Seeking a Few Good Men

We're still seeking a few good men for And then there were none... by Agatha Christie. All of Christie's roles are great, and we have a couple of men who die early (meaning not so many lines) and a couple who make it into the third act.

Rehearsals will be on Thursday nights and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. If everyone works smart, we won't have to work long.

Email us at theaterbisbee@gmail.com or call 520-432-2901.

Stay Tuned

We'll be posting pictures and videos from Slap Happy: The Second Dip soon. Keep an eye peeled.

Audition!!

We're having an open call for actors for And then there were none… by Agatha Christie. This is a classic mystery story: an odd group of characters has been invited to an island retreat by an unknown host. They die off one by one – whodunit? The cast features eight terrific men’s roles of all ages and three wonderful parts for women, two middle-aged and one to play mid-twenties. This play was pulled from production for years because of its earlier non-PC title, Ten Little Indians. Gilles will direct this show.

Auditions will be held in the O.J. Squffy Theater at Central School Project, 43 Howell Ave. in Old Bisbee on Saturday and Sunday, November 12 & 13, beginning at 1:00 each day.

Come prepared to deliver a one- to three-minute memorized monologue, not original work. We do need to know that you can memorize something, even a nursery rhyme. You will also read from the script. Rehearsals will be Thursday evenings and weekend afternoons through performance. Dress rehearsal and performance dates are scheduled for January 18-February 5, 2011. A copy of the script is available for reading at the Copper Queen Library. Actors may contact BOP at (520) 432-2901 or theaterbisbee@gmail.com for more information and to make arrangements for special audition appointments.

Director Rae Jones is also seeking one perfect male to play what may be the sweetest men’s role ever, the ghost of John Barrymore, in the hilarious comedy, I Hate Hamlet, by Paul Rudnick. The ideal candidate will have good movement skills and a big voice. To join our all-star Bisbee cast, contact Rae at theaterbisbee@gmail.com or at 520-432-2901 right away to schedule an audition. Rehearsals for I Hate Hamlet will be selected evenings and weekend afternoons February into April, with performances scheduled April 12-29. A script is available for reading at the Copper Queen Library.

Has BOP Gone to the Dogs?

Has BOP Gone to the Dogs?

In spite of some very fine acting on the part of her fellow cast members, Elsie Hanson got the loudest curtain call in Pearl Watkins’ Below the Surface. Elsie is the most loving pit bull on the planet, and she made her stage debut earlier this month at BOP. Building upon that success, BOP has found the comedy star they’ve long been seeking. Zane the One-Eyed Wonder Dog, aka the Zaniack, will be performing silly pet tricks in this year’s Comedy Show, Slap Happy – The Second Dip.

Zane will spin and roll his way around the stage for the joy and laughter of his audience. Purush is also dancing in this 9^th almost annual Comedy Show. This year Abigail Stage and Angelika Johnson join him to “Be Italian.” Emcee "Obscure" Rae Jones promises some new nipping comedy herself.

See them at Central School Project’s Squffy Theater, 43 Howell Ave. in Old Bisbee at 7:30 p.m. on October 28 & 29, and at 3:00 on October 30. Advanced tickets are on sale now for $10 each at Atalanta’s Music & Books and The Bisbee Food Coop, by mail from BOP at Box 277, Bisbee, 85603, and by credit card (add $1) by calling 520-432-2901. Any tickets left will be $12 at the door, $6 for students with ID. For more information, please contact Rae Jones at 520-432-2901 or at theaterbisbee@gmail.com. Parents are asked to exercise discretion as this show will contain adult themes and language.

 

Slap Happy: Comedy Times 9

 

Bisbee’s Obscure Productions is head over heels with excitement to present the 9^th installment of their (almost) annual Comedy Show, this year celebrating the country’s economic recovery (or not. . .). Local comics cut loose once again with stand-up, sketches, song, dance, and finally (!) the silly pet tricks we’ve been hoping for.

