Events by this organizer

Comedy in Wheeling: improv with the Crazy 8s 8pm Saturday, January 20, 2024 at Towngate Theatre.

All tickets are $7. Purchase online or call 304-242-7700

Sponsored by Main Street Bank.

Treat yourself to a night of comedy in Wheeling.

Join the Crazy 8s for a night of improvisational comedy in Wheeling. These brave performers hit the Towngate Theatre stage without a script, props or a safety net. Armed only with adrenaline and their imaginations, they make-up stories on the spot that entertain and amuse.

Audience members offer suggestions for scenes, conflicts, characters and theatrical styles and contribute directly to the action on stage.

Made up of high school and college students, the Crazy 8s are brave, talented and oh, so funny! Each performance is filled with creative comedy and laughs galore.

Support these young performers!

Towngate is more than just theater…

In addition to a full season of community theater and children’s theater, Towngate hosts a variety of performing arts programs. Two very talented improvisation groups call Towngate Theatre home. The Left of Centre Players, an adult improv troupe, and the Crazy 8s, which comprises high school and college-aged thespians, perform throughout the year. Towngate also presents spoken word performances, live music, poetry readings, independent films and more.

Open auditions for “Rabbit Hole”
by David Lindsay-Abair

7pm January 29 & 30 at Towngate Theatre.

Roles include 2 men, 3 women, 17-year-old male. Play is staged March 15, 16, 17 & 22, 23, 2024.

Butch Maxwell directs.

For specific audition questions, call Towngate Theatre at 304-233-0820.

About the Play

“Rabbit Hole” delves into the complexity of a family navigating deep grief, and learning what it means to live a fruitful life when things fall apart.

Becca and Howie Corbett have a picture-perfect family life in the suburbs of New York until a random, tragic accident takes the life of their four-year old son. Soon after, Becca’s younger, irresponsible sister, Izzy, announces that she is pregnant: there will now be a new child in the family. As Becca and Howie grow apart, Becca’s mother, Nat, badgers Becca about her grieving process, and Jason, the young driver who killed their son, continually shows up to ask forgiveness, the group is on a bumpy road to healing with no road map in sight.

Audition Dates for Towngate Theatre 2023-24

July 31 & August 1, 2023; 7pm
Open auditions for “Into the Woods”  
Music by Stephen Sondheim/Book by James Lapine
Director Dave Henderson; Musical Director David Scherrick; Choreographer Cheryl Pompeo
Roles include 9 males and 12 females, ages 16 and up.
Play is staged September 15, 16, 17 & 22, 23, 2023

September 18 & 19, 2023; 7pm
Open auditions for “Biloxi Blues”  
by Neil Simon
P.D. Gregg directs.
Roles include 7 men and 2 women.
Play is staged November 3, 4, 5 & 10, 11, 2023

October 9 & 10, 2023; 7pm
Open auditions for “Babes in Toyland”
Adapted by Cathey C. Sawyer and Kermit Medsker. Music by Victor Herbert. Additional lyrics by Cathey C. Sawyer and Kermit Medsker.
Produced with express permission by Yellow Rose Productions, LLC.  
Director Tim Thompson; Musical Director Karissa Martin
Roles include 12 males, 10 females, 10 either gender. Ages 12 and up, including adults. 10 children ages 8-11 to play Toys.
Play is staged December 8, 9 & 10

December 11 & 12, 2023; 7pm
Open auditions for “Wiley and the Hairy Man”  
By Suzan Zeder
Dave Henderson directs.
Roles include 3 men, 1 woman, 4 either gender, and extras.
Play is staged January 26, 27, 28, February 3 and 4

January 29 & 30, 2024; 7pm
Open auditions for “Rabbit Hole”  
by David Lindsay-Abair
Butch Maxwell directs.
Roles include 2 men, 3 women, 17-year-old male.
Play is staged March 15, 16, 17 & 22, 23, 2024 

March 18 & 19, 2024; 7pm
Open auditions for “Twelfth Night”  
by William Shakespeare
Dennis Fox directs.
Roles include 8 men, 3 women, 5 either gender, and extras.
Play is staged May 3, 4, 5 & 10 & 11, 2024

May 28 & 29, 2024; 7pm
Open Auditions for Parcel Players, Oglebay Institute’s summer theater program for students ages 13-22.

Experience the magic of art onstage…

Towngate is the premiere venue for community theater in Wheeling.  Enjoy an intimate theater experience. Marvel at and applaud the talent of local actors. Experience a variety of though-provoking, heartwarming, comedic and historically significant works from renowned playwrights and talented newcomers. When watching a stage production, you are transported  into a different world. Escape from reality and feel the energy created by sharing an intimate space with actors and fellow theatergoers. Live action happens right before your eyes. There’s no app for that!  Furthermore, theater is a social experience meant to be shared with one another. So, bring your family and friends and meet new friends, too. Most importantly, support your local actors, directors, stage managers, set and costume designers. They spend months working to bring characters and stories to life. Their efforts produce amazing art time and time again.

