Presidential Address
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the Bobcat Players enter the midpoint of their 2019 season, and as the new president, I feel it is time to have a State of the Union of sorts. This has been an exciting season thus far, led by the work of new directors for the Bobcat Players. Jessica Patterson-Galayda directed the well-received Enchanted April by Matthew Barber, and Barbara Burgess-LeFebvre will bring the noir comedy Red Herring by Michael Hollinger to the Ed Schaughency Theater in September. To close off the season, our very own Artistic Director, Patti Ross, brings the classic A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams to life.
Of course, all great progress is met with a few challenges. The major setback we faced during the first few months of the season came when our summer production--One Man, Two Guv'nors, a show I personally believe audiences will absolutely love--was displaced after we found out our theater would be closed due to construction. The board of directors explored many other options for the show before ultimately deciding to hold off on the production in order to maintain quality--and it truly was not a decision that was made lightly. However, I am excited to announce that Richard Bean's One Man, Two Guv’nors will open our 2020 season!
The vast variety of shows this season and in our seasons past is truly one of the main focuses of my presidency with the Bobcat Players. I believe it is important to expose audiences to not only comedies, but dramas, tragedies, and suspense, as well as several other different genres. It is important to assist audiences in discovering aspects of theatre that they may not have been exposed to previously or with a different company. Theatre can make an audience member happy and laugh or sad and cry, but theatre can also make audience members uncomfortable. A typical community theatre might shy away from this, but I want to dive nose first into the all of these comfort zones--and uncomfortable zones. Through these different types of shows, audience members can learn something unexpected about themselves, or even about other people. Theatre is transformative.
In addition to maintaining the variety and exposing our audiences to different types of theatre, I would like to improve on the Bobcat Players’ theatrical community. Theatre is inherently a collaborative effort. A previous blog post highlighted the Bobcat Players’ Unsung Heroes, and this is a major part of the theatrical community that I would like to see grow as our group expands. When you break it down, the theatrical community for a company is the brick and mortar. These are dedicated volunteers and contributors that go above and beyond all season long. Without a strong community, the company could fall apart like a house made of twigs. By taking ownership with a company or a production, everyone involved will work their hardest to make a show shine as bright as a lighthouse beacon in the pitch dark….. or a follow spot in the darkness of a packed theatre.
As I reflect on my own theatrical career and all the productions that have lead me to this point, I am reminded of a quote by Sherie Rene Scott, “[theatre] doesn't last—only in people's memories and in their hearts. That's the beauty and sadness of it. But that's life—beauty and the sadness. And that is why theater is life.”
Thank you for your continued support!
Joshua Antoon President, Bobcat Players
