street. If you are out of town you may contact Robin Bull at  519-4158 or 364-6114 (leave name and phone number) or by emailing her robinbull@hotmail.com

Our Season Ticket holders already have their tickets, and IPAL Members have already received notice of the availability.  Please consider joining us in ourMembership Drive in June for our 2012-2013. There is a great Season planned and we need your support so we can maintain and improve our facility and continue outstanding presentations!      

Theatre--Performance (Rescheduling)

A new show night has been added to the AAPA production of RABBIT HOLE and all tickets for the show scheduled for Friday January 20th, 2012 will be honored on Saturday, January 28, 2012. Please call Nathanael Trahan with any questions.

Theatre--Performance (Musical Theatre)

Lafayette High School puts on its 41st Annual Musical:

ONCE UPON A MATTRESS!

Originated by the Great Carol Burnett, Lafayette High returns with its annual fun, following last year's INTO THE WOODS.

For ticket information, contact Lafayette High School or any cast member.  The performances begin February 2nd through the first week of February.

Don't be SHY and we hope to see you there!

Theatre--Auditions

Acting Audition for Kaleidoscope by Ray Bradbury

Show will rehearse through April and be part of this year's Festival International

Male or Female

Cold reads from the script--no dramatic monologue is required, but would be welcome

Location: Theatre 810. 810 Jefferson St, Lafayette, LA (next door to Carpe Diem)

Time: 3:30pm (e-mail gabriel.nathan@gmail.com if you want to attend late)

Date: Sunday, January 29, 2012

Director: Nathan Gabriel (nathangabrieltheatre.com - visit website to view photos of show be performed in Philadelphia)

Show description: Celebrated sci-fi author Ray Bradbury's Kaleidoscope is the story of astronauts who are thrown from their ship. As they fall through the vastness of space, they talk to one another through their headset radios. Each one deals with the certainty of death in his own unique way and learns what secrets lie in the hearts of those they thought they knew best. This production is a radio-theatre hybrid, adapted for the stage from an old-time radio scripts.

Theatre--Submission (AAPA)

I have a policy of never reviewing the work of other Acadiana theatre artists and this is not really a review.  It is, however, a recommendation.  I recommend Nathanael Trahan's production of RABBIT HOLE to every theatre artist in Acadiana.  The setting is an actual house furnished just as if the family really lived in it.  You will follow the actors from one room to the next almost as if either they--or we--are ghosts.  The concentration of the actors is incredible as they negotiate their way around and among the audience while doing business and speaking dialogue as smoothly as if they were truly alone in the house.  The use of the setting is a great reminder that theatre means "to see" and not "a place with seats and a stage and stuff."  Any space can be a stage with some imagination and commitment as RABBIT HOLE proves.  This show is a great demonstration that where there is a will, there is a way.  Kudos to all!


It's worth the trip out to Youngsville to see this production--assuming, of course, that you have already seen LIVES OF THE SAINTS at Theatre 810!
---Walter Brown

Theatre--Review (AAPA)

It happens infrequently, but sometimes playwrights leave instructions with their published plays, an act that can seem either the ultimate in hubris or a necessary guide to directors and casts. With Rabbit Hole, a 2006 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by David Lindsay-Abaire, those instructions definitely fall in the latter category. He recognized that death as the center of play presents a particular challenge, a delicate balance between a thoughtful portrait of death and a maudlin Lifetime TV-movie of the week. On the last page of his script, Lindsay-Abaire provides “a little guidance” to all those who perform his play: avoid the tears; it is crucial advice that director Nathaneal Trahan chose to ignore. Make no mistake, the resulting APAA production is good, but it could have been outstanding.

The elephant in the room in this play is not hidden at all: Becca and Howie, a suburban couple, have lost their only child Danny eight months previously, and the family is still recovering from that loss. Such a death seems all the more tragic than, let’s say, the death of an elderly person who has lived a full life, as the cliché goes. Any death, however, rips a gaping hole in the universe of the lives of the remaining people, and the more intimate the relationship, the more devastating the abyss. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross has written the seminal work On Death and Dying, and retired UL Professor Dr. Sarah Brabant composed Mending the Torn Fabric: For Those Who Grieve and Those Who Want to Help Them, both extremely insightful books on the topic.

