DreamWrights' Stage to Present THE HOBBIT This October

More than 160 children and adults from York and beyond will join forces to bring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbitt the stage of DreamWrights' Youth and Family Theatre for 12 performances from Oct. 10 to 26. Audiences of all ages will be treated to a unique, fantasy-filled stage set, including a close-to-life-size dragon and climbable mountains created by local set designer Ray Olewiler.

"Ray has been bringing creative and complex stage set designs to life for over 30 years," said Diane Crews, founder of DreamWrights and director of The Hobbit. "Such a unique set design combined with a storyline that includes characters such as hobbits, goblins and dwarves make these performances the perfect opportunity for local families to have a pre-Halloween adventure."

In the performance, 13 mighty dwarves are on a quest to kill the evil dragon which has destroyed their home, and they seem doomed to fail, unless they can convince Bilbo Baggins to join their ranks - turning their 13 into a luckier band of 14. Their mission is fraught with danger as they face the terrible Trolls, wander the land of Goblins and, ultimately, battle the fearsome dragon.

The man behind the scenes, Olewiler, has a well-known talent and has "always had that itch" to bring a story to life. For this musical, he has created Smaug - a dragon more than seven feet tall, twelve feet long, that can be animated by cast members and is made from hula hoops, pool noodles, duct tape and a lot of time and talent.

"Working with Ray is like working with a magician," adds Crews. "Ray can make anything out of ... anything!"

Olewiler's garage has been his studio since he started this hobby in 1980. Over the years, his combined talent and creativity have produced great results that sometimes come as a surprise to even him when they're complete. In addition to working with DreamWrights since their opening in 1997, Olewiler has also created set designs for hundreds of community programs for local theatres, churches and high schools, including Suburban, Eastern, Red Lion, Susquehannock and Central.

"I get more challenges from DreamWrights than from other places when it comes to designing their sets," said Olewiler. "That's what makes it fun working with a children's theatre. The challenges are there. I invent things as I go, and they take on a life of their own."

This musical will provide a creative stage set, fantastic costumes and props combined with performances by two casts of 44 members each and supported by crews and an orchestra. Audiences will be amazed at what can be accomplished by their local youth and family theatre. This is the only musical that features hobbits, goblins, dwarves, elves, trolls, spiders and a larger-than-life dragon ... and more! General admission tickets for The Hobbit are available for $8.00 and reserved seating tickets are available for $12.00. To order, visit www.dreamwrights.org or call 717-848-8623.