Desert Ensemble Theatre Company (DETC)

Hey folks, Desert Ensemble Theatre Company (DETC) is up for Best Live Theatre and Best Repertory Company in The Desert Sun's 2020 Best of the Desert. Please consider voting, thanks!

Hello everyone! #news With your help and support our small but mighty theatre company continues to grow!! Please give a warm DETC welcome to our newest board member Donna Lawton. I was born and raised in upstate New York near Saratoga Springs. In 2003 my husband Jerry and I relocated to Cathedral City and now reside in Palm Desert. I have volunteered for many organizations in the valley including Palm Springs Art Museum where I spent several years organizing volunteers for... their Special Events. I am involved with DAP and assist in handing out monthly food vouchers for their clients. Local theater is a favorite of mine and I volunteer at both Coachella Rep. Theater and Palm Canyon Theater. I am involved with the Palm Springs International Film Festival and Shortfest as a pre-screener reviewing films submitted for entry. I love the Coachella Valley and all it offers. I look forward to being involved in the Desert Ensemble Company as it reopens for the 2021 season. See more

Hi friends! #news With your help and support our small but mighty theatre company continues to grow!! Please give a warm DETC welcome to our newest board member Charles Herrera. Singer, actor, and cabaret artist, Charles Herrera has appeared all over the country and abroad in musicals, operettas, cabaret shows and theatrical productions. Theatrical productions include Guys and Dolls, The Mikado, Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, Marry Me a Little, A Funny Thing ...Happened on the Way to the Forum, among others. Most recently, he appeared as an aging, handicapped writer in the critically acclaimed comedy/drama, For a Reason, for Desert Ensemble Theatre Company. He has performed and produced his own cabaret shows in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and here in Palm Springs, to rave reviews. Charles is the recipient of five DESERT STAR awards, all in the cabaret/variety show category. He can be seen performing at several venues in the Palm Springs area, as well as in the successful musical tribute show, PALM SPRINGS JUMP!, playing monthly at The Purple Room Supper Club. See more

Happy first Saturday of October! Please give a warm DETC welcome to our 2020/2021 DETC Vice President/Artistic Director: Jerome Elliott. Jerome is a Palm Springs-based director, actor and cabaret artist who brings a distinct theatricality and wit to his work. An alumnus of the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University, Jerome has performed at major clubs in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, St. Louis, Chicago, San Diego, and throughout the Coachella Valley. Since 2013, Jerome has won nine Desert Theatre League Awards for performance and direction. Jerome was DETC’s Director of Communications from 2013 to 2018 before succeeding Tony Padilla as Artistic Director. He has conceived and directed all of DETC’s Season Opening Gala productions, as well as critically acclaimed productions of Proof and A Number.

Hey friends, happy Friday! #news With your help and support our small but mighty theatre company continues to grow! Please give a warm DETC welcome board member: Jeremiah Rhoads, Treasurer. Jeremiah is excited to be joining Desert Ensemble as treasurer, after having work with them last season in the sadly cancelled production of How To Survive An Apocalypse. Jeremiah is also the Vice President and Treasurer for Encore Theatre District, where he has produced 6 productions and acted as a stage manager, director and performer. Jeremiah can’t wait to expand his theatre production experience to Desert Ensemble Theatre Company.

Happy Friday!!#news With your help and support our small but mighty theatre company continues to grow!! Please give a warm DETC welcome to our newest board member Jeremiah Rhoads. Jeremiah is excited to be joining Desert Ensemble as treasurer, after having work with them last season in the sadly cancelled production of How To Survive An Apocalypse. Jeremiah is also the Vice President and Treasurer for Encore Theatre District, where he has produced 6 productions and acted as a stage manager, director and performer. Jeremiah can’t wait to expand his theatre production experience to Desert Ensemble Theatre Company.