Dramas about death are not uncommon; Wit and Tuesdays with Morrie have characters who are dying on stage, but Rabbit Hole deals with the aftermath, with how people cope. Each of the play’s five characters approach the grieving process in different ways. Howie (Michael Cato) does not want to forget his son, but does wish to move on, since he sees his marriage as trapped in limbo. Nat (Jody L. Powell), Becca’s sometimes-coarse mother, sees her daughter desperately ensnared by Danny’s death and tries to push her daughter toward healing. Izzy (Amanda McBride), Becca’s younger, impulsive, self-destructive sister, finds herself an after-thought in this family, a position she frequently holds. She will soon have a child of her own, a sore spot in the family dynamic given Danny’s absence, and she resents that something good in her life is twisted as an attack upon her older, straight-laced sister. The only non-family member is Jason (André Trahan), the unfortunate teen who accidentally hits Danny with his car as the young boy was chasing his dog into the street. He, too, must grapple with the death that he caused, no matter how inadvertent.

Becca’s character, however, is the play’s pivotal focus, and Lindsay-Abaire has made it eminently clear who Becca is: a fiercely in-control woman who has steeled herself against this horrific heartbreak by shutting down emotionally. His play presents an unusual dynamic in that all stereotypes are thrown out: Howie is the man in touch with his emotions, and it is Becca who has locked them away because they understandably cause too much pain. Having lost a son of her own, Nat can empathize with her daughter’s plight. Nat recognizes that Becca is not doing herself any good by shutting out the world, and she even arranges an intervention of sorts to jumpstart her daughter’s emotional life. Becca is the play’s eye-of-the-storm in the middle of a hurricane, whilst all around her are learning to deal with death’s never-ending presence, and the author points that out in his instructive letter. That’s what makes Monique Arabie’s performance as Becca so out of place with the author’s intent. Ms. Arabie is affecting, please understand that, but she is on the verge of tears from the moment she enters the scene, and stays on that note for the entire two hours. It gives her nowhere to go emotionally, and it completely undermines her emotional breakdown in the supermarket where she assaults a mother who is callously disregarding the screaming wails of an unhappy child who wants fruit rollups. It makes a much more powerful impact, as the author intended, when this tightly controlled Becca loses it and lashes out at the world in a manner more appropriate to her ne’er-do-well sister Izzy. Why Trahan as director and Arabie as actress chose this openly emotional route puzzles me, and it doesn’t help that the role has been played by Tony Award-winning Cynthia Nixon and Oscar-nominated Nicole Kidman. Actors sometimes try to imitate the movie actors in famous plays—think Katharine Hepburn in The Lion In Winter—but this is one case where such a study would have provided valuable insight.

Before the reader thinks I did not like this play, perish the thought. The actors did a good job of dancing around this indelicate topic. Michael Cato is particularly good at showing his frustration with his stalled marriage, and it’s ironic that he, who has tried to move on, can’t see Jason, the teenager who killed his son, but his wife Becca is ready and willing to converse with him. Jody L. Powell brings a pro’s touch to the acerbic Nat, and I was inwardly giggling at the inappropriateness of Nat’s lengthy diatribe on the Kennedy family curse, when all else seem to realize the topic of death is verboten. Ms. Powell understands that humor is crucial to both this play and to dealing with death, and her speech in Danny’s room about how people want to help is priceless. Though he has little stage time, André Trahan nicely underplays the nervous youth who has to mix the awkwardness of growing up with the confusing dynamic of ending someone’s life. I particularly appreciated Amanda McBride, whose Izzy was a consistent thorn in everyone’s side. As the invisible younger sister, Izzy wants attention, and McBride never stooped to caricature; the audience genuinely feels for her when her birthday party erupts into a family fight over Becca’s inability to cope. And for all that I’ve harped over the way Becca should be played, Monique Arabie is a talented actress and I look forward to more of her work.

