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!

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.