2019 will be a year to remember at Cottage Theatre, with a wonderful season of shows AND a big remodeling project in the summer to make your CT experience even more wonderful. Read all about it in this issue of our newsletter.

For Immediate Release


September 5, 2018

Contact:
Susan Goes, Executive Director, 541-942-8001


Cottage Theatre opens Shrek the Musical on October 5

Cottage Grove, OR — A fantastic fairytale adventure, Shrek the Musical, opens October 5 at Cottage Theatre. With book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, and music by Jeanne Tesori, Shrek was first produced on Broadway in 2008.The family-friendly musical is the fifth production of Cottage Theatre's 2018 season. 

Based on the Oscar-winning animated film, Shrek the Musical is an irresistible blend of adventure and romance, guaranteed to delight audiences of all ages. The unlikely hero is a hulking green ogre named Shrek, who suddenly finds himself on a life-changing quest through the “Big Bright Beautiful World.” Spurred by his desire to reclaim his swamp from a gang of fairytale interlopers, Shrek strikes a deal with the cruel (and vertically-challenged) Lord Farquaad. If Shrek rescues Princess Fiona, then Farquaad will give the evicted fairytale misfits their homes back so Shrek can reclaim his. Joined by a wisecracking donkey, Shrek eventually frees the beautiful (if slightly temperamental) princess from a tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. Much to his surprise, Shrek discovers there is more to this unusual princess than meets the eye! Irreverent and full of fun, Shrek the Musical proves that beauty is truly in the eye of the ogre.

Cottage Theatre's production of Shrek the Musical is directed by Keith Kessler, with music direction by Keri Davis, and choreography by Janet Rust. Costume design is by Rhonda Turnquist, lighting design by Amanda Ferguson, and set design by Tony Rust. The production features Mark VanBeever as Shrek, Melissa Miller as Princess Fiona, Matt Arscott as Donkey, and Joshua Sayre as Lord Farquaad, supported by a large cast of 30 actors.

Shrek the Musical runs for 15 performances at Cottage Theatre from October 5 - 28. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm, and Sunday afternoons at 2:30 pm.

Tickets are available online at www.cottagetheatre.org, by phone at 541-942-8001, or in person at the Cottage Theatre Box Office, 700 Village Drive, Cottage Grove. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for youth (age 6 - 18). Recommended minimum age for children is six years old, given the length of the show. Box Office hours are Wednesday through Friday, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, and one hour before performances. All seating is reserved and advance purchase is recommended. 


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For Immediate Release

August 13, 2018


Contact:
Susan Goes, Executive Director, 541-942-8001


Cottage Theatre awarded grant from Oregon Cultural Trust

Cottage Grove, OR — Cottage Theatre has been awarded a grant of $40,075 from the Oregon Cultural Trust in support of a planned remodeling project to expand auditorium seating, improve audience sightlines, and upgrade technical and safety features. The 36-year-old community theatre in Cottage Grove was one of 87 grantees in this year’s Cultural Development Grants, and one of only six organizations to be awarded more than $40,000. Other major grants were given to Portland’s August Wilson Red Door Project, Medford’s Butte Creek Mill Foundation, the Eugene Ballet, Eugene’s Shedd Instititute for the Arts, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.

“We are absolutely thrilled to receive this significant support and vote of confidence from the Oregon Cultural Trust,” comments Executive Director Susan Goes. “Cottage Theatre has had many sold-out shows in recent years, and we are eager to add additional seats and update our facility so that it is even more comfortable for our growing number of patrons.” Cottage Theatre’s current annual attendance is approximately 11,000 people, with just 30% coming from Cottage Grove and 70% coming from elsewhere in Oregon and beyond. The planned remodel will add 50 new seats and allow the theatre to increase patron visits to Cottage Grove by 4,000 each year.

“A remodeling project of this magnitude is a big challenge for a small nonprofit organization like Cottage Theatre,” adds Board Treasurer Mark Allen, “and will require strong support from many donors to accomplish. Receiving this Oregon Cultural Trust award is a huge confidence builder as we get ready to launch further fundraising efforts.” 

The Oregon Cultural Trust was established by the state legislature in 2001 as a way to provide ongoing funding for arts and cultural institutions across Oregon. The Trust is funded by individual Oregonians, who total their gifts to qualifying cultural organizations, make a matching gift to the Cultural Trust, and receive 100% of that match back as a state tax credit.

