A picnic gala under the stars will be the first big fund-raising event for Two Island Productions, the newly formed non-profit theatre group which aims to establish a unique international collaboration between the islands of Bermuda and Manhattan.

Auditions for the October Gala, which will take place in the Keep Yard of the Maritime Museum, were held last week. Entitled "Broadway in Bermuda'', it will feature some of Bermuda's best and brightest talents.

Although the results of the audition have not yet been released, one of the co-founders of the new venture, Mrs. Iva Peele, says she was thrilled by the number and calibre of people who took part.

"The standard was really amazing, and I think we will have a really good show.'' She certainly hopes so, as proceeds from the Gala will go to an arts scholarship fund which is also being established by the group to help a student continue education. "I'm hoping that everyone will turn out and support us, so that we can do this,'' she adds.

Mrs. Peele emphasises that the New Yorkers who will be coming to Bermuda to take part in the new theatre venture are highly professional -- "They have between 30 and 40 roles between them and several are `Tony' nominees.'' The idea of a professional theatre, whereby actors, singers, writers and directors from Broadway will hold workshops and master classes in Bermuda, was the brainchild of Mrs. Peele.

A summer retreat, where American professionals and Bermuda's thespians will work alongside, is planned to take place in Bermuda next year. The plans are for a new work to be created, featuring local performers which will ultimately be shown professionally in New York, possibly at the West Bank Theatre off 42nd Street.

Mrs. Peele, who now lives in Bermuda and will be remembered by local audiences for her performance in Jabulani Productions' "Vanities'', is herself a professional actress who trained at Emerson College in Boston (which also produced such talents as Norman Lear, Jay Leno, Henry Winkler) and has appeared on the London and New York stage.

"When I came to Bermuda, I thought it extraordinary that there was so much theatre going on here, but no professional group. So I was introduced to Patricia Pogson and she said, `I have the same dream!' I thought she and Dusty Hind were doing a great job with Jabulani Repertory, which is semi-professional -- at least that's a start in the right direction! So I kept in touch with her. From that, my New York partners, Sheryl Kaller, Beth Dunnington and I -- who were all at college together, and have been friends ever since, decided we would make this dream a reality, and we're in process of setting the whole thing up right now. There's a lot of talent out there and we want to tap it!'' Ms Sheryl Kaller, who is in Bermuda to oversee the auditions with Mrs. Peele, says, "We would like to be the pioneers of international theatre here. When I first came here, I was overwhelmed by the degree of integration that you have -- I think it's far more advanced than in New York. So Bermuda has the opportunity to produce theatre that is integrated in a totally unselfconscious way.'' They both believe that their professional experience and contacts will enable them to help develop the Bermuda theatre.

"Coming from New York, where everything is artistically stifling because it's so commercialised, I really think that my fellow professionals there will find it a unique experience to work in Bermuda,'' says Ms Kaller.

"I am passionate about this,'' adds Mrs. Peele, "It's not only important for Bermuda, but for international theatre generally. We want to train and help people here and to be able to invite them to perform in New York. We do not,'' she emphases, "want to be thought of as being in competition with theatre groups here, but we would like to enhance them and for them to enhance us.'' The all-women group have chosen the medium of Broadway musicals because, says Ms Kaller, "This will be a celebratory send-off to our venture and there's something good about the idea of two countries getting up on stage together and giving everything they've got!'' The West Bank Theatre, says Ms Kaller, was started by three men from Yale University. "They started in a basement. It's a real actors' theatre which produces over 100 new plays a year. They are very supportive and excited about this Bermuda venture. So we do have a place to go!'' Sheryl Kaller, who says she has been obsessed with theatre ever since she was a child, has extensive experience as a New York director. Among her many productions are three plays for the West Bank Theatre and `Found a Peanut' at the Samuel Beckett Theatre. For two seasons, she was also the resident director for the well-known Circle Repertory Theatre Lab in New York and she directed `The Rapture Two Step' at the Man in the Moon Theatre in London.

Regionally, she has directed "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' at the New London Barn in New Hampshire and `Seven Brides for Seven Brothers', and also acted as the show's stage manager for its national tour. On Broadway, she was the assistant director for "The News''.

Her production of "Next, Please'', which she also conceived at the West Bank, received an Honourable Mention-Best Play 1994 by Dramalogue Magazine.

Iva Peele appeared in the London production of "The Rapture Two Step'' and was also in "Savage in Limbo'' at the Duke of Cambridge Theatre, also in London.

She has appeared in several West Bank Theatre productions and in Boston, she was seen in "Bus Stop'', "Love Course'' and Tennessee Williams' "Case of the Crushed Petunia`', all at the Loft Theatre. At the Carriage House Theatre, she played Grusha in "The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' and the role of Vera in "A Month in the Country''. She also spent three years acting, directing and writing for The Comedy Workshop with Steven Wright and Denis Leary (who is also a graduate of Emerson).

Regionally, she has played the roles of Laura in "The Glass Menagerie'' (at Durham, New Hampshire) and Linda in "The Man Who Came to Dinner'', for the Lexington Regional Theatre.

Beth Dunnington, who contributes to the musical side of things, is a lyric soprano who won the Carol Burnett Acting Scholarship at Emerson. In New York, her credits includes Quincy Long's "Shaker Heights'', the pre-Broadway production of "The Three Musketeers'' and the musical, "Alexander Graham Bell''.

Regionally, she has sung the role of Papagena in Connecticut Grand Opera's production of "The Magic Flute'' and taken leading roles in Boston productions of "A Christmas Carol'', "The Crucible'', "A Midsummer Night's Dream'' and "Oklahoma!''.

Two Island Productions, which has been formed "not only to entertain but also stimulate, challenge and move its audience in a new voice that is Bermudian with a New York accent'', is also committed to the creation of new works, and has been established as a Bermuda charity.

NEW THEATRE CHALLENGE -- Ms Sheryl Kaller (left) and Mrs. Iva Peele, two of the directors of the newly-formed Two Island Productions.