Shop at Whole Foods, Support OCP
Whole Foods will be hosting a community support day for the Omaha Community Playhouse. Shop at Whole Foods on Tuesday, Dec. 18 and Whole Foods will donate 5% of the day's net sales to OCP.
A Behind the Scenes Look at A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol has been a beloved holiday tradition at the Omaha Community Playhouse for 37 years. Families across the country are drawn every year to this magical production of Charles Dickens' classic Christmas story. Have you ever wondered how A Christmas Carol comes together every year? The process is long and complex and requires the help of an experienced and dedicated production staff. Last year NET filmed the entire process and is airing the special one-hour documentary “From Casting Call To Curtain Call” on Friday, November 16.
A Christmas Carol is a huge undertaking every year. Not only does OCP produce its Mainstage production but it also puts on touring versions through the professional touring arm, the Nebraska Theatre Caravan. October and November are a few of the busiest months of the year, as the production staff works diligently to coordinate the precisely choreographed rehearsal schedules of multiple full scale productions. NET documented every aspect of the Mainstage process by filming auditions, rehearsals and performances up until closing night. The documentary features interviews and special commentary from Directors Carl Beck, Susie Collins and Amy Lane, Musical Director Jim Boggess and Stage Manager Jeanne Shelton. Cast members share their thoughts on the production process and how they work to provide the same level of authenticity to their characters as in past years. For some, it is their first year; for others, it is their 25th year. Nonetheless they must all work together to create the memorable characters and scenes that make A Christmas Carol a true holiday classic. Nearly one hundred people, mostly volunteers, make these shows come to life. While A Christmas Carol may be a complex production, experienced staff members and a dedicated team of volunteers make the process work like clockwork. After Jerry Longe takes the last bow as Ebenezer Scrooge on closing night, the sets get torn down, props get stored and costumes get put aways until next year.
See A Christmas Carol this holiday season, and watch as Ebenezer Scrooge takes us on a life-changing journey filled with beautiful costumes, exquisite music, perfectly crafted sets and special effects second to none. Perfect for the whole family! Be sure to check out the NET documentary: “Casting Call to Curtain Call” on Friday November 16, to catch an in-depth look at the making of A Christmas Carol.
Tickets are on sale now, and the show runs Nov. 16-Dec. 23 in the Howard and Rhonda Hawks Mainstage Theatre. Tickets: Before Dec. 15, $35 (adults) $24 (students), Dec. 15-23, $39 (adults) $28 (students); Groups of 12 or more: $32 (adults) $18 (students). There are no Twilight tickets. Call (402) 553-0800, click here or come in.
Story by Ryan Murray
A Christmas Carol is a huge undertaking every year. Not only does OCP produce its Mainstage production but it also puts on touring versions through the professional touring arm, the Nebraska Theatre Caravan. October and November are a few of the busiest months of the year, as the production staff works diligently to coordinate the precisely choreographed rehearsal schedules of multiple full scale productions. NET documented every aspect of the Mainstage process by filming auditions, rehearsals and performances up until closing night. The documentary features interviews and special commentary from Directors Carl Beck, Susie Collins and Amy Lane, Musical Director Jim Boggess and Stage Manager Jeanne Shelton. Cast members share their thoughts on the production process and how they work to provide the same level of authenticity to their characters as in past years. For some, it is their first year; for others, it is their 25th year. Nonetheless they must all work together to create the memorable characters and scenes that make A Christmas Carol a true holiday classic. Nearly one hundred people, mostly volunteers, make these shows come to life. While A Christmas Carol may be a complex production, experienced staff members and a dedicated team of volunteers make the process work like clockwork. After Jerry Longe takes the last bow as Ebenezer Scrooge on closing night, the sets get torn down, props get stored and costumes get put aways until next year.
See A Christmas Carol this holiday season, and watch as Ebenezer Scrooge takes us on a life-changing journey filled with beautiful costumes, exquisite music, perfectly crafted sets and special effects second to none. Perfect for the whole family! Be sure to check out the NET documentary: “Casting Call to Curtain Call” on Friday November 16, to catch an in-depth look at the making of A Christmas Carol.
Tickets are on sale now, and the show runs Nov. 16-Dec. 23 in the Howard and Rhonda Hawks Mainstage Theatre. Tickets: Before Dec. 15, $35 (adults) $24 (students), Dec. 15-23, $39 (adults) $28 (students); Groups of 12 or more: $32 (adults) $18 (students). There are no Twilight tickets. Call (402) 553-0800, click here or come in.
Story by Ryan Murray
1,000th Performance of A Christmas Carol
Time to celebrate! Friday, November 30, 2012 marks the 1,000th performance of A Christmas Carol at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Former cast and crew members are invited to attend the show for $25. For this special discount, contact the OCP Box Office at (402) 553-0800.
