Vagabond Theatre's 2016-17 Season
Donation protected
Theater, especially at the local level, cannot be made without the support of the community it entertains. This is where you come in. Read on to find out why VTC is worthy of our support.
This past July we got the call that The Bijou was closing. After the shock wore off, I reached out to several colleagues and we established the Save the Bijou campaign. After all, there was so much left to do on and off stage and around the city we entertained. We quickly raised nearly $5000 in a week. When management requested we end our efforts and refund the donations pledged, it sealed the fate of the artistic home of many performers from around Greater Bridgeport.
The amazing show of support for our (ultimately) doomed efforts to save her showed me that our community valued our work on The Bijou stage and that they saw us as an important, if not integral, voice in the wilderness of Connecticut’s primarily family-friendly local theatre landscape.
From my first Main Stage show at The Bijou, the May 2014 repertory productions of 'Hamlet' and 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead', I have believed in the goals of the troupe that would become The Bijou Actors Guild and ultimately VTC:
To stage edgy, thought-provoking productions that explore all the aspects of the human condition, and to do so in an environment where people of all race, gender, sexual orientation and/or religious belief will feel welcome.
As Co-Producers of The Bijou Actors Guild, my wife Tanya Feduik-Smith and I felt a responsibility to those donors, our friends and colleagues to find a space to stage part The Guild's intended 2016-17 season.
With the help of some other Guild members we quickly found a temporary home in the Gonzaga Auditorium on the campus of Fairfield University. While the details of that arrangement were being finalized, The Bijou Actors Guild was rechristened The Vagabond Theatre Company of Greater Bridgeport. We are very grateful to Fairfield U for working with us as we transition and are excited to begin our relationship with them.
Our inaugural production of The Scarlet Letter, adapted by Phyllis Nagy from the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, ran from October 28th-30th at Fairfield University.
The rest of our 2016-17 season will be performed at the Performing Arts Center of Connecticut in Trumbull:
-"The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" by Stephen Adly Guirgis - March 17th-26th - directed by Mat Young
-"Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead" by Bert V Royal - May 26th-June 4th - directed by Michael R. Mele
This season reflects VTC's commitment to our audiences by continuing the type of productions we staged in Bridgeport. VTC will continue give voice to Greater Bridgeport performers by expanding our relationship with Housatonic Community College and giving as many of their culturally diverse theater students a shot at showcasing their talents as possible. We will continue fostering new talent through workshops and readings of new works.
We look forward to offering an alternative theater choice to the people of Greater Bridgeport, while we identify and ultimately establish a new permanent home in Downtown Bridgeport.
Please help us keep these dreams alive during our rebirth. On behalf of the entire VTC Staff, thank you for your support!
Kindest Regards,
John R. Smith, Jnr
Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director
The Vagabond Theatre Company of Greater Bridgeport
www.VagabondBPT.org
This past July we got the call that The Bijou was closing. After the shock wore off, I reached out to several colleagues and we established the Save the Bijou campaign. After all, there was so much left to do on and off stage and around the city we entertained. We quickly raised nearly $5000 in a week. When management requested we end our efforts and refund the donations pledged, it sealed the fate of the artistic home of many performers from around Greater Bridgeport.
The amazing show of support for our (ultimately) doomed efforts to save her showed me that our community valued our work on The Bijou stage and that they saw us as an important, if not integral, voice in the wilderness of Connecticut’s primarily family-friendly local theatre landscape.
From my first Main Stage show at The Bijou, the May 2014 repertory productions of 'Hamlet' and 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead', I have believed in the goals of the troupe that would become The Bijou Actors Guild and ultimately VTC:
To stage edgy, thought-provoking productions that explore all the aspects of the human condition, and to do so in an environment where people of all race, gender, sexual orientation and/or religious belief will feel welcome.
As Co-Producers of The Bijou Actors Guild, my wife Tanya Feduik-Smith and I felt a responsibility to those donors, our friends and colleagues to find a space to stage part The Guild's intended 2016-17 season.
With the help of some other Guild members we quickly found a temporary home in the Gonzaga Auditorium on the campus of Fairfield University. While the details of that arrangement were being finalized, The Bijou Actors Guild was rechristened The Vagabond Theatre Company of Greater Bridgeport. We are very grateful to Fairfield U for working with us as we transition and are excited to begin our relationship with them.
Our inaugural production of The Scarlet Letter, adapted by Phyllis Nagy from the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, ran from October 28th-30th at Fairfield University.
The rest of our 2016-17 season will be performed at the Performing Arts Center of Connecticut in Trumbull:
-"The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" by Stephen Adly Guirgis - March 17th-26th - directed by Mat Young
-"Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead" by Bert V Royal - May 26th-June 4th - directed by Michael R. Mele
This season reflects VTC's commitment to our audiences by continuing the type of productions we staged in Bridgeport. VTC will continue give voice to Greater Bridgeport performers by expanding our relationship with Housatonic Community College and giving as many of their culturally diverse theater students a shot at showcasing their talents as possible. We will continue fostering new talent through workshops and readings of new works.
We look forward to offering an alternative theater choice to the people of Greater Bridgeport, while we identify and ultimately establish a new permanent home in Downtown Bridgeport.
Please help us keep these dreams alive during our rebirth. On behalf of the entire VTC Staff, thank you for your support!
Kindest Regards,
John R. Smith, Jnr
Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director
The Vagabond Theatre Company of Greater Bridgeport
www.VagabondBPT.org
Organizer and beneficiary
Juan Ayala
Organizer
Fairfield, CT
John R Smith Jr
Beneficiary