The Gallery Players

The Gallery Players announces auditions for upcoming AEA showcase (approval pending) production of The House of Blue Leaves by John Guare. Director Dev Bondarin; Producers Neal J. Freeman and Brian Michael Flanagan for The Gallery Players.

Rehearsals begin Saturday Aug 15, evenings and weekends. Run Sept 12 – 27, Thursday-Sunday. All auditions, rehearsals, and performances at The Gallery Players, 199 14th Street, Brooklyn.

Auditions by appointment Saturday 8/1 12pm-4pm for selected characters (*). Email headshot/resume to auditions@galleryplayers.com. No phone calls. Indicate clearly the character(s) you are submitting for.

Open call auditions for all characters Monday 8/3 and Tuesday 8/4 7-9pm (sign-in begins 6:30pm, AEA priority). No submissions necessary for open calls; just show up.

Callbacks 8/5 and 8/6.

Please prepare a contemporary comedic monologue, 2 min or less. Please have a contrasting monologue prepared if requested. Actors auditioning for Artie may be asked to sing a brief song a cappella.

Seeking 6 Women, 5 Men

Artie Shaughnessy*, M, late 30s-40s. An “everyman.” A zookeeper with big dreams. Ambivalent in his current life, he is an aspiring songwriter and longs to make it big. Needs to carry a tune. Ability to play piano a plus.

Bananas Shaughnessy*, F, late 30s-40s. Artie’s wife. Suffers from a form of psychosis. Loves her family and longs for the past. Often seems lucid.

Bunny Flingus*, F, 30s-40s. Arties’s girlfriend. Energetic, excitable, and a bit manic. Has big dreams.

Ronnie Shaughnessy, M, early 20s. (Must look 18-19). The son of Artie and Bananas. Determined. An AWOL soldier who wants to blow up the Pope.

Billy Einhorn, M, 40s. Successful film producer. Likes to schmooze.

Corinna Stroller, F, 20s-30s. Movie starlet. Vapid but with a good heart.

Head Nun, F, 30s-50s. The leader of a group of three nuns who travel to Queens together. Head strong.

Second Nun, F, 20s-30s. Follows the leader. A bit of a ditz.

Little Nun, F, 20s. Young and starry eyed. Unsure if the convent is the life for her.

The White Man, M, 20s-50s. An official from an asylum. Gets the job done. (Walk on role).

The MP, M, 30s-50s. A policeman sent to retrieve AWOL soldiers. Determined. (Walk on role).

All roles open All ethnicities are encouraged to audition. Equity/Non-Equity. No Pay. (AEA members receive travel stipend)

by William Inge

March 14-29, 2008

Producer: Amanda White/The Gallery Players
Director: Heather Siobhan Curran
Production Stage Manager: Trevor Regars
Associate Producer: Brian Michael Flanagan
Set Design: Edward T. Morris
Costume Design: Meredith Neal
Props Design: Nicole Gaignat
Lighting Design: Mike Billings
Sound Design: Neal J. Freeman
Assistant Stage Manager: Rebekah Hughston

The Cast

Elma Duckworth – Rebecca Dealy
Grace Hoylard – Annie Paul*
Will Masters – Brad Thomason*
Cherie – Alisha Spielmann
Dr. Gerald Lyman – John Blaylock*
Carl – Justin Herfel*
Virgil Blessing – Shawn Parsons
Bo Decker – Brad Lewandowski*

*appears courtesy Actors’ Equity Association

Pictured (l to r): Brad Lewandowski, Shawn Parsons, and Alisha Spielmann in The Gallery Players’ production of Bus Stop by William Inge. Photo by Bella Muccari.

“Bus Stop is a good stop-off to get a slice of classic Americana and reflect on the difficulty of letting oneself love and be loved. The predicaments and hard-learned love lessons remain relevant and universal. Under Heather Siobhan Curran’s direction, we smoothly pop in and out of the different conversations. Bus Stop is an engaging look at romantic love in various and some slightly nefarious forms.” -Lucile Scott, nytheatre.com

“The Gallery Players’ production does everything right…Do yourself a favor, pull off to the side of the road and take a break at this Bus Stop.” -The Neighborbee Blog

“Director Heather Siobhan Curran has crafted a strong production which humorously reveals the folly and the loneliness of being human. Despite its age, Inge’s Bus Stop can still speak to us all.” -Shari Perkins, theateronline.com

For the first time in over a decade, William Inge returns to Brooklyn with The Gallery Players’ revival of his classic drama, Bus Stop.

