Video and Ticket Offer: Wimberley Players' 2014 Theatre Season (offer expires December 31, 2013)

Video by Reed Neal at the 2014 season announcement:

20% savings on 2014 tickets When you purchase Season Tickets online at www.wimberleyplayers.org or call 512-847-0575

Wimberley Players' 2014 Theatre Season

(www.wimberleyplayers.org)

Video: Wimberley Players Reflect on 'Stay' by Sheila Cowley, September 13 - October 6, 2013

David McCullars' video with glimpses of the performance and comments by the cast of







production of

Deanna Lalich, Aaron Johnson (photo: Wimberley Players)

Stay

by Sheila Cowley

Sept. 13 – Oct. 6, 2013

Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

Reserved Seating $18; Opening Night $20; Students $9 with ID, except opening night.

450 Old Kyle Road, Wimberley, TX -- click for map

A Texas premiere! A gripping psychological drama about a marriage on the brink whose pulse refuses to stop throbbing. It’s the story of dark, complicated relationships and the nature of trust, love, sacrifice, and ultimately letting go. Stay revolves around an eye surgeon who, in a desperate attempt to keep her husband from leaving her, convinces him that he’s been blinded in an accident. As she struggles to keep him, her lies grow and become all too real.

Featuring comments by Will Mercer, Deanna Lalich and Aaron Johnson

with them and Leigh Shelton in scenes from the play

Video by David McCullars 

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Stay by Sheila Cowley, Wimberley Players, September 13 - October 6, 2013

by Michael Meigs

The Wimberley Players give Sheila Cowley's Stay a quality production with a strong cast and superb production values. This piece by the Florida playwright had its premiere with the Players Theatre in Sarasota, and its transfer between local theatres ready to try out new work is an encouraging sign that not all such venues are in lockstep with the likes of Arsenic and Old Lace, Neil Simon and the Texas gothic comedies of Jones, Hope & Wooten.

Deanna Lalich is Leanne Abrams, a quietly moody physician separated from Mark, her journalist husband of twenty years, played by Aaron Johnson. He's one of those lost sheep that keeps returning; although he has a new girlfriend, he inevitably gravitates back to the apartment to pick up clothes, books and the mothering of his perhaps-soon-to-be-ex-wife. Early in the opening act Mark deposits a legal document requiring Leanne's signature, presumably necessary for some sort of no-fault divorce.

Flashbacks designated by special lighting effects take us back to the couple's earliest years, when Mark had just gotten his big job and Leanne was on her way to med school. Playwright Cowley explores repeatedly the dynamic between them, with Mark's excited, distracted talk about The Places He'll Go and Leanne's ever-patient tracking and correcting of his schedules. We hear this trope again and again, with Leanne always resorting to a wistful, unsubstantiated, "It'll be all right. . . ."

These two appealing actors work that territory as far as it can be worked, but their relationship never becomes more vivid or understandable. Cowley is asking us just to assume the best and believe that they're real people. Though Leanne turns out to be an opthalmologic surgeon, a wizard in transplanting corneas, we never hear her talk about medicine other than to lament that a girl patient of hers is still waiting for transplants. Cowley has Mark the journalist bubble about the exotic destinations that his media organization is sending him to, and evidently has been sending him to for the past twenty years, but other than that the character doesn't have a thought in his head. The two don't give us any real insight into their de facto decision not to have children, and we hear almost nothing about their history or relationship, other than his bouncing off the walls with enthusiasm like a five-year-old and her solid acceptance of him like an eternally indulgent mommy.

