Playful People Productions Opens Registration For HUMANS! ON STAGE! DOING STUFF!

Playful People Productions announces its first-ever variety show, cheekily titled Humans! On Stage! Doing Stuff! Sign-ups are currently open; the show will be held live, in-person at Historic Hoover Theatre in San Jose on the evening of July 31.

Children and adults are welcome, as are families; cost for performance/participation is $25-50 depending on the number of people in the act. Tickets for viewing the talent show, whether in person or via live stream, will be $10. For more information on Playful People and their programs, visit https://playfulpeople.org or call (408) 878-5362.

"Online meetups and classes will still have their place, but we're so happy to be getting back to the magic of in-person connection, of sharing our talents with one another," said Artistic Director Katie D'Arcey. "We've kept up our community as best we could by video chat, but I think almost everyone feels that was just a stop-gap, something to get us through. Even though this event will be masked and distanced according to local guidance, the applause and laughter will be in the same room and in real time."

Humans! On Stage! Doing Stuff! will be a celebration of the many talents of the South Bay community - including any family-appropriate talent such as singing, dancing, playing an instrument, juggling, sword fighting, magic, scenes or monologues from plays, movies, or TV shows, puppetry, a skill learned during quarantine, and so on, Families are encouraged to participate together for this event. Each participating "act" will be given 2-3 minutes to share their talent in front of a live audience, as well as an at-home audience watching via live-stream. Playful People Productions Board Member and frequent play participant Scott Knaster will emcee the event, with special guest performances by PPP staff. Participants must attend a rehearsal run-through on Tuesday, July 27; sign-ups will be open through July 16.

Playful People Productions was first founded in 2010 as a positive, inclusive, family-focused theatre company, and has operated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit since 2017. While initially providing classes, camps, and shows for kids, the company has grown to offer similar classes for adults and stages performances where family members can perform together. Normally performing out of the Historic Hoover Theatre in San Jose, the company immediately sprung into action in March, 2020 to create POP (Playful Online People) programming, converting all its theatre experiences to virtual formats and continuing to make arts and theatre opportunities available to kids and families during the pandemic.

Mother and daughter team Barbara Galiotto and Katie D'Arcey are Positive Discipline trained; both have worked as early Childhood Educators; and as professional directors with children's theater. The pair have approximately 50 years experience between them in the musical theater world and, together with a small team of permanent staff and an array of talented directors, teachers, and support personnel, offer beginner through advanced theatre experiences for the whole family.