Fleabitten Faces Busy Future.
Tuesday March 21, 2006

Fleabitten Productions steams full speed ahead.

Well, Fleabitten Productions began 2006 with a bang – opening the year with their very successful co-production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, working side-by-side with veteran theatre company, Rude Guerrilla, in Santa Ana. Earning sold out houses and excellent reviews, Fleabitten re-emerged as a powerful force in the Southern California theatre community.

And “Cuckoo’s Nest” was only the beginning!

Fleabitten has several upcoming productions and projects to look forward to. The second annual Bellflower Shakespeare in the Plaza has come under Fleabitten’s control again. Director Gregory Cohen is now accepting submissions for “The Comedy of Errors” (see the Shows section for submission information and cast breakdown). For the second year, Fleabitten will be teaming up with the Bellflower Theatre Company and the City of Bellflower to produce this open-air free-for-all in the middle of the town plaza. Admission is free and performances will be weekends from June 4 through June 18. Send your pictures and résumés in now to be part of this exciting, hysterical production. 

And “Errors” marks another milestone: an extended partnership with Bellflower Theatre Company. In September, another BTC/FP co-production will get under way, as Kysa Cohen directs the wonderful comedy/drama, Steel Magnolias, in BTC’s intimate Belmont Street Theatre. Co-produced once again by Bellflower Theatre Company and Fleabitten Productions, this classic slice of Southern life will audition on September 10th and 11th. Look for further notices about that production.

And that leads us to the most exciting news of all. Kathy and Gary Dietz, the founders of Bellflower Theatre Company, have invited Fleabitten owners Gregory Cohen and Joe Hogan to co-produce the first half of their 2007 Season. At this point, the season will include Art, A Piece of My Heart, The Boys Next Door, and the production of a new piece by Jack Neary, the playwright who created our premiere production of Jerry Finnegan’s Sister. Fleabitten will round out the first half of ’07 with their third Shakespeare in the Plaza, Much Ado About Nothing. The two companies also have tentative plans to produce a Fall musical in the beautiful city auditorium in October 2007 – More word on that later on. Of course, all of these plans are dependent upon securing the production rights and all of the rest of that legal part that no one really wants to read about! Once FB sets up shop in Bellflower, plans are being made to resurrect Gregory Cohen’s adult acting workshops. Grounding these classes in improvisational techniques, Cohen addresses such subjects as characterization, script analysis, scene study, and audition technique.

But, with all of these upcoming productions to plan, we must not forget the youngest members of the Fleabitten “kennel”: the hardworking, loyal, and extremely talented high schoolers involved in our Youth Improv workshops in Buena Park. These workshops continue under the auspices of the Buena Park Parks and Recreation department, meeting every Saturday morning into the foreseeable future. The current class will have a showcase performance at 7:00pm on April 8th at the Ehler’s Community Recreation Center, 8150 Knott Avenue in Buena Park; and the next class will begin the next Saturday (April 15th) at 10:00am. For further information about the youth workshops, make sure to send an e-mail to Youth Improv Teacher, Joe Hogan.

An exciting year lies ahead, so continue to check back to this website for updates and information.