Jeremy Heisner as Tom, Kya Teskey as Laura,
Gabriel Gast as Jim and Kathleen Shaughnessy as Amanda

Honk! Auditions Coming Up!

Auditions are coming up for BOP's (only) second musical, Honk! Honk! is a multigenerational show for all audiences – a funny, smart & wry retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Ugly Duckling." It is so fabulous that it beat out both The Lion King and Mamma Mia for the British Olivier Award, the equivalent of the US Tony Award.

The characters don't wear fur suits, though there might be a feather or two to grace a chapeau. Ducks, swans, geese and frogs are a pleasing amalgam of humans and critters. All actors play multiple roles with the exceptions of Ugly, Cat & Ida (Ugly’s mom). This gives our talented BOP actors a chance to triply please audiences with their talents.

Auditions will be held Saturday and Sunday, November 21 & 22, 2015, at 2:00 pm. If you can't make the scheduled auditions, you are encouraged to email or call for an appointment (theaterbisbee@gmail.com or 520.432.2901). Auditions will be held in Central School Project's Community Room, 43 Howell Avenue, Old Bisbee. 

Gilles directs, and we team up with Ben Caron as Music Director.

We're looking for talent ages 8 and up. If you're under 8 and have theater or music training (and discipline), you are welcome to show us your skills. Roles are:

• 4 men or older teens to play Ugly, the (nasty) Cat, Drake, Wild (!) Geese, etc.
• 4 women or older teens to play Ida, Penny (a lovely swan) Geese, Ducks, etc. 
• 4 or more kids: ducklings, froglets, crazy geese & more

Please bring a 1-3 minute memorized monologue (not original work) and a song with piano or karaoke accompaniment. Kids can bring a poem or nursery rhyme for a monologue. Dress to move.

Honk! will rehearse December 5, 2015 – February 25, 2016 on selected weekday evenings &

weekend afternoons. Rehearsals during the holidays TBD. We will do our best to accommodate your schedule, but we are looking for seriously committed performers. Performances will be February 26 – March 6, 2016, Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons.

A script will be available after November 9 at the Copper Queen Library. Check YouTube for music.

Bisbee’s Obscure Productions Open Stage Continues

A veritable deluge of Bisbee and area talent flooded the Central School Project stage at BOP’s first offering of Open Stage on October 16. The number, quality, and range of performers was beyond all expectations, and showed without a doubt that these fine folks had been seeking a venue.

That being noted, BOP’s Open Stage will continue with the next fun-filled offering happening on Friday, November 13, 7:00 p.m. (please note early start time), at Central School Project’s Squffy Theater, 43 Howell Ave., Old Bisbee. Admission is $1 to watch or to perform and snacks and beverages will be available for donation.

“Obscure” Rae tells audience members,  “This is an informal event. The door won’t lock at 7:00. Come late, leave early, come back. Whatever! I’m guessing you’ll want to see it all.”

Performers can contact emcee “Obscure” Rae for tech and venue information at 520-432-2901 or obscurerae@gmail.com

Don’t miss the fun!

The Glass Menagerie Auditions!, Sylvia continues, Open Mike on Steroids?

The joint is jumpin’ as BOP swings into our lucky 13^th Season! The brilliantly acted comedy, Sylvia, opened to a full house last Friday evening and will continue at 7:30 pm September 25, 26 and at 3:00 pm on the 27^th.  Look for tickets at Finder’s Keeper’s, Mimosa Market and Bisbee Food Coop.

Nearest and dearest to my heart at the moment is the upcoming auditions for Tennessee Williams', The Glass Menagerie, coming up on the heels of our Sylvia run. The auditions will be on October 3 & 4, 3:00 pm at CSP. I’ll be directing this much beloved classic drama and am looking for some fresh young talent to bring this story to life. Mother, Amanda, is 40ish plus, but Tom, Jim and Laura, the younger folk, must be able to play 20 up into early 30’s. Young women have talked to me, but I’m still seeking some eager young men. No experience necessary. I will train you up! The script is at the CQ library and you can call me with questions at 520-432-2901, if you’d like to know what you’re getting into. . . Hint: (Something magical!)

