Calling all volunteers!
Join us for a one-hour orientation and learn the ins and outs of the Bellingham Theatre Guild. We'll have some light refreshments, and we'll walk you through the various opportunities to join up with one of the longest-running community theaters in the country. We'll also tour our historic building.
We're looking forward to meeting you!
Casa Valentina
By Harvey Fierstein
Directed by Marla Bronstein
March 24 - April 9, 2023
Auditions: 1/29/23 – 1/31/23
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service
Nestled in the Catskills—1962’s land of dirty dancing and Borscht Belt comedy—an inconspicuous bungalow colony catered to a very special clientele: heterosexual men who delighted in dressing and acting as women. These white-collar professionals would discreetly escape their families to spend their weekends safely inhabiting their chosen female alter-egos. But given the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world, the members of this sorority had to decide whether the freedom gained by openness was worth the risk of personal ruin. Based on real events and infused with Fierstein’s trademark wit, this moving, insightful, and delightfully entertaining work offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of “self-made women” as they search for acceptance and happiness in their very own Garden of Eden.
Listen to Margaret Bikman discuss the play with cast members: https://kmre.org/podcasts/arts-entertainment-spotlight-with-margaret-bikman/
Casa Valentina
By Harvey Fierstein
Directed by Marla Bronstein
March 24 - April 9, 2023
Auditions: 1/29/23 – 1/31/23
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service
Nestled in the Catskills—1962’s land of dirty dancing and Borscht Belt comedy—an inconspicuous bungalow colony catered to a very special clientele: heterosexual men who delighted in dressing and acting as women. These white-collar professionals would discreetly escape their families to spend their weekends safely inhabiting their chosen female alter-egos. But given the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world, the members of this sorority had to decide whether the freedom gained by openness was worth the risk of personal ruin. Based on real events and infused with Fierstein’s trademark wit, this moving, insightful, and delightfully entertaining work offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of “self-made women” as they search for acceptance and happiness in their very own Garden of Eden.
Listen to Margaret Bikman discuss the play with cast members: https://kmre.org/podcasts/arts-entertainment-spotlight-with-margaret-bikman/
Casa Valentina
By Harvey Fierstein
Directed by Marla Bronstein
March 24 - April 9, 2023
Auditions: 1/29/23 – 1/31/23
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service
Nestled in the Catskills—1962’s land of dirty dancing and Borscht Belt comedy—an inconspicuous bungalow colony catered to a very special clientele: heterosexual men who delighted in dressing and acting as women. These white-collar professionals would discreetly escape their families to spend their weekends safely inhabiting their chosen female alter-egos. But given the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world, the members of this sorority had to decide whether the freedom gained by openness was worth the risk of personal ruin. Based on real events and infused with Fierstein’s trademark wit, this moving, insightful, and delightfully entertaining work offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of “self-made women” as they search for acceptance and happiness in their very own Garden of Eden.
Listen to Margaret Bikman discuss the play with cast members: https://kmre.org/podcasts/arts-entertainment-spotlight-with-margaret-bikman/
Casa Valentina
By Harvey Fierstein
Directed by Marla Bronstein
March 24 - April 9, 2023
Auditions: 1/29/23 – 1/31/23
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service
Nestled in the Catskills—1962’s land of dirty dancing and Borscht Belt comedy—an inconspicuous bungalow colony catered to a very special clientele: heterosexual men who delighted in dressing and acting as women. These white-collar professionals would discreetly escape their families to spend their weekends safely inhabiting their chosen female alter-egos. But given the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world, the members of this sorority had to decide whether the freedom gained by openness was worth the risk of personal ruin. Based on real events and infused with Fierstein’s trademark wit, this moving, insightful, and delightfully entertaining work offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of “self-made women” as they search for acceptance and happiness in their very own Garden of Eden.
Listen to Margaret Bikman discuss the play with cast members: https://kmre.org/podcasts/arts-entertainment-spotlight-with-margaret-bikman/
Casa Valentina
By Harvey Fierstein
Directed by Marla Bronstein
March 24 - April 9, 2023
Auditions: 1/29/23 – 1/31/23
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service
Nestled in the Catskills—1962’s land of dirty dancing and Borscht Belt comedy—an inconspicuous bungalow colony catered to a very special clientele: heterosexual men who delighted in dressing and acting as women. These white-collar professionals would discreetly escape their families to spend their weekends safely inhabiting their chosen female alter-egos. But given the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world, the members of this sorority had to decide whether the freedom gained by openness was worth the risk of personal ruin. Based on real events and infused with Fierstein’s trademark wit, this moving, insightful, and delightfully entertaining work offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of “self-made women” as they search for acceptance and happiness in their very own Garden of Eden.
Listen to Margaret Bikman discuss the play with cast members: https://kmre.org/podcasts/arts-entertainment-spotlight-with-margaret-bikman/
THERE ARE NO TICKETS NEEDED FOR THIS EVENT. Please just come to the BTG Playhouse on April 1.
LEND US YOUR EARS, the reading series at the Bellingham Theatre Guild, continues this season with Now and Then, Sean Grennan’s twisty comedy about the choices made for love, on April 1, 2022, at 2:00 pm. (No foolin’; we’re actually having a reading on April 1st.)
