Grey Area Productions
Grey Area Productions exists to offer a wide range of artistic and cultural enrichment through presenting published and original works founded on the principle of accessible theater for all.
COMING UP NEXT
SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS BY BESS WOHL
November 14*-16 & 21*-23 at 7:30PM
November 17 & 24 at 2:00 PM
This ingenious physical comedy invites you to immerse yourself in a silent retreat with six troubled souls. As these strangers confront internal demons both profound and absurd, their vows of silence collide with the achingly human need to connect. Filled with awkward and insightful humor, Small Mouth Sounds is a unique and compassionate play that asks how we address life’s biggest questions when words fail us.
*November 14 and 21 are ‘Arts for All’ performances. Admission is free but a reservation is required.
ABOUT GREY AREA PRODUCTIONS
Grey Area Productions mission is to bring our audiences stories that ignite emotion, challenge conception, and inspire growth. We know you value enriching artistic experiences. To that end, we are committed to not only entertain, but to engage you with compelling stories and complex characters.
- Colin Thelen
- Katie Bakalars
- Luke Erickson
- Chelsea Mc Manimon-Moe
- Adam Petchel
PRODUCTION HISTORY
The Few
2021: By Samuel D. Hunter. Four years ago, Bryan abandoned his labor of love, a newspaper for truckers. Now he’s returned – with no word of where he’s been – and things have changed. His former lover is filled with rage, his new coworker is filled with incessant adoration, and his paper is filled with personal ads. As he considers giving up for good, Bryan searches for what he couldn’t find on the road: a way to keep faith in humanity.
Mitzi’s Abortion: A Saint’s Guide to Mid-Term Politics and Medicine in America
2022: By Elizabeth Heffron. With humor, intelligence and honesty, “Mitzi’s Abortion” explores the questions that have shaped the national debate over abortion, and reminds us that whatever we may think we believe, some decisions are neither easy nor simple when they become ours to make. A generous and compassionate comedy with serious themes about a young woman trying to make an intensely personal decision in a system determined to make it a political one. “Mitzi’s Abortion” calls us to open our hearts and our minds for a conversation that goes beyond a two-sided narrative. It shifts our focus instead to the people impacted by impossible situations and their need for compassion.
The Long Christmas Dinner
2022: By Thornton Wilder. Share in a family celebration that spans nine decades-showcasing the lives of several generations of the Bayard family. With each course, we are reminded of the special feelings shared between loved ones when we take the time to be together.
Becky Shaw
2023: By Gina Gionfriddo. A newly wed couple fixes up two romantically challenged friends: wife’s best friend, meet husband’s sexy and strange new co-worker. When an evening calculated to bring happiness takes a dark turn, crises and comedy ensue in this wickedly funny play that asks what we owe the people we love and the strangers who land on our doorstep.
The Thin Place
2023: By Lucas Hnath. Everyone who ever died is still here, just in a different part of here. Linda can communicate with them. And if you believe, she can make you hear them, too-in The Thin Place, the fragile boundary between our world and the other one.
Brilliant Traces
2024: By Cindy Lou Johnson. The place is a remote cabin in the wilds of Alaska. Thrown together in its confines are lonely man Henry Harry and run-away-bride Rosannah DeLuce. Wounded and embittered by life, they alternately repel and attract each other as they explore the pain of the past and consider the possibilities of the present. In the end their very isolation proves to be the catalyst that allows them to break through the web of old griefs and bitter feelings that beset them both and to reach out for the solace and sanctuary that only hard-won understanding, self-awareness and compassion for the plight of others can bestow.
Audience Testimonials
“A remarkable ensemble piece that carefully and thoughtfully deals with a very difficult subject matter. The performance reminded me of the significance of the arts. The importance of telling a story, and the impact and intersection of art and life.”
“Phenominal. Real, just so good and powerful. How the issue was handled was great. The raw emotion behind the forced choice, and the accuracy of the medical and philosophical/religious concepts and language was spot on. It made me tear-up multiple times.”
What a tremendous, moving, funny, transformative performance last night. I will be processing this…well, forever.
Media Coverage of Mitzi’s Abortion: A Saint’s Guide to Mid-Term Politics and Medicine in America
News8000’s article and video interview with Co-Director Colin Thelen →
E.184: Grey Area Produtions Theater Company
La Crosse Local Podcast chatted with Colin Thelen and Katie Bakalars of Grey Area Productions, a multimedia-focused theatre company based in La Crosse, WI. We learned the origin story of the theatre, the process when producing a show, and what’s next for this theatre group.
There was a lot of isolation going on with the pandemic…oddly kind of a silver lining…a lot of us had worked together over a decade ago in the theater world…wound up back here (on the origins of the company).
Follow Grey Area Productions on Facebook @greyareatheatreproductions
We are Grey Area Productions, and we can’t wait to connect with you.