Membership Meeting Scheduled for 4 pm, Sunday, October 22

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The Brush Creek Board would like to invite all Brush Creek members and friends to join us at a membership meeting at 4 pm on Sunday, October 22 at the Playhouse.

We will be electing new officers, hearing a report from the Board on the 2018 season and other activities, and considering two proposed amendments to the Bylaws. The first would change the Bylaws to indicate that the regular annual membership meeting will “normally” be held in September. The second would slightly adjust the changes made last year so that membership would not expire until the end of the year after it was established or renewed.

“Kitchen Witches” canceled — “Christmas at the Blizzard” to open December 1

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We know that a number of audience members — as well as the cast — were looking forward to Brush Creek’s production of The Kitchen Witches. We regret, therefore, that we have to announce that we are not going to be able to put on the production.

That means that Brush Creek’s next production will be Christmas at the Blizzard: A Murder Mystery, which opens a three-weekend run on December 1.\

We apologize for any inconvenience, and we regret the unusually long gap between Brush Creek productions. We are in the process of putting together our 2018 season, and we will be announcing those plans very soon. In the meantime, please mark Blizzard on your calendars — this mystery by Emily Wood and Michael Wood is a “parlor mystery” in the Agatha Christie tradition, with suspense, humor and a set of mysteries that will keep you guessing until the play’s final moments!

Open Auditions for “Christmas at the Blizzard: A Murder Mystery” to be held September 6, 7, 13, & 14

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OPEN AUDITION NOTICE

Christmas at the Blizzard: A Murder Mystery returns to the Brush Creek stage.

Brush Creek Playhouse plans to close its 2017 season with the return of the marvelous mystery that first graced our stage in 2011. This parlor mystery by Emily and Michael Wood makes several conscious nods to Agatha Christie as it takes the audience down a series of twists and turns as the characters try to discover the truth – before it’s too late! The play is set at a remote bed and breakfast in the Northern California hills, and after gathering to celebrate the holidays in style, the characters discover that they are trapped at the Blizzard by a real blizzard. And one of their number is a killer!

Open auditions will be held at Brush Creek Playhouse (11535 Silverton Road (the intersection of Brush Creek & Silverton Roads) on the following days (although it is not required, interested individuals are encouraged to participate on multiple days if possible):

  • Wednesday, September 6 (7 pm)
  • Thursday, September 7 (7 pm)
  • Saturday, September 9 (1 pm)
  • Sunday, September 10 (1 pm)

We will use cold readings from the script and some other exercises. No monologues or other preparation is necessary, but it will be useful to have a record of any previous theater experience (first-time actors are also encouraged to try out).

Anyone interested in a role but unable to attend any of the auditions should contact director Michael Wood at mdwelpis@comcast.net or 503-508-3682 to make arrangements.

The production will run Friday, December 1 thru Sunday, December 17, with evening performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and matinees on Sundays.

Open Auditions for “The Kitchen Witches” come to Brush Creek on July 15 and 16

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Brush Creek’s next hilarious comedy is Caroline Smith’s The Kitchen Witches — winner of the 2005 Samuel French Canadian Playwrights Contest — to be directed by John Sams.

Come be part of this entertaining production. Brush Creek will be holding open auditions at 2 pm on both Saturday, July 15, and Sunday, July 16.  The play requires two females in their 50s or 60s and one man in his 30s or early 40s. It also includes a very funny non-speaking role that can be played by young man or young woman.

Samuel French, Inc. describes the play as follows:

Isobel Lomax and Dolly Biddle are two “mature” cable-access cooking show hostesses who have hated each other for 30 years, ever since Larry Biddle dated one and married the other. When circumstances put them together on a TV show called The Kitchen Witches, the insults are flung harder than the food! Dolly’s long-suffering TV-producer son Stephen tries to keep them on track, but as long as Dolly’s dressing room is one inch closer to the set than Isobel’s, it’s a losing battle, and the show becomes a rating smash as Dolly and Isobel top both Martha Stewart and Jerry Springer!

The characters are….

DOLLY BIDDLE, who indulges herself with anything life has to offer whenever possible – even if it’s not good for her!? – and her creative imagination knows no bounds. She is intensely proud of her son Stephen, loves to dispense advice along with recipes for cabbage rolls and borscht and hates Isobel Lomax with an intensity usually reserved for detonating nuclear devices.

STEPHEN BIDDLE, a nervous, prematurely balding but decent young man who actually enjoys producing low-budget cable TV shows, even when his Mom is the star. Bright and capable, if somewhat shy, but always reluctant to confront Dolly on her many shortcomings. He’s not a fighter – he’d rather be a lover, but nobody’s asked him yet.

ISOBEL LOMAX  thinks Martha Stewart could learn something about homemaking from her. She trained at the Cordon Bleu and enjoyed a successful career, including her own show “Busy Izzy”. Isobel likes people to think she has a much classier background than reality supports; she would never go out without being properly accessorized. At heart, she is a bright funny and articulate woman who has come to terms with the choices she made early in life.

ROB THE CAMERA GUY (or ROBERTA THE CAMERA CHICK) – Non-speaking role (except for one line!). Rob is a young “Goth” inspired person; Stephen is a little afraid of him/her. He/she cleans up the sets, resets props, carries the portable camera around during the “live broadcasts” and despite his/her appearance, is generally extremely efficient and precise.

The play is scheduled to run Friday, September 22 thru Sunday, October 8.

For more information contact Director John Sams at Sams426@comcast.net.

David Ives’ “All in the Timing” comes to Brush Creek stage June 16 thru July 2

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Brush Creek Playhouse continues its 2017 season with a delightful twist . . . or three. Director Dixie McCartney makes her Brush Creek debut with this set of comedic one-acts from David Ives. 

Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, these short plays explore some eternal – and not so eternal – themes, with wonderfully comic results. 

For example, “Words, Words, Words” recalls the philosophical adage that monkeys typing into infinity will sooner or later produce “Hamlet” and asks: What would the monkeys talk about as they sat at their typewriters? “Variations on the Death of Trotsky¸” on the other hand, shows us the Russian revolutionary on the day of his demise, desperately trying to cope with the mountain-climber’s axe he’s discovered in his head. In “English Made Simple” an otherwise ordinary encounter between a young man and a young woman at a party takes on an extraordinary depth of meaning when their immediate romantic attraction is translated into a comically unromantic grammar lesson as they struggle to free themselves from the banal constrictions of party talk. Just four actors — Tavis Evans, Julianna Gibbons, Marc Wassom, and Ariel Blain — present all the roles in this critically acclaimed, award-winning set of comedies.

The show opens Friday, June 16 and runs through Sunday, July 2, with performances at 7 pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 pm Sundays. Brush Creek now sells reserved seat tickets. Tickets are $10 ($8 for seniors, children and students) and can be purchased in advance at Runaway Art and Craft Studio on 311 NE Commercial Street in downtown Salem or at Books N Time on 210 N. Water Street in downtown Silverton. They are also available at the door beginning 30 minutes before each performance.

Attendees are encouraged to arrive at least 10 to 15 minutes before curtain in order to ensure that we can get everyone seated in time for the performance.

Parents with young children will want to take note that some of the plays include strong language.

For more information, you can also contact Michael Wood at 503-508-3682.