How We Spent Our Summer Vacation

“How We Spent Our Summer Vacation”
This summer, shortly after wrapping up our hugely successful Children’s Theatre sci-fi comedy epic, “Catch the Waves”, a busy crew of volunteers met together to empty out the ENTIRE Set Shop. Through a very generous donation of a large U Haul truck from Affordable Storage, scenery pieces, wood, windows, molding and more were hauled onto a truck or into the side parking lot and covered with tarps.
In the evenings, crews worked to clean the floor, paint the walls and reset the whole lay out of the room. Master Set Designer Tim Thorn created new bays for wood, allowing us to sort and store cut wood by the size of the piece of wood as well as new bays for large wood pieces. New shelves and new storage units were installed, a lot of old stuff got tossed or recycled and the upper loft is being extended with REAL stairs installed to replace the skinny ladder we had before, adding a lot more needed storage.
Then the work crews came back the next week and brought back all the shop materials in. Now tools are being organized above worktables, the Chop saw is on a moving table unit that can be rolled out on to the stage for set builds and building materials are going in organized spaces with large easy to read printed labels that will make finding needed resources much easier.
A big thanks to the many volunteers who helped with this effort and the support crew who provided delicious lunches and snacks (mmm, baked cookies and brownies!) – “Play” is half of our name and we do have fun work parties!
The Playhouse is looking for some Set Shop Stewards, folks who will help with the weekly upkeep of the shop (making sure tools are filed away, wood is properly stored, sawdust emptied, etc.) If the new shop looks like a place YOU WOULD like to help out in, please contact PACP Board Vice President at 360-670-6956 or write her at VolunteerwithPACP@gmail.com.

PA Players: Not Singing in the Rain

It unfolded like the plot of a play at the Port Angeles Community Playhouse.

Just as the props, costumes, and set were being put away after the Port Angeles Community Players’ Second Stage production of The Laramie Project, the rains came.

It wasn’t the teeming rain outside that they noticed, but rather the telltale sound of constant drips coming through the ceiling that caught the attention of the volunteers.

“If it’s running off the light fixture, the chandelier must be full” said PACP Vice-President Brian Wendt as he grabbed a ladder to investigate. Four buckets later the water that collected inside the massive chandelier, on the ceiling above the audience seating, was emptied. At least for that day.

Seats were covered in tarps to protect them, fans were set out to dry out soaked carpet and a routine of vacuuming the water off the roof, daily, has been set in motion.

This isn’t their latest production, but rather playing out in real life inside the 47 year old PA Community Playhouse at 1235 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

“Until this year, we’ve always been able to depend on the revenue of our shows in their regular season to provide for paying our bills and building maintenance,” says PACP Board President Janet Lucas. “But earlier this year we also had a plumbing leak that necessitated re-plumbing the entire building. That was a huge hit to our treasury, and now we need a new roof.”

The regular troupe of hard-working volunteers who normally build sets now double as maintenance people. When it comes to re-plumbing and reroofing a commercial building, however, volunteers are not enough.

Port Angeles Community Players was started in 1952 by Betty Sleeper and Audrey Hartnagel. For nearly 20 years the troupe produced plays throughout the community, in the college Little Theater, Elk’s Ballroom, Harrington’s Sky Room, and Jefferson School gym. In 1971, with contributions from the community the Port Angeles Community Playhouse was built.

“This building really belongs to the community who helped build it and continue to come here for entertainment, and now we need their help again. We’re asking the people who have supported our shows for 65 years to donate to help us with the $21,000 roof the building desperately needs”, added Lucas. The Players can cover about half the cost, but “for an organization that has no debt, this is a tough one for us.”

The Players have contracted with a local roofer who should complete the job this summer.

“We don’t know the extent of the damage to the ceiling, so there may be more work needed than just the roof,” added Wendt.Anyone wanting to help the Community Players, a 501c3 organization can do so by mailing a check to PO Box 2807 Port Angeles WA 98362, or click on the “Donate” link on this page.

For more information, call Janet Lucas at 360-461-1989

Next Production! Barefoot in the Park, A Classic

Directed by Barbara Frederick

Paul and Corie are newlyweds in every sense of the word. After a six-day honeymoon, they get a surprise visit from Corie’s loopy mother and decide to play matchmaker during a dinner with their neighbor-in-the-attic, Velasco, where everything that can go wrong, does…

Based on Neil Simon’s 1963 play, stuff-shirt Paul and spontaneous Corie are determined to create a romantic environment in a one-room, no-heat, hole-in-the-skylight flat.

Based on Neil Simon’s 1963 play of the same name, it focuses on newlyweds stuffed-shirt Paul and his spontaneous bride Corie, determined to create a romantic environment in one room with no heat, a hole in the skylight, and oddball neighbors.

The title refers to Corie’s lamentation that Paul will not go running barefoot in the park with her because of his sober and cautious demeanor. The phrase becomes emblematic of the differences between the two of them, and is made manifest in the film’s climactic scene.

Don’t miss this production. Opening night is June 7, 2019. Get your tickets now!