Aaron Johnson, Deanna Lalich (photo: Wimberley Players)

The title Stay voices Leanne's yearning for her husband, and the promotional photo of the blindfolded Mark and the contemplative Leanne suggests the central ploy of this plot. Applying her medicines, Leanne deceives Mark into thinking that he has been in a car accident and has only just roused from lengthy unconsciousness to find himself with eyes blindfolded, utterly dependent upon the wife he would sort of like to stay with if only he wasn't fascinated by his much younger female editor and feeling obliged to stay with that woman, who's pregnant by him.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

STAY by Sheila Cowley, Wimberley Players, September 13 - October 6, 2013

(450 Old Kyle Road, Wimberley, TX -- click for map)

present

Stay

By Sheila Cowley
Sept. 13 – Oct. 6
Fridays& Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
Reserved Seating $18; Opening Night $20; Students $9 with ID, except opening night.

 

Aaron Johnson, Deanna Lalich (photo: Wimberley Players)

 A Texas premiere! A gripping psychological drama about a marriage on the brink whose pulse refuses to stop throbbing. It’s the story of dark, complicated relationships and the nature of trust, love, sacrifice, and ultimately letting go. And yet these are real people: we’ve known them; we’ve been them.

“Stay” revolves around an eye surgeon who, in a desperate attempt to keep her husband from leaving her, convinces him that he’s been blinded in an accident. As she struggles to keep him, her lies grow and become all too real.

You will never forget the final scene.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Auditions in Austin and Wimberley for You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, September 7 and 8, 2013

The Wimberley Players announce open auditions for You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1999 revised version) September 7 at the Austin Waldorf School , 8702 S View Rd (click for map; click 'Read more' below for additional driving directions) and September 8 at the Wimberley Players' theatre , 450 Old Kyle Rd, Wimberley(click for map). 

Based on the comic strip "Peanuts" by Charles M. Schulz with book, music, and lyrics by Clark Gessner, the show will be directed and choreographed by Jim Lindsay with music directed and conducted by Peter Stopschinski.

We seek to cast 4 men and 2 women for various leading roles, plus 2 ensemble female roles. All will be 18 or older. All roles are open and ethnic diversity is encouraged. All performers will need to act and sing well, have strong harmonizing skills, and dance in musical theatre style with some beginning tap/soft shoe skills. No pay or honoraria is offered. Named roles are those of Charlie Brown, Sally Brown, Linus Van Pelt, Lucy Van Pelt, Snoopy and Shroeder (click 'Read more' for character descriptions and vocal requirements). Candidates can access any number of scenes from the show on www.youtube.com, some from the most recent Broadway production and many meritable university and local revivals.

For preliminary auditions all actors should prepare one up-tempo song and one ballad to showcase range, vocal strength and, preferably, the joy, fun, and childlike spirit that the show exhibits. You may be asked to sing both songs in their entirety or a cut. Please prepare for both scenarios. An accompanist will be provided. Bring a recent headshot and resume or be prepared to have a photo taken upon your arrival if you do not have a headshot. Actors may choose to sing a song from the show but this is not a requirement.
Auditions will also consist of a 1-2 minute monologue from a play or musical of the actor's choosing. Monologues in the style of the show encouraged --i.e., humor, childlike sentiment, and simple joy may be themes illustrated in the actor's monologue. You may access various pieces from the show as audition material. You may perform your audition segments in any order you desire. Please come to auditions prepared to provide your most transparent understanding of your rehearsal conflicts for the following dates: September 22 (initial reading); October 6-November 13 (rehearsals); November 14-December 8 (Friday, Saturday performances at 7:30; Sundays at 2:30)
Call backs All actors who are called back will complete the following (in this order):
- one dance combination, which will be taught at the time of call backs, in groups
- one harmonizing exercise which will be taught at the time of call backs
- one monologue or scene, and/ or song, indicated below. Actors can prepare if they so choose, though it is recommended.

Call backs (vocal cuts available at auditions)
- All actors for Charlie Brown will prepare "The Kite" if called back.
- All actors for Sally will be asked to sing "My Philosophy" cut if called back for this role.
-All actors for Snoopy will be asked to sing "Suppertime" cut if called back.
- If auditioning for Schroeder, please prepare vocal cut from "Beethoven Day."
- If called back for Linus, please prepare vocal cut from "My Blanket and Me."
- Actors called back for Lucy will prepare vocal cut from "Schroeder."