Open Mike on Steroids? I’m not sure BOP’s new and upcoming variety talent night, Open Stage, will be quite ready to pump up with the big leagues when we take the Squffy stage on October 16 at 7:00 pm.  (though I do love the way dear Britt pumped it up in his curtain speech) We will have snacks and drinks for donation, a stage and mikes, and at least a few fun and interesting acts to get us started. No sword swallowers or plate spinners yet, though, so come on out! Bring a buck and maybe an act and come on up to the 3^rd floor. Let’s have some fun and see what develops.

See you soon at the Squffy!

“Obscure” Rae

Sylvia Opens September 18

BOP Opens (Lucky) 13th Season with Sylvia

Bisbee’s Obscure Productions opens its 13^th season with Sylvia, a play about a dog, the man who adopts her, and the drama that results at home—with a lot of laughs along the way. Sylvia opens at the Central School Project’s Squffy Theater on Howell Avenue in Old Bisbee on Friday September 18. Opening Night will feature wine, sodas and treats by the BOP Bakers, by donation for your date night pleasure.

Greg (J. Carlos Peinado), suffering from an all-around mid-life crisis, adopts a stray dog, Sylvia (Christa Smith Gardner), at a park while playing hooky from his job. His wife Kate (Nikki Heinrich), re-starting her career after twenty-two years of suburban child raising, finds Sylvia to be a nuisance to the Manhattan social life that she aspires to join. But as Greg and Sylvia grow closer, Greg’s marriage strains to a breaking point. Always funny but never insincere, playwright A.R. Gurney’s script strongly hints that the relationship between Greg and Sylvia might be more than just that of a man and his very female dog.

Veteran Bisbee actor Steve Boveé takes on the challenge of playing three roles—Greg’s dog park acquaintance, Tom; Kate’s best friend, Phyllis; and Leslie, an androgynous psychiatrist—all of whom illuminate Greg’s and Kate’s emotions, moving the plot briskly along.

In a special touch, Sylvia’s musical interludes are performed live by Bisbee violinist Maggie Desbiens. Britt Hanson directs this stellar cast. Sylvia is a dog, patrons should expect some vulgar language.

There will be six performances: Fridays and Saturdays, September 18, 19, 25 and 26 at 7:30 pm and Sundays, September 20 & 27, at 3:00 pm.

New this year are Season Tickets! Save time and money by getting four plays for $6. Season tickets are available from BOP only by mail or by stopping by see Mitchell Reed-Tattan at several local events.

Bisbee’s Obscure Productions has two ticket outlets in Old Bisbee: Finders Keepers on Main Street and Mimosa Market on Brewery Gulch. Patrons can also purchase tickets at The Bisbee Food Coop in Lowell and directly from Bisbee’s Obscure Productions. Advance tickets are $10 for adults. For credit card sales from BOP, add $1 per ticket. Contact BOP at PO Box 277, Bisbee AZ 85603, 520.366.7257, or theaterbisbee@gmail.com for more information. Tickets are $12 at the door for adults and $6 for students.

 J. Carlos Peinado, Christa Smith Gardner and Nikki Heinrich in Sylvia.

Show us What YOU Got! The Glass Menagerie Auditions & Open Stage

BOP’s lucky 13th Season is almost set to begin with the witty and well acted opener Sylvia, by A.R. Gurney, on September 18. As the Sylvia actors hone their characters, other forces continue at work at BOP as well.

Hot on the heels of Sylvia’s closing, auditions for BOP’s second offering of the season will happen on October 3 & 4, beginning at 3:00 both days. Tennessee William’s classic and autobiographical drama, The Glass Menagerie, offers an opportunity for four fine actors to explore their dramatic range in another small cast piece. Two men able to play ages 20-40 are needed, as well as one woman to play 40+, and one woman to play 20-40. Read the script at the Copper Queen Library and see if one of these roles is just the one you, or someone you know, has been waiting for.

And all in the middle of that somewhere, is BOP’s first night of WHO KNOWS WHAT!? Our first Open Stage night, where not even your host, Obscure Rae knows who the stars will be until they arrive. Maybe they’ll be you, maybe a friend. Maybe someone fabulous, doing something you’d never expect!

Get your act ready for October 16 and bring it on down to the Squffy. Or come to watch. There’ll be snacks and drinks. Costs a buck.

See you all soon.

BOP has another NEW PHONE NUMBER

520-366-7257

Call this number to get the latest on tix and shows. Our producer, Mitchell A. Reed-Tattan is a font of information.

Looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you at the shows.

Season tickets are on sale now.$36 for all four shows.

