BARESTAGE OPEN CALL

When: Friday May 1st from 7pm-9pm
Where: Balcony Theatre inside Craig Hall
Who: You!! Anyone who has an interest in addressing social issues within their community through creative expression: actors, dancers, writers, philanthropists, therapists, musicians. If you have a voice and a desire to give back to your community, then this is the company for you!
Requirements: Bare Stage works with your schedule. The volunteer hours you commit to will be decided by you and based upon your availability. There will be a meeting once a week with the troupe where we will explore our experiences in the stage space. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE AN MSU STUDENT TO BE IN THIS TROUPE!

BUT: There is a possibility for you to receive THE 497 credit for this at MSU. Also, depending on your level of interst, there is a possibilty for legacy, so YOU could run this company in a year!

BareStage uses theatre to make things happen. Specifically, BareStage's performances explore solutions to problems currently facing Missouri State University and larger Southwest Missouri communities. Of course, we cannot devise solutions to community problems without getting community members involved. So, BareStage uses interactive improvisation, as well as interviews with a diverse sampling of experts and ordinary people, to generate theatre that asks hard questions and investigates possible answers. BareStage welcomes performers and non-performers of all ages and backgrounds who are invested in the places they live and interested in using theatre as a force for communication and change. 

We are inspired by the idea that theatre is the medium through which society reflects upon itself. We are motivated by both the needs of our surrounding community and our desire to share experiences with this community. As performers, we are committed to bringing self-determination and agency to individuals whose spirits may be compromised by events that rob them of their dignity as members of humanity.

Mission Statement:
Through volunteer work done within the community, in an area specified by the current troupe, we seek to explore individual reactions, personal experiences, and shared situations brought about by self-awareness and emotional transparency. We enact a theatre for social change in order to shed light upon those people or events that exist in society but are not given agency due to constraints imposed by denial, avoidance, unwillingness, and fear.

How to prepare: Wear clothes you are comfortable in, bring a pad of paper and a writing utensil. That's it! This will be a very relaxed process. We will do some warm ups, followed by some improv games. The biggest chunk of time spent this eveing will be on a writing exercise and then putting part of that writing on stage. Again, BareStage works with performers and non-performers. We are looking for people who are interested in being social activists who utilize creative outlets.

One Last Note: This will be an awesome experience as Barestage has been somewhat extinct for the past few years. You could be a part of reinventing the troupe!

If you have any questions contact Ashley Kile at 417.619.8822