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ABC Players WE MAKE THEATER MAGIC! |
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ABC Players WE MAKE THEATER MAGIC! |
We perform in the historic Stuart's Opera House in Nelsonville, OH. Click here to see all of the shows we have produced since December 1992 (with pictures).
For TICKETSto our shows, please contact Stuart's Opera House.
Shows Planned for the 2024-2025 Season:
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The Full Monty – March 7, 8, 14, 15, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. and March 9 & 16, 2025 at 2 p.m. – Six unemployed steel workers form a male striptease act. Based on the film of the same name, this story is full of heart, honest affection, sharp humor, and engaging melodies. Cast List.
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Sensory-Friendly Friends - April 19, 2025 at 11 a.m. & 3 p.m., a set of songs about friendship, followed after intermission by “Eeyore´s Birthday,” a musical based on the Winnie the Pooh stories. |
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Freaky Friday –May 9, 10, 11, 2025 – An overworked mother and her teenage daughter magically swap bodies, they have just one day to put things right again before the mom's wedding. This production is a collaboration from the ABC Players/Nelsonville-York Drama Club team that brought us Matilda, School of Rock, and Wizard of Oz.
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The French Have a Word for It – June 22, 2025 at 2 p.m. – A flirt refuses lovers so long as her husband is faithful, but a wild plot to entrap her stumbling husband in flagrante delicto becomes so frenetic that the seducers, angry husbands, spying wives, innocent maids, pubescent bellboys and police inspectors lose track of who is in bed with whom. A staged reading.
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Glengarry Glen Ross – September 27 & 28, 2024 at 7:30 p.m., and September 29, 2024 at 2 p.m. – Four Chicago salesmen—Levene, Roma, Moss, and Aaronow—and their supervisor, Williamson, work together selling undesirable real estate at inflated prices. It´s the end of a month in which the bosses of the company, Mitch and Murray, have declared a “sales contest” in which the salesman who clears a certain high dollar amount will win a Cadillac, and the two salesmen who perform worst will be fired. The desperate sales agents will do anything to make their sales. Cast List! Glengarry Glen Ross was originally published in 1984 and reflects some negative and harmful attitudes common during that time. Although these are not the views held by ABC Players, the play we are performing includes crude, racist, and anti-LGBTQ+ language and a reference of child sexual assault.
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Disney's Alice in Wonderland JR. – December 6 & 7, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. and December 7 & 8, 2024 at 2 p.m. – Alice navigates the world of wonderland after falling down a rabbit hole. She finds herself in a strange world where everything seems upside down. As she tries to find her way home, she encounters some strange characters including the White Rabbit who is never on time, the Cheshire Cat whose smile is quite curious, the caterpillar with a cool demeanor, the Mad Hatter who could not be whackier, and a Queen of Hearts with a red-hot temper. Cast List.
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Sensory-Friendly Holiday Concert – December 15, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. in the Grand Lobby of Stuart's Opera House. Featuring the OhioWinds: Alison Brown Sincoff, flute; Nathaly Pagoaga, oboe; Rebecca Rischin, clarinet; Matthew Morris, bassoon; Matthew James, saxophone; and Scott Smith, Horn. There will be both instrumentals and sing-alongs with Santa, Mrs. Santa, and Elves. |
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AUDITIONS: Tips
Note: You don't have to be a member of ABC Players to audition, get a part, and perform in one of our productions. But, if you get a part in a second play, we'd like you to support the organization by becoming a member.
“Friends” Spring Sensory Show. Auditions Saturday Feb. 1, 2025 - 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Read-through Feb 5, 2025. Rehearsals begin Feb. 12th, rehearsing - Wednesdays 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Performance Date: Saturday, April 19th - 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Additional details about the audition will be posted here in January.
The French Have a Word for It. Auditions Sunday, Apr. 27th from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Rehearsals will be Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. beginning Tuesday, Apr. 29th.
ABOUT US: History of Athenian Berean Community Players
In the beginning was the Berean Community Players (BCP), incorporated in 1973. For years, BCP's productions under the direction of Spencer Steenrod and Tony Coleman were the cultural center of gravity in southeast Ohio. Musical directors Katy McCoy and Mary Jane McKinley, were recognized throughout Ohio for the quality of their work.
