(Rae Velez, Rowan Roberts, Abby James, Rosa Jones, Waverly Mestas and Ryann Fyfe | Photo by Brooklyn Wagner)
Performing: January 21-24, 2026
Location: Ponderosa Playhouse: 211 NE Revere Ave., Ste. 4, Bend
Tickets Available at: ponderosaplayers.com/tickets
Ponderosa Players was founded in May of 2023 by Dash and Kisky Holwerda and has since carved out an incredibly influential space in the Central Oregon arts scene in this relatively short period of time. Since its inception, Ponderosa Players has sold out four MainStage productions and taught year-round classes to its growing student base of 150+ students. The first show of their third season is The Little Prince, performing January 21-24. It is Ponderosa Players’ first MainStage production with a cast ages 11-14. “We structured our first two seasons with a winter show for ages 14-18 and a spring show for ages 11-18,” says Dash, “we’re so excited to add this MainStage opportunity for our younger age group — they are stellar performers and this is a perfect story for them to tell.”
Ponderosa Players’ MainStage productions offer a pre-professional program that trains young performers for future success in the theater industry. They say that while the cast of The Little Prince is on the lower end of their age range, they are no less ready to aim for this next level of performance. “They work incredibly hard,” Kisky states, “and because they are such a small group, this work stands out in every moment of the show.” This small group of 10, to be exact, was selected from a group of 17 auditionees. Kisky and Dash say that this selective process is in alignment with the intensive nature of their program. They call The Little Prince an ensemble production, saying that all students, excepting the Little Prince (Ben Griffiths) and the Aviator (Elyse Murray), play multiple characters throughout the production.
The Little Prince is a first for Ponderosa Players in more ways than one. It is also the inaugural MainStage performance in their new rehearsal and performance space — the
Ponderosa Playhouse. “Performance space is nonexistent around here,” Dash commiserates. “We feel incredibly lucky to have found this space, it’s a total game-changer for us.” Dash and Kisky have been running a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for lighting and sound equipment and are only $5,000 away from their $20,000 goal. Once they cross the finish line of this fundraiser, they will have transformed their Playhouse into a fully functional black box theater.
You can contribute to this fundraising campaign at gofund.me/b6705668f. Donations of $150 and more will receive a commemorative nameplate on the “Founding Sponsor” plaque in the Playhouse lobby.