Dear Diary,
My teenage angst bullsh*t now has a body count. But what’s your damage, Heather? Is your name even Heather? Just in case it isn’t, Third Wall Productions has a whole bunch of them (three to be in fact) with their fiery production of the screen-to-stage musical Heathers, now playing through April 14th 2024. Directed by Jake Schwarts with Musical Direction by Anton Van De Motter and Choreography by Kelly Williams Carlson,
Don’t dream it. Be it! In the season of Rocky Horror Shows, picture or otherwise, Stand Up For… Theatre is it! Director Ed Higgins takes an overdone, yet annually anticipated show, and turns it on its head. In a theatre world of copycats Higgins brings a refreshing twist to a classic tale.
Set in the round, this version gives an intimate feel and, in my opinion, makes for better audience participation.
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand? Third Wall Productions will show you how with their stellar production of Rogers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music. Having changed venues again, to what is hopefully now their theatrical-forever-home, the hard-working community theatre brings its 2023 stage productions to the stage & hall of Chestnut Grove Presbyterian, and is settling into the space a bit like Maria Rainer is settling into the von Trapp household,
It’s a science fiction— whoa-ooh-ooh double feature— well… maybe just a singular two-act musical feature? It must be spooky season because Stand Up For… Theatre has got The Rocky Horror Show bouncing all over its stages! Directed by Ed Higgins with Musical Direction by William Zellhofer & Andy Kay Wojciehowski, and Choreography by Lilou Altman, this bawdy cult classic has all the iconic, recognizable numbers and some of your favorite Halloween characters to make your evening wild.
Everybody’s playing the game— but nobody’s rules are the same— nobody’s on nobody’s side! It may be a direct quote from one of the show’s songs, but how hauntingly true it stands to this semi-post-pandemic world we’re all trying to scrape by in as it stands. Theatre is returning, for many— despite being May of 2022— these ‘late spring’ productions are the first live-in-person performances that companies are getting to experience since closing their doors over two years ago.
Hear me now! Oh thou bleak and unbearable world— thou art in
need of good quality musical classics on the stage! There’s a company, with
their banners all bravely unfurled now hurling their gauntlet to thee— they are
they— Third Wall Productions— bringing you the Man of La Mancha and all
of its exquisite fantasy! They are they— Third Wall Productions— with their Man
of La Mancha and your destiny calls you to go!
When someone leaves, a piece of you leaves with them. And
while that is a generally understood pathos principal of the grieving process,
we as a society don’t fully accept or acknowledge this when it comes to suicide.
We say “suddenly” or “passed unexpectedly” or “died at home” rather than the
blunt, honest truth of “lost the battle with…depression, substance abuse,
mental illness…” and the taboo and stigma that remain shrouded around suicide
and mental illness keeps us from opening up our minds and hearts to this
grieving process.
Look at their set; isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you think their set design is so sweet? Wouldn’t you think Michael Rasinski’s the guy— the guy who’s designed everything? Look at those lights— colors so bold! How many wonders can Lighting Designer Thomas Gardner behold? Looking around the stage you’d think— the creative team’s done everything! They’ve got James Hunnicutt designing the properties. They’ve got Brent Tomchik making splashes with sound. You want Choreography? That’s Karli Burnham.
Donuts are not your life. Donuts are nobody’s life. Your life is your life. A life with a theatre. A life with a theatre and a production of Tracy Letts’ Superior Donuts. Third Wall Productions has got something special on their hands, and it ain’t horse fat! Directed by Grant Myers, this evocative drama with uplifting heart is remarkably well executed by the company and showcases the heart of human compassion at its finest.
After reviewing the situations— which was the smashingly impressive inaugural production of Oliver— TheatreBloom has taken a moment to sit down with the Executive Director and Founding Member of Third Wall Productions Mike Zellhofer and Company Manager and Founding Member Mea Holloway to talk shop about how the company got underway, what they’re up to, and where they’re going!
Let’s get some introductions going here, tell our readers who you are and what of your work they might recognize so they can familiarize themselves with the driving forces behind Third Wall Productions.
I’m reviewing the situation; can Baltimore sustain one more community theatre that popped-up overnight? The answer is yes, as Third Wall Productions makes their inaugural production of Oliver! snap jauntily to life in the found-space stage of the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Hamilton. Produced by Jerry Gietka (who has commemorated producing the show in loving memory of his late sister Bernie) and Directed by Ed Higgins, with Kathryn Weaver as Musical Director,