WILL ROGERS’ USA
NOV. 6 – NOV. 22, 2020
AT-HOME CABARET
NOV. 16, 2020
Dec. 4 – 19, 2020
Feb. 27 – Mar. 20, 2021
APR. 24 – MAY 15, 2021
Jun. 5 – 26, 2021
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Most Affordable Option: Subscribing to the whole season saves you up to 10% on tickets for the year!
Guaranteed Seats: LTA puts on fantastic, sold-out shows each year. As a subscriber, you are ensured a seat to every main stage performance. However, if you purchase the 6-show series subscription, The Producers will not be included. A Christmas Carol is also not included in any subscription package but can be purchased separately.
Reserved Seats: With season tickets you will not have to wait in line to pick up tickets since your seats will already be reserved and the tickets mailed to you.
Exchanges: If the date you have doesn’t work for you, you may exchange your ticket for another date during the run of the show. Exchanges for subscribers are free unless moving to a more expensive performance.
Our 2021 Subscriptions are now closed.
For information, email Box Office Manager, Crissy Wilke, at crissy@thelittletheatre.com
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dear LTA Friends—
We are fortunate that the number of COVID cases in Northern Virginia continues to be relatively lower than most areas around the US. There is now general agreement, however, that the dreaded “second wave” of infections (a wave that has been anticipated as far back as April) has begun to materialize as predicted. With this in mind, I have updated the theater’s reopening plan; you can find it here: LTA ReOpening Plan – October 26 update. This plan remains the best statement of LTA’s procedures and policies for dealing with the virus. With a second wave looming, now is the time for all of us to double down on our preparedness. Please re-read the plan and, once you have, follow the rules within it. The health and well-being of your fellow theater lovers are at stake.
Here are a few reminders:
- Come to LTA only if you have necessary and urgent business to conduct.
- Never come to LTA if you are running a fever, exhibiting other signs of COVID, or have been recently exposed to someone with COVID.
- Board members, current teachers, and volunteers/actors working on the production on stage now don’t need to get permission to visit LTA.
- All others coming to LTA must arrange their arrival with Tina McCrea through the appropriate governor or the LTA safety officers.
- Everyone approved to be at LTA must enter only through the front door, register in the book, and use the hand sanitizer and the sanitizing supplies provided.
Again, I ask you to take a few minutes to read or re-read the plan. If you have questions, please ask.
Regards,
Russell M. Wyland, LTA President.
Dear LTA members, subscribers, and patrons—
The LTA Board is excited to announce that the next production in the “Small Theater for Unusual Times” series will be Will Rogers’ U.S.A., a show that brings to the stage the wit and wisdom of America’s foremost political satirist and cowboy philosopher. Will Rogers’ U.S.A. will replace The Belle of Amherst, which had to be cancelled because of unforeseen circumstances (NOT related to Covid). Will Rogers’ U.S.A. will run for 8 performances beginning November 6. Tickets are currently available on Eventbrite for members and subscribers; they will be opened to the general public on October 23.
Will Rogers’ U.S.A. is directed by Frank D. Shutts, II and stars Rob Cork, who is reprising a role that has charmed audiences in the DC metro area for almost a decade. LTA hopes to stage The Belle of Amherst at a later date.
Russell Wyland, LTA President
| COVID-19 might be keeping you at home, but it does not need to keep you out of our theater! For the next several months, LTA will perform “Small Shows for Unusual Times.” With social distancing in effect, we can fill only 46 of our 215 seats. A clever way of distancing our audiences while giving our performers the feeling of a sold-out event is to fill our unused seats with silhouettes sporting your face or that of a friend, family member, or pet. We can also just put a name tag on your silhouette if you prefer. These silhouettes will occupy the seats in between our attendees. Won’t you help raise funds for LTA by donating $30 (suggested) to purchase a silhouette until we return to a more normal capacity?