Keeping the Community in Community Theater in Wheeling. . .

Towngate is a cornerstone of creative life in Wheeling and serves as an entertainment destination for residents of the Ohio Valley and beyond. People of all ages and backgrounds gather here to create and experience art onstage. Most of all, Towngate celebrates the essential power of theater to illuminate our common humanity. The community enjoys and participates in hundreds of live performances, classes and workshops year-round.

Open auditions for “Rabbit Hole”
by David Lindsay-Abair

7pm January 29 & 30 at Towngate Theatre.

Roles include 2 men, 3 women, 17-year-old male. Play is staged March 15, 16, 17 & 22, 23, 2024.

Butch Maxwell directs.

For specific audition questions, call Towngate Theatre at 304-233-0820.

About the Play

“Rabbit Hole” delves into the complexity of a family navigating deep grief, and learning what it means to live a fruitful life when things fall apart.

Becca and Howie Corbett have a picture-perfect family life in the suburbs of New York until a random, tragic accident takes the life of their four-year old son. Soon after, Becca’s younger, irresponsible sister, Izzy, announces that she is pregnant: there will now be a new child in the family. As Becca and Howie grow apart, Becca’s mother, Nat, badgers Becca about her grieving process, and Jason, the young driver who killed their son, continually shows up to ask forgiveness, the group is on a bumpy road to healing with no road map in sight.

Audition Dates for Towngate Theatre 2023-24

July 31 & August 1, 2023; 7pm
Open auditions for “Into the Woods”  
Music by Stephen Sondheim/Book by James Lapine
Director Dave Henderson; Musical Director David Scherrick; Choreographer Cheryl Pompeo
Roles include 9 males and 12 females, ages 16 and up.
Play is staged September 15, 16, 17 & 22, 23, 2023

September 18 & 19, 2023; 7pm
Open auditions for “Biloxi Blues”  
by Neil Simon
P.D. Gregg directs.
Roles include 7 men and 2 women.
Play is staged November 3, 4, 5 & 10, 11, 2023

October 9 & 10, 2023; 7pm
Open auditions for “Babes in Toyland”
Adapted by Cathey C. Sawyer and Kermit Medsker. Music by Victor Herbert. Additional lyrics by Cathey C. Sawyer and Kermit Medsker.
Produced with express permission by Yellow Rose Productions, LLC.  
Director Tim Thompson; Musical Director Karissa Martin
Roles include 12 males, 10 females, 10 either gender. Ages 12 and up, including adults. 10 children ages 8-11 to play Toys.
Play is staged December 8, 9 & 10

December 11 & 12, 2023; 7pm
Open auditions for “Wiley and the Hairy Man”  
By Suzan Zeder
Dave Henderson directs.
Roles include 3 men, 1 woman, 4 either gender, and extras.
Play is staged January 26, 27, 28, February 3 and 4

January 29 & 30, 2024; 7pm
Open auditions for “Rabbit Hole”  
by David Lindsay-Abair
Butch Maxwell directs.
Roles include 2 men, 3 women, 17-year-old male.
Play is staged March 15, 16, 17 & 22, 23, 2024 

March 18 & 19, 2024; 7pm
Open auditions for “Twelfth Night”  
by William Shakespeare
Dennis Fox directs.
Roles include 8 men, 3 women, 5 either gender, and extras.
Play is staged May 3, 4, 5 & 10 & 11, 2024

May 28 & 29, 2024; 7pm
Open Auditions for Parcel Players, Oglebay Institute’s summer theater program for students ages 13-22.

Experience the magic of art onstage…

Towngate is the premiere venue for community theater in Wheeling.  Enjoy an intimate theater experience. Marvel at and applaud the talent of local actors. Experience a variety of though-provoking, heartwarming, comedic and historically significant works from renowned playwrights and talented newcomers. When watching a stage production, you are transported  into a different world. Escape from reality and feel the energy created by sharing an intimate space with actors and fellow theatergoers. Live action happens right before your eyes. There’s no app for that!  Furthermore, theater is a social experience meant to be shared with one another. So, bring your family and friends and meet new friends, too. Most importantly, support your local actors, directors, stage managers, set and costume designers. They spend months working to bring characters and stories to life. Their efforts produce amazing art time and time again.

Keeping the Community in Community Theater in Wheeling. . .

Towngate is a cornerstone of creative life in Wheeling and serves as an entertainment destination for residents of the Ohio Valley and beyond. People of all ages and backgrounds gather here to create and experience art onstage. Most of all, Towngate celebrates the essential power of theater to illuminate our common humanity. The community enjoys and participates in hundreds of live performances, classes and workshops year-round.