~ Producers Associates ~ Woodminster Summer Musicals Since 1967 44 years of musical theater under the stars in beautiful Joaquin Miller Park

Photo gallery from May 30, 2009 fundraiser. • Photo gallery from June 20, 2009 planter prep work day.

The Mission
Producers Associates offers affordable family entertainment. We present both familiar, much loved Broadway musicals that are a delight for loyal theatergoers, and more innovative and unusual works that bring a new audience to live theater. By combining professional and local, amateur talent, we continue our longstanding commitment to theater education. In all of our productions, we energetically recruit a cast, crew and audience that represent the rich diversity of our community.

Supporters & Sponsors
Producers Associates is a non-profit organization and donations are fully tax deductible. (Tax ID #94-1688232) Contributions of any size are welcome as they help us present quality entertainment while keeping ticket prices affordable. Please send contributions to Producers Associates, Inc., Woodminster Amphitheater, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland 94602. For details about contributing, please visit our Donor Benefits page.

Woodminster is proud to have the support of many local businesses and corporations, large and small, whose contributions help us keep live theater affordable for the families of our community. For information about sponsors, click here.

Woodminster 2011 Administrative Staff
(For artistic staff, go to the pages for specific shows)
Artistic Director - Joel Schlader
Managing Director/Box Office Manager - Harriet Schlader
Box Office Staff - Tiffany Del Valle, Judy Boraas,
David Flack, Jeff Fong, Karen Fong, Debbie Naganuma, Peggy Stackable, Irene Thompson
Computer Consultant - David Flack
Publicity/Web, Graphic Design - Kathy Kahn
Head Ticket Taker - Tim Cooney
Head Usher - Celestine Lindsey
Usher Staffer - Jane Bartholomew
Concessions Managers - Sue Glenn, Andres Del Valle
Community Liaisons - Jeff Fong, Tyler Pon
Development Chair - Denise Naylor
Marketing Chair - Sharon Heckel
Fix It Chair - Richard Wren
Drawing Committee - Jeff Fong, Karen Fong, Fred deVinney
Fundraising Chair - Bernadette Cowl
Picnic Area Native Plant Maintenance - Dick & Betty Wren
Program Ad Sales - Tyler Pon, Merrilee Mitchell, Regina Del Valle

The Community’s Performing Art Resource
Each Woodminster musical features a number of professional actors in key roles, and the rest of each cast is composed of talented amateurs, usually members of the local community. Since 1967, over 3000 local aspiring actors have performed in the Woodminster Summer Musicals, working and learning alongside professionals. Many have gone on to careers in the theatre, and some return to Woodminster as professional actors in later years. The organization also employs young people, mostly local high school students, to work on the technical crews of the shows. As interns, they are paid a stipend to work under a professional stage manager and receive valuable real-world experience and training.

Producers Associates is committed to bringing local young people into the theatre as audience members as well. The organization has, for the last 15 years, offered a Kids Come Free program, where a child 16 or younger can attend free if accompanied by a paying adult. By doing this, Producers Associates hopes to encourage a love of live theatre in the area’s children and make it easier for Oakland families on a limited budget to attend together. For details, click here.

The Woodminster Summer Musicals are produced with the support of a dedicated Advisory Board of Directors, long-time East Bay residents and community boosters. Over the years, Producers Associates' tenancy has helped keep the amphitheater and surrounding area maintained, discouraged vandalism, and made a number of substantial improvements to the performance facility, including audience seating as well as improved lighting and sound systems. They have worked with the Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation and the City’s Parks department to facilitate a number of other improvements, and have kept their organization financially solvent for 37 years while contributing to the artistic vitality and economic health of the City of Oakland.

Local union actors, stage managers, and professional musicians from Local #6 find regular work in the Woodminster Summer Musicals. Aspiring local actors can perform alongside their professional counterparts. Neighborhood teenagers can audition for the shows or work on the crews. Families from Oakland and neighboring cities, as well as visitors from other areas, can spend a pleasant evening with a picnic and a first-class musical comedy.

Because of the half-price ticket program offered by Producers Associates, the musicals have also become an annual fundraiser for more than 100 Bay Area organizations, typically including the Oakland East Bay Symphony, Coast Guard Auxiliary, United Way, EDD, Rotary, Lyons, and a number of other service organizations.

Healthy season tickets sales, attendance by groups, and special opportunities for families have made Woodminster shows the best attended performances in Oakland. Today, it sells the highest number of individual tickets of any of the major resident performing arts organizations in the city.

The Woodminster Summer Musicals in beautiful Joaquin Miller Park have made the cherished tradition of American musical theatre under the stars an essential Oakland summertime experience.

Links:
Jim & Harriet Schlader Bios
Join the Board of Directors
See photos from the May 30 (2009) fundraiser
See photos from the June 20 (2009) work day (planter boxes)
See information about donor benefits
Purchase tickets