Playhouse 395
*House lights down*
*Cue mystical music*
Spoken: "Hold your breath, Make a wish, Count to three"
*Open red curtain*
*A mysterious silouhetted figure appears from the fog and walks down stage center*
"Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination. Where all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. A world full of music, dancing, love, and betrayal. One where you can be taken back in time and have a story painted in front of you by colorful characters and vibrant voices. A world where imagination and creativity come alive before your eyes and jump off the paper straight to center stage."
Community Theatre is something that is often overlooked, mocked, or not taken seriously in todays world of junk television and You Tube. Shows like Jersey Shore and American Idol have slowly taken the place of The Music Man and Annie. I often wonder what this says about the direction of our society. Could it be he first big step on the road to the depths of degreda-I say, first medicinal wine from a teaspoon, then beer from a bottle.
Playhouse 395 is a non-profit community theatre management company located in Bishop California. The original group got started in the early 70's, with a few dozen volunteers, and ran until the mid-80's. They put on plays and musicals such as Carousel, Mouse Trap, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Alaska (a melodrama), My Fair Lady, How the Other Half Loves, Harvey and The Spoonriver Anthology, among others.
In 2005, local high school teacher Jeff Pratt decided to take on a task that no sane man would if they knew what was good for him.... revival of the old Playhouse 395. Not only did he succeed in doing so, he did so on a level that no one in this little town ever expected or could believe possible. Since it's revival, Playhouse has gained the ability to involve several hundreds of people per show, to sell out shows in as little as a week, and to put on a class act rivaling professional productions. Now hundreds of volunteers might not sound all that impressive but when you consider the fact that they are pulling from a community of approximately 10,000 people, it is beyond amazing. It's more then just the talent found in the youth and adults, it is with the local businesses such as printers, graphic artists, musicians, restaurants, and pastry makers as well. Playhouse has also brought in upwards of $80,000 of improvements to the school stage, green room and now a state-of-the-art sound system. The amount of hours logged for one single play is unimaginable! Loaded with arsenal including stunningly realistic set design, colorful costumes, and a 40+ piece orchestra, they come prepared to blow your socks off. They have had theatre students travel from as far as Ridgecrest CA (130 miles) and Reno (200 miles) just to see one of their plays. Joseph and Pharoh from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat had groups of giddy fans waiting for autographs after each show. If you have ever seen a Playhouse production, you know why. If you haven't, you are missing out on an enchanted evening of top notch entertainment put on by volunteers in the most talented town in the world! Dinner murder mystrys to classics such as Willy Wonka Jr, Annie, Music Man, and The Sound of Music, they never fail to bring the audience to their feet. Keep in mind that my talents as a photographer for Playhouse 395 is just the tip of what is involved in putting on one of these productions!
*Cue mystical music*
Spoken: "Hold your breath, Make a wish, Count to three"
*Open red curtain*
*A mysterious silouhetted figure appears from the fog and walks down stage center*
"Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination. Where all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. A world full of music, dancing, love, and betrayal. One where you can be taken back in time and have a story painted in front of you by colorful characters and vibrant voices. A world where imagination and creativity come alive before your eyes and jump off the paper straight to center stage."
Community Theatre is something that is often overlooked, mocked, or not taken seriously in todays world of junk television and You Tube. Shows like Jersey Shore and American Idol have slowly taken the place of The Music Man and Annie. I often wonder what this says about the direction of our society. Could it be he first big step on the road to the depths of degreda-I say, first medicinal wine from a teaspoon, then beer from a bottle.
Playhouse 395 is a non-profit community theatre management company located in Bishop California. The original group got started in the early 70's, with a few dozen volunteers, and ran until the mid-80's. They put on plays and musicals such as Carousel, Mouse Trap, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Alaska (a melodrama), My Fair Lady, How the Other Half Loves, Harvey and The Spoonriver Anthology, among others.
In 2005, local high school teacher Jeff Pratt decided to take on a task that no sane man would if they knew what was good for him.... revival of the old Playhouse 395. Not only did he succeed in doing so, he did so on a level that no one in this little town ever expected or could believe possible. Since it's revival, Playhouse has gained the ability to involve several hundreds of people per show, to sell out shows in as little as a week, and to put on a class act rivaling professional productions. Now hundreds of volunteers might not sound all that impressive but when you consider the fact that they are pulling from a community of approximately 10,000 people, it is beyond amazing. It's more then just the talent found in the youth and adults, it is with the local businesses such as printers, graphic artists, musicians, restaurants, and pastry makers as well. Playhouse has also brought in upwards of $80,000 of improvements to the school stage, green room and now a state-of-the-art sound system. The amount of hours logged for one single play is unimaginable! Loaded with arsenal including stunningly realistic set design, colorful costumes, and a 40+ piece orchestra, they come prepared to blow your socks off. They have had theatre students travel from as far as Ridgecrest CA (130 miles) and Reno (200 miles) just to see one of their plays. Joseph and Pharoh from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat had groups of giddy fans waiting for autographs after each show. If you have ever seen a Playhouse production, you know why. If you haven't, you are missing out on an enchanted evening of top notch entertainment put on by volunteers in the most talented town in the world! Dinner murder mystrys to classics such as Willy Wonka Jr, Annie, Music Man, and The Sound of Music, they never fail to bring the audience to their feet. Keep in mind that my talents as a photographer for Playhouse 395 is just the tip of what is involved in putting on one of these productions!
Aspiring thespians, take note!
Beauty and the Beast Jr
South Pacific
Mulan Jr
Willy Wonka Jr.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
I'm Getting Murdered in the Morning
Trip to Bountiful
You can find more on Playhouse 395 here! They are always looking for new talent, volunteers and donations to make it all possible! Please go visit and show your support and love for your local arts!!!!!
Quite the theatrical portfolio!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great article Robb! I hadn't seen a lot of those "Murdered In The Morning" pix, those are so fun! Keep up the good work :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Robb, beautiful job!
ReplyDeleteWell done, Robb!!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful write-up Robb! Thank you for your kind words. We all love Playhouse 395!! Your family certainly deserves ENORMOUS recognition too for invaluable, indispensable contribution. I miss you all. Keep up the amazing work, Robb. B&B photography looks stellar as always.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Jeff