GENERAL AUDITION INFORMATION

The Bent is the Coachella Valley’s new non-profit LGBTQ+ theater working in partnership with the Palm Springs Cultural Center.  We are striving to do quality productions that spotlight the LGBTQ+ experience or plays of interest to our community.  Our first season received rave reviews and we are very much looking forward to our second, and the opportunity to work with even more wonderful actors from our community.  We pay for performances and have a few Equity Guest Artists contracts available for our shows. www.TheBent.org

Coachella Valley Repertory is an educational, dramatic and musical theatre organization that offers thought-provoking, innovative theater of substance, and a voice to a wide range of artists and visions. CVREP provides productions and outreach programs that positively enrich, enhance and impact the quality of life for residents and visitors in the Coachella Valley.

CVRep is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit professional theatre company, that has Small Professional Theatre (SPT) status with Actors’ Equity Association.

Our 2023/2024 Season:

(For full character breakdowns, visit https://cvrep.org/news/auditions-2/)

THE FANTASTICKS – A LOVE STORY REIMAGINED

CVRep will present the West Coast premiere of the re-imagined and re-gendered adaptation of the groundbreaking musical The Fantasticks.  In the premiere of this new version the original librettist and lyricist, Tom Jones, has re-adapted this version but preserved the beloved score and storyline into which the two young, original lovers – Matt and Louisa have become – Matt and Lewis. Furthermore, these two are not being goaded into each other’s arms by their mischief-making, gardening fathers, but rather by their mothers!  A night of music, magic and celebration of life is one that is not to be missed.
(Rehearsals begin October 10. Performances Nov 1-12, 2023)

SUMMER SESSION WITH THE BONES BRIGADE 

CVRep presents the world premiere of this powerful new play.  As part of the ORIGINS New Works Development Program, Summer Session with The Bones Brigade tells the story of four teenage skateboarders and their two female friends. When one of them mysteriously disappears, the gang fears the worst and directs their guilt and shame about his disappearance against one another.  Skate alongside as they explore the often-complicated challenges of friendship, youth, overbearing parents, loss and the coming of age. Follow their journey as they navigate life on the CVRep stage in this first ever production.  follow
(Rehearsal begin Nov 14. Performances Dec 6 – 17, 2023)

CABARET

In an immersive, one-of-a-kind production, you will step off the street and into a world you could only imagine. From the minute you enter the Playhouse you will be transported; to a wild nightlife; a dangerous time in an unstable country; and take a journey unlike any you’ve risked before.  What would you do?  Cabaret is the musical that asks just that. Join CVRep as they present this show like it has never been done before and be swept away in the 8-Tony Award winning musical by the legendary American songwriting team, Kander and Ebb. 
(Rehearsals begin Jan 2. Performances Jan 24 – Feb 4, 2024)

POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive

This side-splitting comedy applauds the women who somehow manage to keep things running in, and out, of the presidential Oval Office. Jump aboard the ridiculous ride in this play as seven brilliant and beleaguered women surrounding the most powerful man on earth, as they increasingly take desperate measures to save face when his scandals spark a global crisis.  Join CVRep for this hysterical Tony Award nominated comedy and start off the election year with a smile.
(Rehearsals begin Feb 13. Performances Feb 28 – Mar 10, 2024)

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT

There’s a “Somebody I’m Longing to See” and they’re “S’wonderful” with a “Fascinating Rhythm”. Before you, “Call The Whole Thing Off”, get the “Sweet and Lowdown” of this “Lady Be Good” musical that will hit the CVRep stage with Gershwin songs you’ll be humming the whole way home.  In a brand-new take on the classic 1920s musical farce, this screwball comedy features romance, high-spirited production numbers, and a Tony Award winning script that pokes fun at class snobbery in the prohibition era.
(Rehearsals begin Mar 19. Performances April 10 – 21, 2024)

DET is committed to growing the art of theatre by producing innovative plays that underscore the complexity of human interaction. We nurture the growth of artists of all ages, on and off the stage, and create an environment that rewards and cherishes them. 

Our theatre internships give high school students the on-the-job experience of working in professional productions. They work in a professional environment, expanding and putting into practice what they have learned in school. DET awards scholarships to graduating seniors who have completed DET internships and plan to continue their higher education in theatre arts.

Desert Ensemble Theatre

2023-24 Season

COLLECTIVE RAGE: A PLAY IN 5 BETTIES, by Jen Silverman

Directed by Kudra Wagner

Betty is rich; Betty is lonely; Betty’s busy working on her truck; Betty wants to talk about love, but Betty needs to hit something. And Betty keeps using a small hand mirror to stare into parts of herself she’s never examined. Five different women named Betty collide at the intersection of anger, sex, and the “thea-tah.”

