Little Women audition sign-ups

Little Women audition sign-ups

Walter M. Mayes, Artistic Director of South Bay Musical Theatre announces auditions for LITTLE WOMEN, performing January 24 - February 14, 2026. Music by Jason Howland Lyrics by Mindy Dickstein Book by Allan Knee Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott Director & Choreographer: Janie Scott Music Director: Amanda Ku Initial auditions will be held Saturday, September 27 from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, September 28 from 6:00 - 10:00  p.m. Please schedule a vocal audition slot here. AUDITION INFORMATION Please prepare 32 bars of a song in the style of the show with sheet music in the correct [...]

By |2025-09-02T11:45:25-07:00September 2nd, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Announcements, Auditions|

The Sound of Music: A Beloved Classic with Fresh Resonance

Lauren D'Ambrosio as Maria and Brad Satterwhite as Captain von Trapp in “The Sound of Music,” which plays Sept. 27 to Oct. 18, 2025 at the Saratoga Civic Theater by Walter M. Mayes, Artistic Director and Director of The Sound of Music Few musicals hold as cherished a place in the American imagination as The Sound of Music. Since its Broadway debut in 1959 at the height of the Golden Age of the American musical, it has delighted millions with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s unforgettable score and the inspiring story of the von Trapp family singers. Many know the [...]

By |2025-08-28T10:24:54-07:00August 28th, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Blog-erviews!, Opinion|

Running a Theatre Company

by Michael Paul Hirsch, Executive Director Since stepping in to SBMT's Executive Director position in July, I have been delving into documents and spreadsheets, agreements and archives to compile, organize, and analyze over 60 years of SBMT producing theatre here in the South Bay. My goal was to become as much of an expert on SBMT as I could and to form a point of view of what it means to run a theatre company in 2025 and into the future.  Over the last few weeks, I created a benchmarking framework so that I can stay on the pulse of [...]

By |2025-08-21T17:00:15-07:00August 21st, 2025|Blog-erviews!, Opinion|

SBMT’s AI Policy: Protecting People, Creativity, and Integrity

by Michael Paul Hirsch, Executive Director and Walter M. Mayes, Artistic Director At South Bay Musical Theatre, every costume stitch, scenic brushstroke, musical note, and marketing image tells a human story. These are crafted by artists, technicians, and volunteers who pour their time and talent into creating something authentic and memorable. Our goal is to ensure that theatre remains a hands-on, inclusive, local, and ethically grounded cultural institution where every contribution is personal, intentional, and human-made. That’s why we’ve adopted a clear new AI policy on use of artificial intelligence (AI) in our creative process about ensuring that our work [...]

By |2025-08-14T19:16:00-07:00August 14th, 2025|Blog-erviews!, Opinion|

Season’s Pleadings: Selling Season 63

by Doug Hughes, Marketing Director As Marketing Director for South Bay Musical Theatre, my job is to sell you on our upcoming season. That usually means hyping the shows, teasing the titles, and dazzling you with reasons to subscribe. Easy, right? Well—this year, there’s a twist. I can only talk about two of the three shows. The third one? It’s fabulous. It’s Tony-winning. It’s a total crowd-pleaser. And it’s top secret until mid-September (when the rights house lets us talk about it). So, what’s a marketer to do? I decided to flip the script. Instead of pitching shows, I’m pitching [...]

By |2025-08-02T13:26:04-07:00July 31st, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Blog-erviews!, Opinion|

Board Minutes for July 2025

Start: 3:08pm End: 4:53pm Present (via zoom): Ann Lucena, Andy Switky, Tipu Purkayastha, Michael Hirsch, Ray Smith, Doug Hughes, Walter Mayes, Dan Singletary, Steve Sammonds, Dick Robbins, Lashonda Eagels, Marcy Bates Minutes from our previous meeting are approved.  After a short discussion we decided to continue publishing the board meeting minutes. Key changes to board composition:  Braden and Nicole are retiring from the Board, Michael is retiring as Chair, and we have three new board members:  Doug Hughes, Dick Robbins, and Steve Sammonds.   ED update (Michael) Building a two-year plan centered around concrete steps to stabilize the organization. Three big initiatives [...]

By |2025-07-31T13:43:33-07:00July 31st, 2025|Board meetings, Board Minutes|

Performance dates announced for double-cast actors

This week, we happily announced which of our double-cast children in The Sound of Music would be performing on which dates. (The six youngest Von Trapp children are double cast, with each actor assigned to half of the performance schedule.) Based on a variety of factors, the performers were matched up strategically to provide a consistent and balanced production for all our audiences. The two groups will appear on the following dates: “Schnitzel With Noodles” Cast (Augustus Solomon, Madelyn Simon, Gavin Wong, Coco LaMarche, Adeline Choi, and Isabella Simon) Sept 26 (Preview NIght), Sept. 28*; Oct 4, Oct. 10, Oct. 12*, and [...]

By |2025-07-26T12:09:22-07:00July 26th, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Meet The Cast|

What It Takes To Plan a Season

by Walter M. Mayes, Artistic Director What if I told you that the next season’s story begins before the curtain rises on this one? While audiences are anticipating the Abbey bells, singing nuns, and adorable Von Trapp children of our 2025/26 season-opener, The Sound of Music, I’m already deep in the next act—reading scripts, tracking rights, and assembling the puzzle that will become South Bay Musical Theatre’s ‘26-’27 season. At first glance, planning a season might seem like picking your favorite shows and hoping for the best. In truth, it’s a nuanced, months-long process—one that blends artistic passion with financial [...]

By |2025-07-24T11:09:16-07:00July 24th, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Behind The Scenes, Blog-erviews!, Opinion|

Why The Sound of Music at SBMT is the smart choice

Broadway Quality, Affordable Prices by Doug Hughes, Marketing Director If you’ve been dreaming of seeing The Sound of Music, you have two options in the coming year: wait until mid-2026 and pay over $100 per person to nab good seats for a touring production—or experience the magic much sooner, for a fraction of the cost, at South Bay Musical Theatre, your premier amateur musical theatre arts company in the South Bay. From Sept. 27 to Oct. 18, 2025, SBMT brings The Sound of Music to the intimate Saratoga Civic Theater. With just 298 seats and only 13 rows, every spot [...]

By |2025-07-11T09:49:15-07:00July 11th, 2025|2025-2026 Season, Blog-erviews!, Opinion|

Why We Do This: Our Common Humanity

“I am not a robot” by Michael Paul Hirsch, Executive Director Why do we gather in a darkened room to watch people sing, dance and step into someone else’s shoes? Because theatre reminds us who we actually are and inspires us to be who we can become. In a world that urges us to be faster, more efficient, more robotic—where productivity often takes priority over people—theatre reminds us of what it costs to forget our humanity. Community theatre is more than entertainment. It’s a shared act of creativity, empathy, and connection. It’s messy. It’s raw. It’s real. And above all, [...]

By |2025-07-09T13:06:50-07:00July 9th, 2025|Blog-erviews!, Opinion|
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