I must marvel at Nathaneal Trahan, however, for choosing to perform this play in a home. Ben Brantley, the New York Times theatre critic whose reviews I read frequently, often sees innovative and modern turns on this age-old art, and now I understand some of what he sees. To follow the characters from room to room did give the play an extra intimacy, and watching Michael Cato view a video of his son was heart-wrenching (Wherever Trahan found that charismatic young boy for Danny in the video, I’ll never know.) Having a play in a house presents unique challenges, however, as in how to end a scene, where in a theatre, the lights’ dimming would provide such a cue. Providing music worked to end each scene, but the play’s final scene needs a few more seconds. Becca and Howie are sitting at the dining room table, finally talking about the critical first steps they have to take. The silent gaps between their lines are as important as the lines themselves, and when they finally grab each other’s hands, it’s not so much a reaffirmation that everything will be all right as it is an acknowledgement that this marriage may not work at all. The other three actors off-stage—well, in this case, in another room—need to give Becca and Howie more time to hold those precious digits, for the night I went, they came out too soon, and the scene’s impact was diminished.

There are three more performances, January 20th, 21st, and 22nd, all at 7:30 pm, and tickets are available by calling 288-6329. There is also a Facebook page that includes clear directions to the home. Bravo to the director and cast for tackling this most difficult play. As one who has experienced death, I know too well the desolation it leaves in its wake. I just wish they had listened a little more to the author’s “little guidance.”
 ---Vincent P. Barras

Theatre--Performance

Dance--Auditions

DANCE CALL: Audition Now!

Audition for the dance production, Getting out of Limbo.

Chosen to perform in residency at the state-of-the-art James D. Moncus Theater at the Acadiana Center for the Arts.

Tech week: May 21-24    Shows: May 25, 26, 27.

Featuring modern/contemporary choreography by Leah Twilley.

Getting out of Limbo features eleven life lessons, each represented by a Radiohead song. The aim of Getting out of Limbo is to generate the same unity that a live music concert provides its audience. This performance will give everyone a chance to eliminate the glitz and glamour of society and evaluate the value of people.

Date: Friday, January 20, 2012

Time: 6:00-7:30

Location: The Ballet Studio

108 W. Milton Ave Lafayette, LA 70508

*Must be 18 or older*

***Contact choreographer Leah Twilley with questions: lat6161@gmail.com***

Theatre--Performance

The ball has dropped, the new year is here, and the 2012 season at Opelousas Little Theatre is underway.  Our first show of the season is always a Showcase.  Showcase is a variety talent show that we at OLT put on to draw local talents from our community as to let them present their specialities on our humble stage.  Another prupose is to call attention to our little theatre and to promote the local arts and the talent of the townsfolk.  Also, it is a chance to for the directors of the season to pursue castmembers for the upcoming schedule of shows.  With this, my seventh Showcase, I can honestly say we have a massively talented group of individuals.  Truth be told, our cast is large and most diverse.  This year promises to produce one of the most fast-paced and wildly entertaing Showcases in recent memory.  On the bill we have actors, dancers, bellydancers, singers, and all are amazing talents with tons of heart and dedication.  Young and old, we
form one big dysfunctional family of hilarity and drama that the OLT may not have yet seen.  So, if you are a lover of good music, hard laughing, and a little serious drama, you must not miss this chance to see the best that our local community has to offer.  Rehearsals are going great and the cast is working hard. The set is fully completed and the theatre is lonesome for large audiences.  On a personal note, I'd like to say thank you the OLT board for this opportunity to co-direct Showcase with two other great talents this year. Andy Doucet and Casey Harmon are both seasoned actors and veterans of the OLT and it's been a blast working with them so far and the show hasn't even started yet.  Tickets are available at Sebastion Dupre Fine Jewelery, 337-948-4367.  The show will run Jan.19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 at 7pm.  Sunday matinees will run Jan. 22 and 29 at 2pm.  For more information feel free to contact me (Walter Duncan McBride) at 337-351-3822

Dance--Performance

Everyone knows the story of Cinderella as portrayed in books and movies, but no medium quite captures the magic of this inspiring rags-to-riches tale as classical ballet. Experience the enchantment of Lafayette Ballet Theatre’s Cinderella at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 31, 2012, in the Heymann Performing Arts Center.

