About Bouncing Ball Theatrical Productions
The Washington, DC-based Bouncing Ball Theatrical Productions was founded in 2006 by Shawn Northrip, Shirley Serotsky, and Caehlin Bell. Writer Shawn Northrip joined with director Shirley Serotsky to start a company with the vision of producing new and innovative musical theater works that would appeal to upcoming generations of musical theater fans--young and not-so-young alike. Building on a collaborative relationship that began three years ago with a production of Northrip's Titus, The Musical at the Source Theater, and continued with McBeth's McTragic McMusical and the Madcap Player's Cautionary Tales For Adults, Shawn and Shirley wished to continue producing shows that aligned with their like-minded views about what a musical can be - often irreverent, sometimes touching, and always fun to watch. A fan of Shawn and Shirley's collaborations, Caehlin Bell joined the two as the business manager of Bouncing Ball.
The mission of Bouncing Ball Theatrical Productions is to
provide the
greater Washington area with new music theater experiences by producing
innovative works that challenge genre expectations while showcasing
a
new generation of music theater artists. Shawn's musicals aim to change
the face of traditional musical theater with hip and modern stories
that speak to younger theater-goers. Bouncing Ball also strives to
utilize the talented acting community of Washington, DC, thus providing
actor/singers with new and unique opportunities in musical theater.
The
first Bouncing Ball production will be Northip's musical Lunch, a story
about love in the eighth grade, to be presented at the first annual
Capital Fringe Festival. Lunch will also be part of the New York
Musical Theater Festival in the fall of 2006. Bouncing Ball hopes to
continue its mission with new projects.
| Founder Bios |
Shawn Northrip (playwright) received his MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from New York University. Plays: TITUS X: Page to Stage, Sept. 2002; CUA Workshop, Dec. 2002; 23rd Annual Washington New Play Festival, July 2003; Source Theatre, Sept. 2003; New York Musical Festival, Sept. 2004; Chashama, Oct. 2004; the Tank, August 2006; published by New York Theatre Experience in Playing with Cannons; Sept. 2006; McMUSICAL: Source Workshop, Feb. 2004; Page to Stage, Sept. 2004; RAMONA AND JULIET: ADP Reading Series, April 2004; Buffalo Infringement Festival, Aug. 2006; Buffalo United Artists, Dec. 2006; LUNCH: Madcap Winter Carnival, Jan. 2005; Kennedy Center Workshop, April 2005; Page to Stage, Sept. 2005; CapFringe, July 2006; New York Musical Festival, Sept. 2006; CAUTIONARY TALES FOR ADULTS: Madcap Winter Carnival, Jan. 2006; Page to Stage, Sept. 2006; LOST SOCK: HAVE YOU SEEN ME: Madcap Winter Carnival, Jan. 2007; A MIDSUMMER DYKE'S DREAM: coming August 2007 to the Buffalo Infringement Festival.
Affiliations: In addition to being a founding member of Bouncing Ball, Shawn is also the company playwright and only boy member of the Brazen-faced Varlets, a theatre company in Buffalo, New York. Shawn is a recipient of the Anna Sosenko Assist Trust Grant for songwriters.
Shirley Serotsky (Director) is a company member
at Catalyst Theater, an Associate Member of SSDC, and a founding member
of Bouncing Ball Theatrical Productions.
Regional: Sovereignty by
Rolin Jones (Actors Theatre of Louisville, Humana Festival of New Plays),
Steel Magnolias (The Ice House, Berkeley Springs,
WV). Washington, D.C.: References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot (Rorschach
Theater), We Are Not These Hands by Sheila Callaghan (Catalyst Theater
Company), Two Rooms (Theater Alliance), After Darwin (Journeymen Theater
Ensemble), LUNCH by Shawn Northrip (CapFringe Festival), Upshot (forum
theatre and dance), Titus! The Musical (Source Theatre), Cautionary
Tales for Adults, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner and Bus to Buenos Aires (Madcap Players), A Chat with Ms. Chicky and
Just Sex (Jazz Hands) (Venus Theatre), Lunch and McBeth's McTragic
McMusical (Kennedy Center Page-to-Stage Festival), Will You Please
Shut Up?, Betrayed by Everyone, Drive Angry and Labor Day (Kennedy
Center Kenan Artists), We're 'Mericans (Kennedy Center Millennium Stage),
All's Fair in Love and War and Pieces of Life (Young Playwright’s Theatre).
New York: LUNCH (The New York Musical Theater Festival) The Winter’s
Tale (Sonnet Repertory), The Superfriends of Flushing, Queens (Columbia
University), Starlet for Sale (Expanded Arts), The Blind and A Teenager's
Guide to the Universe (The Looking Glass Theater). Training: BFA, North
Carolina School of the Arts. Member of The 2002 Designer/Director Workshop
with Ming Cho Lee and the 2003 Lincoln Center Director's Lab. Shirley
was a 2001/2002 Kennedy Center Kenan Fellow.
Caehlin Bell, business manager of Bouncing Ball Theatrical Productions, attended the Catholic University of America where she recieved BA in Drama. As an active member of CUA's Drama Department, Caehlin acted, directed, stage-managed, designed and produced while a student. Most notably she was the costume designer for The My House Play and the producer of the Junior-Freshmen Showcase in 2003. After graduation, she worked as the theater coordinator of Hartke. She is currently attending Ohio State University pursuing an MA in Theatre. The multi-talented Caehlin was also the costume designer for the Capital Fringe Production of Lunch.