Wichita Community Theatre

After experiencing delays because of brick vendor issues, WCT has obtained a new vendor for the brick orders. The list has been delivered to the vendor and bricks will start appearing at WCT in Spring of 2012. We will be able to finally be able to put them in the ground. Thank you for your patience and support!

Wichita Community Theatre is proud to announce the fourth show of our 66th season: the comic farce The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow, adapted from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock.

Performances are January 26 – February 12, 2012, Thursday through Saturday, 8 pm, Sunday 7 pm.Tickets are $12/$10 military/senior/students. Special opening night price of $8 for all on January 26 only. Call for reservations (as seating is limited) : 686-1282.

KMUW 89.1 Wichita Public Radio is media sponsor of this event.

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! This 2-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of 4), an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old-fashioned romance!

In The 39 Steps, a man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she’s a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called “The 39 Steps” is hot on the man’s trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale! A riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft, The 39 Steps amounts to an unforgettable evening of pure pleasure!

Directed by Crystal Meek and Mark Schuster.

Richard Hannay – Kenneth Mitchell
Anabella/Margaret/Pamela – Briley Meek
Clown 1 – Benjamin Smith
Clown 2 – Clint McCorkle

PDF of 39 Steps Poster

Wichita Community Theatre will be holding auditions for the April – May 2012 production of “King Lear” by William Shakespeare. Auditions will be held Sat Feb 11th and Sun Feb 12th from 2 to 5 pm both days. Roles are available for 10 men and 4 women ages 18 and up. Auditions will consist of readings from the edited script. Rehearsals will begin in mid-March. No prior Shakespeare experience necessary to audition.

The production will be directed by Dan Schuster and assistant directed by Kenneth Mitchell. Lighting design will be by Jackie Donahue, set design by Mark Anderson, costume design by Jane Tanner, and sound design by Dan Schuster.

This play is about family strife, power struggles, ambition gone bad, as well as aging and the effects it has on us all. To focus more on Lear and his daughters (as well as Glouchester and his sons), many of the peripheral characters (knights, gentlemen, etc.) have been cut/combined. Additionally, the edited script will depict the character of the Fool as a product of Lear’s ailing mind and therefore seen only by him. To further this idea, the actress portraying Cordelia will also play the Fool.

Roles Available For Men:

King Lear
Earl of Kent
Duke of Cornwall
Duke of Albany
Earl of Glouchester
Edmund
Edgar
Oswald
King of France, et al. (actor will play multiple roles)
Duke of Burgundy, et al. (actor will play multiple roles)

Roles Available For Women:

Goneril
Regan
Cordelia/Fool
Doctor, et al. (actress will play multiple roles)

Tech positions needed:
-Stage Manager
-Sound Board Operator
-Light Board Operator

We hope to see many of you at auditions! If you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact Dan Schuster by email at gurgi4@cox.net or by phone at 316-655-2017.

To RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/236713059719917/

Auditions for “The Boys Next Door” by Tom Griffin will be held on Saturday February 4th, and Sunday February 5th, from 2 – 5pm at the Wichita Community Theatre Workshop, 258 N. Fountain.
Auditions will be live readings from the script. This play will be produced in the round, so auditioners should be prepared at auditions to demonstrate their ability to act to all sides of the audience. This show requires the audience to empathize with these unique characters. It will be critical for each actor to bring realism and gravitas to each role.

Roles are available for 7 men and 2 women. Men and women of varied ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to audition.

Tech positions available: Light Board Operator, Sound Board Operator, Light DesignerTech positions filled: Set Designer, Sound Designer, Stage Manager, Properties, Costumer

Contact Ben Blankley if you are interested in these positions.

Show dates are Wednesday, March 14 – Sunday, March 18, 2012, Wednesday through Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 7 pm.

Rehearsals will start on February 13th, and run 7 – 10pm Monday through Friday until opening night.

Directed by Ben Blankley.

An Off-Broadway success, this very funny yet very touching play focuses on the lives of four retarded men who live in a communal residence under the watchful eye of a sincere, but increasingly despairing, social worker. Filled with humor, the play is also marked by the compassion and understanding with which it peers into the half-lit world of its handicapped protagonists. “THE BOYS NEXT DOOR is one of the most unusual…and one of the most rewarding plays in town.” —BackStage. “Griffin’s play hits squarely on the truth of life with its constant interplays and shadings of triumphs and tears.” —NY Daily News. “THE BOYS NEXT DOOR moves the audience to an awareness of how many things in everyday life we take for granted…” —NY Times.

You can read an excerpt online at:

http://books.google.com/books?id=zOlqL48RdFkC&lpg=PP1&dq=The%20Boys%20Next%20Door&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

For questions, email Ben Blankley at ben.blankley@gmail.com.

Interested in auditioning? Check out our primer for “Your First Audition”:

http://www.wichitacommunitytheatre.com/index.php/join-the-newsletter-or-volunteer/your-first-audition