The Pay-What-You-Will performance, directed by Mish Kriz, follows a young couple closing a bar until an older stranger offers them money to stay after hours, which bares the lives of all concerned when another stranger arrives. Produced all over the world, and apparently a big hit in Croatia, Now and Then tenderly considers the price of love and the paths not taken. Sean Grennan’s seriocomic play will be performed in this single reading by Ian Bivins, Marla Bronstein, Zoe Bronstein, Les Campbell, and Heidi Sackerson and contains adult languages and situations.
LEND US YOUR EARS (with the mission: Good Plays Read Well) produces matinee readings with local actors in front of the curtains, with general admission seating and the audience choosing what it wants to pay. No reservations necessary and any questions can be directed to LUYE Artistic Director, Sean Walbeck (sean@gigglewax.com, 360-647-9242).
Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com)
Casa Valentina
By Harvey Fierstein
Directed by Marla Bronstein
March 24 - April 9, 2023
Auditions: 1/29/23 – 1/31/23
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service
Nestled in the Catskills—1962’s land of dirty dancing and Borscht Belt comedy—an inconspicuous bungalow colony catered to a very special clientele: heterosexual men who delighted in dressing and acting as women. These white-collar professionals would discreetly escape their families to spend their weekends safely inhabiting their chosen female alter-egos. But given the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world, the members of this sorority had to decide whether the freedom gained by openness was worth the risk of personal ruin. Based on real events and infused with Fierstein’s trademark wit, this moving, insightful, and delightfully entertaining work offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of “self-made women” as they search for acceptance and happiness in their very own Garden of Eden.
Listen to Margaret Bikman discuss the play with cast members: https://kmre.org/podcasts/arts-entertainment-spotlight-with-margaret-bikman/
Casa Valentina
By Harvey Fierstein
Directed by Marla Bronstein
March 24 - April 9, 2023
Auditions: 1/29/23 – 1/31/23
Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service
Nestled in the Catskills—1962’s land of dirty dancing and Borscht Belt comedy—an inconspicuous bungalow colony catered to a very special clientele: heterosexual men who delighted in dressing and acting as women. These white-collar professionals would discreetly escape their families to spend their weekends safely inhabiting their chosen female alter-egos. But given the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world, the members of this sorority had to decide whether the freedom gained by openness was worth the risk of personal ruin. Based on real events and infused with Fierstein’s trademark wit, this moving, insightful, and delightfully entertaining work offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of “self-made women” as they search for acceptance and happiness in their very own Garden of Eden.
Listen to Margaret Bikman discuss the play with cast members: https://kmre.org/podcasts/arts-entertainment-spotlight-with-margaret-bikman/
The Bellingham Theatre Guild will hold open auditions for our spring musical, She Loves Me, on Sunday, April 2nd, 2023, and Monday, April 3rd at 7:00 p.m. Call-backs will be held on Tuesday, April 4th at 7:00 p.m. Those who audition will be asked to sing 16-32 measures of a Broadway show tune (about 1 minute). Please bring sheet music for the accompanist, or an instrumental track and speaker. There will also be a short dance audition. Please dress for dance/movement. Cold readings will be done at call-backs only. Parts are available for 5 principal men, and 2 principal women. In addition, there are parts for 4-5 men and 4-5 women in the ensemble.
She Loves Me – Casting Requirements
WOMEN
Ilona Ritter – Employed at Maraczek’s Parfumerie. She is sexy and learned in the ways of romance, but longing for something more from the game of love. Needs some dance experience. Age range: mid-twenty to mid-thirty. Vocal range E5 to F#3
Amalia Balash – The eager new employee at Maraczek’s Parfumerie. Despite being a skilled saleswoman, she easily becomes intimated and nervous. Attractive, bright, and a lover of literature. Age range 20-30. Vocal range B5 to C4.
Ensemble Women – 4 or 5 women who play a variety of roles: customers, carolers, etc. Some members of the ensemble may understudy Amalia and Ilona. Age ranges-- various. High soprano to low alto. Some dancing is likely.
MEN
Arpad Laszlo – The delivery boy at Maraczek’s Parfumerie. His exuberance is infectious and commitment to his job remarkable. He is ambitious and adorable. Needs to be able to ride a bicycle. Age: 15-to young-looking 20’s. Vocal range – E4-Bb2.
Ladislov Sipos – Not the brightest employee at Maraczek’s Parfumerie. A confidant to Georg, he is an optimistic family man who looks like a huggable father. Age: 45-60 Vocal range E4-A2.
Steven Kodaly – A well-respected and liked employee at Maraczek’s Parfumerie. Though he is considered dapper and occasionally charming, he is a shallow womanizer. Age range: mid 20’s to mid-30’s. Vocal range: A4 – B2. Needs some dance skills.
Georg Nowack – An established employee of Maraczek’s Parfumerie, he is a hopeless romantic. Shy, intelligent, and soft spoken. Age range: mid 20’s to mid-30’s. Vocal range F4 – B2. This principal role requires strong acting skills.
Mr. Maraczek – Owner of Maraczek’s Parfumerie. With a commanding presence, his dedication to the trade is rivaled only by this faithfulness to his wife. Age range: mid- 50’s to 70’s. Vocal range: C4-B2. Some light dancing.
Ensemble Men – 4 or 5 men who play a variety of roles: customers, waiters, carolers, etc. Some members of the ensemble may understudy various principal roles. The ensemble includes The Head Waiter who has a solo number, and the busboy who has a dance solo. Age ranges from teen to 60's. High tenor to low bass. Some dancing is likely.