- All actors auditioning for roles may also be asked to prepare a cold reading of a selection from the script, TBD.

- Actresses auditioning for the 2 female ensemble roles will not need to prepare a separate cut. Your call back will determine your eligibility and will be based on harmonizing, dance, general acting, conflicts, and look.
All performers will be expected to dance in musical theatre style including some soft shoe as "My Blanket and Me" will include an all cast dance break. If you have tap experience, you will be asked to indicate that on your audition form.

Audition and Callback Dates: venue for the September 7 auditions has changed: these will take place at the performing arts center of the Austin Waldorf School, 8700 South View Rd., 78737 (click for map) from 10 AM- 1 PM. September 8 auditions will take place at Wimberley Playhouse Theatre, 450 Old Kyle Road, Wimberley, TX from 7-9 PM. Call backs will take place together at the theatre on September 8 from 9-10:30 PM. We will do our best to complete the entire call back by this time. That said, we may extend, but this is not expected.
After a first read- and sing-through, actors will have 3 weeks off to learn parts, music, and harmonies, which will be accessible via drop box. The production team has a goal of conducting 50% of rehearsals in an Austin location (TBD), 50% at Wimberley playhouse, depending upon how we cast, manage conflicts, etc.
To schedule an audition appointment, please call the theatre at 512.632.7638 or email your request at adam@adamwitko.com. Do not send head shots and resumes via email. This contact information is for audition requests only. All scheduled appointments will be accommodated as closely to their scheduled time as possible. Walk-ins will be accommodated as we are able.

Click to view driving directions for Waldorf School and list of characters and requirements, at AustinLiveTheatre.com 

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW by William Shakespeare, Wimberley Players, June 12 - 20, 2013

(450 Old Kyle Road, Wimberley, TX -- click for map)

present
The Taming of the Shrew
By William Shakespeare
June 12-June 30 & July 12-July 21
Fridays & Saturdays 7:30 pm - Sundays 2:30 pm
(no shows over July 4 weekend)

Directed by Melissa May-Moncus
Original music by Gordon Jones
Reserved Seating $18
Opening Night $20
Students $9 with ID, except opening night.

Shakespeare’s classic comedy of the war between the sexes follows the story of two sisters: Katherine, an angry and menacing woman who wants nothing to do with men, and her dutiful younger sister Bianca, a lovely docile girl whose hand in marriage is sought by many men. When their father declares that Bianca many not marry until Katherine is wed, all hope for Bianca’ future seems lost. Then the macho Petruchio breezes into Padua looking for a wealthy wife—a plot is hatched! This show is a “cutting” of the Bard’s original, condensing the madcap comedy.
(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST, musical by Joshua Williams and Ryan Hamilton, Wimberley Players, April 12 - May 5, 2013

The Wimberley Players present

APRIL 12 - MAY 5

A dramatic musical comedy

Music & Libretto by JOSHUA WILLIAMS

Book by JOSHUA WILLIAMS &RYAN HAMILTON

Directed by Laura T. Garza

Wimberley Players,450 Old Kyle Road,Wimberley, Texas 78676 -- click for map

Fridays/Saturdays 7:30 pm

Sunday Matinees 2:30 pm

Reserved seats $18. Opening night, with sweets at intermission, $20.
Students $9 with ID, except opening night. Groups of 8 or more, $16 each. 

Tickets at www.wimberleyplayers.org or call 512-847-0575.

Fun for the Whole Family!

Set in the 1920s, this charming comedy follows a young American family who move into a medieval English manor haunted by a fine and respectable ghost. Since Americans are mostly skeptical of ghosts, the plot is a witty send up of all the stereotypes associated with tradition on both sides of the pond. Funny! With lots of singing and dancing.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Auditions in Wimberley for The Taming of the Shrew, Wimberley Players, March 23 and 24, 2013

proudly announce auditions for The Taming of The Shrew by William Shakespeare, Saturday 3/23/13 from 1-4p.m. Sunday 3/24/13 from 2-4p.m.