LBT promises an awe-inspiring evening appropriate for all ages. Principal guest artists from the Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Cincinnati Ballet will join the local cast in presenting the three-act, full-length classical production, set to Sergei Prokofiev’s celebrated score. Tickets – great for Valentine’s Day gifts – are available now through the Heymann Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets.

Tickets are priced as follows: front orchestra, $40; back orchestra, $35; first balcony, $30; back orchestra, $20. Additional Ticketmaster fees may apply. Special group rates are available. Students are eligible for a 50-percent discount on balcony level tickets anytime, or they may opt for the “student rush” special: half off on all seats still available 30 minutes prior to curtain. (Students must present a current school ID at the Heymann Center Box Office to receive the “student rush” discount.) Tickets are available at the Heymann Center Box Office, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; via phone, 337-291-5555; and online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Lafayette Ballet Theatre is a nonprofit organization offering classical ballet instruction, dance study scholarships, educational programs and quality stage performances to the Acadiana community. LBT’s production of Cinderella is supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Acadiana Center for the Arts.

For more information on LBT and Cinderella, call -337-262-0444 or visit www.lafayettelallettheatre.org.

Theatre--Auditions (Musical Theatre)

The Acadia Players present the timeless enchantment of a magical fairy tale is reborn with the Rodgers & Hammerstein hallmarks of originality, charm and elegance. Originally presented on television in 1957 starring Julie Andrews, Rodgers & Hammerstein'sCINDERELLA was the most widely viewed program in the history of the medium. Its recreation in 1965 starring Lesley Ann Warren was no less successful in transporting a new generation to the miraculous kingdom of dreams-come-true, and so was a second remake in 1997, which starred Brandy as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as her Fairy Godmother. As adapted for the stage, with great warmth and more than a touch of hilarity, the hearts of children and adults alike still soar when the slipper fits. This Enchanted Edition is based on the 1997 teleplay.

Auditions for The Acadia Players Production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA will be held at The Grand Opera House of the South in Crowley,LA, January 29,2012, at 1p.m. January 31, 2012 and February 1,2012 at 6 . Casting will include approximately 7 women, 4 men, 12 extras ages 12 and up. Children must be age 12 as of February 1, 2012.

 Those wishing to audition must arrive 30 minutes ahead of time complete the required paperwork and be prepared to take a headshot. Please come prepared with a song of choice acapella, with recording(karaoke), or sheet music – 16 measures minimum.

Performances will be held at The Grand Opera House of the South June 14-17, 2012.

Rehearsal schedule will be given at auditions.

For audition and performance information, contact Logan Frederick 337-523-5007 or at lgfred2011@yahoo.com

Theatre--Performance (Musical Theatre)

           Row 1 (left to right) Seth Ransonet, Ashlyn Halpin, Tiana Wiltz, Thomas Luke, Gabby Landry, Nicholas Harrison, Beaux Fisher

           Row 2: Noah Delatte, Taylor Luke, Ryley doucet, Leila DeSlatte,

            Row 3: Mia Commeaux, Adele Hebert

 Seth Ransonet (Samuel, a Pirate of Penzance)

Theatre--Performances

Rabbit Hole will be performed at 1300 Fortune Rd,. Youngsville January 13th - Jan 15th (Curtain @7:30p) and January 20th - Jan 22nd (Curtain @7:30p)

Join APAA for their very first production! Come be a part of this Innovative play. Follow this family through their house and experience their story as if it were your own. This Pulitzer Prize winning play has not only had a run on Broadway, but has touched the hearts of many.

