Handbill & Callboard:
April Theater Productions and Call for Auditions in Western MA

Support a love for theater with these featured April theater productions in Western MA! A great way to engage in your community while supporting an interest in theater studies.

Performances include slapstick comedy at Double Edge Theatre in Ashfield, contemporary mystery & existential performances  in the Mendenhall Center for Performing Arts at Smith College in Northampton, musical at the Majestic Theater in West Springfield, staged reading at The Unicorn Theater in Stockbridge, and a rock musical at the Ruth B. Smith Auditorium at the Orange Town Hall! 

Saturday, April 2. 2pm
CHILDREN’S THEATER/SLAPSTICK COMEDY
Mr. Fumblebody. The character Mr. Fumblebody is inspired by, and pays homage to, the great silent movie comedians Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and early Jaques Tati. This hilarious show is suitable for audiences ages 5 years and up, combining physical slapstick with vivid audience participation and hilarious improvisations. The performance gives children an opportunity to experience the lost art of silent theater. Performances will be held at the Double Edge Theatre. 413-628-0277. 948 Conway Road, Ashfield, MA. ($$)

Thursday, April 7. 7:30pm
PLAYREADING SERIES/CONTEMPORARY MYSTERY
An Exorcism in Cambridge. At Corpus Christi College in Cambridge, students have been telling the story of a ghost who haunts the old master’s lodge for generations. In 1913, four students, haunted by forbidden feelings of their own, decide to contact and exorcise this ghost once and for all. But do they know the real story, and can they exorcise a ghost they can’t understand? Flashback to 1632, when Dr. Henry Bury, master of the college, is wrongfully accused of necromancy. He begins to hear sounds in the room he can’t explain, as he spirals deeper and deeper toward inevitable tragedy. But who does he hear? And how can he ever express what he most needs to say? An Exorcism in Cambridge is a suspenseful and thrilling new play that will have audiences on the edge of their seat! Performance will be held in the Mendenhall Center for Performing Arts at Smith College. 413-585-3201. 122 Green Street, Northampton, MA. (FREE)

Friday, April 8. 7:30pm; Saturday, April 9. 4pm & 7:30pm
CONTEMPORARY/EXISTENTIAL
Exit Stage Left. This is an original play by Smith College student Zoe Rose Kriegler-Wenk (’18). Exit Stage Left asks the question: do you ever wonder if part of your life is scripted for you? For Kasey, Oscar, Laura, and Lexi, this is not just a theoretical question that crosses ones mind in moments of existential wonderment, but an ingrained part of their reality. Everyone received their Character Description, Title, and Cast List in the mail at the precise moment they were expected. Everyone, that is, except Kasey. Her Cast List brings with it many surprises about the world of the actors, author, and the audience. This delightful new play explores the concepts of social hierarchy, individual ambitions, and personal relationships through the allegory of theater. Performances will be held in the Mendenhall Center for Performing Arts at Smith College. Space is limited so please arrive early if you plan to attend. 122 Green Street, Northampton, MA. (FREE)

Thursday, April 14 – Sunday, May 22.
MUSICAL/THROWBACK
Breaking Up is Hard to Do. It’s Labor Day Weekend in 1960. Marge and her stagestruck best friend Lois arrive at Esther’s Paradise Resort in the Catskills on a vacation that was intended to be Marge’s honeymoon — but the groom has left her at the altar. Lois does her best to console Marge and comes up with a plan to set her up with Del Delmonaco, the resort’s handsome but self-obsessed singer who mistakenly assumes that Marge’s father can get him on American Bandstand and make him the next teen heartthrob. Then there’s Gabe, the geekish handyman and aspiring songwriter, always looking forlornly on — and of course Harvey, the Borscht Belt comic who for years has secretly carried a torch for the widowed Esther. Breaking Up is Hard to Do engages audiences with the tunes of Neil Sedaka while bringing to life a heartwarming throwback to a simpler time. Performances will be held at the Majestic Theater. 413-747-7797. 131 Elm Street, West Springfield, MA. ($$$)

Sunday, April 17. 3pm
STAGED READING/LOCAL WOMEN
Through The Looking Glass: Musings from the Pens of Berkshire Women Writers.. The Berkshire Theatre Group is hosting this unique staged reading that exemplifies the diversity of women’s writing in the 19th and 20th centuries. The thread that joins these women together is the dilemma of self-realization versus the socially accepted self-sacrifice of the times in which they lived: desire versus duty. With the Berkshires as their palette, Through The Looking Glass opens the journals of these incredible women, sharing the words, letters and stories that highlight their concern for broad cultural and social issues, as well as the issues of particular interest to women. Their individual voices resonate with recognition as we see ourselves in the looking glass of their experience. The reading is presented by the Berkshire Theatre Group and will be held at The Unicorn Theater. 413-997-4444. 6 East Street, Stockbridge, MA ($$)

Friday, April 22 – Sunday, May 1.
ROCK MUSICAL/CONTEMPORARY
Spring Awakening. Spring Awakening is an extraordinary new rock musical with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Grammy Award-nominated recording artist Duncan Sheik. Inspired by Frank Wedekind’s controversial 1891 play about teenage sexuality and society’s efforts to control it, the piece seamlessly merges past and present, underscoring the timelessness of adolescent angst and the universality of human passion. Presented by the Arena Civic Theater and performances will be held at the Ruth B. Smith Auditorium at the Orange Town Hall. 413-233-4368. 6 Prospect Street, Orange, MA. (DONATION)

Find more theater productions across the regions on our
Theater Bulletin Board!

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AUDITIONS

PLAYWRIGHTS OF COLOR/COMPETITION
New Play Competition: Call for Plays by Playwrights of Color. The Silverthorne Theater Company is sponsoring a competition to select a new play by a local playwright of color for possible production during the 2017 season. Local writer and actor Kent Alexander stated that, “Given the astonishing range of theater being made by people of color all over the country, the reluctance of many theaters to walk the walk they talk is increasingly at odds with the reality of American theater as a whole.” Silverthorne Theater president Lucinda Kidder added, “We consider it a fundamental part of Silverthorne’s artistic mission to draw from the entire pool of talented writers, actors, designers and technicians who work, live, and enrich our region with their cultural and ethnic diversity.” Complete information about the contest may be found by visiting the Silverthorne Theater Company website. Submission deadline is September 1, 2016.

Find more theater productions across the regions on our
Theater Bulletin Board!