Westport Country Playhouse Presents "Our Town, Your Playhouse" Open House 10/24

Westport Country Playhouse will present a special community open house, "Our Town, Your Playhouse," on Saturday, October 24, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., offering activities for children, families, teens and adults throughout the day, including a screening of The Playhouse's 2002 production of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town," with Paul Newman in the role of the Stage Manager, at 7 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. Reservations are necessary for workshops and the "Our Town" film by calling 203-227-4177.

Children's events, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., will feature storytelling with books from The Playhouse's 2010 Family Festivities series, including "Laura Ingalls Wilder" and "Charlotte's Web"; bean-bag toss; face-painting; and "Design Your Own Set" coloring table. An artist will draw caricatures from 1 to 3:30 p.m.

Behind-the-scenes tours will start at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. A display of production materials, including set models, production sketches and designer drawings, will be presented from 1 to 4 p.m. Throughout the day, theatrical costumes will be on display in the dressing rooms.

Workshops for adults and teens, by reservation, will include a stage combat workshop led by Mark Silence from 1 to 2 p.m.; a directing workshop with Scott Schwartz, who directed The Playhouse's recent production of "tick, tick...BOOM!," from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.; and a set design chat with Michael Yeargan, Tony Award-winning scenic designer, who designed Playhouse productions of "The Breath of Life" and "Of Mice and Men," from 3 to 4 p.m.

Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director, will host a conversation about the upcoming 2010 season from 4 to 5 p.m.

A complete schedule of the day's events is available at www.westportplayhouse.org.

About The Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater, serves as a treasured home for the performing arts and is a cultural landmark for Connecticut. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos and management direction of Michael Ross, The Playhouse creates quality productions of new and classic plays that enlighten, enrich and engage a diverse community of theater lovers, artists and students. The Playhouse's rich history dates back to 1931, when New York theatre producer Lawrence Langner created a Broadway-quality stage within an 1830s tannery. The Playhouse quickly became an established stop on the New England "straw hat circuit" of summer stock theatres. Now celebrating its 79th season, Westport Country Playhouse has produced more than 700 plays, 36 of which later transferred to Broadway, most recently the world premiere of "Thurgood" and a revival of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" with Paul Newman, and in earlier years "Come Back, Little Sheba" with Shirley Booth, "The Trip to Bountiful" with Lillian Gish, and "Butterflies Are Free" with Keir Dullea and Blythe Danner. For its artistic excellence, The Playhouse received a 2005 Governor's Arts Award and a 2000 "Connecticut Treasure" recognition. It was also designated as an Official Project of Save America's Treasures by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is entered on the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places. Following a multi-million dollar renovation completed in 2005, The Playhouse transformed into a year-round, state-of-the-art producing theater, which has preserved its original charm and character. In addition to a full season of theatrical productions, The Playhouse serves as a community resource, presenting educational programming and workshops; a children's theater series; symposiums; music; films; and readings.

For more information, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or www.westportplayhouse.org. Westport Country Playhouse is located at 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport,

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