THE CHORUS OF WESTERLY & FLOCK THEATRE
ANNOUNCE THE ONE-TIME REVIVAL OF ITS BELOVED HOLIDAY PRODUCTION
A CELEBRATION OF TWELFTH NIGHT
JANUARY 10, 11, 12, 2025
BASIC INFORMATION
TICKETS
On sale on late Spring 2024
Specific show times to be announced in May
AUDITIONS
Auditions will be held in the Fall of 2024
ACTORS, DANCERS, GYMNASTS
OF ALL AGES FROM THE COMMUNITY
WILL BE NEEDED
Dates to be announced - Keep checking this page
Rehearsals will begin in mid-December 2024, with a full schedule of rehearsals December 26 through the show opening on January 10, 2025.
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INTERESTED IN HELPING IN THE PRODUCTION?
For inquiries about potential technical, stage, and production volunteer roles or support staff roles, please email twelfthnight@chorusofwesterly.org or flocktheatre@hotmail.com. We respectfully ask for no drop-ins or phone calls to the Chorus of Westerly office or Flock Theatre. Please email first and someone will reply to you directly.
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PRESS RELEASE ANNOUNCING THE NEWS!
The Chorus of Westerly and Flock Theatre to present revival of
A Celebration of Twelfth Night in January 2025
MARCH 19, 2024 – WESTERLY – The Chorus of Westerly and Flock Theatre of New London announced today their plans to revive Westerly’s beloved holiday production A Celebration of Twelfth Night after a 10-year hiatus. An annual community musical and stage extravaganza produced by the Chorus of Westerly for 40 years, A Celebration of Twelfth Night most recently took place in January 2015.
The Twelfth Night 2025 revival, with shows scheduled to take place on January 10-12, 2025, will be produced and offered as a unique partnership project between the Chorus of Westerly and Flock Theatre organizations. While the Chorus will serve as the show’s overall producing entity and musical lead under the guidance of Andrew Howell, Flock Theatre will be responsible for the show’s theatrical management, structure, and stage direction. Flock Theatre’s work will be helmed by Derron Wood, Flock’s executive artistic director, and Victor Chiburis, Flock’s associate artistic director.
All of the 2025 shows will take place in Twelfth Night’s original venue, the Chorus’s George Kent Performance Hall on High Street in Westerly. Those interested in auditioning for the show or participating in the production of the show in any capacity should visit this weblink: chorusofwesterly.org/twelfthnight to learn more about getting involved. The dates for auditions and ticket sales will be announced later this spring.
A Celebration of Twelfth Night was originally created in the mid-1970s by the Chorus of Westerly. Founding Music Director George Kent and other leaders of the Chorus were inspired by an early production of John Meredith Langstaff’s Revels that took place in Kent Hall (then the Westerly Center for the Arts) in the early 1970s. Over the years that followed, Kent, along with Chorus visionary Anne Utter, created and evolved a post-Christmas holiday show that involved drama, music, poetry, dance, and good humor, all webbed together by a basic play structure consisting with basic themes of good over evil, light emerging from dark, and shared humanity.
In time, Twelfth Night became one of the region’s most popular musical and theatrical events. The very large cast and crew was made up of many local amateurs and volunteers, who worked alongside professional musicians, actors, dancers, choreographers, technical personnel, and stage direction. The quality of the production increased to that of a major city theatrical and musical event and eventually attracted audiences of several thousands to Kent Hall each January. The Chorus made the decision to put the show on hiatus in 2015 to allow for an artistic and organizational reset.
A Celebration of Twelfth Night has always involved not just the singing members of the Chorus of Westerly – who included both children and adults (presently ages 8 to 85) – but also a cast of nearly 100, many of who are also children, some appearing on stage for the first time in their careers. Several notable individuals in the arts world got their start on the Twelfth Night stage and moved on to professional theater jobs. This includes noted stage and screen actor Andrew Burnap, who won the 2020 TONY-Award for Best Actor in a Play and recently portrayed King Arthur in Camelot. The 2025 production will follow a similar structure and model as past shows, with community participants on stage and behind the scenes being an important component.
The Chorus of Westerly and Flock Theatre organizations have a long history of collaborative partnerships. Flock’s Derron Wood served as stage director for Twelfth Night for more than 15 years, while Victor Chiburis served as his assistant for many of those shows. In recent years, Flock has worked with the Chorus of Westerly on several smaller projects, including as part of Christmas Pops 2022. In their various roles first as volunteers and later as staff members Andrew Howell, music director of the Chorus of Westerly, and Ryan Saunders, executive director, have each been involved in Twelfth Night’s production for over 25 shows and have a close working relationship with Wood and Chiburis.
