Direct at Columbia Entertainment Company

Currently accepting applications for:

Sordid Lives, by Del Shores

Show Information

The author of Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got the Will?) brings you a comedy that was nominated for over 30 awards during its long run in Los Angeles.

When Peggy, a good Christian woman, hits her head on the sink and bleeds to death after tripping over her lover’s wooden legs in a motel room, chaos erupts in Winters, Texas.

“[This play by] the master of Texas Comedy... is maybe funnier than Daddy's Dyin'. His colorful eccentrics are dead on, teetering on a Bowie knife's edge between the hilarious improbable and the achingly real.” – The Los Angeles Times.

The schedule for Sordid Lives is as follows, although the rehearsal schedule does have some flexibility:

  • Last day to submit application: September 5, 2025

  • Director interviews: September 2025

  • Auditions: Early January, 2026

  • Rehearsals begin: Mid-January, 2026

  • Performances: March 5 - 15, 2026

Application Materials

The brief application will ask you to describe your vision for the show and your leadership style. It will also ask for three references. Please tell your references to expect an email or form from the CEC board!

Selected directors will move forward to an interview with our Director Selection Committee and board members. In this interview, we’ll ask for more details about your vision and plans for the show.

Season 48 Call for Proposals

Putting a really great performance together at a volunteer-run theatre is a passion project... and it can be hard to predict what those volunteers will be passionate about! Anyone who loves theatre can understand the pain of choosing a great show that the audience wants to see... and then getting a volunteer response that is lukewarm at best. 

In Season 47, we tested a different approach: choosing directors and shows together, rather than choosing shows first and looking for directors later. We've all seen the magic of a director and production team who are truly passionate about their project, and we want to create space for more of those moments. For Season 48, we plan to have at least two shows chosen through this process!

The goal of this process is to select the directors and show simultaneously. If more than one potential director submits a show, all interested directors will be interviewed for that show.