Tickets are $10 (General Admission). Call for advanced tickets (337) 288-6329

Seats are LIMITED. Only twenty people will be admitted a night. Pre-ordering is available; unclaimed tickets will be resold 15 mins prior to curtain.

Cast List:
Becca- Monique Arabie
Howie- Michael Cato
Izzy- Amanda McBride
Nat- Jody L. Powell

Crew List:
Director- Nathanael Trahan
Producer- Jennifer Hebert
For additional information, contact: Nathanael Trahan, (337) 288-6329 or nathanaeltrahan@aol.com, http://www.facebook.com/events/277993992236708/
Inovative Play Performed in House

Theatre--Article

Theatre 810, Acting Unlimited , Inc (AUI) and LIVES OF THE SAINTS (AUI's soon to open show) were the focus of a story on Tuesday in the Baton Rouge Advocate.

Theatre--Auditions (Musical Theatre)

CINDERELLA
Adapted for Stage by Tom Briggs
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Music by Richard Rodgers/
From the Teleplay by Robert L. Freedman

OPEN AUDITION
January 29, 2012 at 1p.m. and January 30, 31, 2012 at 6p.m.
The Grand Opera House of the South
505 North Parkerson Ave., Crowley, LA

 The Acadia Players present the timeless enchantment of a magical fairy tale is reborn with the Rodgers & Hammerstein hallmarks of originality, charm and elegance. Originally presented on television in 1957 starring Julie Andrews, Rodgers & Hammerstein's CINDERELLA was the most widely viewed program in the history of the medium. Its recreation in 1965 starring Lesley Ann Warren was no less successful in transporting a new generation to the miraculous kingdom of dreams-come-true, and so was a second remake in 1997, which starred Brandy as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as her Fairy Godmother. As adapted for the stage, with great warmth and more than a touch of hilarity, the hearts of children and adults alike still soar when the slipper fits. This Enchanted Edition is based on the 1997 teleplay.

Auditions for The Acadia Players Production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA will be held at The Grand Opera House of the South in Crowley,LA, January 29,2012 from 1p.m. To 3:30p.m. and January 30 & 31, 2012 from 6 to 8:30 pm. Casting will include approximately 7 women, 4 men, 12 extras ages 12 and up. Children must be age 12 as of February 1, 2012.

 Those wishing to audition must arrive by 5:30 pm to complete the required paperwork and be prepared to take a headshot. Please come prepared with a song of choice acapella, with recording(karaoke), or sheet music – 16 measures minimum.

Performances will be held at The Grand Opera House of the South June 14-17, 2012.
Rehearsal schedule will be given at auditions.

For audition and performance information, contact Logan Frederick 337-523-5007 or at lgfred2011@yahoo.com

Theatre--Auditions

V-day Lafayette, a UL chapter organization, is proud to host a production of the VAGINA MONOLOGUES written by Eve Ensler and directed by Kristina Marshall. Open auditions will be held on January 7th and 8th from 1-3:30 pm at Theatre 810. Please have a prepared 1 to 2 minute dramatic/comedic monologue or be prepared to read from a script given
by the director. Everyone is welcome to join! Volunteer for a local cause by supporting your sisters! For more information contact Vdaylafayette@gmail.com.

Theatre--Performance

AUI will kick off Theatre 810's 2012 performance calendar with LIVES OF THE SAINTS, an evening of riotously funny one-act comedies by one of the contemporary theatre’s brightest comic playwrights, David Ives.

LIVES OF THE SAINTS is an evening of seven quirky, funny and wildly imaginative one-acts by Ives. In SAINTS, Ives’ comic imagination takes audiences to ancient Mesopotamia for the construction of the Tower of Babel, to a wee British vicarage fora twisted “Masterpiece Theatre” murder mystery, to a quirky souvenir shop where a wildly exotic love blooms, and into a TV set where a couple finds themselves lost in a blur of channels. And that’s just half the evening.

