USP announces auditions for The Little Mermaid!
Tickets for Kiss me, Kate are on sale!
Tickets for Kiss me, Kate are on sale now!
Sign language interpreter available on July 31st
Please look for the Tickets tab on the main page of our website or click on the button below to purchase your tickets.
If you have questions regarding tickets, please feel free to contact the USP Box office at 641-204-1094 or uspboxoffice@gmail.com.
Kiss me, Kate has been cast!
Fred Graham/Petruchio Spence Vermeer
Lilli Vanessi/Kathryn Lynn Cooper
Lois Lane/Bianca Sara Collins
Bill Calhoun/Lucentio Shawn Pavlik
Harrison Howell Greg May
Gangster Robert Uy
Gangster Danny Rivas
Harry Trevor/Baptista Arvin Van Zante
Hattie Kim Beyer
Ralph Arlyn Stuart
Paul Jobe Fee
Gremio/Ensemble Doug DeWolf
Hortensio/Ensemble Dave Erickson
Dance Captain/Ensemble Hannah Blom
Ensemble/Quartet Sarah Purdy
Ensemble/Quartet Marti Zylstra
Ensemble/Quartet Elise Pederson
Ensemble/Quartet Kathryn Andringa
Ensemble:
Ashley Uitermarkt
L. Vermeer
Kim Blom
Frances DeArmond
Denise Gregoray
Tianna Loftis
Jonathon Mason
Drama Camp Registration is open for Middle School Camp. Elementary camp is full.
Please scroll down to the registration button at the bottom of the page to register.
Union Street Players’ Drama Camp is an annual week-long opportunity for young people to receive a basic overview of theatre and stage craft. Camp activities include: script writing/reading, set and prop building, actin, mime, puppertry, characterization, vocalization, improv, reader’s theatre, audition preparation, costume shop visit, make-up clinic, and more!!!
Spots are not guaranteed until full payment is received. Registration will remain open until camp session is full.
Elementary Camp: August 6-10, 8:30am – 11:30 am. Open to any student entering grades 2-5* in the Fall of 2018.
Please note: We have returned to only one session of Elementary Camp but doubled our staff to accommodate a similar number of campers when two sessions were held.
Camp Director: Brystal Hopkins
Middle School Camp: August 6-10, 12:30pm – 3:30pm. Open to any student entering grades 5*-9 in the Fall of 2018.
Camp Director: Suzi Jones
*5th graders may choose Elementary or Middle school camp.
Both camps will be held on the second floor of the Pella Community Center, 712 Union Street, Pella, IA 50219.
Performance date for both camps is August 10, 2018 at 6:30pm
Fees: $65/camper (discount for siblings available after first full fee registration). Fee includes Drama Camp t-shirt. Scholarships available. Please email the camp director for more information.
Instructors and Contact information:
- Brystal Hopkins (brystalhopkins@gmail.com) 641.620.9158
- Suzi Jones (suzanne.jones@pella.k12.ia.us) 641.628.1522
Auditions for Kiss me, Kate!
Kiss Me, Kate is Cole Porter’s rollicking and naughty take on
Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Leading man Fred Graham
is reunited with his ex-wife, Lilli Vanessi, when the two are forced to
play opposite one another in a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s
Taming of the Shrew. The battle of the sexes continues onstage and
off, as it becomes clear that, as much as this couple profess to hate
each other, they are also still in love. Throw in a few cases of
mistaken identity, the mob, bawdy Shakespeare humor and Cole
Porter lyrics into the mix and you’ve get Kiss Me, Kate — a dazzling
Broadway classic that earned the very first Tony award for Best
Musical.
Auditions will be held at the Pella Community Center,
712 Union Street, Pella, IA 50219
May 15 and 17 from 6:30-9:00pm and May 19 from 1:00-4:00pm
Roles available for those 16 years of age or older
Show dates are: July 27, 28, 31 and August 3, 4 at 7:00pm
and July 29 and August 5 at 2:00pm.
Perusal scripts are available at the Pella Public Library
ALL PERFORMANCES WILL BE AT THE JOAN KUYPER FARVER AUDITORIUM
at the Pella Community Center, 712 Union Street, Pella
Twelve Angry Men closes
Union Street Players gave their final performance of Twelve Angry Men on March 4th at the Kruidenier Theatre on the Central College campus. The intimate “in the round” format was arranged particularly for this production to make the audience feel as though they were in the jury room arguing right along with the jurors. Short video segments were woven into the performance to extend the drama beyond the jury room. The Director, Spence Ver Meer notes: “This is not a play that one enjoys, but more experiences.” This play being about how we come to terms with our own prejudices and biases was certainly an experience to remember.
Twelve Angry Men brought several newcomers to USP in John Dougan, Michael Garrison, Justin Lenger, Danny Rivas, and Mark Bishara. We are grateful to them for sharing their talents with us and our audiences! We certainly hope to see you all again in future productions.
A heartfelt thank you to all of the folks new and seasoned who helped bring this production to the stage. We are grateful for your help and hard work.
Finally, a thank you to Ron Rybkowski, Madison Thingstad, and Central College for the opportunity to perform on a different stage and helping USP navigate the Kruidenier Theatre.
Attendance:
Thursday 47
Friday 74
Saturday 83
Sunday (matinee) 77
It’s a Wonderful Life closes
“Watching It’s a Wonderful Life has been a family holiday tradition at my house every year since the early 1950’s” writes Director, Pati Van Zante. This year, she and a great cast and crew brought the stage production of It’s a Wonderful Life to the Joan Kuyper Farver auditorium at the Pella Community Center. While we had a number of our seasoned actors involved with this production we also enjoyed the many talents shared by the newcomers to USP. It takes a dedicated group of people to pull of a quality production and this cast and crew did not disappoint! The message of the importance of our impact on each other’s lives was keenly felt by our audiences. Additionally, we received a special message from, Karolyn Grimes the actress who played Zuzu in the 1946 movie: “Best wishes for a very successful run. So happy to hear that it is so well attended and received, such positive acclamation.” With this we close 2017 anticipating yet another wonderful series of productions in the new year with Twelve Angry Men, March 1-4 and Kiss Me Kate in the Summer. On behalf of Union Street Players, Happy Holidays to all!
Attendance:
December 1 – 191
December 2 – 158
December 3 – 219
December 5 – 145
December 8 – 198
December 9 – 215
December 10 – 224
Total – 1219
