Theatre, art and business... what a combination.
As a bit of background, The Blue Parrot Theatre was started back in 1983 and produced a lot of shows before I became involved.. Times were hard and the theatre shut down back in 2001 for a number of reasons (buildings closing, economy tanking, the audience losing interest in the types of shows being produced)..
Enter The NEW Blue Parrot.. launched in 2005 with a new focus and the addition of a Children's Theatre. 2005 and 2006 were banner years (if a bit painful at the same time). The regular (adult) company produced The Music Man, The Importance of Being Earnest, Oklahoma , and Much Ado about Nothing. On top of those, the Children's Theatre produced Bye Bye Birdie, The Wizard of Oz, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Annie Get Your Gun. Considering that the staff for both companies were essentially the same folks - What were we thinking?
Would you believe we did it on purpose? It was painful but it worked. We received more press coverage and interest from the community than anything Clark County had seen in a while. There have been some ups and downs along the way but not only have we reestablished the company in the community we helped launch another valuable organization, the SW Washington Wind Symphony. We are now in negotiations to establish a permanent 'roost' for The Blue Parrot which will open the door to more growth and opportunities for performing arts in the Camas, WA and East Clark County area.
Are you interested in acting? Singing? Supporting the arts in Clark County?? Stick around the next couple of years are going to be pivotal as we grow and provide more artistic instruction and opportunities to our neighbors. Want to get involved?!?! Let's do this.
