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

F**KING MEN by Joe DiPietro is a fascinating, funny and provocative story of sex, love and connection as it follows ten men through a series of erotic encounters that change their lives in small but significant ways.  A smash hit in London, F**KING MEN takes a sharp and insightful look at the experiences of modern gay men as they navigate their conflicting desires for the comfort of monogamous love and the thrill of sexual freedom.

BUYER & CELLAR by Jonathan Tolins and I’LL EAT YOU LAST by John Logan

A double feature of solo-performer one-acts centered on the theme of the one and only Barbra Streisand.

BUYER & CELLAR is a delicious comedy which won Michael Urie a Drama Desk Award for his portrayal of Alex Moore.  Alex is a struggling gay actor down on his luck after being fired by Disneyland until he lands a job curating Barbra Streisand’s Malibu basement “museum.”  The play hilariously chronicles the fictional conversations between Moore and his employer.

Gay playwright and mega-hit screenwriter John Logan’s I’LL EAT YOU LAST is about real life 1970’s ruthless super agent Sue Mengers.  Bette Midler earned raves in the Broadway premiere.  The New York Times describes Logan’s Mengers as “dropping names as if to the rhythm of a disco beat, snapping out wisecracks like acid-tipped darts that find the sweet spot every time and proffering profanity-laden advice about how to get ahead in show buisness” all while waiting for Streisand to call and fire her.

PERFECT ARRANGEMENT by Topher Payne is inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the gay rights movement.  This hard to believe but historically accurate tale merges madcap sitcom-style laughs with provocative drama as two closeted U.S. State Department employees struggle to maintain their cover – and their sanity – in 1950s America, a world recently depicted in Matt Bomer’s FELLOW TRAVELERS.  These married co-workers not only share a secret, they are also next door neighbors who share a wall.

THE CAKE by Bekah Brunstetter (nominated for the 2014 Tony Award for writing the book to the musical THE NOTEBOOK) is a touching and topical dramatic comedy.  A vivacious, conservative North Carolina baker named Della faces a crisis of conscience when Jen – whom she loves like a daughter – asks her to bake a cake for Jen’s lesbian wedding. 

THE INHERITANCE Part 1 by Matthew Lopez is the winner of the 2020 Tony Award for Best Play, winner of the 2020 Drama Desk Award for Best Play and winner of the 2019 Olivier Award for Best Play.  Decades after the height of the AIDS epidemic, THE INHERITANCE tells the story of three generations of gay men in New York City attempting to forge a future for themselves amid a turbulent and changing America.  Eric Glass is a political activist engaged to his writer boyfriend, Toby Darling.  When two strangers enter their lives—an older man and a younger one—their futures suddenly become uncertain as they begin to chart  divergent paths.  Inspired by E.M Forster’s masterpiece “Howards End,” THE INHERITANCE is an epic two-part examination of survival, healing, class divide, and what it means to call a place home.  Part 2 will lead off The Bent’s season 4 with the same cast.

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.

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

Our 2024 / 2025 Season

NEXT TO NORMAL

Next to Normal is a rock musical/ opera very much stylized through a concert meets Brechtian lens. Stripping away the literal world to find an exciting focus on the emotional and cerebral experience of what it is to be human. This requires a strength in vulnerability and reliance upon the ensemble to support each other’s story. Much of the story is told through song. We are looking for actors with incredibly expressive musicianship to be able to tap into the intricacies of these characters. The story IS the score. The music is working for you. So let it. The show lives in the world of rock, pop, folk which leans into the individual voice. We can’t wait to listen to who you are. We welcome performers of all races, gender identities, disabilities, and body types.

THE 39 STEPS

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 two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of four), an onstage 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!

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

Summer 1953: Margaret Johnson, an elegant and strong-willed Southern woman has taken her daughter Clara on a vacation in Italy. When a gust of wind blows Clara’s hat right into the hands of a young Italian gentleman, neither language nor age nor familial disapproval can stop their whirlwind love affair. As Clara and Fabrizio fall into each other’s arms, Margaret must grapple with the question of whether to disclose Clara’s devastating secret to Fabrizio’s warm, passionate Italian family. Unable to suppress the truth about her daughter, Margaret is forced to reconsider not only Clara’s future, but her own hopes as well. With soaring operatic melodies, The Light in the Piazza is a story about mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and the deeply intertwined emotions of love and loss. 

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

JCS the rock opera is set against the backdrop of an extraordinary and universally known series of events but seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot.

OTHER DESERT CITIES

It’s December 2004 and Brooke Wyeth returns home to Palm Springs after a six-year absence to celebrate Christmas with her parents, her brother and her aunt. Brooke announces that she is about to publish a memoir dredging up a pivotal and tragic event in the family’s history – a wound they don’t want reopened. In effect, she draws a line in the sand and dares them all to cross it

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.

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.

Now entering  its sixteenth successful season, Green Room  Theatre Company Coachella  Valley is the only company in the region that tours professional theatre and  ballet folklorico performances to under-resourced neighborhoods throughout the desert.  Green Room  leads  the  way in  producing culturally inclusive theatre, while developing new audiences in East Coachella Valley and beyond. This season Green Room presented a four-week tour of the bilingual play Maggie Magalita in North Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, and the City of Coachella.  As You Like It in One Hour astounded audiences with  rapidisimo performances  in La Quinta and Palm  Desert.   

Green Room’s  final offering of the 2023-2024  season is a new work premiering in June. A team of designers, actors, playwrights, musicians and directors has worked tirelessly since last summer to research and devise this singular new piece.  Displacement: Stories from Section 14  recounts the  forced eviction by the City of Palm Springs of 200 Black, Latino, and Filipino  families from tribal land in1965,  in what is now the commercial heart of downtown Palm Springs. 

Meanwhile, the company continues to build career pathways for the next generation of desert artists by offering internships, scholarships, and  high quality, small-enrollment classes for hundreds of children and teens  in Indio, Coachella, Thermal and Mecca.

A burgeoning 501(c)(3) nonprofit, GRTCCV is on the road to recognition by Actors Equity for a contract as a Small Professional Theatre.

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!

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

The Revolution Stage Company (Palm Springs’ newest, most innovative theatre company – CV Independent) is committed to collaborating with talented local performers, directors and designers to make the Coachella Valley a true ‘theater destination’ for high-quality productions. The RSC presents both classic and new work in a safe environment, free from ‘drama,’ for artists who are compensated for their time and talent. The Revolution presented the desert’s most-acclaimed productions of the season during its first year. The RSC’s ‘Evolution at the Revolution’ will provide emerging playwrights with a foundation for the development of new work along with a second ‘Ten-Minute Play Festival.’ Join the Revolution!

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.

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