In 2017 Oregonians gave a record $4.9 million to the Cultural Trust. Sixty percent of that amount was redistributed immediately; to five statewide partner organizations, 45 county and tribal coalitions, and to individual organizations through the competitive Cultural Development grants. The remaining 40 percent is invested in the Trust’s permanent fund, to provide for future generations.

Cottage Theatre produces a year-round season of plays and musicals and offers summer theatre camps for children. Its facility at 700 Village Drive in Cottage Grove was constructed in 1998, with a Rehearsal Hall addition in 2006.


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For Immediate Release

July 26, 2018


Contact:
Susan Goes, Executive Director, 541-942-8001


Cottage Theatre holds auditions for The Fantasticks

Cottage Grove, OR — Cottage Theatre will hold auditions on Sunday, August 19 at 6:00 pm for The Fantasticks, a touching fable about passion and innocence. This production, the final show in Cottage Theatre's 2018 season, will be on stage for three weekends, November 30 - December 16. The musical is directed by Kory Weimer. Auditions will take place at Cottage Theatre, 700 Village Drive, Cottage Grove, and no appointment is necessary. Eight roles are available for men and women ages 16+.

This timeless story has captivated the hearts and imaginations of generations of theatregoers. Written in 1960, and featuring enduring classics like “Try to Remember” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain,” The Fantasticks is a romantic, allegorical musical about a boy, a girl, two fathers, and a wall. The neighboring dads trick their children into falling in love by pretending to feud. Once Matt and Luisa discover their parents’ deception, they reject the arranged love match and grow apart. Following a series of disillusioning experiences, they finally find their way back to each other after realizing that, "without a hurt, the heart is hollow." The Fantasticks is the longest-running musical in the world with good reason: at the heart of its breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication is a purity that transcends cultural barriers. The result is a touching fable of love that is both nostalgic and universal at the same time.

Interested actors should prepare 16-32 bars of a song that demonstrates their vocal talents, and bring sheet music for the provided accompanist. If actors are interested in the non-speaking role of The Mute, they should come to auditions prepared to tell a story without using words.

Additional audition details are available at www.cottagetheatre.org, or by calling Cottage Theatre at 541-942-8001. 


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 ​For Immediate Release

June 22, 2018

Contact:
Susan Goes, Executive Director, 541-942-8001


Cottage Theatre presents family-friendly melodrama July 20 - 22

Cottage Grove, OR — The residents of Fruitdale must summon up their best flapjack flippers to fight against the dastardly Dr. Jeklyanne Slyde, in Cottage Theatre's 2018 summer melodrama. There’s a Pirate in the Pantry . . . OR The Flapjacks Are About to Flip is a old-fashioned melodrama written especially for Cottage Theatre by local playwright Keith Kessler. The family-friendly production will run for three performances on July 20, 21, and 22 at Cottage Theatre, during Cottage Grove's annual Bohemia Mining Days Festival.

This year's melodrama takes place in Fruitdale, where the mighty Redd Ferret, with her Captain Scarlet O’Haira, has sailed up the Row River just in time for the Annual Fruitdale Flapjack Festival. All of the town’s best flapjack flippers are getting ready to compete. But Dr. Jekylanne Slyde, the orneriest old coot in Fruitdale, has her eyes on the golden treasure aboard the Redd Ferret, and she aims to get it all for herself. 

There’s a Pirate in the Pantry...OR The Flapjacks Are About to Flip features 25 young actors from Cottage Theatre's summer melodrama camp.  This show is appropriate for all ages and includes plenty of audience participation (in the form of booing and hissing and cheering) as well as an old-fashioned sing-along. In keeping with classic melodrama tradition, "Olios" (silly jokes which have nothing to do with the story) will also be performed. There will also be a pre-show performance showcasing some of the music and dance techniques taught during the two-week summer camp.
 
This year's melodrama is directed by Marian Dempsey, with music direction by Catricia Mayhue, and choreography by Madeleine Sisson. The cast includes Laurel Ames, Anya Bartlog, Lafe Bennett, Shyla Browning, Kira Carver, Alexis Christie, Hailey Cook, Bela Dedrick, Aiden Dickinson, Abigail Earlywine, AJ Earlywine, Madisyn Froom, Bryce Johnson, James Kelly, Hannah Mathis, Connor Mayhue, Eliana Piltz, Audrie Sager, Grace Sisson, Nate Steinburg, Lillie Stepp, Noe Valley, Hayes Valley, Maia Wilhour, and Piper Youngmayr.
 
Performances are Friday, July 20 and Saturday, July 21 at 7:00 pm; and Sunday, July 22 at 2:30 pm. Tickets are $7 for all ages and all seating is reserved. Advance purchase is recommended.