November Metro Arts and Culture Pass Deal
Enjoy the arts with a Metro Arts and Culture Pass! If you are a season subscriber to the Omaha Community Playhouse, in the month of November, you can receive 10% off tickets to Aspen Santa Fe Ballet's "Nutcracker" through Omaha Performing Arts. You can also receive $1 off admission at Strategic Air and Space Museum.
The Metro Arts and Culture Pass is sponsored by The Reader and features various nonprofit arts organizations around Omaha. In order to be a Metro Arts and Culture Pass member, you only must be a member or subscriber to one of the participating organizations. Every month, OCP members can enjoy a discount at a different featured Omaha arts organization.
Other participating organizations include:
Omaha Children's Museum
Omaha Performing Arts
Bemis Center
Durham Museum
Opera Omaha
El Museo Latino
The Rose
Film Streams
Nebraska Shakespeare
Joslyn Art Museum
Fontenelle Nature Association
The Arts Center
Ballet Nebraska
Love's Jazz and Arts Center
Lauritzen Gardens
Bluffs Arts Council
The Metro Arts and Culture Pass is sponsored by The Reader and features various nonprofit arts organizations around Omaha. In order to be a Metro Arts and Culture Pass member, you only must be a member or subscriber to one of the participating organizations. Every month, OCP members can enjoy a discount at a different featured Omaha arts organization.
Other participating organizations include:
Omaha Children's Museum
Omaha Performing Arts
Bemis Center
Durham Museum
Opera Omaha
El Museo Latino
The Rose
Film Streams
Nebraska Shakespeare
Joslyn Art Museum
Fontenelle Nature Association
The Arts Center
Ballet Nebraska
Love's Jazz and Arts Center
Lauritzen Gardens
Bluffs Arts Council
Strategic Air and Space Museum
Nebraskans for the Arts
BlueBarn Theatre
Kaneko
For more information about the Metro Arts Pass, contact the director of sales at lkaup@omahaplayhouse.com or (402) 553-4890, ext. 147.
Nebraskans for the Arts
BlueBarn Theatre
Kaneko
For more information about the Metro Arts Pass, contact the director of sales at lkaup@omahaplayhouse.com or (402) 553-4890, ext. 147.
Don't be a Scrooge. Help fight hunger.
It just isn't Christmas without A Christmas Carol. An Omaha holiday tradition for 37 years, Scrooge takes us on a life-changing journey that shows us it truly is much better to give than to receive. This year, we ask you to make giving a part of your holiday tradition.
208,200 people in Nebraska and Western Iowa are food insecure, and 83,800 children under the age of 19 are at-risk for hunger. This holiday season, the Omaha Community Playhouse is partnering with Omaha Performing Arts, Omaha Symphony, Opera Omaha and ConAgra Foods to collect non-perishable food items for the Food Bank for the Heartland as part of Shine the Light on Hunger.
During November and December, drop off non-perishable food items at OCP or other participating locations to help fight hunger. The top food items needed are:
For more information, call (402) 553-0800.
208,200 people in Nebraska and Western Iowa are food insecure, and 83,800 children under the age of 19 are at-risk for hunger. This holiday season, the Omaha Community Playhouse is partnering with Omaha Performing Arts, Omaha Symphony, Opera Omaha and ConAgra Foods to collect non-perishable food items for the Food Bank for the Heartland as part of Shine the Light on Hunger.
During November and December, drop off non-perishable food items at OCP or other participating locations to help fight hunger. The top food items needed are:
- Pasta and pasta sauce
- Peanut butter
- Canned fruit, vegetables and meat
- Crackers
- Macaroni and cheese
- Pork and beans
- Hamburger Helper and other boxed meals
- Canned soup
- Tuna or chicken
- Pancake mix
- Cereal
For more information, call (402) 553-0800.
ConAgra Foods is doing its part to make sure child hunger ends here! Join us to help the more than 16 million* children in America, including the Omaha-Metro area, who don't have consistent access to food throughout the year.
From staged reading to full production: The story of boom.
Every production at the Omaha Community Playhouse has its
beginning where the cast comes together for their first read through, the
design team creates the set and the director establishes the blocking of the
show. OCP’s boom is
unique in that it already has a head start on the process. Boom kicked off OCP’s
21 & Over series in 2010 with a staged reading featuring most of the same
actors that will appear in the full production.
Director Amy Lane is the 21 & Over visionary and coordinator
and has been involved with boom
since
its initial staged reading. When asked why boom was chosen for the 21 &Over series,
Amy said, “boom
was the most produced comedy in the United States for the 2010/2011 season. I
thought it would be great to kick off 21 & Over with a great comedy that
hadn’t been produced in Nebraska.”
