Ann Sheffer

After a long strategic planning process, Dezart Performs identified a new 4,400 square foot space in Cathedral City’s Canyon Plaza South. The campaign, called the NEXT STAGE CAMPAIGN, is headed by Co-Chairs and founding donors Ann Sheffer and Nancy Bleiweiss-Nevil. This new home will be called the Dezart Playhouse. “The productions that Dezart Performs puts on are not only extraordinary, but they are compelling,” said Cathedral City Mayor Rita Lamb. “I believe the introduction of Dezart Performs to Cathedral City is going to be transformative. It will add vibrancy and intensity, making that area of the community completely compelling.”

The Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival (PSYPF), which promotes and encourages creative writing - in the theatrical form - open to all elementary, middle and high school students within Riverside County, has announced the Festival’s 2021 winners. The plays submitted were reviewed by a selection committee and winners were chosen. Each winner will receive a mentorship to enhance their play, a free to the public staged reading by professional actors in June 2022, and a $500 scholarship to help further their career in the arts.

Two well-known Palm Springs cultural professionals, Ann Sheffer and Will Dean, have been named to the board of directors for the nonprofit Dezart Performs theatre company of Palm Springs significantly expanding the respected ensemblea??s base of support as it heads into planning for its 2020 / 2021 season, a combination of virtual and live performances in light of COVID-era protocols.

Coyote StageWorks, the Coachella Valley based award-winning Actors' Equity professional theater company, will conclude its eleventh season with a full production of a?oeThe Velocity of Autumna?? by Eric Coble, which will run from March 13 through 22 at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, located at 2300 East Baristo Road in Palm Springs. Directed by Chuck Yates, The Velocity of Autumn swirls around Alexandra, an 80-year-old artist in a showdown with her family over where she'll spend her remaining years. In Alexandra's corner are her wit, her volcanic passion, and the fact that she's barricaded herself in her Brooklyn brownstone with enough Molotov cocktails to take out the block.

Coyote StageWorks, the Coachella Valley-based award-winning Actors' Equity professional theater company, will conclude its Tenth Anniversary season with the comedy "Greater Tuna" that will run for nine performances from March 22-31, 2019 at the Palm Springs Art Museum's Annenberg Theater.  "Greater Tuna" is a hilarious send-up of small-town morals and mores. Set in a fictional small town in Texas, this popular comedy stars two skillful, transformative actors who will take on 22 roles as they portray the town's wacky inhabitants. "Greater Tuna" was written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard and will star Alan Denny and Chuck Yates. The production will be directed by Larry Raben. "Greater Tuna" was the very first production Coyote StageWorks mounted ten years ago.

 Coyote StageWorks, the Coachella Valley-based award-winning Actors' Equity professional theater company, announced that it has added three more FREE plays to its popular free "Play Dates" Reader's Series. Play Dates is a free Educational Community Outreach Program that features fresh or classic, compelling scripts read by new and established actors and are offered at the Camelot Theatre/Palm Springs Cultural Center. The upcoming new Play Dates are "Eugene Walter At Large" (a new, original work) on December 16, "Lips Together, Teeth Apart" (a revisiting of a modern classic on the 25th anniversary of its original Off-Broadway production) on February 24, and "A Doll's House, Part 2" (a 2017 Tony Award winner and recently listed as 'The most produced play of the season in the US.') on June 2.  All events start at 2 PM and are free and open to the public. Tickets are available on the day of the reading at the Palm Springs Cultural Center/Camelot Theatre on a 'first-come, first-served' basis.

Coyote StageWorks, the Coachella Valley based award-winning Actors' Equity professional theater company, announced that its Tenth Anniversary season will include productions of three highly entertaining stage plays, presented at the Palm Springs Art Museum's Annenberg Theater, an increase of the popular free Play Dates Reader's Series, and the debut of the Palm Springs Young Playwright's Festival.

The Foundation for the Palm Springs Unified School District is proud to announce that Grab Your Seat: Icons & Idols, its annual benefit concert, will be held on Thursday, January 18, 2018 at 7 PM at the Richards Center for the Arts (formerly Palm Springs High School Auditorium, located at 2360 Ramon Road in Palm Springs). The concert is a musical tribute to Janis Joplin, Freddie Mercury, George Michael, and Prince, and is presented by Michael Childers with Frank Goldstin. Tickets are $125 for front orchestra seating, $95 for middle orchestra and $75 for rear orchestra and may be purchased by calling 760-416-8455 or going to grabyourseat.net.

"Hamilton" Tony Award nominee and Grammy Award winner Jonathan Groff headlined Westport Country Playhouse's 2017 Gala on Saturday evening, September 9.

“Hamilton” Tony Award nominee and Grammy Award winner Jonathan Groff has stepped in to headline Westport Country Playhouse's 2017 Gala on Saturday evening, September 9. Groff will replace previously announced Matthew Morrison who is no longer available to perform at this year's Gala due to a scheduling conflict.

'Hamilton' Tony Award nominee and Grammy Award winner Jonathan Groff has stepped in to headline Westport Country Playhouse's 2017 Gala on Saturday evening, September 9. Groff will replace previously announced Matthew Morrison who is no longer available to perform at this year's Gala due to a scheduling conflict.

Tony, Emmy, and two-time Golden Globe nominee Matthew Morrison will headline Westport Country Playhouse's 2017 fundraising gala on Saturday evening, September 9. New this year will be the Gala's move to Saturday evening instead of Monday night as in past seasons. The Gala's theme, 'Moonlight Over Venice,' is a nod to the Playhouse's autumn production of 'Romeo and Juliet'.

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of the romantic comedy "Lunch Hour" by Jean Kerr, on Monday, April 24, at 7 p.m.  The reading will be directed by Anne Keefe, Playhouse associate artist and curator of the playreading series. Tickets are $20 each. 

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of the romantic comedy/drama, "Lobby Hero" by Kenneth Lonergan, 2017 Academy Award winner for Best Original Screenplay for "Manchester by the Sea," on Monday, March 13, at 7 p.m. 

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of the comedy, "The Supporting Cast" by George Furth, on Monday, February 6, at 7 p.m.  The reading will be directed by Anne Keefe, Playhouse associate artist and curator of the playreading series. Tickets are $20 each. 

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of the Pulitzer Prize finalist, "Collected Stories" by Donald Margulies, on Monday, December 12, at 7 p.m. 

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of "Social Security," a comedy by Andrew Bergman, one of Hollywood's top comedy screenwriters, on Monday, November 14, at 7 p.m. 

?Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of Sidney Howard's "The Late Christopher Bean," a comedy about paintings left to a family by a deceased artist suddenly skyrocketing in value, on Monday, June 27, at 7 p.m.  The play will be directed by Anne Keefe, Playhouse associate artist and curator of the playreading series. Tickets are $20 each. 

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of A. R. Gurney's "The Cocktail Hour," a funny and touching, quasi-autobiographical story about a playwright who writes a new play that presents an unflattering picture of his family, on Monday, March 14, at 7 p.m.  The play will be directed by Anne Keefe, Playhouse associate artist and curator of the playreading series. Tickets are $20 each. 

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of "Scotland Road," a mystery/thriller involving a woman who may be a survivor of the Titanic, on Monday, February 8, at 7 p.m.  Written by Jeffrey Hatcher, the play will be directed by Anne Keefe, Playhouse associate artist and curator of the playreading series. Tickets are $20 each.