There are two steps to participate in our fundraiser: 1). Scan and email a high-definition headshot or facially dominated picture (meaning your face takes up most of the picture) to tina@thelittletheatre.com. Yes, phone pics are fine! 2). Mail your check (payable to LTA) to the theatre or call the LTA business office and speak with Tina McCrea to make your donation by credit card at 703-683-5778 x 2. The Little Theater of Alexandria Attn: Take-A-Seat Campaign 600 Wolfe Street Alexandria, VA 22314 Email Tina or Frank Shutts (fds_2@hotmail.com) with any questions. Please donate before October 9, if possible. |
The Little Theatre of Alexandria is asking for volunteers to make washable face masks, which we are then donating to charities around the city that are supporting the COVID-19 relief efforts. LTA will provide mask making kits including fabric, elastic, and instructions. If you would like to participate, please contact Susan Boyd, Governor for Artistic Support at susan.fashionpolice@gmail.com, so we can arrange contact-free pickup and drop off of your kits and finished masks.
Dear Members, Subscribers, Patrons, and Friends—
On behalf of the Board of Governors, I hope this update finds you, your family and friends, happy and healthy. It has been some time since I provided an LTA update, and I have news to share.
“Mamma Mia, here I go again.” I am sorry to report that LTA has cancelled our January production of Mamma Mia! It has always been our hope to be one of the first community theaters to stage this landmark musical. However, after discussing it with the Alexandria Health Department and failing to find ways to safely stage the production, the next step became clear. Many thanks to those who have invested so much time and energy into this production, especially co-producers Bobbie Herbst and Rachel Alberts, director Joanna Henry, choreographer Stefan Sittig, and music director Christopher A. Tomasino. In the coming months, the Board will try to reschedule Mamma Mia! If you’re a subscriber and you paid for your subscription by credit card, we will be giving you the three remaining shows—The Revolutionists, Mary Stuart, and Prelude to a Kiss—and not charging you for Mamma Mia! If you paid for your subscription by cash or check, you will be given our summer 2021 musical—the Tony Award-winning Something Rotten!—instead of Mamma Mia! (plus the other three shows in the season).
Given the challenges inherent in performing in the January time slot, the Board has decided to give LTA a much-needed post-holiday break for some building maintenance.
Even with the changes in our schedule, our box office continues to be busy. Many have been asking us, “When can subscribers expect to receive their tickets? And when will tickets be available for members and the public?” In addition to the other challenges LTA is facing with COVID19, we have also been informed that our long-time ticketing system, Vendini, will be terminated later this year by its new owner, AudienceView. Whether we opt for another AudienceView or switch to a different ticket provider, our Box Office will need time this fall to transition to the new ticketing system and be ready to print tickets. With our first regular season show now not scheduled until the end of February 2021, we plan to mail out subscriber ticket packages around mid-January. For members and the public (and for everyone hoping to see our unique presentation of A Christmas Carol), tickets for each of the remaining shows this season will be made available approximately 4 weeks before the show’s opening. This delayed ticketing schedule will also allow LTA to better assess prevailing public health conditions and determine our safe audience capacity for each show.
As noted above, the LTA Safety Officers and I met with a representative of the Alexandria Health Department. There were two major “take aways” from our meeting:
1.) LTA has been officially sanctioned as a member of ALX Promise, a voluntary service within Alexandria that certifies that a business complies with health and safety standards during the pandemic. This is exciting news. It means LTA is meeting or exceeding all national, state, and city standards. For your safety, please consider patronizing ALX Promise-sanctioned businesses by visiting their website.
2.) Social distancing requirements will be in place until perhaps two months after the introduction of a vaccine. Therefore, the Board has decided to flip-flop two shows in our season. Opening in mid-February will be The Revolutionists. This exciting, small-cast show lends itself to a socially distanced performance. Prelude to a Kiss, which had occupied the mid-February time slot, will now be performed in the June time slot vacated by The Revolutionists.
