The Stagestruck Apprentice Workshop

BLT is happy to announce a theatrical training program for youth ages 11 through 18, the Stagestruck Apprentices.

The program will offer training in all aspects of musical theater; vocal production, stage movement, acting, and musical theater styles. Apprentices will also gain experience in technical theater through hands-on work with assigned BLT productions.

Stagestruck Apprentices is designed as a nine-month program broken into semesters. Breaking the

program into semesters allows for ease of scheduling around family and school calendars, as well as ease of fee payment. The program will begin September 12, 2015 and first semester Revue will take place in January 2016. Second semester will begin January 23, 2016 and end in May 2016.

Apprentices will attend one weekly class on Saturday afternoons from 1:00 until 3:00 PM at the theater’s home, 8068 River Road. Individuals or small groups will attend a second session as needed, determined by the requirements of selections that make up the Stagestruck Revue, a public performance scheduled at the end of the semester. Second sessions will be scheduled for Sunday afternoons by the faculty.

The Stagestruck Apprentice program has 20 total positions due to space availability and instructional design.  Eighteen positions are open on a first come, first serve basis. The fee for the training program is $100 per semester and is payable to BLT.  A $50 non-refundable deposit will reserve a position. The $50 balance of the fee is due at the first class. Two positions in the program will be by scholarship. Scholarship positions will be determined by audition. The scholarship audition date is August 1, 10:30 AM. Scholarship candidates can contact dskillman@ec.rr.com for audition requirements.

Registration for the program will begin on August 3^rd. Participants may register by calling Deborah Skillman at 470-5652 or emailing dskillman@ec.rr.com.

Faculty for Stagestruck Apprentices

Deborah Skillman, BM, MM, National Board Certified teacher in music, American  Orff Schulwerk Certified Teacher

Bev Veenker, Professor Emeritus WKU, Theater and Dance

Chris Walters, BFA Theater

August Happenings

Hey, it's still August, right? Better late than never, we say!

Tomorrow marks one full month in our new home on River Road. We've been putting the space to use already!

The Let's PLAY Summer Camp spent a week of fun and learning in one of the two classroom buildings, then topped off the experience with a great Showcase in front of over 50 family and friends, the very first performance in our new theater!

Steel Magnolias, our first ticketed event in the new space, has been rehearsing on the main stage three nights a week. The show opens Friday, October 17 at 7:30 pm with additional evening shows on the 18th, 24th and 25th and two matinees Sunday, October 19 and Sunday, October 26 at 3:00 pm. Tickets are on sale now on our Box Office page.

The cast and crew of our summer musical Into the Woods held their cast party at the new facility last night, and had a ball. With a huge kitchen, plenty of bathrooms, a wonderful playground, shady and comfortable outdoor spaces and a big screen and projector, this space really has a lot of potential for fun, and we plan to offer lots of opportunities for you to enjoy it in the near future.

One of the first opportunities to put yourself on the new stage is our upcoming Best Christmas Pageant Ever auditions. Debbie Skillman will be directing this holiday classic and is looking for a cast of 10 adults and 17 children. Auditions will be at the new theater, 8068 River Road, Southport, on September 20, 2014. See our Audition page for all the details!

The BLT Board of Directors is working on organizing the 2015 season. They will be accepting proposals at their September11 meeting, at 6:30 pm at the Brunswick Little Theater on River Road. Potential directors will find lots useful information on our Directors Page. We will continue to perform a show in Odell each year as well as one in May at Franklin Square Park, but all our other performances will be at the new facility. The board looks forward scheduling more shows than any time in the recent past. This new space allows us, even really requires us, to produce more performances. A lot of work has gone into securing, maintaining and improving this property, all we need now is directors willing to use it. If you are contemplating a show in the Brunswick Little Theater, but haven't really gotten a good look at it yet, simply drop an email to Jeffrey at jgstites@yahoo.com and he'll see you get the grand tour. We are excited to show off our new place and see how the talented BLT family can put it to use!

We hope you all had a great, fun and safe summer and look forward to sharing an exciting future together.

Dear Edwina Jr. Ticket Giveaway

Brunswick Little Theatre is giving away 20 children's tickets to the opening night performance of Stagestruck Players' Dear Edwina Jr. These tickets are for our budding theater fans 12 years of age and under. The show will be performed at the Brunswick Center at Southport, 1513 N. Howe Street, Suite 1, behind the Wingate Inn. Dear Edwina Jr. will run for two weekends with evening performances at 7:30 pm on March 28 and 29 and April 4 and 5 and two Sunday matinees March 30 and April 6 at 3 pm. Our free ticket giveaway is for opening night, Friday, March 28 only.

To enter, simply visit the Brunswick Little Theatre's Facebook Giveaway page and get up to five entries per person. It's quick and easy and all 20 winners will be notified via email.

I had the pleasure of visiting with the cast of Dear Edwina Jr this past weekend while they rehearsed the

Gina Flow, starring as Edwina Spoonapple

show. This is going to be a great one, let me tell you. The music I heard was wonderful, and according to

choreographer Bev Veenker, the show's musical reach is vast, moving through an amazing array of genres. The show follows Edwina, played by Gina Flow, as she puts together a musical based upon questions and answers from her advice column to enter in the Advice-A-Palooza Festival.The show-within-a-show features lots of vignettes and offers the youth actors the opportunity to play multiple roles.

One number involves a farmer, played by Sydney Parker, and a collection of pigs portrayed by Noah Huntley, Noah Jibke, Chase Coston and RJ Thomas. Noah Jibke explained the pig role this way, "I snort a lot and try not to be made into bacon." Noah J. also gets to play a "mean kid", which he says is his favorite character, because, "everyone loves to hate him."

