BELLINGHAM THEATREWORKS

2025 SEASON

In Search of a Common Language

This Summer, Bellingham Theatreworks will produce three award winning and thought-provoking plays written by authors who explore how language can both set us apart and bring us together. 


text - Fairhaven Summer Repertory Theatre with a local twist June and July 2025. Image of a red bowler had with sweeps of red and yellow color framing the image..
Fairhaven Summer Repertory Theatre calendar of performances on a calendar grid.

The Foreigner by Larry Shue,
Directed by Mark Kuntz

In a fishing lodge in rural Georgia, a tragically shy proofreader for a science fiction magazine tries to hide from life, only to put himself in the middle of a family squabble over money and power. This hilarious comedy earned multiple Obie and Outer Critics Circle awards as Best New American Play and Best Off-Broadway Production.

The Language Archive by Julia Cho,
Directed by Cara Phipps

George is consumed with preserving and documenting the dying languages of the world.  At home, however, despite all the languages he speaks, words fail him in his marriage with his wife.  This heartfelt bittersweet comedy won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for new plays.

Translations by Brian Freil,
Directed by Kayla Adams

A British soldier falls in love with an Irish peasant girl, with a backdrop of the British Army’s campaign to change the names of native Gaelic locations. This lyric play explores language as the soul of a nation, during a time of complicated social upheaval.


Audience members will experience the intimacy of being in the round at the Firehouse Arts and Events Center, sitting with the actors while they explore a hilarious satire, a lyric look at the past, and a heartfelt comic hug. All three plays have multiple scenes where the characters desperately want to communicate with each other but are faced with a language barrier. This summer’s offerings promise to explore how language is deeply aligned with culture and identity, and how it can lead to unexpected interpersonal challenges.

Our company combines many members of the community: students and educators, parents and children, as well as guest artists from far beyond Bellingham Bay, all working together to bring these three plays to life.

COMPLETED WORKS FOR THE SEASON…

New Play Cafe - six readings of new plays by Pacific Northwest Playwrights, selected from dozens of submissions. From wacky comedies to mind bending dramas to a staunch believer in Bigfoot, these plays represent the cutting edge of work coming out of the Pacific Northwest.

Sync
by Shanna Allman
Friday April 4
Directed by Ashley Albertson
So what if my boyfriend is a robot!?!?

What an Impossible Idea by Tommer Peterson
Saturday April 5
Directed by Suzie Mackay
Poetic journey into Indigenous lives.

One Day, We Will All Join Hands by Dane Wheaton
Sunday April 6
Directed by Dallas Milholland
Completely mind-bending drama. Nothing is as it seems.

Bigfoot by Meghan Endres Brown
Friday April 18
Directed by Ann Smith
A true believer, with a podcast, is willing to sacrifice her family for Bigfoot.

Born a Clown by Rand Higbee
Saturday April 19
Directed by Carol Makela
A genetic scientist is hilariously upended by her research.

Ugly Cry Christmas by Brianna Barrett
Sunday April 20
Directed by Megan Markham
A sweet exploration of a fragile teenager befriending an elderly woman online.


Bellingham TheatreWorks in partnership with Options High School drama department presents the musical WORKING, based on the book by Studs Terkel.  WORKING tells stories of working people’s jobs and lives. Characters in the musical have jobs as varied as receptionist, stonemason, schoolteacher, flight attendant, trucker, cleaning woman, migrant worker, editor, tech support, and fast-food worker.

With nine student actors/singers from Options High School and seventeen adults from Bellingham TheatreWorks, this is a major, feel-good production!  Come enjoy this jubilant celebration of everyday people.  WORKING!

WORKING 2012 REVISED VERSION is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

On a picturesque island in Puget Sound, we find a town in a crisis: The whales have gone missing. While (unofficial) Mayor Annie searches for a solution, Chris tries to get back together with Mary; John reaches out to help Homeless Gary; Leslie longs for a faraway pen pal; Ali has come home to care for her mother; and Ella has a secret she only wants to share with local journalist Joy Mead, who she barely knows. But what about the whales? Is their absence just a seasonal glitch, or is it a sign of our collective failure to take care of the Earth? DEEP BLUE SOUND is a funny and moving play about the connections we make—and the ones we long to make—to other people, and to the world around us.

CAST
Ann Smith: Ella
Dallas Milholland: Joy Mead 
Dany Shaw: Mary
Kellyann Walbeck: Leslie
Breeann Dunivent: Ali
Ethel Stephens: Mayor Annie
Matthew Twining: John
Robert Frederiksen: Chris
Kua Patten: Gary / the whale
Jordan Cruminty: Alexander / Karl

CREW
Mark Kuntz: Director
Johncen Oxales: Assistant Director
Charlie Muroya: Costumer
Ella Jeon: Assistant Stage Manager
Autumn Hahn: Props Manager
Zane Borman: Stage Manager
Katelyn Coleman: Stage Manager
Allissa Flood: Projections
Pam Kuntz: Projections
Ace Yatsuk: Light Board Operator

Keep Bellingham TheatreWorks Going Strong!