Callbacks Monday 3/25/13 6-8:30p.m. Performances: June 21-June30 and July 12-July 21.

Directed by Melissa May-Moncus with original music by Gordon Jones.

What to expect in the auditions: You do not have to prepare anything. If you would like to perform a prepared monologue, we would love to see it. We will perform cold readings of the script. Wear comfortable clothing as we will move around a lot and if you would like to be considered for the singing ensemble, you will be asked to sing something a cappella or to your own taped accompaniment. New groups will go in every hour so please arrive a few minutes before the hour to fill out an audition sheet. Each hour we will escort the next group in, warm up, hear prepared monologues and songs and then read from the script. We are looking for a multi-racial and multi-generational cast. Novices and those who have never attempted Shakespeare before are more than welcomed! Come have fun with us!

Shakespeare’s classic comedy of the war between the sexes follows the story of two sisters from the wealthy Minola family;, Katherine, an angry and menacing woman who wants nothing to do with men, and her dutiful younger sister Bianca, a lovely docile girl whom many men wish to wed. When their father declares that Bianca may not marry until Katherine, the older, is wed, all hope seems to be lost. Then Petruchio, a masculine and confident visitor to town breezes into Padua looking for a wealthy wife and a plot is hatched!

What to expect in the Callbacks: The callbacks are where the director starts really putting the cast together. If you are invited to the callbacks it means that the director needs to see you with different combinations of actors to see who works best together. You will be given a rehearsal schedule breakdown at callbacks. Please bring your calendar and any conflicts you may have through July 21st. In callbacks, we will delve more into the commedia performance style and conduct more readings.

Click to view character listwith descriptions at AustinLiveTheatre.com

DEATH OF A SALESMAN by Arthur Miller, Wimberley Players, February 8 - March 3, 2013

(450 Old Kyle Road, Wimberley, TX -- click for map)

present

Purchase tckets online or call (512) 847-0575

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

2013 Season for the Wimberley Players

Auditions in Wimberley for Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Wimberley Players, December 12 and 14

Audition Notice – Death of a Salesman; casting 8 men and 5 women.



The Wimberley Players are auditioning for Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, directed by Aaron Johnson, on December 12th and 14th from 7:00pm – 10:00pm, with callbacks on December 16th, also from 2:00pm – 6:00pm. Actors are encouraged but not required to prepare a dramatic monologue of up to two minutes in length from an American drama from the last sixty years. Sides from the script will also be available for cold readings. Callbacks will consist entirely of cold readings. To make an appointment for an audition and/or to check out a copy of the script, please contact executive producer Adam Witko (adam@adamwitko.commailto:adam@adamwitko.com).

Wimberley Players: 450 Old Kyle Rd. Wimberley, TX: (click for map: www.wimberleyplayers.org/directions.html).


Performances: February 8th – March 3rd; Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30pm, Sundays @ 2:30pm.


Contacts: Adam Witko, Executive Producer: (adam@adamwitko.com) and Aaron Johnson, Director: (aj1263@txstate.edu).


Synopsis: Willy Loman, an aging traveling salesman, returns early from a business trip after nearly crashing his car. Willy’s wife, Linda, encourages him to ask his boss for a local office job at the New York headquarters. Willy's son, Biff, has just returned home from working as a farmhand in the West. Willy thinks Biff could easily be rich and successful, but that he is wasting his talents and needs to get on track. Biff learns that Willy has been having flashbacks and talking to imagined people as if they were real. He decides to stay close to home and help his dad. The next day Willy meets with his boss, but rather than receiving a transfer to the New York office, Willy is fired. In the meantime, we learn that Biff's plans have gone awry, and that the man he was counting on for a business loan wouldn’t even see him. Biff struggles to explain what happened to his father. Willy tries to pretend it isn’t true and starts “daydreaming” again. His two sons ditch him at a restaurant, but when they return home, they find their mother waiting for them, fuming mad. A massive argument erupts with Biff finally admitting he is a failure and can’t live up to his father's expectations. Willy, finally coming to terms with being a failure, commits suicide so that his family can collect the life insurance money. 

