Summertime already?

The joke at Bristol Valley Theater is that there are two times of year...Christmas and Summer. Christmas being over, we are on to Summer--with interviews of design and production staff and interns well underway (For further information about openings, see our ad listings on www.backstagejobs.com).
I'm holding 4 of 5 phone interviews a day to round out our summer staff. We'll see many old friends returning this season, but I'm also excited to be talking to and reviewing the work of some talented new faces in design and production fields. I hope to be completing this process by sometime in early February.
Just in time to shift focus to the casting process. Our casting notice should run in Backstage in the second week of February, when we'll begin taking submissions and setting up appointments for auditions held in New York City March 18, 19 and 20. We receive usually upwards of 1,000 pictures and resumes from actors in the NY area, out of which we select 200 - 250 that we will have time to meet in New York.
For those closer to our Naples home, we'll have one day of auditions at the theater on Main Street, also in March. Date for that is TBA (looking for an accompanist--contact bvt@bvtnaples.org if interested) but it will be listed on the website as soon as its available (www.bvtnaples.org).

For those interested in design/production positions: send cover letter, resume and reference contact information to bvt@bvtnaples.org

For actors interested in a New York audition appointment, MAIL (don't email) picture/resume to BVT, PO Box 218, Naples, NY 14512. PLEASE INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS.

The Calm before the...

As the first frosts finally begin to appear on my car windows, we're currently enjoying the closest thing to a calm time at BVT - which falls between the fall season announcement (and fall grant writing season) and the beginning of hiring for the summer, which commences in January.

And by calm I mean:

Subscription orders are bustling in at an exciting rate - exceeding where we were this time last year.

Group orders began coming in even before we had officially announced the season.

Preparations are already beginning for the 2010 Spring Artisan Showcase, which will be held May 22 and 23 outside the old town hall. This will be the second year for this fabulous two day festival featuring the work of dozens of area artists, with proceeds going to support the theater.



And the creative juices are flowing as well as I begin and exciting collaboration with Patrick Young on Let's Misbehave: The Music and Lyrics of Cole Porter, which will be the musical revue that will open our season in June. Patrick, who you may know as the Music Director for past BVT productions like Musical of Musicals, Grand Night for Singing, All Night Strut, etc. approached me about creating a world premiere revue of Porter's music and I jumped at the chance.

What a thrill to absorb myself in Cole Porter's music. "Night and Day" "You're the Top" "De-Lovely" "Everytime we Say Goodbye" The man never rested, writing nearly 900 songs over six decades. Has any other American composer equalled Porter's elegance, his wit, his versatility? The challenge will be to narrow it down to a single evening's entertainment --even then we'll have to leave out some irreplaceable tunes.

Patrick, who I will be working with on the concept and book of the show, and who will be doing all the arrangements and orchestrations, is in Albany and I'm here in Naples so we're collaborating through the wonder of the "inter - web." While I'm somewhat of a technological luddite--or at the very least a clutz--I'm managing more or less to use google wave for this collaboration. (who hoo!)

So like I said. Calm times at BVT!

Annual Dinner

This week BVT held it's annual Board Dinner, celebrating the successes of the 2009 season with our board and invited friends and champions of the theater. Graciously hosted by the Naples Hotel, we wined and dined with many of the people who made the successes of 2009 possible. The food was delish and the company divine, as we heard inspirational words from Board President Sue Kennedy and welcomed new board member Kathy Scott (and husband Dick). New board members Laura Shieck Harkness and Scott Rankin couldn't join us.
Apparently I missed the real fun of the evening, when Sue, Bern Oseroff, Kathy and Dick Scott, and staffers Kathleen and Barb hit the hotel bar afterward for some karoke! Rumor has it that Kathleen did a scorching "Ode to Billy Joe" and the whole gang joined in on "California Dreamin"!

A New Way to experience Bristol Valley Theater

Welcome to the new blog feature of Bristol Valley Theater. We hope that you will visit us and get the inside scoop on what's going on at your favorite professional summer theater.

If you haven't visited our website, check it out at www.bvtnaples.org.

The big news this week is we've announced our 2010 Summer Season:

Let's Misbehave: The Music and Lyrics of Cole Porter
Red White and Tuna
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Boeing Boeing
and
Murderers.

We've taken a decidedly comic bent in this year's selections -- and who couldn't use a laugh these days? Subscriptions are on sale now. Call 585 374 9032 for information or visit the website!