Friday, September 11, 2009

Preview performance: Saturday, Sept. 19, 2 pm

WHAT: A free preview performance of selected excerpts from The West Side Theater Project's West Side on the South Side, a new play by Al Justiniano created by and for St. Paul's West Side Community.
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 19, at 2 p.m.
WHERE: Riverview Branch Library, 1 East George Street, St. Paul, MN
Brought to you by The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library. For more information...click here!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

First Rehearsal and Read-through with Cast

The cast gathered and read the script for the first time tonight. It was thrilling and inspiring to hear the voices in the room. The show opens one month from today and it's gonna be great! Tonight I am feeling grateful to the many many people, businesses and organizations that have contributed so much to make this happen. Don't miss the show!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Readings and auditions

We held readings of the script-in-progress and got community feedback at sessions on Tuesday August 11, 12:30 p.m. in the Dunedin Community Room and 1:30 p.m. at Neighborhood House.

On August 14, 15 and 19 community members aged 9-80 (or thereabouts) auditioned for roles as community actors, set builders, box office help, costume construction, and more.

Mark your calendars and plan to come to the show in the theater space of the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center for Community Building, 179 E Robie St., St. Paul 55107.

Performance dates and times are:

Friday Sept. 25 and Saturday Sept 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday Sept 27 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are Pay-what-you-can and will be available at the door

E-mail westsidetheaterproject@yahoo.com for more information.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Production is upon us: Save these dates!

Spread the word! Auditions for The Westside on the Southside the new play by Al Justiniano inspired by stories from the West Side of St. Paul are coming soon. Community members are invited to come audition on Friday August 14 from 6-9 pm and Saturday August 15 from 10am-1pm. We'll post locations soon.

Also, mark your calendars for the performances September 25, 26, and 27.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

WSTP needs musicians, volunteers

West Side Theater Project seeks musicians to audition to participate in the creation and production of music for the upcoming September performance. We want to include musical the diverse cultures represented in the neighborhood. If you or someone you know is interested, please call Becky at 651/216-0060, or e-mail westsidetheaterproject@yahoo.com for more information.

We are also currently interviewing for several volunteer positions to assist with the production. Volunteer positions available include: stage manager and assistant stage managers, set construction, costume shop, community outreach, box office, music director, assistant stage director and more! For a complete listining with job descriptions, or to request an application, email westsidetheaterproject@yahoo.com or contact Becky at 651/216-0060.

We would like to fill as many of these positions as possible by mid-July, so contact us today!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Time to Start Writing

We are moving into the playwriting, music-composing stage of the project!

Between late January and today we have held 12 story circles in 5 locations in and around the Wellstone Center, Dunedin Homes and El Burrito Mercado. We are going to have a few more story-listening sessions in the next couple of weeks, especially hoping to hear from youth.


We have heard many rich stories. We know we've barely scratched the surface: we could keep listening to stories for months to come. While we do hope to hear more stories for a future projects, it is time now, to start writing a play and some music! We have lots of inspiration and ideas and are ready for this next step.



We are looking for musicians! If you know of musicians in the neighborhood who might be interested in pariticipating in this project, let us know. We hope to include music from the neighborhood's many cultures.


Watch this space for a preview of what's to come as the play starts to take shape. Also, watch for specific dates and times of upcoming events related to the project. In July we plan to host community readings of the play, a collaboration workshop, and community art workshops to create set componants.