Local audiences have experienced Ives’ work in his other one-act evening ALL IN THE TIMING and in his revisionist take on Don Juan, DON JUAN IN CHICAGO. In LIVES OF THE SAINTS, audiences can expect a playful evening of broad physical comedy, whip-smart jokes and ceaselessly imaginative riffs on contemporary culture. There’s something for everyone in LIVES OF THE SAINTS.

LIVES OF THE SAINTS is directed by Cara Hayden, who co-directed AUI’s summer production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. The production features performances by Erin Segura, Elaine Kibodeaux, Gerard Ducharme, John Snyder, Martha Diaz, Vincent P. Barras, Cindy Hebert, Phillip Spear, Joseph Diaz, Cody Dunstan, Kaan Dere, Nancy Dere, Anne Dronet and Kathy Arceneaux.

The show will open on Thursday, January 12 at 7:30 and run the following days and times:
Friday, January 13th (dinner theatre) at 7:30
Saturday, January 14th at 8:00 (after Artwalk)
Sunday, January 15th at 3:00
Thursday, January 19th at 7:30
Friday, January 20th at 7:30
Saturday, January 21st at 7:30
Sunday, January 22nd at 3:00 (Dessert and a Play)

All tickets are $10.00. Reservations can be made by telephone at (337) 484-0172 or by email at actingunlimitedinc@gmail.com. Online ticket are available here:
http://lives-autohome.eventbrite.com/
Online purchases for the Dinner Theatre can be made here:
http://livesdinnertheatre.eventbrite.com/
Tickets for the dinner theatre can also be purchased at Bonnie Bell's Bistro.
Online tickets for the Dessert and a Play can be purchased here:
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2703316693/efblike 

Tickets for the Dessert and a Play (only) can be purchased at Carpe Diem Gelato.

For more information, call (337) 484-0172.

NOTE: This show contains adult themes and language. Parental guidance is recommended.

Theatre--Auditions

Auditions for Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling will be held at the Abbey Players Theatre on Thursday, Jan. 5th from 7 to 9pm, and again on Saturday, Jan. 7th from 2 to 4pm.  The play is scheduled to open in February and will be directed by Dianne Moss.  There are roles for 6 women ranging in ages from late teens to the 60's.  For more information, please call Dianne at (337) 523-9995.

Theatre--Performance (Musical Theatre)

The UL-Lafayette Opera Theater has announced the cast and production team for its upcoming spring production of GRAND PRE.


Grand Pre´ Cast
Helene LeBlanc – Alex Hollerman
Louis LeBlanc – Jonah Slason
Cecile LeBlanc – Jenee Luquette
Isabelle LeBlanc – Sadie Bekurs

Alice Johnson – Tessa Espinosa
Thom Johnson – Garrett Guidry
Allain Johnson – Jay Broussard

Major Lawrence – Holden Greene
Colonel Winslow – Aren Chaisson

Marie Barillot – Shelby Runyan

Grand Pré production staff
Director – Shawn Roy
Musical Director/Orchestration – David Boudreaux
Set Designer – Duncan Thistlethwaite
Costume Designer – Gina Baronne
Lighting Designer/Tech Director – Ken Harrelson
Stage Manager – Miguel Ochoa

Music by Cody Daigle and Roy Bertucci
Lyrics by Cody Daigle
Book by Cody Daigle

Performance Dates – March 8 – 11, 2012
Ducrest-Gilfry Auditorium
Call 482-6012 for more information
Tickets available  at the door only

Theatre--Auditions

The Evangeline Players will hold open auditions for YOU, THE JURY on Saturday and Sunday, January 21 and 22 from 2-4 PM and on Monday, January 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.  Performances in St. Martinville March 16-25 under the direction of Bruce Coen.  All roles are open and the director is looking for men and women to play roles ranging from early 20's to 70's.

Auditions will be cold reading from the script.

