Shelter in Place Theatre
Welcome to Shelter in Place Theatre, a creative project born of an interesting era, when we cannot provide you with the live entertainment we've been dreaming and planning for the Spring at The Playhouse at White Lake. While our recently renovated theatre sits empty, we still want so much to remain connected to you, our community. To support those efforts, and the ongoing needs of the Playhouse during these times, we've been partnering with Playhouse performers of the past to create some new content for you!
We hope this will help us to stay in touch, as we work to create brand new entertainment for Playhouse audiences to enjoy from the comfort of home.
Fresh content will be added each Friday, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel before watching! Have you always wanted to perform for an audience? If so, send us a video of you for others to enjoy as part of Shelter in Place Theatre.
Support Shelter in Place Theatre …
Most Recent Theatre
June 19, 2020
Now that all the plays have been read, it's Possums vs Babies! Yes, we've had A LOT of free time! Who's faster? Possums or Babies? Shelter in Place Theatre is a production of The Playhouse at White Lake. Join us for our Virtual Theatre Festival this summer: From Our House to Yours.
We hope that you enjoy this video, that watching it will instill hope and, most importantly, increase our connection to you, our community. Although it is important that we continue to respect social distancing at this time, we can still join together in our love of the arts.
Relive These Videos
June 19, 2020
Author & Illustrator Ronin Breitner
This week's Shelter in Place Ronin Breitner. Ro vis 10 years old and resides in a small town in northern Michigan. While he has always enjoyed writing, he recently decided that he would create and dedicate children's books to his baby brother, Harrison. This has been a productive (and adorable) way for him to spend his time in quarantine during the pandemic. He loves it so much, in fact, that he intends to pursue writing as a career as he gets older. He is saving the proceeds from his books to buy his very own computer, so he can continue writing without borrowing his mom’s laptop all of the time. Thank you so much for your support, and Ronin hopes you enjoy his books! Learn more about the now published author, visit his website where you can buy his books, or follow him on Facebook.
June 12, 2020
The Raven vs The Birds Covid Edition
This week's Shelter in Place brings our actors back. With STEELY determination, they give us this HARDENED portrayal of a dystopic time. You’ll sit FIXED and UNBENDED as you watch The Raven vs The Birds! If you like what you see, please be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notifications whenever new entertainment has been created for you to enjoy.
June 5, 2020
Late Night Chicken Noodle Soup by Tommy Foster
Shelter in Place Theatre welcomes Tommy Foster to the stage this week. Tommy is a Whitehall, Michigan native who's been writing, singing, and playing music all around Michigan for, well, as long as any of us can remember. A big friend to The Playhouse, we are so glad he shared this original song with us. When asked why he chose this for our weekly virtual show, he said "I think we all need a little levity." Late Night Chicken Noodle Soup … it's just good for the soul. Tommy has been performing live every Tuesday evening for the past few weeks; learn more at his Facebook page.
May 29, 2020 A Special Two-Fer for This Week …
The Playhouse at White Lake Presents: Shelter in Place Theatre's Max and Ruth performing Michigan Girl.
Ruth and Max Bloomquist have been making music together since they met in 1975, when they discovered their shared love not only for each other, but for music and songs made with acoustic instruments, and featuring lyrics from the heart. Ruth and Max immersed themselves in folk, bluegrass, country, singer songwriters, and other acoustic music to create a sound and style all their own and have become some of West Michigan's favorite folk singers.
Ruth's resonant alto has been compared to Anne Murray, Linda Ronstadt, and Kathy Mattea. After hearing Ruth and Max perform the Scott Wiseman standard, Remember Me, Garrison Keillor told Ruth, “You have a big voice … I’d like to sing that song with you.” And the next night he did! Thanks to our dear friends Ruth and Max, you can watch Michigan Girl and enjoy one of the classics for which they are most adored. You may just find yourself humming it all weekend! (At least, we will be.)
We hope that you enjoy this video, that watching it will instill hope and, most importantly, increase our connection to you, our community. Although it is important that we continue to respect social distancing at this time, we can still join together in our love of the arts.
The Playhouse at White Lake Presents: Shelter in Place Theatre's The Raven vs The Birds Covid Edition featuring our favorite actors from Waiting for Godo (see May 22 video below) Enjoy!
We hope that you enjoy this video, that watching it will instill hope and, most importantly, increase our connection to you, our community. Although it is important that we continue to respect social distancing at this time, we can still join together in our love of the arts.
May 22, 2020
Waiting for Godot-Covid Edition
The Playhouse at White Lake Presents: Shelter in Place Theatre's Waiting for Godot-Covid Edition In this time of the pandemic, we were fortunate to come across these two talented patchcord actors who have been out of work. Fortunately for us, they are both ready to attach themselves to our project and were nearly unbendable in their commitment to help. They were like buchram in their excitement and ready to adhere to our direction in performing these abbreviated classics. Enjoy!