Tickets are available online at www.cottagetheatre.org, by phone at 541-942-8001, or in person at the Cottage Theatre Box Office, 700 Village Drive, Cottage Grove. Box Office hours are Wednesday through Friday, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, and one hour before performances. 
  

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For Immediate Release


June 8, 2018

Contact:
Susan Goes, Executive Director, 541-942-8001


Cottage Theatre welcomes visiting playwright June 25

Cottage Grove, OR — On Monday, June 25 at 6:00 pm, Cottage Theatre is hosting a special "Meet the Playwright" event in preparation for a world premiere production later this summer.

In August, Cottage Theatre will stage the world premiere of Treehouse by Alabama playwright Joe Musso. The theatre is one of just six theatres in the nation selected to produce one of the winning scripts of the American Association of Community Theatre’s 2018 NewPlayFest. Musso's Treehouse was selected as a winner from a pool of 300 script submissions.

Thanks to a grant from the Lane County Cultural Coalition, Musso will travel to Oregon in June to work with the cast of Treehouse. In conjunction with this visit, the theatre is holding a "Meet the Playwright" event to introduce Musso and his work to the community.

The informal hour-long event will include a welcome reception, a Question & Answer session with the playwright, and a presentation of Musso's 10-minute comedy The Rollercoaster of Love. The short play is directed by Alan Beck and features actors Kory Weimer and Nicole Trobaugh. "This is a unique opportunity for people to meet an accomplished playwright and learn more about the craft of bringing a story to life on the stage," comments Cottage Theatre Executive Director Susan Goes. "We are very excited that Joe Musso is willing to travel from Birmingham to share his work with our community."

The "Meet the Playwright" event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited so tickets are required. Tickets to June 25 event are available at www.cottagetheatre.org or by calling 541-942-8001. 


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​For Immediate Release


May 10, 2018

Contact:
Susan Goes, Executive Director, 541-942-8001


Cottage Theatre opens The Crucible on June 8

Cottage Grove, OR — Arthur Miller's Tony Award-winning play The Crucible opens June 8 at Cottage Theatre. The drama is the third production of the theatre's 2018 season.  

The Crucible, written in response to the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, is a partially fictionalized dramatization of the 1692 Salem witch trials. In the play, several young girls and a servant play in the woods, conjuring — or attempting to conjure — spirits from the dead. Rumors of witchcraft quickly spread through the town. Rather than suffer severe punishment for their actions, the girls accuse other inhabitants of Salem of practicing witchcraft. This desperate, dangerous, and childish finger-pointing results in mass paranoia and an atmosphere of fear in which everyone is a potential witch. With neighbor pitted against neighbor, a self-perpetuating cycle of distrust, accusation, arrest, and conviction emerges. Winner of the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play, The Crucible reminds us how intolerance and hysteria can intersect and tear a community apart.

Cottage Theatre's production of The Crucible is directed by Joel Ibáñez, with costumes by Rhonda Turnquist, lighting by Amanda Ferguson, and set design by Kory Weimer and Joel Ibáñez. The cast features Kory Weimer as John Proctor, Brittany Dreier as Elizabeth Proctor, and Courtney Roberts as Abigail Williams, joined by Brian Bull, Kyle Carillo-Enders, Kira Carver, Kim Fairbairn, Dale Flynn, Keely Galbreath, Sheldon Hall, Aimee Hamilton, Steve Mandell, Aislyn Morrill, Bil Morrill, Kelly Oristano, James Scoggins, Marcee Shriver Long, Justin Stoke, and Natalie Tichenor.

The Crucible runs for eleven performances at Cottage Theatre from June 8 — 24. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm, and Sunday afternoons at 2:30 pm.

Tickets are available online at www.cottagetheatre.org, by phone at 541-942-8001, or in person at the Cottage Theatre Box Office, 700 Village Drive, Cottage Grove. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for youth (18 & under). Box Office hours are Wednesday through Friday, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, and one hour before performances. All seating is reserved and advance purchase is recommended. 


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For Immediate Release

April 19, 2018


Contact:
Susan Goes, Executive Director, 541-942-8001


Cottage Theatre holds auditions for world premiere play

Cottage Grove, OR — Cottage Theatre will hold auditions on May 19 at 4:00 pm and May 20 at 6:00 pm for Treehouse, a drama by Alabama playwright Joe Musso. This production, which will be on stage at Cottage Theatre August 10 - 26, is a world premiere of one of the six winning scripts in the American Association of Community Theatre's 2018 NewPlayFest. Auditions will take place at Cottage Theatre, 700 Village Drive, Cottage Grove, and no appointment is necessary. The play is directed by Tara Wibrew. 