Auditions will be held upstairs at the Duchamp Opera House located at 200 S. Main St. (corner of Hwy. 39 and Hwy. 96). For more information, call (337) 394-6604.

Editor's Note

The Blog is back.

Theatre--Auditions

While final preparations are ongoing for Acting Unlimited's LIVES OF THE SAINTS, Kimberly Johnson-Nagle will be holding open auditions for her upcoming play, A WOMAN'S JOURNEY.  The play is a series of 3 one-act shows.

She needs 4 to 5 females etween the ages of 18 to 35+ of different ethnic groups, and three males of approximately the same age range.  One male must be black and 18 to 35.  The others must be white, one between the ages of 18 to 25 and the other over 35.  All are welcome, but by the time of the auditions some roles may be cast.

The show will feature COLORLESS, which won "Best Play" in the 2007 Hub City Theatre Festival.  Show dates are February 3rd, 4th, 5th (matinee), 10th, 11th and 12th (matinee).

Audition dates are this Saturday and Sunday, January 7th and 8th, from 4-6:30 pm. 

For more information, email kimberlynagle@ymail.com.

Editor's Note

I am going to be taking a break from this blog for a while.  If I return, it won't be for a while.

Thanks to those of you who have been faithful followers, and I hope that some of you have been able to benefit from the information that I published here.  Please continue to support local theatre.

Theatre--Review (IPAL)

A small respite in rehearsals recently has allowed me to become reacquainted with my television set, and the AMC channel was playing A Christmas Carol with the incredible George C. Scott in an emmy-nominated turn as Scrooge. Nearing the end of the show as he stared at his own name etched in marble, he asked pleadingly, “Tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!” It was an indelible piece of acting in what has become a Christmas tradition. Many local theatres have embraced, sometimes rather restrictively, adaptations of the Dickens classic, and they are legion. Last year, the Eunice players put on the hysterical The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of A Christmas Carol, a spoof of the work with only five people playing all the parts. Baton Rouge Little Theatre puts on its annual version of the play with no changes except in casting. I know of another spoof titled A Christmas Carol: A Traveling Travesty in Two Tumultuous Acts, where a wretched acting company is putting on their fifteenth annual farewell performance of the play. In a few days time, The Compound will present their adaptation of Dickens’ masterpiece, and last weekend, the Iberia Performing Arts League (IPAL) in New Iberia opened A Carol for Tiny Tim, directed by Donna Berard. It was a welcome change on the old theme, made even more memorable by the return of a beloved veteran on IPAL’s stage. A Carol for Tiny Tim will play four more times, this Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Call 364-6114 for tickets.

John R. Carroll’s A Carol for Tiny Tim explores the whole Scrooge situation some fifteen years later. Jacob Marley (Fred Comeaux), still wearing chains but fewer than before, still roams the earth, but now bemoans what has become of Tiny Tim (Ryan Berard), now a dissolute, deceitful young adult. Once Scrooge (an eager Chuck Rogers) saw the error of his ways, he spoiled little Tim rotten, who at first did not take advantage of Scrooge’s guilt, but under the tutelage of an unscrupulous worker Farthingate (Seth Derouen) Tim learns to get everything and anything he wants. In the next fifteen years, he practically bankrupts poor Scrooge, and Tim’s parents (Michael Durand and Faye Tarantino) also coddle and protect him from any serious strain or work. The only one who sees through Tim’s guise is his sister Martha (Alyssa Porche) who would dearly love to expose her little brother’s farce. It’s the perfect set-up for Jacob Marley to appear to the three ghosts of Christmas to come and cause a reversal in the fortunes of Tim. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Allyson Gary) reminds Tim what he once was and how he transformed into the wanton young lad he has become. The Ghost of Christmas Present (Paul David, with a booming voice) shows Tim how his friends really feel about him and how Tim has reduced his benefactor Scrooge to a pauper eating porridge alone in his house on Christmas Eve. Every year, Scrooge eagerly awaits Tim, who always finds a reason not to show. The Ghost of Christmas Future (M. Craig Colwart) shows Tim what will be: Scrooge’s business will close because to support Tim, Scrooge failed to pay the insurance on his brokerage which went up in flames. It’s enough to scare anyone into seeing the errors of their ways and repenting, and naturally, it works. By the end of the play, Tim has spent a day digging ditches so he could earn money to buy gifts for all the people who have supported him those last fifteen years.

