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DIRECTING FOR COMMUNITY THEATRE
Are you an actor, playwright, designer, crew member interested in moving into the director seat or learning more about what it takes to bring a production to life?
Gain valuable insights into the directing process, meet with like-minded passionate individuals and dive into the world of storytelling, blocking, and bringing scripts to the stage. Join veteran Baltimore director and Vagabond Players board member, Steve Goldklang, for this 2-hour workshop for new directors that will cover the following key topic areas:
- What does a director do?
- Selecting and pitching your play to a theatre
- Creating a vision for your production
- Assembling a production team
- Auditions and casting your production
- Creating a rehearsal schedule
- The rehearsal process
FACILITATOR: Steve Goldklang has been directing in the Baltimore theater community for over forty years; many of his productions have been at Vagabond Players and Fells Point Corner Theatre and include: Doubt (currently running), Broadway Bound, A Doll’s House Part 2, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Blithe Spirit, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Odd Couple, The Lion in Winter, Born Yesterday, Frost/Nixon, The Divine Sister, Cock, A Delicate Balance, Art, and Six Degrees of Separation. Steve had a Master’s degree in Dramatic Literature from Queens College.
Attendance is free and open to anyone with some theater background who is interested in directing at a community theatre.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED - click here to reserve your spot.
In-Person Workshop
Vagabond Players
806 S. Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21215
Vagabond Players is grateful to the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts (BOPA) for their ongoing support.
Join us for a special holiday-themed NIGHT OUT IN FELLS event with ADAM GARRISON hosting local comedic and musical talent:
DROP THREE - Baltimore’s premier improv and sketch comedy troupe, performing a high energy mix of scripted and unscripted comedy since 2007. We’re so excited to welcome this group led by Belle Burr, director of last season’s STOP KISS and our upcoming production of LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE.
FOURGETABOUTIT - a “barberwop” quartet, singing a mix of traditional barbershop and doo-wop acappella numbers. We can’t wait to hear this team - Scott Tanski (tenor), a motorcoach driver; Joel Schubbe (lead), a Naval Academy engineering professor; Tim Sayles (baritone), a newspaper editor; and Jay Bansbach (bass).a retired media specialist for the MD Dept. of Ed - who have been making music together for almost 15 years.
LESLIE JAY - a local Baltimore vocalist, actor and writer who wowed audiences with her vocal talent in Vagabond Players’ production of CHESS.
All tickets are just $15
General admission seating
Doors open at 7 p.m. | Show starts at 8 p.m.
What are the most important elements an actor needs to be aware of to prepare for an audition and to be cast in a particular role?
Join well-known Baltimore Director, STEVE GOLDKLANG for a FREE 90-minute workshop that will include topics like:
- How should I approach selecting a 2-minute monologue and preparing for the audition?
- How do I physically present myself?
- How do I connect with the auditors at an audition?
- Should I be using a chair or other prop for my audition?
- What question(s) should I ask the director when auditioning for a specific role?
- What are the two most important talents I can bring to the theater every time I step onstage to perform?
OPTIONAL: If you wish to, attendees may prepare a 1–2 minute audition monologue to present at the workshop.
Steve has been directing in the Baltimore theater community for over forty years; many of his productions have been at Vagabond Players and Fells Point Corner Theatre and include: Broadway Bound, A Doll’s House Part 2, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Blithe Spirit, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Odd Couple, The Lion in Winter, Born Yesterday, Frost/Nixon, The Divine Sister, Cock, A Delicate Balance, Art, and Six Degrees of Separation. Steve had a Master’s degree in Dramatic Literature from Queens College.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED - click here to reserve your spot.
For actors ages 16+
Vagabond Players is grateful to the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts (BOPA) for their ongoing support.
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Vagabond Players is honored to host NY-based performer and songwriter Brittain Ashford for a special one night only performance!!
The New York Times said Brittain should have been nominated for a Tony for her appearance in Broadway’s award-winning and critically-acclaimed NATASHA, PIERRE, AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812. Lin-Manuel Miranda once suggested that she could sing while he wept into a bucket.
Since her time on Broadway, Brittain has returned to writing and performing her own music, releasing two albums under the moniker Prairie Empire, a solo album of show tunes “run through a David Lynch filter” called Drama Club, numerous singles, and a new album in early 2023 under her own name, Trotter. Her original music has been featured on MTV’s Catfished and HBO’s Search Party.