BOP is slaphappy to feature a cast of mostly veteran performers in this year’s show, headed up by emcee, “Obscure” Rae Jones. Jahfree Lambo, Liz Lockwood, Carl Purush Siberon, Yvonne Grimm & Bobo Sage are guaranteed to have you rolling with laughter once again. Sharon Strachan will be joined in her return to the BOP comedy stage by a newcomer to us, but not to the stage, local personality, Deb Gardner. Hilary Pursehouse of the hilarious “Oddvarks” will be on hand to lead local talent in her wild sketches and anything goes improv games. Hilary will also keep us rolling with laughter this year with her own stand-up debut. Jokester Will “Uri” Gronlund will be joined by his wife and interpreter, Patricia, to regale us with the humor of Russia.

BOP veteran, Christa Smith, will make her Comedy Show debut this year, as will new-to-our-stage comic, Steven McDiarmid. Zane the one-eyed wonder dog will strut his stuff with the help of his boss, Gilles. Believe me, Silly is Zane’s middle name.

This year’s festival of laughs will be held at the Central School Project’s Squffy Theater, 43 Howell Ave. in Old Bisbee at 7:30 p.m. on October 28 & 29, and at 3:00 on October 30. Advanced tickets are on sale now for $10 each at Atalanta’s Music & Books and The Bisbee Food Coop, by mail from BOP at Box 277, Bisbee, 85603, and by credit card (add $1) by calling 520-432-2901. Any tickets left will be $12 at the door, $6 for students with ID. For more information, please contact Rae Jones at 520-432-2901 or at theaterbisbee@gmail.com. Parents are asked to exercise discretion as this show does contain adult themes and language.

 

Two Fine One-Acts

Christa Smith, Rae E. Jones, Britt Hanson, Pearl Watkins
& Elsie in Below the Surface by Pearl Watkins

Jahfree Lambo, Will Gronlund & Peter Gardner
in Trifles by Susan Glaspell

We were quite pleased by the attendance at the Fine One-Acts, considering the fine competition -- Bisbee Community Chorus, the Love of Music, Mining Museum Fundraiser, etc. Our audiences were quite pleased by the quality of the two shows: Trifles by Susan Glaspell, and Below the Surface by Bisbee's own Pearl Watkins. Patrons praised the acting, the sets and the direction. We're quite chuffed, as Pearl would say. Thanks to our great volunteer actors and staff. Thank you all who came. And, if you didn't get to see these plays, please mark your calendars for the rest of our season.

October 28 - 30, 2011: Slap Happy, the Second Dip
BOP's 9th almost annual Comedy Show

January 20 - February 5, 2012
And then there were none...
by Agatha Christie

March 9 - 11, 2012
Bisbee Women's Revue

April 13 - 29, 2012
I Hate Hamlet
by Paul Rudnick
with an all-star cast

Ask your friends, BOP puts on a good show!

"Come to our Awesome Show"

Young actors have been working for weeks to create and produce a show they describe as "awesome." Bisbee's Obscure Productions began in June, asking their young performers to come up with ideas for their very own play. With help from director Rae Jones and assistant directors Christa Smith and Staci Smith, the actors brainstormed an adventurous trip around the galaxy. Molly Hottel tied their ideas into Journey through the Planets. Molly likes being in the play because she loved the writing process and because everyone contributed ideas. She thinks people should see "Journey" for its suspense, magic and drama.

For some of the actors, this workshop has been a family endeavor. Molly's sister Abby Hottel has appeared twice with BOP before, once in a kid's show and once in Inherit the Wind. Abby thinks the play is "great," and she enjoys the challenge of acting sick on stage. Zarria Starr Dennis has enjoyed working with different people and is looking forward to an audience. "It would be so great for us." Starr's twin Isabella Dennis likes how "you can make your own ideas and mix them."

