Preview of the 2014 Season at The Gary-The Olivia Performing Arts Center

The 2014 Season at The Gary-the Olivia Performing Arts Center starts with an evening of one act plays written by American Playwright Horton Foote. Blind Date and The Actor will be performed on June 13, 14, 20, 21 at 7:30 pm and June 15 and 22 at 2:30 pm. These beautifully written comedies set in the fictional town of Harrison, Texas are guaranteed to delight audiences with their poetry, insight into human nature and comic touch. Local community theater actor John Fabiani will appear in these productions. Tickets are $20.

The musical for 2014 is the classic Irving Berlin musical Annie Get Your Gun. The 1946 musical is most famous for its music and lyrics by Mr. Berlin, with many familiar songs including "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly," "I Got the Sun In The Morning," "Moonshine Lullaby," "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better" and "There's No Business Like Show Business." The script by Herbert and Dorothy Fields was updated for a successful Broadway revival in 1999 staring Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat. Show times are August 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16 at 7:30 pm and August 3, 10, 17 at 2:30 pm. Tickets are $25.

A third performance, a Concert/Fundraiser for The Gary-The Olivia Theater will be on Saturday, September 13th from 3-6 pm  with special guest artists and wine and cheese reception and meet and greet the performers.

The Gary-The Olivia Theater on the grounds of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, CT is a beautiful space where professional and serious theater students alike come to perform in a one-of-a-kind and transforming environment. Built in 1982 through the generous support of donors spearheaded by Oscar winning actress Patricia Neal, this roofed, open-air theater  is surrounded by the lush Connecticut countryside and seats approximately 300 people under a roofed area with sides open to the surrounding woods. The Gary in the name of the theater honors Gary Cooper and the Olivia refers to Ms. Neal's daughter.

Since 2007 the theater has been led by Sally and Thomas Camm (whose theater connection to the Abbey of Regina Laudis goes back to the 1987 production of Pablo Casal’s Oratorio, El Pessebre). Currently the Artistic Directors produce two major productions a year, a play and a musical (with the goal of expanding the number and variety of productions in the future), along with an annual concert/fundraiser for the theater. Auditions are held each year and actors from the local community theater network. local colleges and universities and from Actor’s Equity audition for roles in the various productions. 3,500-4,500 theatergoers attend performances each season.

The Camms appeared on Backstage with Johnny O to discuss the summer season.

Why the new name? Clay & Wattles Theater Company (formerly, The Gary-The Olivia Performing Arts Center) at The Gary-The Olivia Theater is a 501-c3 performing arts and educational nonprofit organization. The name Clay & Wattles has a literary reference in the W.B.Yeats’ poem, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” and communicates the importance of having a connection to nature in a person’s life.” It starts, “I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made.”  Clay & wattles also are ancient building materials, found in nature and used throughout the world. They provide a strong yet flexible resource for building and a sustainable, eco-friendly alternative to other conventional methods and materials. By analogy nature’s sounds, scents and movements permeate the stage at The Gary-The Olivia Theater and in fact are sometimes used to extend and enhance the set and stage design. Nature is clearly a part of the experience at The Gary-The Olivia. The presence and awareness of nature can help to ground the performer in his/her body, feelings, experience and intuition as they attempt to bring a character to life and draw out the humanness in a role.  So on stage clay and wattles (nature) is a kind of touchstone, that if we are fortunate enough, helps us connect with and express our common humanity.