April Happenings

Happy Spring to one and all! We are more than happy to see the arrival of some warmer weather and are looking forward to a busy spring and summer.

Spring for Brunswick Little Theatre means the arrival of our FREE show in Southport's Franklin Square Park. This year's shows kick off in just over one month! An American Band, Music of the Rock Revolution (1965-1973) will rock the park 8 pm nightly May 16-18 and 23-15. If you were one of the very few people who missed last year's hugely popular My Generation concerts, you don't want to miss this one! It's being brought to you by most of the same musicians and vocalists that drove record crowds wild last spring. So, bring your entire family, bring some beach chairs and be ready to be entertained by the best free concert Southport offers. You can see some songs from last year's shows here and check out this year's rehearsals here.

Are you ready to venture Into The Woods with BLT this summer? Work has begun on our big summer

musical and auditions are less than THREE WEEKS away! Director Jen Iapalucci and Musical Director Michael Stringer will be hosting auditions at Building F on the campus of Brunswick Community College on Saturday, May 3 and Monday, May 5. Children under 15 (except those auditioning for the role of Red Riding Hood) are to audition from 11 am to 1 pm on Saturday, May 3, while adults and all those seeking Red Riding Hood's role are to come at 1 pm Saturday, May 3 or 7 pm Monday, May 5. All are asked to please try to make the Saturday date if at all possible. Complete details on roles available and expectations for those auditioning can be found on our web site's Auditions Page. Please come prepared and break a leg!

Tickets for Into The Woods will be available through the Odell Williamson Auditorium box office beginning Friday, May 16. You may purchase in person, over the phone or online. All the links, times and numbers you need are on our own Box Office page here.

Looking for something for the little theater aficionados in your family to do this summer? BLT is very excited to announce the return of Let's PLAY! Children's Theater Workshop Summer Camp! This year we will offer two one-week sessions, June 16-20 and August 11-15. With Director Jen Iapalucci busy preparing Into The Woods, this summer's camps will be directed by long-time BLT friend and professional theater educator Amanda Penegar. Camp will run from 10 am to 2:30 pm Monday to Friday with a showcase performance at 3 pm the Sunday following camp week at the South Brunswick High School drama classroom. Fees for

camp are $100 per student with a 20% discount for siblings. Registration opens 9 am Saturday, April 26 via email to jgstites@yahoo.com. These camps will fill up fast, so registration is on a strict first come, first served basis. To find out more about Let's PLAY! and our summer camp program, please visit the Let's PLAY! website here. You may also check out video from past Let's PLAY! classes and showcases on our YouTube channel here.

With all these great programs and shows Brunswick Little Theatre offers, the board of directors has decided it is time to start seriously looking for a permanent home for BLT. Our options are wide open right now, but the board will be creating a Facility Fund very soon and begin accepting donations to help us acquire a place of our own. Stay tuned for details on how YOU can help build the future of community theater right here in our own back yard.

Last but certainly not least, the Brunswick Little Theatre is proud and thankful to announce the election of Sue MacCallum as President-Elect of its Board of Directors. Sue brings years of experience in theater, community involvement and fundraising and will ensure that BLT remains an active and vibrant part of our community as we move forward. Sue will assume the office of BLT President as of January 2015. Thank you and congratulations Sue!

March Happenings

Spring Is Coming! Brunswick Little Theatre is moving into Spring as busy as ever. Here's a look at some of what we have in the works.

The children of our Let's PLAY! workshop have been hard at work (and PLAY) for the

last 12 weeks and are ready to show off all they've learned. The Spring Session Showcase will be tomorrow, Sunday, March 16 at the South Brunswick High School theater arts classroom. The show will begin at 4 pm with doors opening at 3:50 to allow the children as much time as possible to rehearse in their performance space. Come on out and see the creativity, talent and pure exuberance this great group of 4-12 year-olds brings to BLT. They are our future, and a bright one it is! A BIG thank you to Jen Iapalucci and Katie Deese for volunteering many hours to make this program the huge success it has become.

Speaking of the future of Brunswick Little Theatre, our Youth Division, Stagestruck Players, is also hard at work on its next production. Dear Edwina Jr. Tickets are on sale now in our online box office and will also be available at the door. The show features a cast of 13 portraying Edwina Spoonapple and her friends and family as they put together a musical based upon letters to Edwina's advice column, Dear Edwina. There are song and dance numbers galore, something from almost every genre you can dream of, so this show will be sure to be a hit with all ages. We will once again be performing at the Brunswick Center at Southport, 1513-1 N. Howe Street, behind the Wingate Inn. Showtimes are March 28-29 and April 4-5 at 7:30 pm with two matinees March 30 and April 6 at 3 pm. Be sure to make your plans to catch at LEAST one of these shows. Check out pictures from rehearsal here and hear from some cast members on our blog here.