Also joining Brittain on stage is Baltimore’s own extraordinary vocalist, Samantha McEwen Deininger, currently starring in Vagabond Players’ production of CHESS.
All tickets are just $15
General admission seating
Doors open at 7 p.m. | Show starts at 8 p.m.
Book your tickets now!
“No praise is adequate for Ashford’s heart-rending performance, her vocals summoning a raw, soulful quality…” — THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
Join us for another night of incredible local talent hosted by Adam Garrison! We’re excited to welcome comedian Alexx Starr and give you a sneak peek of the musicians you’ll see in our upcoming production of CHESS.
And you won’t want to miss our award-winning headliner, KING TINK. Bryant Tinker, better known on stage as King Tink, has been making audiences laugh throughout the DMV area for over a decade performing with acts such as Tony Woods, Nephew Tommy, Rickey Smiley, and Michael Blackson.
All tickets are just $15
General admission seating
Doors open at 7 p.m. | Show starts at 8 p.m.
Join us for a collaboration of local talent hosted by our own Sydney Marks! The incredible line-up includes comedians Mike Smith and King Tink, special musical guest Samantha McEwen Deininger, and features stand-up comedian Adam Garrison.
Garrison was last seen on the Vagabond Players’ stage as Chief Bromden in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and has been entertaining the east coast for over 10 years, headlining in New York, Atlanta and Sarasota.
All tickets are just $15
General admission seating
Doors open at 7 p.m. | Show starts at 8 p.m.
A Tony award-winner, a 1980’s rock musical, an Agatha Christie mystery, and more await you in our 108th season!
Chess
Music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson | Lyrics by Tim Rice
Based on an idea by Tim Rice
Directed by Stephen M. Deininger
October 20 — November 19, 2023
In this groundbreaking rock musical, the world renowned game of chess becomes a metaphor for romantic rivalries, super-power Cold War politics, and international intrigue. From Bangkok to Budapest, the players, lovers, politicians and spies manipulate and are manipulated to the pulse of a monumental score by the ABBA team that includes such classics as “One Night in Bangkok” and “Heaven Help My Heart.”
“CHESS is an exhilarating new game in town.” – WNBC-TV
“… one of the best rock scores ever produced in the theatre.” – Time Magazine
Witness for the Prosecution
By Agatha Christie
Directed by Robert W. Oppel
January 5—28, 2024
A riveting story of passion, justice and betrayal from the queen of suspense! When Leonard Vole is accused of murdering a rich older widow, the courtroom becomes a scene of shocking witness testimony, impassioned outbursts from the dock and a trapped husband’s fight to escape the hangman’s noose. This startling thriller will keep you guessing until the very end — but please, don’t reveal that ending to your friends!
“Christie’s play is easily her most ingenious.” – The Guardian
“Twisted plots and intriguing characters remain the hallmark of Christie’s literary contribution to British crime literature.” – West End Theatreland
How I Learned to Drive
By Paula Vogel
Directed by Tessara Morgan Farley
February 16 — March 10, 2024
A wildly funny, surprising and devastating tale of survival in which Li’l Bit, now a woman in her 30’s, comes to terms with the complex childhood relationship she had with her Uncle Peck. Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize winning thunderbolt of a play brings theatre back to its roots in storytelling and personal and social history.
“HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE remains incisive and affecting, not only in the ways that it explores sexual trauma as a personal experience but also in how it places that experience within a larger social matrix.” – TimeOut
Doubt, a parable
By John Patrick Shanley
Directed by Steve Goldklang
April 5—28, 2024
In this Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning 21st century American classic, Sister Aloysius, a strict, uncompromising Catholic middle school principal in the early 1960’s, takes matters into her own hands when she suspects the charismatic and highly popular Father Flynn of improper relations with one of the male students — who also happens to be the school’s only African American student.
“The best new play of the season… so full of high drama that the audience with which I saw it gasped out loud a half-dozen times at its startling twists and turns.” – The Wall Street Journal
Love, Loss and What I Wore
By Nora Ephron and Delia Eprhron, based on the book by Ilene Beckerman
Directed by Belle Burr
May 17 — June 9, 2024
An evening of hilariously funny and often poignant short scenes and monologues by noted comic writer and director Nora Ephron (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, Heartburn) and Delia Ephron that depict how an item of clothing can hold a past identity, body shape, and hopes seized or abandoned. In this delightfully dishy trip down memory lane a dress, a shoe, a hat can serve as a jumping off point for bigger themes such as falling in and out of love, familial relationships, or a same-sex marriage.
