The Garfield Center for the Arts is gearing up for its annual celebration of playwrights, directors and actors who delight in the art of the 10-minute play! Short Attention Span Theatre (SAST) offers an evening of 10-minute plays, designed to hold your attention for “just. long. enough.”

Auditions for this year’s SAST will be held at the Garfield Center on Tuesday, May 27 at 7:00 PM, Thursday, May 29 at 7:00 PM, and Saturday, May 31 at 2:00 PM.  For the production, the GCA is seeking actors and stage crew. Auditions will consist of cold readings from scripts being considered for presentation.

Short Attention Span Theatre will run three weekends: July 11th through July 27th. As is the case every year, SAST will feature a multitude of actors and directors as well as continuing our long tradition of premiering original works by local playwrights and playwrights from around the world.

For any additional inquiries about auditions, please contact GCA Executive Director Steven Arnold at [email protected].

Debbie Wojciechowski

For one night only, on April 11th, acclaimed medium Debbie Wojciechowski will appear at Church Hill Theatre to help connect patrons with their loved ones who have passed. As an Evidential Medium with extensive training in the U.S. and England, she is an expert in both near-death experiences and grief counseling.

Debbie does not perform on a stage, but works more intimately, walking through the theatre connecting with members of her audience whose loved ones who have moved beyond their physical lives. As she channels each message, she hopes to bring comfort and awareness to people that there is a life after this one: our loved ones are always with us. Her clients have described her as empathetic and down-to-earth, with a real gift for sensitive readings.

Ms. Wojciechowski studied extensively with local and international mediums and spiritual mentors.  She trained with British Mediums and learned the traditions of the Spiritualist Churches of Great Britain. Debbie studied with internationally known and respected professions in the field and obtained formal certification as both a Medium and a Master Teacher. Her education also includes a Master of Science degree from Johns Hopkins University.

In addition to being an Evidential Medium, Ms. Wojciechowski worked over 25 years with law enforcement. As such, she worked in the areas of mental health, grief counseling, and crisis intervention. She also volunteered with The Hospice of Baltimore. She is aware of the sensitive nature of some readings, and delivers messages in a respectful manner.

Small family or friend groups find Medium Debbie particularly insightful.  She has touched many audience members in her previous appearances at Church Hill Theatre.  Tickets to her April 11^th presentation and readings may be purchased at www.churchhilltheatre.org  for $50. Or tickets may be reserved by calling the Church Hill Theatre office weekdays between 11:00 am and 5:00 pm at (410) 556-6003.

For more information about Debbie Wojciechowski and her work, please visit mediumdebbie.com or follow her on social media at facebook.com/mediumdebbie and instagram at @mediumdebbie.

Lisa Shaffer

Do you feel anxious or worried when you need to explain a project to your fellow workers?  Are you concerned about how you speak, how to make eye contact with the people to whom you are trying to sell a product or proposal? Would you like to feel more confident as you communicate with others?

Then, the Public Speaking Workshop at Church Hill Theatre is just right for you.  This two-session workshop, which will be presented by Lisa Shaffer, is scheduled for two Saturdays, April 12 and April 26 from 10 AM to 12 Noon at the theatre.

During the two sessions, topics such as an overview of speaking skills, fundamentals of communication, preparing a speech or presentation, use of vocabulary, and more will be covered.

Ms. Shaffer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Faulkner University, a Master’s degree in Communication from Abilene Christian University and teaches speech, communication and rhetoric classes to middle and high school students.

The tuition for the class is $50 and to register for the class, please call the Church Hill Theatre office at 410-556-6003 during office hours of 11 AM to 4 PM, Tuesday through Friday.  You can also email the office at [email protected].

The High & Wides were formed in 2015, and have roots both in Baltimore and the rural Delmarva peninsula. They draw on a shared background playing straight ahead bluegrass, but weave in influences from new wave to old time to make music that evokes the era before country, bluegrass, rockabilly, western swing, and Rock ‘n’ Roll broke off into separate and strictly defined genres. The band’s music imagines an alternate timeline – if instead of the electric-guitar and drums driven band format that took off in the 50s, the string band lineup had dominated across genres of popular music in the 20th century, what would be happening now? Members are Marc Dykeman (guitar, vocals), Sam Guthridge (banjo, mandolin, vocals), Nate Grower (fiddle), and Mike Buccino (bass).

They have released two full-length albums of original music, 2018’s “Lifted” and 2019’s “Seven True Stories”. In March 2022 they released their first album of covers, “Blood”, which pays tribute to exemplars of the two-part “brother duet” singing style that first inspired the formation of the band. They bring their incredible performance style and music to the the stage of the Garfield Center of the Arts on Saturday, March 22nd.

Their evening will also include a performance by Wicked Sycamore, an all-female trio from the Baltimore/DC area who bring a mischievous edge to contemporary folk, combining intricate vocal harmonies with thoughtful arrangement, mood shifts, and storytelling. Their original music ranges from fun and lighthearted sing-alongs to deep, introspective tunes for the ages – all influenced by traditional roots music, blues, pop, bluegrass, funk, and jazz.

On the evening of the performance, the Garfield Center lobby will open at 7 PM, House Doors will open for general admission seat selected starting at 7:30 PM, and the show begins at 8:00 PM. For tickets, it is strongly recommended that ticket buyers visit Eventbrite HERE to purchase them online. The Garfield Center’s Box Office is open today, Friday, March 14th until 3:00 PM, and will reopen next Wednesday for over-the-phone and in-person tickets sales that day from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The Box Office will also be open for the same hours on Thursday and Friday of next week.

The second production in the 2025 season at the Garfield Center for the Arts is Sean Grennan’s “A Rock Sails By.” To be directed by the GCA’s Theatre Manager, Nic Carter, the Garfield Center has announced audition dates and times for the production. “A Rock Sails By” will be performed over three weekends from April 25th through May 4th.

In Grennan’s play, Dr. Lynn Cummings, a facts-only astrophysicist, has discovered herself at life’s crossroads as she deals with personal, life-altering challenges. She has always believed in science over faith in the unknown, but this certainty, once a source of comfort, is now a cause for emptiness. When an unidentified object is sighted heading toward Earth, she grants an interview to a journalist who misquotes her. With her credibility on the line, she invites him to witness the object with her as it comes closest to Earth. Dr. Cummings hopes it will pass without incident, but there is no telling what she will discover beyond the stars. It is a thought-provoking story filled with wit, humor, emotion and meaning.

Auditions for “A Rock Sails By” are scheduled for Tuesday, February 25 at 7:00 PM, Thursday, February 27 at 7:00 PM, and Saturday, March 1 at 2:00 PM.

All auditionees will be asked to do cold-readings from the script. A prepared monologue is not required, but if an actor has one prepared, the Director will gladly allow the actor to perform it.

Character descriptions can be found here.  Auditionees are strongly encouraged to visit that page to understand the roles available. For any additional questions, contact the director, Nic Carter, at [email protected].