The next two Actors Guild of Parkersburg shows are being moved from the theater on Market Street.

Because of theater renovations at 724 Market St., performances of “Madagascar Jr.,” Jan. 24 to Feb.1, will held at Blennerhassett School auditorium, 444 Jewell Road, and performances of “Sense and Sensibility,” Feb. 28 to March 14, will be in the West Virginia University at Parkersburg Theatre.

The Actors Guild theater will be closed for three months to allow a sprinkler system, new lighting, carpeting and wall covering to be installed, said David Rexroad, president of the Actors Guild Board of Directors.

The remodeled guild theater is expected to reopen for the third show of this year, “The Producers,” set for April 24 to May 9.

The remodeling should bring a “nice feel” in the theater, Rexroad said.

The improvements will show the public how money is being spent during the Actors Guild of Parkersburg’s multi-phase Capital Campaign, Rexroad said.

Show director Doug Parks is familiar with the larger stage the Guild Builders of the Actors Guild will be working with in the musical “Madagascar Jr.” Parks, a teacher at Parkersburg South High School, has directed theatrical performances at Blennerhassett School and the Actors Guild theater.

The backstage area at the Actors Guild theater is larger than the one at Blennerhassett School, Parks said. Parks and his assistants are having to adapt to taking props down and storing them for “Madagascar Jr.”

Four hundred seats will be available at Blennerhassett School, compared to 260 seats at the Actors Guild theater. Not as many performances of “Madagascar Jr.” will be presented at Blennerhassett School compared to if the show was at the Actors Guild theater.

For Beth Lane, the new technical director at the Actors Guild, “Madagascar Jr.” will be her first show working for the community theater group. She will be working with Jason Osborn, set designer and builder, who has worked on theater productions at Blennerhassett School, Parks said.

Sixty children in grades four through nine in the Mid-Ohio Valley will be working on stage and behind the scenes during the Guild Builders’ presentation of “Madagascar Jr.”

Based on the motion picture, “Madagascar Jr.” is about a zebra who wants to see outside a zoo in New York City and goes on an adventure in Madagascar, Parks said. “Anybody familiar with the movie will like the show,” he said.

Tickets are on sale at actors-guild.com.

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Calling all male cooks and amateur chefs.

The United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley is looking for you to participate in the Men Cook event on Jan. 18 at the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta.

About 40 men, some working in two-person teams, are expected to participate in this fundraiser to benefit the United Way.

The cooks will be preparing and cooking meat loaf, cake, soup, sushi and other items off-site for Men Cook. Food can be “assembled” on site.

Attendees will wander around the tables sampling the food. Awards will be presented to the cooks.

Jack Horton will be the disc jockey at Men Cook.

Stacy DeCicco, executive director of the local United Way, said last year’s event was a huge success. “It is so much fun,” she said. “The competition is fierce.”

The event lasts from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

For more information about the event, tickets or being a cook, contact DeCicco at 304-580-0570.

Contact Paul LaPann at plapann@newsandsentinel.com