Message from Kevin Harris, Managing Artistic Director

Good morning supporters of the Little Theatre,

To those of you who are first-time visitors to our blog, welcome. Here you can find up-to-date information on all of the happenings at the Little Theatre. This blog also gives me (and all staff) the opportunity to connect personally with our supporters- theatre is all about connection and community, and I'm thrilled to be able to reach out to our supporters in any way possible.

Last weekend was especially difficult for the cast/crew of My Generation and the entire Little Theatre family. Ross Sears (the percussionist for the production) passed away Saturday night. Ross was one of the most active musicians in our community, bringing his talents to nearly ever Art Organization on the Central Coast over the last four decades. Ross was an absolute gentleman, and a wonderful person to have on any project. At Stephen and Barbara Tosh’s request, the final four performances of My Generation will be dedicated to him, and the opening video will be changed to reflect this.

Photo courtesy of WADE TILLOTSON

My Generation! plays for one more weekend- thank you to Steve Hilstein for stepping in on drums. We played to four full houses this weekend, and next weekend only has a handful of tickets left. Laura Hopkins, the show sponsor for My Generation, attended the show last Saturday night and loved it- she’s coming back on Friday with more people. Thank you, Laura, for your support of the Little Theatre and for making this production possible! Tickets for the last weekend of My Generation! can be purchased by clicking HERE.

Dinner with Friends is almost ready to move into the theatre! The cast recently had its first stumble-through, and the show is nearly into the home stretch. Dinner with Friends, like several Pultizer-Prize winners/nominees, came to life at the Humana Festival of New American Plays, an annual festival of New Work sponsored by the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville. The Humana Festival, founded in 1976 by Actor’s Theatre Artistic Director Jon Jory, has received over 75,000 submissions over the last 4 decades. The first play developed at Humana in 1976: The Gin Game, which was seen on the Little Theatre stage 35 years later in a production directed by John Pillow. To see a great interview with Jon Jory talking about the Humana production of Pride and Prejudice, please click HERE.

DID YOU KNOW: Jon Jory is widely believe to be the actual author of all of Jane Martin’s plays, including Talking with…, Anton in Show Business, and Keely and Du (nominated for the Pulitzer.)

Dollhouse opens in less than two weeks. Director Elaine Fournier and cast are almost finished bringing this updated classic to our stage. The production plays on March 30 and 31 at 7:00 PM. Dollhouse, by Rebecca Gilman, is just the latest of hundreds or adaptation of Ibsen’s original play in the last century. One of the most famous (and controversial) adaptations was Mabou Mines 2006 production. Click HERE to see why. Not strange enough for you? Click HERE to see a trailer for the infamous 2004 opera adaptation of the story.

The House of Blue Leaves welcomes the final cast member, Bob Larsen, to the production. Bob has  rich history in local theatre (he and I worked together nearly ten years ago in Centerpoint Theatre Group’s Search and Destroy.) We couldn’t be happier that Bob has found his way to the Little Theatre. Thank you coming on board- looking forward to the beginning of rehearsals and the opening of House of Blue Leaves on May 25. Check out this wonderful discussion between House of Blue Leaves author, John Guare and Peter Shaffer, author of Equus, Amadeus and many others.

Thank you so much for your support of the Little Theatre. As always, the Board and staff are here for you, so, please feel free to contact me if there's any way we can make you experience with the theatre more enjoyable.

Sincerely,

Kevin Harris

Managing Artistic Director

San Luis Obispo Little Theatre

kevinharris@slolittletheatre.org

LASTLY: I’m sure that many of you have been following the Mike Daisey controversy surrounding his latest play The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs and its recent broadcast on NPR’s, This American Life. For the New York Times’ take on the conflict (and a nice summary of events), click HERE. This issue brings up several good questions about the artist’s/audience's responsibility and the inherent power of storytelling. To hear Mike Daisey’s excruciating explanation for his actions, be sure to listen to last week’s episode of This American Life, titled, simply, RETRACTION.