Noah Huntley breaks from his pig role to play a few more characters, including the annoying Frank in "Franken Guest". But Noah H's favorite role is a boy named Billy because he "gets to talk a lot and is in some songs."

Noah is pretty typical in his desire for stage time. These kids are hams (get it?) in the best sense of the word. They obviously love what they're doing and it shows through in the energy they bring to the show.

Left to right: Noah Jibke, RJ Thomas, Noah Huntley and Chase Coston, hamming it up

Director Debbie Skillman has these kids practicing all weekend and one weeknight, but the show features 20 scenes with 20 songs, so there is a lot to learn between music and choreography. And then there are lines. I was blown away by the fact these kids are "off book" already. The adults I've worked with weren't at this point. It's impressive.

So, whether you have an "Under 12" and can enter the contest or not, you will be doing yourself a favor to come see this show. It's pure joy, and the actors deserve your support. Please join us the last weekend in March and first weekend in April at the Brunswick Center for a great time watching Edwina and her gang doing their thing.

For more information or to buy tickets, please visit www.brunswicklittletheatre.com

BLT At Mardi Gras By The Sea

Brunswick Little Theatre participated in the Oak Island Mardi Gras By The Sea festival yesterday, and we had a blast!

Members of the cast of our Stagestruck Players' Dear Edwina Jr rode in the parade dressed in their Mardi
Gras finest and singing songs from the show. Director Debbie Skillman and board member (and Stagestruck mom) Melanie Tewell helped out passing out cards with show and BLT 2014 season information to parade watchers.

After the parade, BLT manned an information booth at the Mardi Gras By The Sea Craft Fair and Gumbo Cook-Off.  We were able to promote our season, speak with current and prospective patrons, recruit volunteers and increase awareness of our children's theater workshop, Let's PLAY!.We learned a few things from the experience -- Into The Woods is a very popular choice for a summer musical; there are quite a few people with theater experience around, we just need to reach them; and parents see the value in children's theatrical experiences like Let's Play! and Stagestruck.

From a publicity perspective, this was a banner day for BLT. We'd like to look for other opportunities to get our name and mission out in the community. If you have any ideas, or know of any upcoming events Brunswick Little Theatre could participate in, please drop me a line at jgstites@yahoo.com

January Happenings

Brunswick Little Theatre is hard at work creating a fun and exciting 2014 season.

Our first show of the year, the romantic musical comedy I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change will open in a new venue for us, The Brunswick Center at Southport, in a little over a month. I Love You will play February 21 and 22 and March 1 at 7:30 pm and on February 23 and March 2 at 3 pm. You can read more about Director Sue MacCallum and her talented cast and crew on our website here and also buy tickets for the show at our online box office. We hope to see you all there - it promises to be a great night out.

On the heels of our first show comes our annual Fundraiser Dinner and Dance. This year we will be celebrating Mardi Gras on Fat Tuesday, March 4 at the St. James Community Center from 6-10 pm. Join us for a night of fun with the Brunswick Big Band and a delicious New Orleans-inspired dinner including shrimp and grits and a gourmet pancake bar. It being Mardi Gras, of course there will be a costume contest, so come in your most creative get-up (Mardi Gras-themed or any costume that strikes your fancy) to join the fun or come as you are and enjoy the spectacle (and perhaps vote for the winners).  Wine, beer, food and entertainment are all included our $30/person ticket, so please come out and party in support of your local community theatre. Tickets and more information are available here.

BLT's children and youth programs go into full swing this month. Stagestruck Players has begun work on Dear Edwina JR with a auditions, casting and a first rehearsal already behind them. Director Debbie Skillman and her talented group of young thespians will bring this musical about a middle school-aged advice columnist and her friends to the Brunswick Center at Southport on March28-30 and April 4-6. If you haven't checked out a Stage Struck performance in the past, you owe it to yourself to see what a quality show these children produce. Also beginning this weekend is our Let's PLAY! children's theater workshop, which filled up all 30 slots within hours of opening registration. Director Jen Iapalucci will begin the first of eight 3-hour classes designed to both introduce children to the theatrical arts and hone the skills of experienced young performers. This workshop will culminate in a Showcase on March 16 to which all are invited.

We also have a new opportunity for you to become involved with Brunswick Little Theatre. At its January meeting the board of directors created a new Playreading Committee, charged with reading and rating plays and musicals to create a library of shows that BLT would be interested in and capable of producing in future seasons. Our hope is that this will help encourage new directors to join the BLT family by bringing proposals before the board. Our proposal process hasn't changed and any director, new to BLT or already experienced with our group, is free to propose any show he or she wishes. What we are looking for in connection to this new committee is volunteers to serve as members and ideas for shows the board committee should review. Members should be experienced in at least one area of production (such as acting, movement, music, tech, directing). Anyone interested in joining the committee or who has suggestions for shows to be considered is encouraged to contact committee chairman Debbie Skillman at dskillman@ec.rr.com.

Brunswick Little Theatre thanks you for your support of community theatre. We try hard to do as much as we can while keeping ticket prices as reasonable as possible. One help in that regard is individual and business contributions to, and memberships in, Brunswick Little Theatre. If you were a contributor to BLT in the past, we thank you and hope you will decide to continue your support. Of course, we also welcome new contributing members! All donations of at least $25 will receive mention in our program and all donations and support, be they monetary, time or simply good will, receive our most heartfelt thanks.

Read all about our program advertising opportunities and membership levels and donate online at our website.