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Do you like to sing in the shower? Do your toes start tapping when you hear a snappy tune? Does your car become your stage when you sit down in the driver’s seat? Don’t waste all of that untapped talent by performing for yourself! Why not share it with the world in the first ever Barrington Community Follies?  That’s right, the Follies are coming to Barrington High School this summer and the sign-up and auditions begin this weekend.  How cool is that!!!

If you’re a singer, dancer, musician, comedian, writer or if you want to be part of the tech or costume crews, come on out to sign-up or audition for the ALL-AGES Barrington Community Follies this weekend.

The show, created by Barrington High School Performing Arts Alumni, will be a combination of singing, dancing and skits with a radio theme transitioning between numbers. Follies organizer, Marc Parker, says it’ll have a loose theme centered around a day in the life of Barrington. The open auditions and community sign-up will take place between 11AM and 4PM this Saturday & Sunday (April 16th & 17th) at the Follies studio at 141 W. Main Street in downtown Barrington. That’s the old Chuck Hines building across from the Barrington Jewel. Rehearsals start on May 17th and will take place every Tuesday evening through the summer at the Follies studio. All of the rehearsals will be in preparation for three performances on August 26th and 27th in the Barrington High School Richard C Johnson Auditorium.

There is no cost to sign up for the show, the tickets will be inexpensive and all of the proceeds will pay for a new annual $1,000 performing arts award. “The Galfer Award” is named after a Barrington family who raised over $150,000 to pay for air conditioning, lighting and sound upgrades at the BHS Auditorium in the 90′s. The new award was made possible thanks to money raised during the BHS Alumni Reunion show last summer. The first award will be given to a Senior at Barrington High School at the Thespian Banquet on May 23rd for their outstanding participation and contributions made to the Performing Arts Department.

But you don’t have to be a Barrington High School graduate to perform or participate in the Community Follies. And you definitely don’t have to be an opera star or musical theater maestro to take part. Performers of all skills and ages are welcome and Marc Parker says anyone who signs up “…is going to have the time of their life. They’re going to meet new friends. They’re going to do things they didn’t think they could do and they’re going to have that moment in the spotlight. And the audience is going to love watching their own community, their neighbors, their kids, their students and a little bit of everybody put on this community show in a fun, professional manner. It’s going to be an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

For more information and to sign up online, visit BHSTheater.com and don’t forget to Break a Leg!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LdpcXxusKw