Early registration for the fall term of Brazos Valley TROUPE is under way with special savings on programs through Thursday.

TROUPE, now in its 14th year, offers a variety of classes and performance opportunities for children and adults at its theater, at 3705 E. 29th St. in Bryan.

Fall offerings include:

* Act Up! gives children a chance to hone their performing skills in acting, improvisation, direction, designing and creative writing. Mondays, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., two to three times a month. Juniors is for children ages 5 to 9; seniors, for children 10 to 12. $90 early registration; $100 after Thursday.

* Theatre High gives junior- and senior-high students a broad range of theater experience, including improvisation, script writing, directing and design. It includes the Oxymorons, TROUPE's resident improv team specializing in clean comedy. Days vary, but Oxymorons typically meet on select Sundays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Ages 13 and older. $160; $175 after Thursday. Oxymorons additional fee is $50.

* TROUPErdores combines show choir and dance team components and its members perform at numerous community events. Mondays, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Ages 10 and older. $160; $175 after Thursday.

* VIPS, TROUPE's oldest youth program, is a combination of private and ensemble vocal performance instruction with managing/artistic director M.A. Sterling. Participants must be a member of TROUPErdores. Times vary. Ages 10 and older. $100 in addition to the TROUPErdors fee.

* Corps is an add-on to the other programs in which members will work on three productions during the year, including the sketch comedy revue Comedy Tonight! in January, the musical comedy Mother Goose in May and next summer's You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, directed and choreographed by Stanley Wayne Mathis, a member of the original Broadway cast. Times vary. Ages 10 and older. $50 in addition to the other program fees.

In addition to the program fees, there is a $30 annual registration fee and a $20 per semester facilities usage fee.

Registration at the TROUPE theater will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Sept. 2 and 4, and from noon to 2 p.m. Sept. 6.

In addition to the performance programs, TROUPE sponsors several trips to plays and musicals in Houston throughout the year. Membership in the Travel Club is $25. In addition, members make an annual summer trip to New York City to see the latest Broadway offerings. Information will be available at registration.

TROUPE also has performance opportunities for adults and non-performance volunteer opportunities for adults and young people.

TROUPE volunteers 15 and older help run concessions at Texas A&M home football games to raise funds for the company's operations. Anyone wishing to help at Saturday's home opener against Arkansas State should e-mail their name, cell phone number and identification number (such as a driver's license or school ID) to Becky Lane at bvtstuff@yahoo.com. Volunteers will report to the concession area at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

The TROUPE theater recently has been renovated with new lighting and sound, an expanded stage and new air conditioning.

Worth Remembering

Worth Remembering, a public reading of personal reflections on the impact of war on our lives, will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 10 at Friends Congregational Church in College Station.

Area residents are invited to support an original essay, story or poem with a maximum length of 500 words no later than Oct. 15. They also may submit a selection from a published work that expresses their feelings, or correspondence to or from a loved one in the military or someone affected by war.

The event is not designed to be a forum for or against our military actions.

All submissions will be archived in Project HOLD, the city of College Station's historic online library database. To see archives, go to http://HOLD.cstx.gov.

People may read their submission or have a volunteer read it.

Submissions should be sent to Cheryl Clements, 7598 River Ridge Drive, College Station, TX 77845, or e-mailed to submission.acbv@ yahoo.com.

Worth Remembering is sponsored by the Arts Council of Brazos Valley, city of College Station Project HOLD, Museum of the American G.I., Honorthenames.com and Gulfwarmemorial.com.

Japanese embroidery

An exhibit of works by students of the Japanese Embroidery Center, as well as the tools and supplies used to create the pieces, will be on display Sept. 2 through 26 at the Bryan Public Library, 201 E. 26th St.

The exhibit is sponsored by Brazos Valley Stitchers.

Founded in 1989 in Dunwoody, Ga., the Japanese Embroidery Center is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of Japanese embroidery -- nihon shishu in Japanese -- which traces its roots to China more than a thousand years ago. It was introduced to Japan by Korean artists and was first used only for items associated with religious ceremonies. As it developed its own Japanese style, the embroidery began to be used on gowns for ladies of the court. It since has taken on a more egalitarian role.

Brazos Valley Stitchers is a chapter of the Embroiderers' Guild of America, Members meet from 7 to 9 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 1200 Foxfire Drive in College Station. Guests are welcome. Dues are $45 per year, which includes membership in the Embroiderers' Guild and a subscription to Needle Arts magazine.

Reservations are being taken for a Nov. 15-16 workshop on creating realistic representations of animals in stitchery. The focus of the class will be "stitch painting" to create realistic-looking fur and eyes with needle and thread. Leading the workshop will be Sandra Maag Reddell of LaGrange, a senior master teacher of the American Needlepoint Guild and a certified mastercraftsman with the Embroiderers' Guild of America.

Cost of the workshop is $84 for members of Brazos Valley Stitchers or $94 for nonmembers. A registration form is available at www.brazosvalleystitchers.org. For more information, contact Brenda Mooney at bmmoney@ tfs.tamu.edu or call 775-9360.

Unity Theatre

Season tickets are available for the upcoming season of Unity Theatre in Brenham. The season features productions as varied as Shakespeare, a Victorian thriller and a musical based on a classic favorite.

Performances, unless indicated, are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m.

The season includes:

* Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare's most popular comedy, centered on the courtship of sharp-tongued Katherine by the arrogant Petruchio. Oct. 24-26, Oct. 30-Nov. 2 and Nov. 6-9.

* A Child's Christmas in Wales, based on a story by Dylan Thomas. Forgoing holiday clichés, the play still views childhood fondly through family memories. Dec. 3-7 and Dec. 10-14. Additional performances at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3 and 10, and at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 6 and 13.

* Master Class by Terrence McNally. Winner of the 1996 Tony Award for best play, Master Class explores the life and creative passion of opera great Maria Callas as she teaches a class at the Julliard School. Feb. 5-8, Feb. 12-15 and Feb. 20-22. Additional matinees will be at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 7, 14 and 21.

* Angel Street by Patrick Hamilton. A thriller set in an old Victorian home, Angel Street involves the murder of an old woman by a killer who had to flee before finding the rubies he was after. New owners move in and the murderer returns. March 19-22, March 26-29 and April 2-5.

* Anne of Green Gables, a musical based on the novel by L.M. Montgomery. July 8-12 and July 15-19. Wednesday performances are at 7:30 p.m., with additional matinees at 2:30 p.m. on July 11 and 18. There are no Saturday night performances.

Season tickets are $100 for adults and $50 for students. They may be ordered by mail at Unity Theatre, 300 Church St., Brenham, TX 77833 or at www.UnityBrenham.org.

There will be a special concert by the Rob Landes Trio on Sept. 5. It will begin with a wine and cheese reception at 7 p.m., followed at 8 p.m. by the concert, which will feature the music of Cole Porter and World War II. Dessert will be served afterward. Tickets are $45 and go on sale Tuesday.

Arts-related news may be submitted to features@theeagle.com or faxed to 776-8923, attention Erin Jessen.

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