HCCT-03-17 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HCCT AUDITIONS FOR BUTTERFINGERS ANGEL…
SET FOR 7 P.M., MONDAY, OCT. 20

Gibson play a fresh, creative, humorous telling of the Christmas story

COTTONWOOD SHORES, TEXAS (Oct. 10, 2003) -- The Hill Country Community Theatre will hold auditions at 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 20, for The Butterfingers Angel, Mary and Joseph, Herod the Nut and the Slaughter of 12 Hit Carols in a Pear Tree. (Whew!)

“The seasonal “entertainment’ tells the story of Mary, Joseph and the birth of Jesus from a fresh and richly creative point of view – that of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright William Gibson,” said Bruce Hennie, HCCT Executive Director and director for this production.

“Gibson combines a series of deftly constructed short scenes, traditional yuletide music and often antic characterizations into a wholly original theatre piece,” Hennie explained.

HCCT is located at 4003 West FM 2147 in Cottonwood Shores, between Marble Falls and Horseshoe Bay. Scripts for the 17-character play are available for checkout now. Performances will run Dec. 11-21, with 8 p.m. nightly performances and 2:15 p.m. Sunday matinees. No rehearsals are set for the Thanksgiving holidays.

In describing the play Hennie said, “The flow of action follows the Gospels’ story, but is enhanced by several elements not mentioned in the Bible. We have a tree, a sheep and a donkey, who all talk – and rather amusingly, too. Then Mary is a beguiling young teen who has decided men and marriage are not for her. Add in a suddenly cautious Joseph who argues with the angel that he’s too old for Mary, even though he earlier scoffed at Mary for feeling the same way.”

The central character is a flustered teenage boy-angel who directs the action from a prompt book and has real trouble playing his trumpet. Humor breaks out all over in Butterfingers Angel…, but the true significance of the occasion is never lost. An underlying spirit of reverence pervades the show and is made new by Gibson’s distinctive approach, Hennie notes.

The cast requirements include six men and four women from age 15 to 80, and six to eight children between ages 8 and 13. Children, not adults, must play the animals and everyone should be able to sing within a group.

∑ Three kings and three louts (same actors;
∑ Two Cows
∑ Two Sheep
∑ Tree
∑ Two women
∑ Man in Grey, Courier, Herod (same actor)
∑ Joseph
∑ Mary
∑ Girl
∑ Angel
∑ Two donkeys

HCCT has an open casting policy. No experience is required. All parts require some basic stage movement. The HCCT Audition Policy does not allow pre-casting. Everyone, regardless of experience, is encouraged to try-out. Rehearsals begin Sept. 4.

For more information on the current performances or tickets, membership, volunteer opportunities (box office, costumes, make-up, props, lighting, set building and painting) or auditions, please contact the HCCT Box Office at 830-798-8944, or Executive Director Bruce Hennie at 830-693-2474.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:
Preston F. Kirk, APR
HCCT Governor
Spicewood, TX
830-693-4447;
F 693-9898,
kirk@281.com

Bruce Hennie, Executive Director
Hill Country Community Theatre
Cottonwood Shores, TX,
830-693-2474
bruce@hcct.org