”Small Theatre for Unusual Times” is generating a lot of excitement in the community. Our first show, Love Letters, directed by Joanna Henry and starring Nicky and Steve McDonnell, is just about out of tickets. We are able to offer a maximum of 46 seats for each performance (safely distanced across our 215-seat auditorium). Reservations for Mixed Doubles and Belle of Amherst will open soon.
LTA’s Scrooge extraordinaire Michael J. Baker, Jr. will be bringing a new adaptation of A Christmas Carol to the LTA stage in December. The high-tech, but traditional, rendering of this classic will no doubt have all of Alexandria talking. Intrigued? More to come, I promise.
While LTA’s HVAC system is relatively new and relatively same, we will be doing filter upgrades later this month. The new super-filters will ensure that the air in our building is clean and safe to breathe. Does this mean you can take off your face mask? No. Sorry. Face masks still required.
Eager to know more about LTA’s reopening plans? Please visit the Reopening plan listed below.
Stay healthy,
Russell Wyland, LTA President
A full copy of LTA’s Reopening Plan can be found HERE: LTA ReOpening Plan
At this difficult time, The Little Theatre of Alexandria stands fully and proudly with the African American community and the Black Lives Matter movement, and we stand strongly against injustice and racism. Actively dismantling racism in all its forms is a challenge and opportunity that must be embraced by all, and LTA is committed to redoubling its efforts to use the power of the stage and our community to make Alexandria a better—more just, more diverse, more welcoming–place to live, work, and play.
At LTA, we are listening; but we are acting too. The LTA Board has formed a DEI (Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion) committee to increase the presence of people of color not just in front of the curtain, but in all aspects of our theater. If you have ideas for how LTA can improve itself going forward, please contact LTA President Russell Wyland (russellwyland@gmail.com). Join us as we move forward and create a better tomorrow.
We’re excited to announce the launch of Script Addicts, an informal play-reading group hosted at LTA! We’ll be gathering every other Sunday from 7pm to 9pm, beginning March 1st on the second floor of the Academy, and reading all kinds of plays (mostly comedies, as the world is dramatic enough). We’ll assign roles at random and switch parts throughout the evening, without regard to age or gender. Not an actor? Not a problem! All that’s required is a desire to read some plays, make some friends, and have some fun.
UPDATE: LTA’s playreading group, Script Addicts, is moving online!
Join the Facebook group linked below or send an email to ltascriptaddicts@gmail.com to be added.
Link to join meeting from desktop or laptop:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/5432132388
(Need to create an account and download some software to use the desktop version.)
Or download the free Zoom app to a phone or tablet and enter meeting number 543 213 2388
The room will be open from 6:30 to 8:00 every night this week if people want to test their connections!
Admission is free!
Upcoming shows at 8PM: October 24. For ages 18 and up.
They’ll use your suggestions to create a fun night of improv! Snacks and drinks will be served. All current LTA Improv students get in free. Everyone else pay what you choose ($5 recommended donation). Like their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter to learn more about their upcoming shows!
AUDITIONS
The Revolutionists
By Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Jennifer Lyman
The Little Theatre of Alexandria
Liberté, Egalité, Sororité! The literal translation is “liberty, equality, sorority” with the later also meaning “sisterhood” – an apt catch phrase for this feminist revolutionary comedy!
Four beautiful, badass women lose their heads in this irreverent, girl-powered comedy set during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen (and fan of ribbons) Marie Antoinette, and Hattian rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, and try to beat back the extremist insanity in 1793 Paris.
“…a sassy, hold-on-to-your-seats theatrical adventure… [Gunderson] has created a play that is wonderfully wild and raucous. …It’s a wild ride, filled with verbal gymnastics that come racing at you so quickly it’s occasionally hard to keep up.” —Cincinnati Enquirer.
“The Revolutionists resembles a blindingly scintillating gem-like puzzle… By turns it is drolly funny and affectingly poignant, then doubles back to satirical farce, then ends by bringing into stark relief the social commentary that it has been nurturing all night.” —FloridaTheaterOnStage.com.