In the middle of a howling snowstorm, a bus out of Kansas City pulls up at a cheerful roadside diner. All roads are blocked, and four or five weary travelers are going to have to hole up until morning. Cherie, a nightclub chanteuse in a sparkling gown and a seedy fur-trimmed jacket, is the passenger with most to worry about. She’s been pursued, made love to and finally kidnapped by a twenty-one-year-old cowboy with a ranch of his own and the romantic methods of an unusually headstrong bull. The belligerent cowhand is right behind her, ready to sling her over his shoulder and carry her, alive and kicking, all the way to Montana. Even as she’s ducking out from under his clumsy but confident embraces, and screeching at him fiercely to shut him up, she pauses to furrow her forehead and muse, “Somehow deep inside of me I got a funny feeling I’m gonna end up in Montana …”

Pictured (l to r): Alisha Spielmann, John Blaylock, and Rebecca Dealy in The Gallery Players’ production of Bus Stop by William Inge. Photo by Bella Muccari.

The Gallery Players’ Artistic Director Heather Siobhan Curran teams up with Producer Amanda White (Standing Theatre, teacher and performer; William Inge Theater Festival) to bring this archetypal American drama to The Gallery Players’ stage. Says Curran, “What a thrill it has been to bring one of our great American plays to Gallery’s stage with this wonderful ensemble cast. And having the dramaturgical assistance of Amanda White and the Inge Center has proved invaluable. Although there is a current of loneliness and loss that runs throughout William Inge’s plays, he has great affection for the people in this small town. All of the characters in Bus Stop are searching for love; some find the accepting their loneliness to be the choice they make. Even though Inge’s characters in Bus Stop are very much a product of the 1950’s America; he allows them to transcend the cultural politics of the time and we find ourselves drawn into their world, nose pressed against that window, as we search and reassess our choices.”

Pictured (l to r): Brad Lewandowski, Shawn Parsons, and Alisha Spielmann in The Gallery Players’ production of Bus Stop by William Inge. Photo by Bella Muccari.

Performance Schedule

Sat. March 14th 8 pm - opening night!
Sun. March 15th 3 pm - matinee
Thu. March 19th 8 pm
Fri. March 20th 8 pm - alumni night
Sat. March 21st 2 pm - matinee
Sat. March 21st 8 pm
Sun March 22nd 3 pm - matinee
Thu. March 26th 8 pm
Fri. March 27th 8 pm
Sat. March 28th 2 pm - matinee
Sat. March 28th 8 pm
Sun. March 29th 3 pm - matinee/ final performance, panel discussion** to follow

Pictured (l to r): Panel discussion leader Michael Pressman with director Heather Siobhan Curran. Mr. Pressman was the director of the recent Broadway revival of Inge’s Come Back, Little Sheba at Manhattan Theatre Club featuring S. Epatha Merkerson.

Taught by theater professionals, at The Peanut Gallery students grades 1-6 will create and perform an original show with songs from Broadway musicals - ALL IN ONE WEEK! An official Peanut Gallery T-Shirt is included, plus a Pizza Party following the performance for all cast members, family and friends.

2009 Camp Sessions

Five Classes 9AM-2PM

July 6-10 (grades 1-3)
July 13-17 (grades 4-6)
July 20-24 (grades 1-3)
July 27-31 (grades 4-6)

Schedule: Monday-Friday, 9AM-2PM
Please drop off your child no earlier than 8:45AM and pick up no later than 2:15PM.

Performance begins around 1:30PM on the last day of class.

After-care is available.

Bring your own lunch. Water will be provided.

2009 Instructors:
Jennifier Strycharz (Director/Choreographer)
Erika Berger (Director/Choreographer)
Diedre Friel (Music Director)
Zach Kampler (Music Director)

Sign Up Today! Pay the Peanut Gallery registration fee by credit card on-line by clicking here (scroll down to bottom of the webpage). Then click the image below to see the sign-up form. Print out the form, complete it (please note on the form that you paid on-line), and send to: The Gallery Players, ATT: The Peanut Gallery, 199 14th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215.

House Manager positions available (ongoing)

The House Manager oversees all audience-related tasks, including the operation of the box office and concession stand by volunteer ushers and the opening and closing of the house, as well as processes cash intake and evening reports. Needed for performances only, plus training. Performances are Thu-Sat at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm. (The last two Saturdays of each production have 2pm and 8pm perfs.) Looking for an individual who can commit to a minimum of 4 performances. Small stipend pay available.

If interested please e-mail letter of interest and/or resume with HOUSE MANAGER in the subject line to volunteer@galleryplayers.com.

Be a part of The Gallery Players by volunteering! With 8 productions every season, there’s a lot that you can help with, and there are some great benefits. Here’s what we need:

• Set Building/Painting Volunteers (previous experience not required; lunch provided)
• Box Office Volunteers (free show admission included)
• Concessions Volunteers (free show admission included)
• Raffle and Mailing List Sign-Up Volunteers (free show admission included)
• Audition Monitors (free Thursday show admission included)
• Postcard distribution Volunteers (free Thursday show admission included)

To inquire about any of these Volunteers positions, please e-mail volunteer(at)galleryplayers.com.