“Breezy and enjoyable. A show about matters of the heart and matters of the closet.” – New York Times
More information will be available soon about auditions and opportunities to get involved, as well as tickets and subscriptions for this season.
Vagabond Players continues its 107th season with the riotously funny Shakespeare mashup, THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (abridged) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield, and directed by Daniel Douek.
Egads and forsooth! Take three wild’n’crazy actors plus Shakespeare’s 37 plays, cram ‘em all into 97 minutes, and you’ll learn more about The Bard (through songs, raps, interpretative dancing and even a cooking show!) than you ever did while you were asleep in English class. The Bard would go bonkers, but you’ll have a blast at this outrageous compendium of Bill’s greatest hits. Romeo, Cleopatra, Othello, Macbeth and of course, everybody’s favorite great Dane (Hamlet, himself) — they’re all here rockin’ and rollin’ like you’ve never seen them before. Surgeon General’s Warning: Excessive viewing of this show could be injurious to your funnybone!
“If you like Shakespeare, you’ll love this show. If you hate Shakespeare, you’ll love this show!” - The Today Show.
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (abridged) opens Friday, February 17 and runs through Sunday, March 12, with weekly performances Fridays/Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Special performances include: a special Saturday matinee on March 4 at 2 p.m. and a $10 Thursdays on Broadway performance March 9 at 8 p.m.
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (abridged) was originally produced by Reduced Shakespeare Company.
Vagabond Players continues its 107th season with Neil Simon’s Tony Award-winning comedy hit, BROADWAY BOUND, the poignant and funny conclusion to Brighton Beach Memoirs presented by Vagabond Players in 2020.
The American theater’s King of Comedy brings his young alter ego, Eugene, back to Brighton Beach as he and his brother, Stanley, hilariously struggle to break into show business as comedy writers for CBS, and watch helplessly as their parents’ marriage implodes. Simon brilliantly demonstrates the art of creating a humorous situation or line, but also how even seemingly harmless jokes can have devastating consequences for the wisecrackers and the family they love.
“BROADWAY BOUND is memorable and upbeat, a play the whole family can enjoy. I left the theater happy, satisfied and grateful…” The Los Angeles Post
BROADWAY BOUND opens Friday, January 6 and runs through Sunday, January 29, with weekly performances Fridays/Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Special performances include: a special Saturday matinee on January 21 at 2 p.m. and a $10 Thursdays on Broadway performance January 26 at 8 p.m.
BROADWAY BOUND is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. - www.concordtheatricals.com
Vagabond Players continues its 107th season with the joyous production of SHOUT! THE MOD MUSICAL directed by Lou Otero and music directed by LeVar Betts.
With an irresistible blend of hip-swinging hits from vocal legends like Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Shirley Bassey and Lulu, this pulse-pounding, raucous musical takes audiences back to the music, style and freedom on the 1960’s with such classic numbers as “Downtown,” “To Sir, With Love,” “Son of a Preacher Man,” and many, many more. Sing along to your favorite Top of the Pops songs in this bright vinyl time capsule of a musical as five groovy gals handle the trials and tribulations of life and love during those glorious days that made England swing.
“SHOUT! is without a doubt a celebration of the music and an homage to the woman who made it great.” -BroadwayWorld.com
The first edition of SHOUT! appeared on stage in New York in 2000 before transferring to London, where it was nominated as Best Musical by WhatsOnStage and had critics raving during its sold-out run in 2001. The Times cheered, SHOUT! “captures all the soulful heartbreak of the ‘60s diva songbook.” Good Morning America called SHOUT! “The hottest new musical in New York.” TimeOut raved “SHOUT! rivals Jersey Boys for sheer fun.” “Sassy, saucy and immensely satisfying… it’s simply smashing!” glowed the New Jersey Courier-Post.
SHOUT! is co-created by Phillip George and David Lowenstein with mod musings & groovy gab by Peter Charles Morris and Phillip George.
SHOUT! opens Friday, October 21 and runs through Sunday, November 20, with weekly performances Fridays/Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Special performances include: a special Saturday matinee on November 5 at 2 p.m. and a $16 Thursdays on Broadway performance November 17 at 8 p.m.
SHOUT! The Mod Musical is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).