#news With your help and support our small but mighty theatre company continues to grow!! Please give a warm DETC welcome to our newest board member, Ricky Reidling, member-at-Large. With over 20 years in the entertainment industry Ricky has had a successful career being the creator of the cable series BoysTown, that he wrote, directed and played one of the lead characters for the cable network OUTtv in Canada and Europe for two seasons. He has acted and worked behind the scenes on many productions including his comedy film Heels, as well as working with networks such at E! Entertainment and HGTV. His latest venture is a new T.V series to be made in Palm Springs titled Some Kind of Wonderful. Ricky is ecstatic to be joining DETC.

#news Happy Monday! With your help and support our small but mighty theatre company continues to grow! Please give a warm DETC welcome to our newest board member: Desireé Clarke, Director of Development. Desireé is an Actor, Director and Producer with credits in the Coachella Valley, Los Angeles, and Houston. She received her BFA in Acting from AMDA: College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts and is also a graduate of the British American Drama Academy.... During 2015, she was a teacher at Drama Kids International of Northwest Houston. Desiree is also the founder of the Naked Mind Theatre Group’s SHOUT! Program, whose documentary premiered at the National Alliance of Grieving Children Symposium in Portland, OR. See more

Hi Friends, we are happy to announce that DETC has received a $10,000 CARES grant from the Riverside County Assistance Fund, administered through the Inland Empire Community Foundation in partnership with the Riverside County Homeless Solutions and Workforce Department and the Inland Empire Funder’s Alliance. The grant funds will sustain and stabilize DETC until we can return to a full-capacity, live theatre format. We'll announce our plans for reopening in late fall. We will... use the grant to purchase sanitizing supplies plus personal protective equipment for audiences and actors for our eventual return to the Pearl McManus Theatre. We will create new streaming content for our audiences. And we will pay for company operating expenses while we have no ticket income. Please take care of yourself, family and loved ones. DETC thanks you for all of your support and will keep you updated with the progress of our fall season. DETC

On March 12, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, DETC turned off the lights at the Pearl McManus Theatre prior to the final dress rehearsal of "How To Survive an Apocalypse." Tonight we are proud to participate in #RedAlertRESTART, a nationwide effort to bring attention to the plight of the live entertainment industry. -Live events employ over 12 million people.... -Live events contributes over $1 trillion annually to the US economy. -95% of live events have been cancelled due to COVID-19. -96% of companies have cut staff and/or wages. -77% of people in the live events industry have lost 100% of their income, including 97% of 1099 workers. The live events we love may never recover from the pandemic, we need to take action! We are asking you to take a couple of minutes to send a letter to Congress to save live events workers and the industry. An easy to complete form is available at https://wemakeevents.org. Thanks for your support! We look forward to welcoming you back to Desert Ensemble Theatre Company as soon as possible! Photo: David Lee Set Design: Frank Cazares

Students! Do you want to appear in an online production featuring George Salazar, Joshua Colley, and AUDRA McDONALD? Please see this article for information on how to audition. They are seeking young singer/actors between the ages of 16 and 23 of all ethnicities and types. The book and lyrics of this show were written by Scott Logsdon, who has deep ties to the Desert theatre community.

Desert Ensemble Theatre Company is pleased to announce 14 Desert Theatre League nominations for its two productions during the shortened 201920 Season! Congratulations to all nominees from all Desert theatre companies and thank you Desert Theatre League! #DTLnominations ON THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Outstanding Production Cabaret/Revue Outstanding Director: Jerome Elliott... Outstanding Musical Director: Constance Gordy Outstanding Lead Male Performer: Jacob Samples Outstanding Lead Male Performer Professional: Michael Pacas Outstanding Lead Female Performer: Jaci Davis ADOPTION ROULETTE Outstanding Production - Drama Outstanding Sound Design: Maiya Orozco Outstanding Lighting Design: Ashton J. Bolanos The Michael Cruickshank Award for Outstanding Director Drama: Shawn Abramowitz Outstanding Lead Actor Drama: Fergus Loughnane Outstanding Lead Actress Drama: Adina Lawson Outstanding Lead Actress Drama Professional: Yo Younger Bill Groves Award for Outstanding Writing: Elizabeth Fuller and Joel Vig