Linda Herrera wants audience members to come to support "kids getting together and just having fun. It's going to be a great show." The youngest young actor, Hadleigh McLeod, says "I love acting," and "this play is really imaginative." Jasmine Apel finds that "acting is awesome," even though her mother made her join the troupe. "We have all worked so hard," she continues, "and it's awesome!

The whole community is invited to support this production. Tickets are free for kids 12 and under, $5 for everyone else. Journey Through the Planets will have two performances on August 5 & 6 at the “O. G. Squffy” Theater at Central School Project, 43 Howell Avenue in Old Bisbee. Performances for both evenings are scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

BOP's Youth Theater Workshop was made available free of charge to participants thanks to generous help from the Bisbee Arts Commission, the Bisbee Foundation, Central School Project and the Bisbee Rotary Club. Come out to support these budding stars and enjoy an evening of live theater. For more information contact Rae Jones, theaterbisbee@gmail.com, or
520-432-2901.

Let There Be Light!

Community Support that Really Counts!

A $500.00 challenge from
Warm Hands Therapeutics

Why did you move to Bisbee?

If you’re like many of us, it was for a multitude of good reasons, a key reason being Community.

Here in Bisbee, you have a chance to get to know each other, support each other, and, in turn, be supported when you need it.

Of the many things that bind Bisbee’s communities together one of the most visible, enduring, & entertaining is the yearly season of theater produced by Bisbee’s Obscure Productions.

If you had the chance to catch any of the sold-out performances of Inherit the Wind you felt what good theater can do for you and this community.

As part of their commitment to improving themselves with each production, it has become clear to Bisbee’s Obscure Productions that the time has come to install a reliable, versatile, up-to-date lighting & lighting control system.

To support that effort Warm Hands Therapeutics is issuing a $500.00 Matching Funds Challenge to the theater-goers and businesses of Bisbee.

All it takes for Bisbee’s Obscure Productions to get my $500.00 is for all of you to make donations that match or exceed that amount. The funds need to be received by mid-April, but we hope that the challenge will be successfully met by the end of March so that the installation work can precede as quickly as possible.

Donations can be made directly to Bisbee’s Obscure Productions in the form of checks or money orders sent to P.O. Box 277, Bisbee, AZ 85603, or you can drop them off at the Chamber of Commerce office on Main St. between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Please make sure that your donation is clearly marked “matching fund challenge” so that it gets correctly tallied.

I’m very excited about this chance to move things up to the next level for each of you, I hope your excitement will encourage you to join me in supporting the growth of our own Community’s Theater!

Thank-you for your support.

Nick Night/ Warm Hands Therapeutics

Inherit the Wind Sold Out

We will have a couple of house seats and perhaps seats from "no shows" available at the door for $12 each ($6 for students with ID). Plan to come half an hour before curtain and wait until 5 minutes before curtain. We'll try to seat everyone but can't promise a thing.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Inherit The Wind is selling out fast! Avoid disappointment. Get those last few tickets in your pocket now!

BOP Looking for Talented Women

Bisbee’s Obscure Productions Casting for 2011 Women’s Revue

Bisbee’s finest community theater, BOP, is putting out the call to Bisbee area women interested in sharing their performing talents in music, acting, poetry, dance, videography, comedy, and whatever we haven’t thought of. Three performances are scheduled for evenings, March 11 and 12, and the afternoon of March 13. Performers must also be available for a dress rehearsal evening of March 10. Performers and acts that Obscure Rae has not seen must contact her to schedule an audition. Performers will rehearse on their own. Rae can be reached at obscurerae@gmail.com or at 432-2901.

Last year’s return of this, once again annual, Bisbee treasure drew from performer’s original works and featured wonderful musical ensembles, as well as educational moments and lots of laughs. Pat Panther was joined by her daughter-in-law Danielle to sing the blues, and Risha Druckman joined her mother, Jenny, and others in an eclectic mix of original music, to add a nice family element we are pleased to promote.