Please note that due to the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic, LTA will be producing The Revolutionists as a badass staged reading! Actors, cast, and audience will be masked and socially distanced for our mutual safety. While there will not be a full set or blocking, there will be full costumes, lights, sound, and a lot of modern, irreverent, feminist, political comedy.
Auditions: Saturday, December 12, 2 – 5 pm and Sunday, December 13, 6 – 9 pm, via Zoom.
Auditions will be conducted on Zoom. Auditions will consist of a memorized, contemporary, comic monologue no more than 2 minutes in length. Sign up for an audition slot here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0549a9ab2ca5fd0-auditions.
An audition form and conflict schedule will be emailed to you. Please return the audition form, a headshot, acting resume, and a list of all conflicts during the rehearsal and performance period of December, January, February, and March to secure your audition slot.
Call backs: Tuesday, December 15, 7 pm, via Zoom.
Rehearsals: We will be rehearsing one or two nights a week via Zoom until February 15th when rehearsals will be in person at LTA. All in person rehearsals will require all participants to be masked and socially distanced. The rehearsal schedule will be designed around the cast’s conflicts.
Performances: Performances will be at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria, VA, Saturday, February 27 – Saturday, March 20, 2021. Performances will be Tuesdays – Saturday nights, and Sunday afternoons. Cast, crew, and audience will be masked, will maintain social distance, and will follow LTA’s pandemic safety protocols (see note below).
Cast:
Olympe de Gouges – 35-45. Badass activist playwright and feminist. Theatre nerd, excitable, passionate, a showman. Widowed and never remarried to ensure her personal freedom.
Charlotte Corday – 25-30. Badass country girl and assassin. Very serious, hardened by righteousness, never been kissed. Has a pocket watch she keeps checking. Also plays “Fraternite”
Marie-Antoinette – 25-35. Less badass but fascinating former queen of France. Bubbly, graceful, opinionated, totally unaware, unintentionally rude, and oddly prescient. Never had a real friend. Also plays “Fraternite”
Marianne Angelle – 30-40. A badass black woman in Paris. She is from the Caribbean, a free woman, a spy working with her husband, Vincent. Tough, classy, vigilant, the sanest one of them all.
NOTE: Information regarding LTA’s safety protocols during the Coronavirus Pandemic can be found here: http://thelittletheatre.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/LTA-ReOpening-Plan-Main-1.pdf
Via Zoom, September 25, 7:30pm
LTA’s A Christmas Carol for 2020 will be the most unique ever. It will feature live, virtual, and animated elements. We are looking for a family who can portray Mr. Cratchit, Mrs. Cratchit, and Tiny Tim. Tiny Tim will also portray Turkey Boy and Boy Scrooge. These three characters will participate in Zoom rehearsals in October and three rehearsals at LTA in early November, with a taping date of Saturday, November 15. All of LTA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols will be followed.
Tiny Tim should be around 8 years old. If there is another young child in the family, we will work them into the production so they won’t feel left out. The family audition date is Friday, September 25 at 7:30 p.m. Please contact our director Mike Baker at Mike@nationalartstelevision.com and he will send you copy to rehearse and set up a time for your family to read. You will also be sent a link.
We promise you will have a great time. Imagine sitting in the audience and being able to see yourself on stage in a live performance. And you will also be given a tape of the production for your reels. This truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity!
Future Audition Dates
Audition notices will be posted as they become available.
Audition dates are subject to change. Check back for updates.
To download an audition form click HERE.
If race is not integral to the script, LTA is actively committed to conscious, diverse casting.
NOTE:
- If you have a headshot and acting résumé, you may bring them with you; auditionees, however, may be asked to have their picture taken by the LTA photographer.
- Please bring an accurate list of rehearsal conflicts with you to the audition.
All actors cast are required to become acting or regular members of LTA within two weeks of being cast.
To download a performing membership form click HERE.
For all other membership options click HERE.
To receive future information on auditions at LTA, send your email information to the LTA office at asklta@thelittletheatre.com with the subject line AUDITION EMAIL LIST.