Click to view character descriptions at AustinLiveTheatre.com

Upcoming: Sordid Lives by Del Shores, Wimberley Playhouse, November 7 - December 2

present

SORDID LIVES

by Del Shores
Directed by Aaron Johnson
November 9 – December 2

Preview with Author Talk-back Nov. 7 at 8:00
Friday and Saturday Evenings 8:00 p.m.
Sunday Matinees 2:30 p.m.
Wimberley Playhouse • 450 Old Kyle Road Wimberley TX 78676
Reserved seats $18. Opening night $20 with reception.
Students $10 with ID
For mature audiences, contains strong language and adult situations.
For tickets: www.wimberleyplayers.org or call 512-847-0575



This is a tale of hilarity and humanity, set in motion by the bizarre death of Peggy Ingraham, the matriarch of a dysfunctional, working-class Texas family. There’s Peggy's daughter Latrelle, her cross-dresser sibling, Brother Boy - a dedicated Tammy Wynette impersonator - and sister LaVonda, who argues that Brother Boy should be released from the confines of an institution to attend the funeral. Latrelle's actor son Ty is pondering his return home and how and when he might come out to his mother. Meanwhile, the sisters argue about burying their mother in her beloved fox fur, when it’s just so hot outside. A tale of larger-than-life comedic characters with touching humanity.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

AustinLiveTheatre Video: Once Upon A Mattress, Wimberley Players, September 14 - October 9

AustinLiveTheatre.com visits the Wimberley Players in Wimberley, Texas, for the dress rehearsal of the musical Once Upon A Mattressand and for interviews of director David Schneider and assistant director Ellen Massey. This sparkling musical runs Fridays - Sundays, September 14 - October 9.

Auditions in Wimberley for Sordid Lives by Del Shores, Wimberley Players, September 5 and 12

The Wimberley Players will audition for Sordid Lives by Del Shores, directed by Aaron Johnson, Wednesdays Sept. 5th and 12th from 7:00 p.m – 10:00 p.m. at The Wimberley Players, 450 Old Kyle Rd, Wimberley, TX (click for map). Callbacks Thursday Sept. 13th from 7:00pm – 10:00pm.

 
Casting: 6 men and 7 women. Show dates: 4 weekends - opening Fri 11/9, closing Sun 12/2 ; performances on Fri/Sat @ 8pm; 2:30 performance on Sun.

Actors are encouraged but not required to prepare a 2 minute monologue from a contemporary comedy for the auditions. Sides from the script will also be available for cold readings. Callbacks will consist entirely of cold readings from the script. Women auditioning for the role of Bitsy Mae Harling should be prepared to sing and accompany themselves on guitar. Contact: Scripts & Info: Adam Witko, Executive Producer, 512/632-7638; adam@adamwitko.com

When Peggy, a good Christian woman, dies tripping over the detached wooden legs of her best friend's husband, with whom she was having an affair, three generations of her outlandish family and assorted peculiar friends are brought together to mourn. Peggy's sister Sissy, is left to manage the many skeletons in the family closet. She must mediate between Peggy’s daughters, the uptight Latrelle and more liberal LaVonda, as well as trying to comfort her neighbor, Noleta whose husband, G.W., was Peggy's lover. She must also arrange for her nephew, Brother Boy, to be released from the insane asylum where he has been locked up for twenty three years after his best friend Wardell found out that he was gay and assaulted him, and clear the way for Latrelle's son Ty, who is an actor and is also gay, but has yet to come out to his mother.

Click to view character list and descriptions at AustinLiveTheatre.com. . . .