For several years, Joe Balding and Steve Haskins entertained the idea of forming a community theater group in the Athens area. In the summer of 1992, while working on an Ohio Valley Summer Theatre production of On Golden Pond, Joe outlined his dream to Spence Watson, who was also in the play. Spence and Beth Watson had previously formed an amateur theater company in another community. They shared their experiences at a meeting at the Athens Unitarian Fellowship Hall on August 3, 1992. The groundwork for Athenian Players Theatre (APT) was laid at that meeting.
APT's first production was The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, opening in the Athens Unitarian Fellowship Hall on December 10, 1992. Indeed, for our first five years, APT was a sort of nomad theatre, doing shows at such locations as the Unitarian Fellowship Hall, the Athens Middle School, the Senior Citizens Center, and the Friends’ Meeting House in Chauncey. But in March 1997, the historic Stuart’s Opera House reopened in Nelsonville. On October 3, 1997, APT presented I’ll Be Back Before Midnight in the newly restored Opera House and—except for a few special productions in other locations—APT jointly produced shows with BCP in Stuart’s Opera House.
On March 18, 2009, the membership of both organizations voted to merge into a single organization called the Athenian Berean Community Players.
Our normal season is three to five plays, performed either Thursday through Sunday in a single week or Friday through Sunday of two successive weeks. Sunday performances are matinees; all others are evening shows.
In most seasons, at least one of the productions is a musical. These have included The Sound of Music (Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II), Into The Woods (Stephen Sondheim), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Stephen Sondheim), and Funny Girl (Isobel Lennart, Jules Styne, Bob Merrill). Comedy and dramatic offerings have included such plays as Rumors (Neil Simon), Night of January 16th (Ayn Rand), Steel Magnolias (Richard Harling), Present Laughter (Noel Coward), and Flowers for Algernon (David Rogers).
For a complete list of our productions, illustrations of the show posters, and some stage photos, please click here.
For many years, we were active in the Ohio Community Theatre Association (OCTA). Our members served in various leadership roles in OCTA. When we presented excerpts of our plays at OCTA regional and state-wide festivals, we earned formal recognition of the excellence of our productions. We earned awards for acting, direction, sets, costumes, and for our newsletter: The Minotaur. Facing rising printing and postage costs and the general availability of the Internet, we stopped publishing The Minotaur in 2014. In 2018, the membership voted to end our membership in OCTA, while retaining membership in the national American Association of Community Theatre which publishes the bimonthly Spotlight magazine.
So, we have a core of talented, experienced members with demonstrated commitment and exceptional abilities. But all of us face competition for our time, and—as with all volunteer organizations—maintaining a strong, exciting program over the years is a challenge. We are taking steps to attract and empower new members, and we are particularly seeking young people who are interested in live theatre. Although we currently have more than 30 paid members, not all are able to be actively involved in productions. Also, since "time keeps on going into the future," we need to continue to attract new members to keep the organization fresh and flourishing. Becoming a member is easy.
We owe our continuing success to numerous supporters. A few have helped us over and over, and they are mentioned here:
Click here for our bylaws and production policy. Our filings with the Ohio Secretary of State as a nonprofit corporation are available on-line by searching for "Athenian Berean Community Players". Our Certificate of Good Standing as an Ohio nonprofit corporation is here. We can also be found on the Ohio Attorney General's database of charitable organizations. The IRS’s Exempt Organizations Selection Checklist can also be used to verify our eligibility to receive tax-deductible contributions.
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Support ABC Players as You Shop
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| Here's how to do this. First, go to the Kroger website, and click the “Sign In” link where you'll be able to log on or create an account. Once you've signed in to your account, click your name in the upper-right corner and select “My Account” and then “Community Rewards.” There, you'll be able to tell Kroger to send a quarterly check to ABC Players based on your regular shopping at Krogers. We are listed as organization #BQ524, “Athenian Berean Community Players.” |
Join us at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 16th in #30 Public Square for a meeting to celebrate the accomplishments of 2024 and prepare for 2025. The meeting is open to anyone interested in community theater: you don´t have to be a member to come to the meeting.
MEMBERSHIP: To become a member of ABC Players, all you have to do is express an interest, be at least 14 years old, and pay $10 a year. Families may join for $20. The membership year runs from September 1 to August 31. Dues are not prorated. Click here to join or pay dues.
OFFICERS:The 2024-2025 officers are
Officers are elected annually and serve from September 1st through August 31st.
Athenian Berean Community Players
P.O. Box 283
Athens, Ohio 45701
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