“We are very excited to bring Twelfth Night back in 2025 to the community. We have heard the call from many to revive it for several years and have missed it too,” states Andrew Howell. “We are delighted Flock Theatre has agreed to partner with us on making the dream a reality. We couldn’t do this without their guidance. Derron and Victor are incredible at their craft. They also bring a strong knowledge of Twelfth Night’s past to this new production. They know what makes it so special. We are fortunate and grateful that they’ll be at the helm of our stage for this revival.”
Both organization’s note that the 2025 revival is presently intended to be a one-time revival of the production. At this time, it is not either organizations’ intention to restart presenting Twelfth Night on an annual basis.
The Chorus has created a special weblink, chorusofwesterly.org/twelfthnight, where it will post information about how to inquire about being involved in the show’s production, audition information, and other useful items for anyone who is interested. Later this spring, the Chorus will announce when tickets go on sale for the show. Specific show times are still being determined, however shows will take place on Friday, January 10, Saturday, January 11, and Sunday, January 12, 2025. Rehearsals for the show will begin in December 2024. All activity will take place at the George Kent Performance Hall, 119 High Street, Westerly.
MEDIA NOTES
Interview requests for any Chorus of Westerly or Flock Theatre directors can be made directly to any individual noted above or by reaching out to Ryan Saunders, executive director of the Chorus of Westerly, at ryan@chorusofwesterly.org or Hannah Veale, deputy director of the Chorus of Westerly, at hannah@chorusofwesterly.org or by calling 401.596.8663 during business hours. Photos are available upon request.
More information on either organization and biographies of leadership can be found on their respective websites:
http://chorusofwesterly.org
http://flocktheatre.org
ABOUT FLOCK THEATRE
Founded in 1989, Flock Theatre is one of the most adventurous theatre companies in New England. Whether working with the timeless words of Shakespeare, modern classics such as Eugene O'Neill, puppet pieces, teaching in schools, or conducting their annual Burning of Benedict Arnold Festival, Flock Theatre is dedicated to creating original, collaborative, and educational theatre. Perhaps best known for their long-standing summer Shakespeare in the Arboretum, Flock Theatre performs year-round in a variety of venues, including Mitchell College, the historic Shaw Mansion, in the streets of New London and throughout New England. Internationally, Flock Theatre is highly regarded for their puppetry, including their long-standing collaboration with National Puppetry Conference. Through its productions, artistic residencies and programs at schools, Save A.R.T., and alliances with local organizations, Flock Theatre presents opportunities for artists of all levels of experience to expand their talents by working with professionals. Flock Theatre is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in New London, CT and is supported in part by the CT Office of the Arts/DECD.
ABOUT THE CHORUS OF WESTERLY
The Chorus of Westerly, founded in 1959, is a multi-generational choral ensemble based in the the George Kent Performance Hall in Westerly, RI. In Kent Hall, the Chorus self produces an extensive annual concert season featuring three concert series of choral masterworks and lesser-known gems, the Kent Hall Masters Series, and a Christmas Pops series. In June each summer, the Chorus produces Summer Pops, a free outdoor performance that attracts 20,000 people annually in Westerly’s Wilcox Park.
While Westerly is its home base, singing members come from 30 different New England towns. The full roster of its primary performing ensemble consists of 180 singers, all of whom are auditioned and half of whom are children ages 8 to 18. The Chorus of Westerly’s practice of having children and adults singing side-by-side in all concerts of all major works is a practice that is rare in the United States and thus makes the organization quite unique in the American choral scene.
In addition to its performing ensemble, the Chorus of Westerly offers an extensive educational program that features an non-auditioned Foundations Chorus, a senior choir program, a Threshold Choir program as a musical service at end of life, a chant program, a music and movement programs for very young children, a Speakeasy Choir program to celebrate current songs, and six after school training choir programs offered in local elementary schools.
Since its founding in 1959 by George Kent, nearly 3,000 children and adults have sung in the Chorus or participated in one its educational programs. The Chorus has performed over 750 times in front of a combined audience of more than 1.8 million at home and around the globe. The Chorus has presented more than 90 large scale choral works, including 15 American premieres of major new works and several world premieres, and developed lasting working relationships with significant choral organizations, orchestras and conductors worldwide.
Under founding music director George Kent (tenure 1959-2012) and current music director Andrew Howell (tenure 2012-present), the Chorus has engaged in five major international concert tours. These tours have brought the ensemble to the great cathedrals and concert halls of England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, and Germany, where full and receptive audiences have welcomed the Chorus on each occasion. Domestically, outside of its performance season in Westerly, the Chorus has performed at a variety of special events and venues ranging from Woolsey Hall at Yale University to Fenway Park.
The Chorus of Westerly will tour France and England in July of 2024 performing in France in Chartres, Paris, Colleville-su-mer, Normandy, and in England in Bristol, Worcester, and Windsor.