May 15, 2020
How to Paint Bricks with Claire Beaman
This week's Shelter in Place Theatre entertainment presents Claire Beaman showing you the tips and tricks that Scenic Designers use to paint bricks.
Claire will complete her degree in Theatre Design and Technical Production at Western Michigan University in December 2020. She has designed more than 20 shows for The Playhouse at White Lake and will be joining us for the 2020 season, From Our House to Yours.
May 8, 2020
Chris Kuebler Plays The Cowboy Song
This week's Shelter in Place Theatre entertainment offers a traditional ukulele tune from Chris Kuebler.
Chris has been an amateur singer/songwriter for most of his life. He says he was a terrible guitar player for many, many years before switching to 4-string instruments, which he plays exclusively these days—baritone ukulele and tenor guitar. He has recorded several albums of original music over the years under the moniker BROKENcUP.
In addition to his work as Communications Director for True North Community Services, he is actively involved with local community theater, acting and directing in the past for LionHeart Community Theater and performing onstage at the Frauenthal with the Muskegon Civic Theater.
May 1, 2020
Spoken Word and Creative Movement
This week's Shelter in Place Theatre presentation brings creative movement and spoken word in a lush, natural West Michigan backdrop from Hannah Jurcich, filmed by Patrick Johnson. Hannah is Whitehall native, born and raised. She moved out West for some years and then came back to reconnect with her homeland and community. Fast forward a couple of years, and she’s now on a mission to share her love for movement and art through various embodiment practices and projects within the community. You can find her working on innovative movement offerings under the name CereMotion, a project dedicated to experiencing life through sacred embodiment. Dance, yoga, and everything in between is happening there. If you're on Instagram, you can follow along with her live choreography, yoga classes or women's circles there. Hannah also teaches for our White Lake Youth Theatre program, and recently choreographed for Velveteen Rabbit at the Playhouse. Patrick is also a Whitehall native, where he works as a freelance photographer and videographer. He has a special talent for documenting the human experience and giving his viewers a personal connection to the intimate stories he captures. He can be contacted for wedding photography, commercials for local businesses, YouTube blogs, and the creation of more creative content under PSJ Media.
April 24, 2020
This week's Shelter in Place Theatre presentation comes from Erin Peyer and RJ Nordlund. Erin is the Director of the Arts Council of White Lake-Nuveen Center. She has been sheltering in place with her partner, Rj Nordlund, in Muskegon where they can work virtually. RJ is the Brewmaster and part-owner of North Grove Brewers, a newly opened brewery in Montague. In this video they perform All Your Favorite Bands by Dawes, with Erin on piano and RJ on vocals. Enjoy this week's musical Shelter in Place Theatre from Erin and RJ, and special thanks to these talented friends.
April 17, 2020
Richard King and Kimberly Harsch
This week's Shelter in Place Theatre presentation comes from the father-daughter duo Richard King of the popular band, Oat Bran Boys, and Kimberly Harsch, a professional actress and director. (The presentation includes a special appearance by Lynn King.) Enjoy this take on Feeeeeever from the inside of their quarantine!
April 10, 2020
This week’s Shelter in Place Theatre presents inspiration from locally-loved musicians Eric and Karen Smith, with a beautiful cover of Bridge Over Troubled Water.
April 3, 2020
The Four Yorkshiremen by Shelter in Place Theatre
The Four Yorkshiremen is a comedy sketch that parodies nostalgic conversations about humble beginnings or difficult childhoods. It features four men from Yorkshire who reminisce about their upbringing. As the conversation progresses they try to outdo one another, and their accounts of deprived childhoods become increasingly absurd.
We hope it makes you laugh and brings a sense of connection to these familiar performers who so many of so thoroughly enjoy.
Subscribe to the Playhouse YouTube Channel
After watching any of our Shelter in Place videos be sure to subscribe to the Playhouse YouTube channel to have quick access to these and other videos posted by the Playhouse staff at any time.
Support Your Playhouse
If you feel able and inclined, donations are being accepted to help keep our beautiful Playhouse afloat, amid the cancelation of spring events and the change to virtual theatre for the summer.
Your donations, in any amount, help to support new entertainment and the ongoing operations of the Playhouse at White Lake. Every dollar and every bit of marketing will help to assist our beloved Playhouse, so thank you for
- for watching
- for sharing this comedy sketch with your social networks
- and of course, donating to The Playhouse at White Lake
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We hope this finds you and your loved ones calm and comfortable, safe and in good shelter, wherever you are. Thanks for your support, and please tell us what you think! With gratitude for our connection, Your Playhouse Staff