Upcoming:ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, Wimberley Players, September 14 -October 7

Once Upon A Mattress, musical, Wimberley Players, 450 Old Kyle Rd., Wimberley, Fridays-Sundays, September 14 - October 7
Click for additional information

2012 Wimberley Players Season

Once Upon a Mattress

Music by Mary Rogers
Lyrics by Marshall Barer
Book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller & Marshall Barer

September 14 – October 7

Friday and Saturday Evenings 8:00 p.m.

Sunday Matinees 2:30 p.m.

Long-time favorite musical comedy, an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. Queen Agravaine decrees that only a princess who can pass her sensitivity test may marry her son Prince Dauntless-and no one else in the kingdom may marry until Dauntless does. When the princess Winnifred the Woebegone appears, life improves immensely throughout the kingdom. Singing, dancing, and lot of laughs.

(Click to return to AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Upcoming: The Merry Wives of Windsor by Shakespeare, Wimberley Players, June 8 -

present

The Merry Wives of Windsor

by William Shakespeare

directed by Joe Falocco

June 8-July 1

Fridasy, Saturdays 8:00 pm,  Sundays, 2:30

at The Wimberley Playhouse, 450 Old Kyle Road (click for map)

Tickets, $18; Opening night, $20

Box Office 512-847-0575

Website: www.wimberleyplayers.org

e-mail: information@wimberleyplayers.org

Shakespeare's 1598 romantic comedy features the famously rowdy knight Sir John Falstaff as he tries to swindle a pair of wealthy women, only to have them hatch plans of their own. Directed by Texas State Shakespeare professor Joe Falocco, this delightfully distilled production is clear, concise, and deliciously bawdy. It is staged in the tradition of Elizabethan style  theater, with seating on two sides of the stage for adventuresome patrons.

Auditions in Wimberley for Once Upon A Mattress, June 16 and 18

Audition Notice for Once Upon a Mattress - Music by Mary Rogers, Lyrics by Marshall Barer, Book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller & Marshall Barer.   

Audition Schedule: Saturday, June 16 @ 2pm and Monday, June 18 @ 7pm. Prepare to sing a song from the show - ensemble and solo. Learn simple choreography number @ audition. Wimberley Playhouse, 450 Old Kyle Road (click for map).  Director: David Schneider. 

 E-mail for appointments:  David Schneider - david.schneider50@gmail.com

E-mail for music/scripts: Adam Witko - adam@adamwitko.com

 

Show dates:  Sept 14- Oct. 7, 2012, Friday and Saturday evenings 8 p.m., Sunday Matinees 2:30 p.m.

Upcoming: Sundown Town, a musical by Kevin Cohea, Wimberley Players, April 13 - May 6

present

Sundown Town

by Kevin D. Cohea

April 13 - May 6

Friday and Saturday Evenings 8:00 p.m.

Sunday Matinees 2:30 p.m.

Click to reserve seats and buy tickets on-line

A young African-American carpenter wanders into an early 1900s Southern town where black people are prohibited after sundown; his friendship with a blind Confederate veteran confronts the conventions and beliefs of the community and the church, and uproots a sympathetic family. This musical play stares unblinkingly at a dark corner of American history through fascinating characters who tell their stories through a well-crafted drama, which features a driving musical score built around traditional instrumentals and songs of the era.

Wimberley Players' Auditions for the Merry Wives of Windsor, April 12 and 14

The Wimberley Players anounce auditions for The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare
Thursday, April 12 : 7 – 10 pm or Saturday, April 14: 1 – 4 pm
(Please be prepared to stay for the full three hours either day)
at the Wimberley Playhouse, 450 Old Kyle Road; Wimberley, TX; 78676-9702 (click for map)

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! NO PREPARATION REQUIRED! (Read the play first if you can)

Rehearsals in May – Four weeks of performances beginning June 8
For further information contact: Director Joe Falocco (it rhymes with Morocco) (704) 754-2321 (no texts); email at jf48@txstate.edu

Click to view cast list at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .