It is with deep regret that Hilo Community Players announces the cancellation of their play ‘ART’.

As many of you know, we lost one of our dearest members, Ms. Laura Andres, back in July. She was to have directed the show. A very talented and accomplished director, Mr. Ken Elliott, stepped in at the last minute and rehearsals were taken up with gusto. There was also a change in the cast at the last minute.

Life they say imitates art, but in this case ‘ART’, the play, has imitated life. Due to unhappy and unforeseen circumstances, the play cannot go on as scheduled. We sincerely regret any inconvenience this may cause.

The honored and old cliche that “the show must go on” does not always apply. Sometimes the curtain has to come down.

ART COMES TO EHCC – “ART” the play, that is – IN SEPTEMBER

Can art come between friends?

That’s the question – and not the only question – raised in an award-winning one-act comedy called “ART,” starring three of Hilo’s veteran actors.

When Serge [Jake McPherson] buys a modern painting that’s essentially all white, Marc [Saul Rollason] is astounded, calls it “a piece of [bleep]” and wonders why his friend has spent a fortune on something so foolish.  Yvan [Steve Peyton] sees Marc’s point, but has always trusted Serge’s taste in modern art.  Things can only get worse!

Director Ken Elliott has lived in Hawai’i for four years, following a two-decade acting career in Los Angeles. He recently co-starred on the final season of the television series “Lost”, and can also be seen portraying Little RIchard on “Cold Case”. In 2009 he directed “The Laramie Project – Ten Years Later” at the Performing Arts Center at UH-Hilo, and starred in and directed the play “Tape,” at EHCC in 2008.

“ART,” by Yasmina Reza, translated (from French) by Christopher Hampton, won Broadway’s highest honor in 1998 – the Tony Award for best play – after winning the equivalent – the Olivier Award –  for its London production in 1996.

“ART” will be presented by the Hilo Community Players over the first two weekends in September, in the upstairs theater at the East Hawaii Cultural Center (EHCC), which is also Hilo’s modern art gallery!  Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday September 3, 4, 10 and 11; with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on September 5 and 12.  All tickets are $10 (EHCC members pay $8).  The EHCC is at 141 Kalakaua St. – across from Kalakaua Park – in downtown Hilo.

For tickets, phone the EHCC Box Office at 935-9085.

LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST

HILO COMMUNITY PLAYERS

33RD ANNUAL SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK!

TONIGHT!!

The longest running theater tradition in the state of Hawaii continues with it’s 33rd year! This year, Hilo Community Players is proud to present Love’s Labour’s Lost, directed by Amy Jackson.

Four young noblemen vow to devote themselves to study for 3 years foregoing all contact with women and other such pleasures, but 4 ladies from France arrive on the scene and hilarity ensues. Can the noblemen keep their oaths to study? Will they break their vows and study only the women?

Add the common folk from the area, a school master, a curate, and a fantastical Spaniard, and you have a recipe ripe for good times for all.

The actors are a wonderful mixture of veterans of the Hilo stage and new faces. You will be enchanted by the versification and amused by the bombast. There is fun for all family members.

Evening performances are:

Thursdays through Saturdays, July 1, 2, 3;       8, 9, 10;     15, 16, and 17 at 7:30 p.m.

There are two Sunday matinees on July 4 and 11 at 2 p.m.

KALAKAUA PARK – DOWNTOWN HILO

As always, Shakespeare in the Park is offered as our gift to the Hilo Community, FREE OF CHARGE. We are grateful for the support we receive from our wonderful audiences.  Donations are gratefully accepted – MAHALO!!

Bat Boy 420

A Benefit Concert

Supporting Hilo Community Players’

Upcoming Production of

“Bat Boy, the Musical”

Join us for the Best Burgers in town, and enjoy an evening of fun at the Hilo Burger Joint!

Tuesday, April 20  –   5:00-8:00 pm

LIVE MUSIC!!!

This is what it’s all about!!  THREE LIVE BANDS!!!

Out of Nowhere

The Elementalz

The Glatzer-Schutte Experience

AND

The Cast of “BAT BOY, THE MUSICAL”!!

We will be previewing numbers from the show!!  You’ll get to see first-hand just how amazingly talented this cast is!!  They blow my mind every night.

Tuesday, April 20  –   5:00-8:00 pm

DOOR PRIZES!

We’ve received some valuable donations from our generous supporters, and we would LOVE to give them to YOU!  Buy more tickets, and increase your chances!

DRINK SPECIALS!

The Hilo Burger Joint will be offering some fantastic deals, to keep the fun flowing!  They will also be donating a portion of their sales to our cause.  They’re just really cool that way.  The more you support the Hilo Burger Joint, the more they support us!  It’s what they call a “win-win” situation!

No cover, but donations are gratefully accepted.  That is why we’re doing this, after all…

Tuesday, April 20  –   5:00-8:00 pm

HCP’s upcoming production of “Bat Boy, the Musical” (Opening April 30, at the Akebono Theater in Pahoa) promises to be suprising, dark, edgy, funny, and even romantic.  And bloody… oh yes…  The music is rich, diverse, and tremendously challenging.  The story of an outsider, a freak, a half-human half-bat who yearns for love and acceptance while battling his own primal needs…

Directed by Randy Raphael (Hedwig, Tempest, Shrew), with Choreography by Lina Manning (Music Man, Oz, Gypsy), and Musical Direction by Gonzo (Cabaret, Rocky, Hedwig).  With a team like that, you can be sure this will be a top-quality adventurous production.

For more details about the show, visit http://hilocommunityplayers.org/batboy

Tuesday, April 20  –   5:00-8:00 pm

Mounting a production of this size takes an enormous amount of work, and a significant amount of money.  We truly need your support to help fund this production.  We need to raise money, to keep ticket prices affordable and accessible for everyone.  Please help out as much as you can.  We really appreciate it.  We simply cannot do it without your support.

Mahalo!

Hilo Community Players has produced Shakespeare in the Park for 32 years, and we are thrilled to announce the cast list for Love’s Labour’s Lost, our 33^rd Annual Shakespeare in the Park. Congratulations to this fine cast.

FERDINAND, King of Navarre              Robert Hunt

BEROWNE,    lord attending on the King            Nick Brosseau       

LONGAVILLE, lord attending on the King            Ian Schroeder

DUMAIN,     lord attending on the King              Evan Silberstein

BOYET,   lord attending on the Princess of France            Jake McPherson

DON ADRIANO DE ARMADO, fantastical Spaniard           George Ramirez

SIR NATHANIEL, a curate      Chelley Edwards

HOLOFERNES, a schoolmaster            Carol Coggin

DULL, a constable  Catherine McPherson

COSTARD, a clown                Leslie Kelly

MOTH, page to Armado       Iris McPherson

THE PRINCESS OF FRANCE   Felix

ROSALINE, lady attending on the Princess         Bria Callaway

MARIA,    lady attending on the Princess           Justine Thompson

KATHARINE, lady attending on the Princess       Laura Caswell

JAQUENETTA, a country wench           Stephanie Becher

Many fine actors auditioned for this show, and the casting choices were difficult. The co-directors, Amy and Jake, wish to heartily thank all the people who turned out for auditions. Your presence made our job fun and anguishing. This is a big show and will take the work of many people to pull it off. If there is any work backstage you wish to contribute, please contact us through this web site.

Mahalo nui loa!

Join us on SUNDAY, and GET YOUR CAR CLEAN!

The Hilo Community Players are ready to scrub your ride, and get it sparkling clean! Support a great cause, and finally give your car the bath it deserves!

We are currently in production on “Bat Boy, the Musical,” an amazing musical theatre extravaganza! We are working hard to really showcase some amazing community talent! And we’re also working hard to raise the funds to build the set, make the costumes, and to rent the Akebono Theater for the show. PLEASE HELP! Your support of local, volunteer, community theatre is SO important!

Because of you, our Hilo community, we can continue to produce exceptional performance opportunities for the talented singers and dancers that make up our cast. Because of you.

Suggested donation is $5.
Tickets may be purchased in advance from any cast member – they make great gifts!
Buy three tickets, get one free!!
Share with your friends!
Buy one for your husband!

It’s gonna be a fun day! come and join us!

LOCATION:
Prudential Orchid Isle Properties
101 Hualalai
(between Burger King, and K’s Drive-In)

SUNDAY MARCH 28
9:00am – 1:00pm

Come play with us! And support an amazing event!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

FRIDAY, SATURDAY and SUNDAY, March 19, 20, and 21.

Steve Peyton, who has graciously allowed us to store our scenery on his property, has negotiated the purchase of two new storage containers!  In order to install them, we need to do a MASSIVE cleanout of our storage space, move the existing container, clear out a lot of foliage, and then install the new containers and put everything back.  This project will take at least a couple of weekends of back-breaking work.

The first big work weekend will be FRIDAY, SATURDAY and SUNDAY, March 19, 20, and 21.

This first weekend will involve moving all of our stored scenery out from under the Banyan Tree, and doing some MASSIVE cutting of branches and roots to make room for the new containers.  It WILL take ALL OF US to do this job!

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

If you can help out on this grand project, please call Steve at 966-8282.  We need strong backs, chainsaws, trucks, lunches, sodas, and anything else you can bring to the table.

Also, please be sure to thank Steve for his continued efforts on our behalf.  Community Theatre takes a lot more work, but it builds an extremely strong community.  Thanks again for all you do to keep HCP alive and well!

May the Bard be with you

Love’s Labour’s Lost

The Hilo Community Players is thrilled to announce open auditions for their 33^rd Annual Shakespeare in the Park. This year will see “Love’s Labour’s Lost” vibrantly brought to life.

Audition dates are the first 2 weekends of April.

Saturdays, April 3 and 10, from 2 to 4 p.m., and

Sundays, April 4 and 11, from 5 to 7 p.m

The location for auditions is the Pueo Community Center on Wainaku Street in Hilo.

Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script and perhaps some improvisational work as well.

This production will stretch your talents as an actor or techie. The production will be workshopped involving character building, improvisation, versification, and other acting exercises. All levels of talent and all ages are encouraged to attend auditions.

There are parts for 11 males and 5 females.

The Text:

Four young noblemen vow to study and avoid all forms of recreation and distraction for a period of 3 years. Four lovely ladies on an embassy from the king of France arrive on the scene and thoroughly discombobulate the studious gentlemen. A mixture of clownish figures add a touch of mayhem to the proceedings, and some notable scholars attending on the young noblemen perform hilarious language games.

The language of the play is some of the best Shakespeare wrote. The nobles all speak in iambic pentameter, and sonnets are scattered throughout the play, standing alone or as part of longer speeches.

If you have questions, contact the co-directors Amy Jackson and Jake McPherson.

amyjproductions (at) gmail.com

hawaii.jake (at) yahoo.com

Bat Boy, the Musical

CAST LIST

Bat Boy the Musical

We are THRILLED to announce the cast of “Bat Boy, the Musical!”  Congratulations to these amazing performers!!

Edgar – Joshua Adams

Meredith – Yisa Var

Dr. Parker – Phillip Russell

Shelley – Gloria Baraquio

Sherriff Reynolds – Roch Jones

Pan – Daron Scarborough

Reverend Hightower – Clay Callaway

Mrs. Taylor – Laura Andres

Rick Taylor – Mark DeMoss

Ron Taylor – Kira Sirois

Ruthie Taylor – Cara Leonard

ENSEMBLE

(Daisy, Bud, Roy, Ned, Mayor Maggie, Lorraine, Institute Man, Doctor, etc…)

• - Jade Ellis

• - Koran Munafo

• - Jessica Dempsey

• - Laura Andres

• - Mark DeMoss

• - Cara Leonard

• - Roch Jones

Assembling this cast was a surprising challenge.  We met a lot of GREAT new talent!  There were so many strong voices, and so many strong performers.  MAHALO NUI LOA to all who tried out!  I’m so grateful to each of you for lending your support to this project.  This show is going to be an insane amount of work, and we’re going to need everyone’s help to pull it all together.  Thank you, and take pride in knowing that you’re continuing a grand tradition of Community Theatre!  Together, on stage, back stage, in the scene shop, in the box office, we make magic happen!  YOU are the Community in “Community Theatre.”

Bat Boy Audition Flyer

Auditions!

Saturday, Feb 20, 2-5pm

Wednesday, Feb 24, 6-9pm

Puueo Community Center (Clem Akina Park) on Wainaku – same place we always do auditions.

More info on the Official Bat Boy Page!

Can’t wait to see you there!!!