(Rehearsals begin October 9. Performances November 10–12 & 17–19, 2023)

THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, and Gordon Farrell

Directed by David Youse

Jim is a fresh-out-of-Harvard fact checker for a prominent but sinking New York magazine. John  is a talented writer with a transcendent essay about a suicide—that could save the magazine from collapse. When Jim is assigned to fact check D’Agata’s work, the two come head to head in a battle over facts versus truth.

(Rehearsals begin December 26. Performances January 28–28 & February 2–4, 2024)

ELLIE, by Bruce Bonafede (World premiere)

Directed by Howard Shangraw

Brothers Richard and Warren are grieving the death of one of their wives. Their mourning sparks a confrontation that lays bare their life-long love/hate relationship and changes their lives forever.

(Rehearsals begin February 5. Performances March 8–10 & 15–17, 2024)

SHERLOCK HOLMES CONFIDENTIAL by Tony Padilla (World premiere)

Directed by Jerome Elliott Moskowitz

This sparkling comedy was great success at DET’s 2022 Summer reading series. In an alternative version of the Holmes origin story, a spurned romance leads to someone threatening to unmask the young detective as a fraud.

(Rehearsals begin March 11. Performances April 12­–­14 and 19–21)

Visit https://www.desertensembletheatre.org/ for more information.

As an Equity-sanctioned professional theatre, Dezart Performs draws on the rich talent pool both locally and from the surrounding southern California region, making it unique in its ability to cast gifted amateurs alongside experienced professionals. Now entering its 15th season, with an expanded schedule of four main productions, the company brings a consistent level of quality theatre to the desert, which its audiences have come to expect.

Our Mission

Dezart Performs, one of the Coachella Valley’s preeminent theatre companies, recognizes that the performing arts enrich the life and culture of a community, promote greater understanding and provoke insightful discussion. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre company, its mission is to provide an artistic home for bold and cutting‐edge plays, creating an atmosphere of artistic growth for actors, writers, and directors who uniquely contribute to the diverse theatrical environment in the Coachella Valley.

Visit https://dezartperforms.org/ for more information.

BACKGROUND 

Green Room Theatre Company Coachella Valley (GRTCCV), entering its fifteenth successful season,  brings new works, bilingual theatre, classics,  and Ballet Folklorico  directly to venues in underserved communities.  GRTCCV provides youth and adults in the Coachella Valley with  access to professional-quality theatre and dance, as well as education programs that enhance literacy, social-emotional skills,  and workforce development.   

GRTCCV NEAR-TERM PROJECTS and PLANS

GRTCCV  has a broad range of new projects under way for the 2023-2024 season, including a  new devised piece about the history of Palm Springs Section 14 and an authorized LGBT adaptation of Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding  (retitled Tony ‘n Tico’s Wedding). A key new theatre education project, built around Wendy Kesselman’s bilingual Maggie Magalita, will serve local youth in partnership with Boo2Bullying and The Ophelia Project. This summer the company  concludes its 2022-2023 season with readings of  new  plays  and  classics.

 GRTCCV is on the pathway to recognition by Actors Equity for a contract as a Small Professional Theatre.

Visit https://grtccv.org/ for more information.

Mission: Making stories happen. Every way they can.

Description: TigerBear Productions formally started its journey in 2019. Our deeper history goes back way before that, with fore“bears” that include the first artists who inspired us as wee cubs, and those teachers and mentors who shaped and shared them with us. As how we humans create and share stories has evolved, so did we, continuing to renew our love of making them and making them happen in and on pages, stages, screens, and spaces, gaining and gathering more inspirations in our hearts and imaginations than we can count. Join our journey.

2023-2024 season: No productions planned for the rest of 2023, but you never know what might pop-up. In Spring 2024, we’re casting an immersive light opera production that must remain unnamed until we secure the rights. We’re seeking adult singers of all genders, dance experience helpful.

Visit https://tigerbearproductions.com/ for more information.

Once Upon a Time… a family from Kentucky who loved theatre and valued education visited the Coachella Valley, and realized, they could bring the joy of live stage productions to the area. Dr. William “Bill” Layne, his wife Sylvia, his son, J.W., and other members of their family submitted the winning proposal to the City of Palm Springs for how to repurpose the historic Frances S. Stevens School with a cultural, nonprofit organization. 

After extensive tenant renovations,  Palm Canyon Theatre opened its doors in September 1997 with Romberg and Hammerstein’s operetta “The Desert Song.” One of the leading roles was played by none other than Bill and Sylvia’s daughter, Se Layne, who was at the time, a working actress in New York City. It wasn’t long before Se moved to the desert with her family to cultivate the family’s passion in a place they all had grown to love.  Se has two children, Wyatt and Ava; they are now the third generation to live and love theatre life at PCT.

Beyond the Laynes, Palm Canyon Theatre is a huge family of people who come together to create something special!