The plot of Treehouse revolves around Shakespeare's existential line, "To be or not to be, that is the question." Johnny and his pals would be typical 17-year-old boys, hanging out in Johnny’s treehouse and dreaming of talking to the beautiful Alana, were it not for Johnny insisting he is a 53-year-old man trapped in a teenage body. Johnny’s mom is a little worried. Out-of-the-blue her son is suddenly pulling straight A’s, keeping his room immaculate, and reading Shakespeare. As Johnny persists in his claim, and conversations in the treehouse become increasingly peppered by the words of the Bard, Johnny grapples with adolescence, love, and the mind's ability to heal from great loss. Through his budding friendship with Alana, Johnny discovers the life-affirming power of the eternal summer that shall not fade. At times poignant, at times humorous, Treehouse is a compelling drama that bridges the gap between adolescence and adulthood in beautifully unexpected ways.

Playwright Joe Musso lives in Birmingham, Alabama. His plays have been presented in numerous theatres and have won several awards, including the Great Plains Theatre Conference Holland New Voices Award, the MTWorks Excellence in Playwriting Award, and the Gloria Ann Barnell Peter Playwright Competition. In addition to being a 2018 NewPlayFest winner, Treehouse was named the winner of the 2017 Todd McNerney National Playwriting Award sponsored by the College of Charleston. Treehouse also was the winner of Center Stage South Carolina 15th Annual New Play Festival, where the play received a reading last fall. Thanks to a grant from the Lane County Cultural Coalition, the playwright will travel twice to Oregon this summer: in June to work with Cottage Theatre’s Treehouse cast, and again in August to attend the world premiere.
 
Roles are available for 3 men (age 16 - 20s) and 3 women (age 16 - 40s) and auditions will consist of readings from the script. Copies of the play may be checked out from the Cottage Theatre office in advance of auditions. Additional audition details and a character breakdown are available at www.cottagetheatre.org, or by calling Cottage Theatre at 541-942-8001. 


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For Immediate Release


March 6, 2018

Contact:
Susan Goes, Executive Director, 541-942-8001


Cottage Theatre opens Legally Blonde on April 6 

Cottage Grove, OR -- Cottage Theatre will be full of pink this spring as the theatre presents the second show of its 2018 season, Legally Blonde, the musical comedy of love, law, and everything pink. Legally Blonde is based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the hit movie of the same name. The stage adaptation features music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and book by Heather Hach. Legally Blonde is the second show of Cottage Theatre's 2018 season, and the first of three musicals to be presented this year. Cottage Theatre's production of Legally Blonde runs for four weekends from April 6 - 29.

Thanks to the movie, the plot of Legally Blonde is familiar to many: It's spring semester at UCLA and Delta Nu sorority president Elle Woods has it all. That is, until her seemingly picture-perfect boyfriend Warner dumps her to move across the country and pursue his calling at Harvard Law. Positive that she can win him back, Elle follows him to law school in an effort to save their relationship. Though at first she faces opposition from her classmates, she soon befriends Paulette, a lovelorn sassy hairstylist, and Emmett, a devoted law student. With their help, along with hard work, perseverance, and a little bend and snap, Elle proves to herself and everyone that she is far more than just another bubbly blonde. 

Cottage Theatre's production of Legally Blonde is directed by Madison Baker, with music direction by Mark VanBeever and Keri Davis, and choreography by Katey Kephart. Set design is by by Janet Whitlow and Tony Rust, with costume design by Chris Carter, and lighting design by Amanda Ferguson. The cast features Autumn Carter as Elle Woods, Peter Wickliffe as Emmett Forrest, Tracy Nygard as Paulette Buonofuonte, Joel Ibáñez as Warner Huntington III, Ward Fairbairn as Professor Callahan, Melissa Miller as Vivienne Kensington, and Nicole Garibay as Brooke Wyndham. They are joined on stage by more than 20 others in supporting and ensemble roles.

Legally Blonde runs for fifteen performances at Cottage Theatre from April 6 - 29. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm, and Sunday afternoons at 2:30 pm.

Tickets are available online at www.cottagetheatre.org, by phone at 541-942-8001, or in person at the Cottage Theatre Box Office, 700 Village Drive, Cottage Grove. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for youth (18 & under). Box Office hours are Wednesday through Friday, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, and one hour before performances. All seating is reserved and advance purchase is recommended. 


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