Now in their 14th season, the Phoenix Players have been thrilling audiences with their entertaining and thought-provoking productions since 2001.
The Players are a community theatre group on a mission to produce quality and an accessible theatre experiences for all. The group offers the opportunity for anyone to join the world of theatre, one that the troupe describes as a world full of creativity, enjoyment, entertainment and connection.
In the past, the Players have taken on large productions that have been met with success and praise. The Players’ 2014 production of The Diary of Anne Frank was epic and very well received, attracting a young and new audience to theatre.
“When you listen to our audience, they say they like all of our plays. They tell us every time that the play they just saw was the best play we’ve ever done,” explains Player Ellen Clare O’Gallagher.
Theatre, of course, can be a moving experience for both the performers and audience. O’Gallagher recalls an emotional response from the audience after a past production of the comedy “Dixie Swim Club.”
“At the end of that play, looking out over the audience in the last scene, all the women and men in the first row had tears streaming down their faces. For the actors,” O’Gallagher says, “we could hardly get the words out, it was so touching.”
The Players offer the opportunity for not only actors, but also those interested in backstage work, to assist in stage productions.
The group welcomes anyone and everyone looking to try their hand at the world of theatre and acquire a wide range of skills along the way. Prior experience is not required. The Players offer workshops for that. Past sessions have varied, including voice, theatre safety and directing. All are open to the entire theatre community. Not only that, The Players are supportive its auditioning for other companies.
Be sure to keep an eye out for the Player’s next big production, The Staff Room. Directed by André Dimitrijevic, the play examines the challenges, difficulties and small triumphs a high school community endures. You can catch the shoe at the Gladstone Theatre from April 22nd to the 23rd and the 26th to the 30th.