Tickets for Sylvia by A.R. Gurney will be at the vendors by 8/24 at the latest.

BOP Preparing for Lucky 13

BOP has been dark since Cosi closed our lively and varied 2014-2015 season in April. Summer is the time when we clean up and fix up and get ready for our next season of ever more fabulous shows.

This summer’s work has featured the seamstresses and the fabric stuffers, rather than the carpenters and cleaners who usually do so much this time of year. We’re pleased to say that we’ve caught up on some areas of work! This summer’s work completes a project two years in the making, matching seat and back cushions for every seat in the “Squffy” Theater! Thanks again to Nick Night of Warm Hands Therapeutics for kicking off the fundraising and to all those who contributed and helped with the project. We’re still in need of donations to completely pay for our cushy tushies and to replace our aged grand curtain. (P. O. Box 277 Bisbee 85603. Tax deductible.)

The new cushions are stacked lovingly in the BOP studio ready to debut on the Opening Night of Sylvia, by A. R. Gurney, BOP’s first 2015-2016 offering. It so happens that this Opening Night represents the BOP directorial debut of much loved actor, Britt Hanson.

Sylvia has been in rehearsal with a stellar cast for a month or so now and promises to be a real treat. Four talented, hard working actors in a very funny and touching play. What more could we want? Maybe a violin player?

So look for BOP’s 3-fold season fliers, Sylvia information, ticket sales (including this season, SEASON TICKETS!) All coming soon! Sylvia coming September 18. Don’t miss it!

See you at the Squffy, 

“Obscure” Rae

Our (Lucky) 13th Season & Season Tickets

Just the facts, ma'am -- and gents, of course. We'll be getting into more detail as we get closer to opening.

Two big announcements: 

• We'll be offering a season ticket for this great year. Four plays for $36. Save a few bucks and assure yourself (and us) that you'll get to see all four shows.
• Open Stage Nights are a chance for you to perform. Come one, come all. Work on a song or a bit or a skit or a dance. Bring it over and show it off. Or -- you could just come to watch whomever and whatever shows up.

Performances: Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.

Except for Open Stages which are at 7 pm. See dates below.

Tickets:

Adults: $10 in advance, $12 at the door

Students / children: $6 at the door only*

Credit cards through BOP with a $1/ticket surcharge

Ticket Sellers:

Finders Keepers, Main Street in Old Bisbee

Mimosa Market, Brewery Gulch

Bisbee Food Coop, Lowell

Season and single show tix are available by mail from BOP, PO Box 277, Bisbee AZ 85603

Contact:

520.255.2097

theaterbisbee@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook

Website:  https://sites.google.com/site/bisbeesobscureproductions/

New this year

Open Stage

BOP will present almost monthly Open Stage nights at the Squffy, informal evenings of what BOP hopes will be the widest variety of acts seen onstage since Ed Sullivan. Not even the host, “Obscure” Rae will know what the show will be until it is. Come to perform or come to watch. Tickets are only $1, and there will be refreshments to purchase.

Fridays at 7:00 pm -- October 16, November 13, December 11, January 8, February 19, March 25, April 8

Sylvia by A.R. Gurney

September 18 - 27

Sylvia is a dog. Played by Sarah Jessica Parker on Broadway, Sylvia inspires a man in a mid-life crisis to adopt her. His wife, with kids off to college and a new life in Manhattan, is less than inspired. The conflict will leave you laughing...and in tears.

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

November 27 – December 6

A beloved memory play drawn from the life of the playwright. Tom Wingfield has a poet’s soul and a job in a shoe factory. This classic drama invites us into the Wingfield’s dysfunctional and delusional world. Touching, charming, and inevitably tragic.

Honk! Book & Lyrics by Anthony Drewe, Music by George  Stiles

Winner of the 2000 Olivier Award for Best Musical, this is a heartwarming show for the whole family. Honk! is a retelling of The Ugly Duckling with one of  BOP’s best multi-generational casts. Ugly meets a world of great characters and discovers that being yourself is the best and that different is the way to be.

February 26 – March 6

*We will have a limited number of free children’s tickets for Honk! thanks to grant support from the Bisbee Foundation and the Bisbee Arts Commission. Details to come.

Dixie Swim Club by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope & Jamie Wooten

Follow five unforgettable friends, who met on a college swim team. Each summer they meet on a beach to re-forge those friendships and support each other through trivial frustrations and life-changing events.

April 15 - 24