2023-2024 Season Descriptions

Brigadoon

In Lerner and Loewe’s magical tale, New Yorker Tommy Albright unexpectedly arrives at the mysterious Scottish Highland village of Brigadoon, which only appears for one day every 100 years. When Tommy meets and falls in love with Fiona, a beautiful villager in this magical hamlet, he must decide whether to return to his old life or stay in Brigadoon — forever.

Steel Magnolias

All the Southern ladies who are anybody come to Truvy’s salon for their haridos and free advice including the town’s curmudgeon, an eccentric millionaire, a woman with a raging sweet tooth, and the local social leader and her daughter. A sudden realization of their mortality affects each of them, as they discover their underlying love for one another in this heartfelt comedy.

Rent

Jonathan Larson’s Rent follows a year in the life of a group of young artists struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. With songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages, how these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.

Elf

Based on the beloved holiday film, this hilarious fish-out-of-water comedy follows Buddy the Elf in his quest to find his true identity. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a hilarious journey through New York City on a search for his family. This modern-day holiday classic is sure to bring out the Christmas spirit and make everyone embrace their inner elf. 

Sordid Lives

When Peggy, a good Christian woman, hits her head on the sink and bleeds to death after tripping over her lover’s wooden legs in a motel room, three generations of a family gather in a small Texas town for her funeral. The sad, hilarious truth of their “Sordid Lives” erupts in this Del Shores cult classic, a black comedy about white trash!

Something Rotten!

In this mash-up of sixteenth-century Shakespeare and twenty-first-century Broadway, brothers Nick and Nigel are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of the master playwright known as “The Bard.” When a soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting, the brothers set out to write the world’s first musical.

Sweeney Todd

An unjustly exiled barber, returns to nineteenth century London, seeking revenge against the judge who framed him. Renaming himself Sweeney Todd, the now-mad man vows revenge, applying his razor to unlucky customers and shuttling the bodies down to Mrs. Lovett’s meat-pie shop. Though many fall to his blade, Todd will not be satisfied until he slits the judge’s throat.

The Boys in the Band

In his New York City apartment, Michael throws a birthday party for Harold, a self-avowed “thirty-two-year-old, pockmarked, Jew fairy,” complete with a surprise gift: “Cowboy,” a street hustler. As the evening wears on – fueled by drugs and alcohol – bitter, unresolved resentments among the guests come to light when a game of “Truth” goes terribly wrong.

The Light in the Piazza

Based on the 1960 novella by Elizabeth Spencer, the show is set in the 1950s in Florence, Italy. Margaret Johnson, a wealthy Southern woman, and her daughter Clara, who is developmentally disabled. When Clara falls in love with a young Italian man, Margaret is forced to reconsider not only Clara’s future, but her own deep-seated hopes and regrets as well.

Bye Bye Birdie

Set in the 1950s, this story is reminiscent of the King of Rock. A songwriter finds himself in trouble when the rock and roll teen heartthrob he writes for, Conrad Birdie, is drafted into the Army. As a publicity stunt to record and sell one more hit record before he is sent overseas, a televised farewell is planned with Birdie set to kiss a preselected All-American girl.

Visit https://palmcanyontheatre.net/ for more information.

THE PALM SPRINGS DANCE PROJECT IS NOT A DANCE SCHOOL OR DANCE TROUPE, WE ARE A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION WORKING TO INDUCE POSITIVE SOCIAL CHANGE THROUGH THE TRANSFORMATIVE ART OF DANCE. THROUGH OUR UNIQUE, COLLABORATIVE AND ACCESSIBLE PROGRAMS, PALM SPRINGS DANCE PROJECT FOSTERS DANCE CREATION, PRESENTATION, AND EDUCATION THAT INSPIRES AND DEVELOPS YOUTH AND STRENGTHENS COMMUNITY.

THE PROJECT HAS TWO MAJOR AREAS OF FOCUS:

LIVE PERFORMANCE & FILM
Our professional dance presentations bring both local and international dance artists to the stage and in interesting, unconventional venues. We curate and present a diverse array of dance on film / Q&A events and discussions with fascinating dance figures. We make every program that we present surprising and unique to any previous experiences you may have had in Palm Springs.

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY
Our scholarships and grant programs for underserved youth and our collaborations with local dance studios, public schools and other community partners provide ever-changing opportunities for growth and fostering a sense of community. Unique educational experiences crafted in-house and through artistic residencies immerse students in learning with diverse and profound artists from around the country and culminate into community performances.

Each year our project mix varies, however, our annual signature programs include the free community dance training and performance event, Dancin’ in the Streets, and a polished professional dance presentation dubbed “The Main Event” which is accompanied by a suite of masterclasses instructed by visiting choreographers working on “The Main Event” project.

Visit https://www.palmspringsdance.org/ for more information.