She said, “The 21 & Over series is a way to reach out
to new audiences and to experiment with new works. The idea of alternative
programming OCP was developed as a way to try new things, to engage in
a national dialogue with the newest and edgiest works in American theatre and
to expose our audiences to the future of theatre. The Playhouse is a leader in
the cultural force of Nebraska. 21 & Over allows us to push the envelope.”
The transformation from a staged reading to a full
production is an unusual process that allows greater character development and
a better understanding of the script. Amy explains, “It's unusual to start a rehearsal
process with a cast who are so familiar with the play and the roles. Instead of
starting from scratch, as is the case with most plays, we are able from the
first rehearsal to draw from a pretty deep understanding of the script. Instead
of a blank page, we are starting with a well-defined sketch and go from there
to fill in the details.”
She adds, “Directing a reading has its own unique challenges
especially in terms of space. For the readings, we perform on the sets of the
current Howard Drew productions. For boom,
it was on the set of A Thousand Clowns.
The challenge is to make one play make sense in a space that was designed for
an entirely different story. For the full production, of course, the set
will be designed specifically to meet the needs of boom. One of my favorite parts of directing has always been the
collaboration with designers in creating the world of the play. This was
no exception; all of the designers embraced this quirky little world and have
designed some great stuff.”
Boom is the second show in the Howard Drew theatre this
season and is part of OCP’s new “Find Your Stage” concept featuring
contemporary and edgy shows. When asked why boom was a good fit for the Howard Drew
series, Amy explained, “Our new concept for the Howard Drew Theatre embraces the
idea of theatrical adventures, contemporary scripts and edgy work. Boom is a perfect fit.
It is written by an amazing up-and-coming playwright, Peter Nachtrieb, and is
one of the best comedies of the past five years. It's a quirky little story of love, hope and the end of the
world.”
Boom
is a hopeful story about a graduate student taking on the preservation of the
human race through a personal ad as the end of the world approaches. Disaster
strikes, food is running out, the lab-turned-shelter is beyond repair and the
fish are acting strange. Will he and his "date" survive? This
hilarious romantic comedy turned sci-fi fantasy is contemporary theatre at its
best.
See this show come to life. Boom runs October 19-November 18 in the
Howard Drew Theatre. Tickets are $35 for adults and $21 for student tickets.
For groups of 12 or more, tickets are $23 for adults and $15 for students. For
tickets or for more information, visit the OCP Box Office, call (402) 553-0800
or click here.
Metro Arts and Culture Pass October Deal
Enjoy the arts with a Metro Arts and Culture Pass! If you are a season subscriber to the Omaha Community Playhouse, in the month of October, you can receive 2 tickets to Ballet Nebraska's "Momentum" for $50. You can also receive 50% off general admission to the Bemis Center's annual art auction.
The Metro Arts and Culture Pass is sponsored by The Reader and features various nonprofit arts organizations around Omaha. In order to be a Metro Arts and Culture Pass member, you only must be a member or subscriber to one of the participating organizations. Every month, OCP members can enjoy a discount at a different featured Omaha arts organization.
Other participating organizations include:
Omaha Children's Museum
Omaha Performing Arts
Bemis Center
Durham Museum
Opera Omaha
El Museo Latino
The Rose
Film Streams
Nebraska Shakespeare
Joslyn Art Museum
Fontenelle Nature Association
The Arts Center
Ballet Nebraska
Love's Jazz and Arts Center
Lauritzen Gardens
Bluffs Arts Council
The Metro Arts and Culture Pass is sponsored by The Reader and features various nonprofit arts organizations around Omaha. In order to be a Metro Arts and Culture Pass member, you only must be a member or subscriber to one of the participating organizations. Every month, OCP members can enjoy a discount at a different featured Omaha arts organization.
Other participating organizations include:
Omaha Children's Museum
Omaha Performing Arts
Bemis Center
Durham Museum
Opera Omaha
El Museo Latino
The Rose
Film Streams
Nebraska Shakespeare
Joslyn Art Museum
Fontenelle Nature Association
The Arts Center
Ballet Nebraska
Love's Jazz and Arts Center
Lauritzen Gardens
Bluffs Arts Council
Strategic Air and Space Museum
Nebraskans for the Arts
BlueBarn Theatre
Kaneko
For more information about the Metro Arts Pass, contact the director of sales at lkaup@omahaplayhouse.com or (402) 553-4890, ext. 147.
Nebraskans for the Arts
BlueBarn Theatre
Kaneko
For more information about the Metro Arts Pass, contact the director of sales at lkaup@omahaplayhouse.com or (402) 553-4890, ext. 147.
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