GIRLSPEAK and More Among Bucks County Playhouse's Fall 2014 Programs

Upon re-opening in 2012, a commitment was made by Bucks County Playhouse: to create and grow a home to inspire artists of all ages and backgrounds through a robust education program. Now, Bucks County Playhouse is delighted to announce an innovative program titled "Girlspeak", designed with 13-18 year olds in mind, addresses young women's contemporary concerns, including body image, cyber-bullying and media pressure.

"We believe that arts education inspires people to look more deeply at the world around them, builds friendships, and creates lasting self-confidence, and we want our programs to be accessible to all children and teens, regardless of economic status," says Hester Kamin, Director of Education.

Girlspeak, is partially funded by a generous grant from Doro M. Kerr through the Charles Kerr Foundation.

"Contributions are vitally important to our ability to bring quality and impactful programs to our community. Moreover, it is only through the generosity of our friends and neighbors that we can make programs like GirlSpeak open and accessible," says Bess Godin, Director of Development.

After the incredible success of the spring and summer educational programming, Bucks County Playhouse is presenting additional opportunities to be on stage and behind the scenes at the Playhouse!

This fall the following five programs for children through adults will be offered:

FOR ADULTS:

TALK STORY: TALES TOLD IN WINTER

Open to adults interesting in telling and performing stories from their own lives. This theme draws on the European holiday tradition of gathering around the fire and telling tales at midnight. Adults use theatre techniques to write and perform stories from their own lives. This theme draws on the British holiday tradition of gathering around the fire and telling stories at midnight.

Thursdays, September 25 - December 4, 6:00PM - 8:00PM

Performance Wednesday, December 10 at 7:00PM at Bucks County Playhouse

INTRO TO PLAYWRITING

Taught by playwright and actor John Augustine (Fox's Titus, National Theater for the Deaf's Oh Figaro!), who was requested after the success of April's playwriting festival, NEW VOICES, led also by John Augustine, teaches this ten-session playwriting class for new writers. Program culminates in public reading. Tuesdays, September 23 - December 2, 6:30PM - 8:30PM

Reading Tuesday, December 2 at 7:00PM at Lambertville Hall

FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS:

SATURDAY ACTING PROGRAM

Young musical theatre performers sing and dance their way through eight Saturdays and perform on the Bucks County Playhouse stage in the SATURDAY ACTING PROGRAM, led by master teaching artist Jessica Bostock, who just directed the wildly popular Beauty and the Beast Jr. at BCP. This fall and spring the Saturday program introduces students 8-17 years old to the basics of acting and musical theatre through a series of eight classes with professional teaching artists. The program culminates in a presentation at Bucks County Playhouse.

Saturdays, September 27 - November 15, 9:30AM - 11:00AM

Performance Tuesday, November 18 at 7:00PM at Bucks County Playhouse

GIRLSPEAK

Body image. Cyber-bullying. Media pressure. Girls, aged 13-18 years, find their voices in GIRLSPEAK. This program, in which teens create and perform an original theatre piece, is based in their thoughts and experiences about issues that young women face in 2014. Wednesdays, October 15, 2014 - March 11, 2015, 6:00PM - 8:00PM

Performance Wednesday, March 11 at 7:00PM at Lambertville Hall

GIRLSPEAK is funded in part by the generosity of Doro M. Kerr and the Charles Kerr Foundation.

FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS AND RECENT GRADS:

FALL AND SPRING INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

The Bucks County Playhouse is now accepting applications for interns in Arts Management, Development, Marketing, and Production for September 2014 - May 2015. Please check our website for further details. The internship program at the Bucks County Playhouse serves as perfect hands-on opportunity for college students interested in getting behind-the-scenes experience. Prospects can apply for the INTERNSHIP PROGRAM, now accepting applications for year-round positions in Arts Management, Marketing, Development, and Production. For more information, contact Director of Education Hester Kamin at (267) 740-2090 x113 or visit www.bcptheater.org.

ABOUT THE BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE - Bucks County Playhouse, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, provides the finest theatrical entertainment for visitors and residents of New Hope, Doylestown, Lambertville and the Delaware Valley. Under the direction of Robyn Goodman and Alexander Fraser, its mission is to present first class professional entertainment and regain the Playhouse's historic place in the national theatrical landscape; and to stimulate, support, inspire and celebrate the performing arts via community programs, partnerships and arts education.

Located between Philadelphia and New York, Bucks County Playhouse opened in 1939 in a converted 1790 gristmill after a group of community activists, led by Broadway orchestrator Don Walker and playwright Moss Hart, rallied to save the building. The Playhouse quickly became one of the country's most famous regional theaters, featuring a roster of American theatrical royalty including Helen Hayes, Kitty Carlisle, Colleen Dewhurst, Shirley Booth, Lillian Gish, Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, Bert Lahr, Walter Matthau, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Alan Alda, Tyne Daly, Liza Minnelli and Audra McDonald and remained in continuous operation until December 2010. In 2012, the Playhouse re-opened thanks to the efforts of the Bridge Street Foundation, the nonprofit family foundation of Kevin and Sherri Daugherty, and Broadway producer Jed Bernstein. Terrence McNally's Mothers and Sons, starring Tyne Daly, received its world premiere at the Playhouse in 2013 and opened on Broadway in February 2014, where it was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. This returned the Playhouse to its roots as an incubator for Broadway, including 1951′s The Fourposter starring Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, Neil Simon's first play Come Blow Your Horn, and Barefoot in the Park starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley.

The Bucks County Playhouse is located at 70 South Main Street in New Hope, PA.