Have we got news for YOU!

Tomorrow, April 18, will be an exciting day for the cast, crew and board of Bag&Baggage!

A little context: In 2005, when a small group of actors got together and decided to travel the state performing little shows in communities without a resident professional theatre company, we didn’t “announce” a season…in fact, we weren’t convinced that we were going to have a season, or even do more than one show! Piling our costumes and props into our “bags and baggage” and driving to Sandy, or Corvallis, or Astoria, or Hillsboro and performing our cheeky brand of theatre…well, lets just say we weren’t even THINKING about a season announcement! We were far too concerned with whether or not we would actually get audience members to come!

But we did…and they just keep coming.

Over the years, we have grown in ambition and skill. Now that we are the resident theatre company at The Venetian Theatre, and now that we are seeing audiences grow from show to show, and as we reach out to more and more people…well, we are working with the big dogs now, and have to start acting like it!

Our colleagues across the Portland Metro area (ART, Miracle, Portland Center Stage, etc) have already announced their season of work, but we waited…why? Well, in part so that we wouldn’t have programming conflicts like we did last year! You may recall that our final show of last season was “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde….and our production opened just a few weeks after Portland Center Stage closed their production. Imagine our horror when we found out, just weeks after we announced our choice of shows, that PCS, the Portland theatre juggernaut, was doing the same show, just a few weeks before ours. Lets just say it was NOT a good day!

So, this year, we decided to sit back, have a beer, put our feet up and wait…Wait for our friends “in the big city” to announce their seasons so that we could make sure there wasn’t a conflict with show choices. And guess what…there won’t be! Go figure!

SO….tomorrow night, April 18, at the Venetian, we will be joining together with more than 250 of our friends and supporters, to announce the exciting line up of shows we have planned for the 2010-2011 season! The event starts at 6:00pm at The Venetian with a wine reception, and then at 7:00pm, we will be joined by Tom Hughes (former Mayor of Hillsboro, current candidate for Metro President, and a HUGE supporter of the arts and culture) and Kimberly Howard (manager of the Oregon Cultural Trust and a real kick-ass actor in her own right!) for the announcement of our season.

There will be a few performances and short scenes from our good friends Will Goblirsch (remember Romeo? Death of A Salesman? Taming of the Shrew?) and Amanda Long (remember Juliet? Death of A Salesman?) and, of course, Maggie Chapin (remember…well, every single show we’ve ever done?)….and, after the presentation, our guests will be able to buy Season Tickets for dirt-ass cheap! Up to 35% off the regular price of tickets, allowing you to get a full season of shows for as little as $14 a show!

There are still a few tickets left, so go online to get them (for free!!!) or just show up at the Venetian after 6:00pm and get your tickets at the box office. Help us celebrate the incredible change we’ve gone through, learn about our exciting line up of shows, get your tickets for the season as ridiculously low prices, have a glass of wine on us, and show your support for professional theatre in Washington County!!!

It has been a long trip, and we are happy we have arrived! It feels good to be so successful that we have to hold a Season Announcement event! Be a part of it!

Scott Palmer