The Tyrone Community Players have been a staple of the community for years. Area residents come together to share their talents in order to bring live theatre to Tyrone. The dedicated group of volunteers work to bring high quality productions to the stage, not for fame and fortune, but for the love of theatre. As the summer dinner theatre wraps up, auditions have been set for the troupe’s fall production, “Sherwood,” written and scored by Tyrone’s own Will Jones.
Auditions for the production of “Sherwood” will be August 16, 17, 18 at 7 p.m. at the Tyrone YMCA Theater, though Jones noted the show will actually be performed at the Tyrone Area High School large auditorium.
“From the beginning, we’ve wanted this to be a community production,” Jones said of the musical, which tells the story of Robin Hood and his band of merry men. “It’s going to be a larger production, so we decided to work in conjunction with the Tyrone Area School District. The Players will be taking on a mentorship position with the students. They will be involved, hand-in-hand, with TCP in all aspects of the show.”
Jones said the idea for the show was born when the Community Players performed his show, “A Christmas Caroled,” about three years ago. Since then, he has been involved in writing the music for “Once Upon A Happily Ever After,” which was written by Tyrone’s Cindy Bennett, but has also been writing the stageplay and music for “Sherwood.”
I’ve been writing a lot of music in the last three years,” he joked. Jones said there are 13 songs in the production, which he described as “humorous and rollicking — the way Robin Hood should be.
“It’s story driven,” he continued. “I wrote and rewrote and rewrote. It’s definitely driven by the book rather than the music.”
Stage veterans Linda Strong and Steve Stoner are directing and choreographing the dancing, respectively. Jones also pointed out that experience is helpful, but not necessary, to be a part of the show.
“We’d really like to encourage people to try out, even if they have never done anything like this before,” he said, pointing out that the show is “man-heavy” in regards to the principal characters, but there were opportunities for men, women and children.
“It’s a funny show,” he said. “It’s really going to take some real characters and we want people to feel comfortable about trying out.” Jones joked that most people think of men in tights when they think of Robin Hood. “There are no tights — except for one character. There’s a lot of humor throughout the script and we’re looking forward to getting started.”
Auditions for the Tyrone Community Players’ production of “Sherwood” will be August 16, 17, 18 at 7 p.m. at the Tyrone YMCA Theater.
Auditioners are asked to prepare a vocal selection. Men, women, teens, children over 5 are needed. If you always wanted to hit the stage, here’s a chance to get involved in an original production, written and arranged by Tyrone resident Will Jones. For more information contact Linda Strong, Director at aunteller@webtv.net.