In many ways, I felt nostalgic during the production. Five years ago, I had the privilege of playing Ebenezer Scrooge in Scrooge and Marley: A Christmas Carol, and some of the people involved in that play resurfaced in this one. Fred Comeaux, now playing Jacob Marley, was the director who chose me to play the seminal part, and I’ve never thanked him enough. It was only my second play at IPAL and not only was the experience richly rewarding, it was a financial success for IPAL with its huge cast. Opposite me playing Jacob Marley was Craig Colwart, who traded in all those lines from long ago to not saying a word at the Ghost of Christmas Future. I even remember chasing poor Justin Judice off the stage for singing Christmas carols.

I must make this chastising note. I’ve recently noted a disturbing trend that I hope to dispel because it is disrespectful to authors everywhere as well as to publishing companies. I have two programs from the Christian Youth Theatre, and in neither of those programs (Beauty and the Beast Jr. and The Sound of Music) did the company give ANY credit to the author or the lyricists, as if they were unnecessary by-products. John R. Carroll composed the play A Carol for Tiny Tim, and while I don’t know if his name appeared on the poster, his name did not appear anywhere in the IPAL printed program. He has composed more than half a dozen plays and receives royalties for his contribution to the arts. The Dramatic Publishing Company has the rights to license this play and they have this disclaimer printed on all their booklets: “On all programs this notice should appear: ‘Produced by special arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY of Woodstock, Illinois.’” This, too, was omitted from the program, unless I missed it somewhere. Both Carroll and the Dramatic Publishing Company should have received mention in the program; it’s a legal requirement that CYT and IPAL should observe.

Overall, the production was nicely staged with multiple levels and it served as a pleasant diversion. Ryan Berard cut an absolutely rubbery figure as the young Tim, and Chuck Rogers looked positively forlorn as the eager Scrooge waiting for Tim to show, knowing full well he most likely will not. But more than anything I was delighted to see Fred Comeaux back on the stage. As one of the founding members of IPAL a dozen years ago, he has directed and starred in many shows, and his absence has been sorely missed. While acting in Scrooge and Marley, I remember Fred took one of the smaller roles of a corrupt man purchasing Scrooge’s stolen merchandize after his demise. He was delightful, and I had asked him then why he didn’t act more. His answer was poignant: he feared he could no longer remember lines like he once did. None of that was on display as he draped across the stage in deathly gray makeup and haunting visage, and his splendid acting made the material seem better than it was. Let us hope we have not seen the last of Fred Comeaux.
---Vincent P. Barras

Theatre--Auditions (Musical Theatre)

The UL Opera Theater auditions for Grand Pre will be held tomorrow (December 8th) from 5 to 8 at the Ducrest-Gilfry Auditorium at Angelle Hall.

Theatre--Auditions

Cite Des Arts is announcing auditions for a play called Taste, to be directed by Regina Sullivan. Production will be Feb. 24-March 4th.
.
Set in the Bywater on the eve of carnival season,, Taste tells the story of six young New Orleanians, some locals, some transplants. While cooking a meal in a house that may be under construction or may be under demolition (only time and money will really tell), new friendships sizzle, old ones scorch, and dinner is ultimately served.

They are  looking for four males, white, black, and extraterrestrial, between the ages of 18 and 35.  They are  also looking for two females, white and black, between the ages of 18 and 35.


Actors may bring a monologue, or be prepared to cold read from the script.

Auditions will be Dec 11, 12, 13 from 5:30 - 7pm at Cité des Arts 109 Vine Street, Lafayette, LA