To make it even easier to introduce your children or grandchildren to the magic of live theatre, BLT is giving away 20 children's (12 and under) tickets to the opening night performance of Dear Edwina Jr., March 28th at 7:30 pm. Simply follow this link to the BLT Giveaway page and get up to four entries! It's quick, easy and fun to enter, so please enter today and tell your friends to give it a try. Also, you can print a poster for the show from our Poster Page and hang it at school, church, work or anywhere else you can get permission to help spread the word. We would LOVE to see a packed house on opening night!

Excitement has already been building for Brunswick Little Theatre's big summer musical Into The Woods. Auditions have been scheduled for May 3 and 5 at Building F of Brunswick Community College. Visit our Auditions Page to learn all the details.

With the coming Spring comes the much anticipated return of BLT's FREE rock and roll show in Franklin Square Park. This year we shift from the British Invasion to our own shores as we present An American Band: Music of the Rock Revolution on two weekends, May 16-18 and 23-25. Shows begin at 8 pm nightly, so bring a chair and enjoy a great night of music under the stars. You can get a glimpse of what's in store at our Youtube channel, and be sure to check back, new songs are added all the time.

As always thank you for your support of Brunswick Little Theatre.

February Happenings

Brunswick Little Theatre is incredibly busy as we move into spring. The past two Sundays we've had three shows rehearsing and a children's workshop in full swing. We are thankful for the cooperation of so many in our community that help make that possible, especially our hosts at Brunswick Community College, South Brunswick High School, Trinity United Methodist Church and On My Toes Dance Studio that provide us the rehearsal spaces needed to do so much at one time. Community theater depends on this sort of support and we are extremely lucky to have such generous and accommodating partners.

All this rehearsing is great, but what REALLY has us excited is the opening of our first show of the season. I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change takes to the stage beginning 7:30 Friday, February 21 at the Brunswick Center at Southport, 1531-1 N. Howe Street behind the Wingate Inn. Tickets are available at www.brunswicklittletheatre.com and at the door for just $17 for adults and $12 for students with ID. You have five chances to catch this hilarious adult musical revue about the trials and joys of relationships -- three evening performances 2/21, 2/22 and 3/1 at 7:30 pm, and two matinees 2/23 and 3/2 at 3:00 pm. All seats are general admission and please note that sales at the door are cash or check only. We can't wait to see you at BLT's debut in the Brunswick Center. It's a wonderful facility and we look forward to filling it with happy patrons of the arts!

Having three shows in production at once is a wonderful thing, but it requires substantial

financial resources. One way we can keep this ball rolling, and have a bit of fun doing it, is to throw, well, a Masquerade Ball! Brunswick Little Theatre is going to laissez le bon temps roulez this year with a Fat Tuesday fundraiser party at the St. James Community Center on March 4th. Join us from 6-10 Fat Tuesday night for a feast of shrimp and grits and a gourmet pancake bar, entertainment by the Brunswick Big Band, a silent auction and a costume contest to name the King and Queen of Mardi Gras! You just know a costume party with theatre people is going to be a good time, whether you join in by wearing your Mardi Gras finery, come costumed as creatively as you can or just enjoy the spectacle from the comfort of your table. Our $30 ticket includes dinner, beer, wine, soft drinks and all entertainment. Get your tickets at brunswicklittletheatre.com or in person at The Grape & Ale in Oak Island or Isaac Allen Salon in Southport and help support YOUR community theatre while having a really great night out. 

How about those other shows in production, you ask? Well, right around the corner is

Stagestruck Players' Dear Edwina Jr. coming March 28-30 and April 4-6. A young but extremely talented cast is working hard on this musical about a middle school advice columnist and her friends creating a play to enter in the Advice-a-Palooza contest. This show includes songs from a huge array of musical genres and is sure to delight audiences of all ages. Dear Edwina Jr. will bring us once again to Brunswick Center at Southport and tickets will go on sale at brunswicklittletheatre.com on March 1st. Don't miss this one!

All the recent ice and snow has us longing for spring, and for the return of BLT's very own rock stars to Franklin Square Park. Rehearsals have already begun for American Band, Music of the Rock Revolution (1965-1973), the follow-up to last year's hugely popular My Generation shows. This time we turn our attention to American rock during the late sixties and early seventies and bring you the best of the era of Flower Power and California Dreamin'. Mark your calendars and pack your lawn chairs so you can join the party in the park May 16-18 and 23-25.

With all that we have going, how is one supposed to keep up? Brunswick Little Theatre is trying to make it easier than ever to get all the latest news and even some behind the scenes insights. Our website is updated frequently and carries all the latest info on show and audition dates and times. The brand new Brunswick Little Theatre Happenings blog is a work in progress, check it out and let us know what you think. The BLT Facebook page is always full of news and photos from all of our productions, if you haven't yet, please visit and give us a "like". We have also launched a new Twitter page with up-to-the-minute news and behind the scenes insights from BLT's unique cast of characters. If you haven't yet joined the Twitter-verse, now is the perfect time to set up an account and follow the fun! And just to round out our conquest of the social media world, BLT is also now on Instagram. Check us out there for a photographic tour of community theater at its best. 

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you at the show. Or ALL the shows :-)