Time for New Times "BEST OF...", THE MUSIC MAN needs a cast, NO SHAME hits Friday and SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is breaking all records!

Let's do it again! The Little Theatre has been voted the BEST LOCAL THEATER GROUP in the annual New Times Readers Poll every year since 2010 and BEST PLACE TO SEE A PLAY at least three times over the past ten years.  If you've enjoyed a show here in the past year, or two, or three, and if you LOVE our intimate downtown space in downtown SLO as much as we do, then take a minute and let New Times know! Pick up a copy of this week's New Times or click HERE to fill out this year's poll online. The deadline is March 16th at 5 pm.

AUDITIONS - SUNDAY, MARCH 2 @ 6 pm

The next big musical on the Little Theatre stage is a little slice of Americana, one of the most popular musicals ever to hit Broadway, with some of the best lyrics ever written by that one-hit wonder of musical theatre Meredith Willson. Yes, I'm talking about THE MUSIC MAN and we are looking for a talented cast of actors, singers and dancers of all ages who want to help us make some real  TROUBLE, right here in River City!  Remember, as Professor Harold Hill says: "an idle brain is the devil's playground." So, get busy learning a song, dust off those acting chops and get down here to the theatre this Sunday night for AUDITIONS!  Click HERE for all the details on available roles and audition requirements, then click HERE to get inspired by the incomparable Hugh Jackman. :)

If you've been before, I don't have to tell you what it's like. If you haven't... you have to see it to believe it. NO SHAME CENTRAL COAST will take over the Little Theatre stage once again this Friday night, February 27th. Doors and Bar open at 9:30 pm (Admission is FREE!) Script submissions at 10 pm. Show starts at 10:30 pm. Be a part of one of the most exciting nights of live, original theatre on the Central Coast. Click HERE for all the details and I'll see you on Friday night!

Yep. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is breaking all records for ticket sales and is pretty much SOLD-OUT for the next three weekends. But don't despair!  The best bet is to place your name on our waiting list at the box office one hour before show time and then cross your fingers. There are always a few empty seats at show time and you just might be one of the lucky ones sitting in one of them. Really. This show is worth the wait, so come on down this weekend and give it a shot!

It's a glorious feelin'.... and I hope to see you here this weekend!

Cheers!
~Patty

A brand new LIGHTING SYSTEM, AUDITIONS on Sunday, SPELLING BEEs are fun, AND Happy HALLOWEEN!

CFSLOCO's Janice Fong Wolf, Kevin Harris and Board President
Bryce Engstrom in the booth with our new light board.

Thanks to two generous grants from The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County, we are looking pretty spiffy these days, both onstage and off, here at the Little Theatre. In October, we received a very generous grant of $5,000 to fund the purchase of a new state-of-the-art computerized lighting console replacing our 23 year old “antique” light board. The new system is able to be programmed with multiple lighting designs for multiple shows and will greatly enhance the experience of both audiences and technicians alike during our ambitious 2014-15 Season.

Intern extraordinaire Ellis Beardsley displaying our new tickets and color print materials.

In addition to our gorgeous new light board, we also have new printers! Almost a year ago now, we received a grant of $2,850 through the Foundation to purchase a new thermal ticket printer and a new color printer/scanner. It took awhile to find the perfect ticket printer AND to program it to work with our ticketing system, but now, you can actually read the seat numbers on your tickets and our publicity materials really stand out in full color!  Many thanks to our Community Foundation for their generous support!

Every time we turn around lately, it seems like it's time for more auditions. I love it! Our next Ubu's Other Shoe staged reading to hit the rehearsal room will be MISS WITHERSPOON by Christopher Durang. Director Kelly Fidopiastis needs five or six talented actors and actresses to bring this deliciously offbeat comedy to life. Auditions are this Sunday at 4 pm and Monday at 6 pm. Hope to see you here. Click HERE for all the details.

If musicals are more to your talents and taste, be sure to dust off your tap shoes and come on down on November 23 and 24 for SINGIN' IN THE RAIN auditions. This is going to be our biggest musical of the year, so warm up those vocal chords and stretch those dancing muscles. You can check out audition requirements and the roles available HERE, then come on down and "make 'em laugh...make 'em laugh...make 'em laugh!"

When the trick or treating (in the rain or under moonlight!) is done, the party is definitely NOT over! If you like LIVE, ORIGINAL, FREE late-night theatre, come on down for a one-of-a-kind Halloween party at NO SHAME THEATRE. Because when NO SHAME and HALLOWEEN collide, you never know what might happen. The doors open at 9:30 pm, we'll accept your original five minute scripts at 10 pm and the show starts at 10:30 pm.

Saw a rehearsal for THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM VALLEY SPELLING BEE last night and we are in for a real treat! This Tony Award winning musical comedy opens next Friday, November 7th. Directed by Dana Shaheen, the laughs and songs come fast and funny and don't be surprised if YOU wind up on stage joining the BEE! Click HERE for more info and tickets.

And finally....THRILLER!  It's an oldie, but it's also a goodie. So, in honor of Halloween, here's a little zombie action just to get you in the mood.  Have a fun Halloween weekend! ~ Patty

GOOD PEOPLE's Director, more AUDITIONS, and a SHOUT OUT for STAGE MANAGERS!

David Carey Foster

For the past four weeks, rehearsals for our season opening production of GOOD PEOPLE have been rolling along, six nights per week, under the skilled hand of David Carey Foster. If you are a long time fans of PCPA or The Great American Melodrama, you may have seen David performing on those stages a few years back. Now, you're more likely to catch him on an episode of The Mentalist or Dexter, or onstage at the La Jolla Playhouse, the Colony Theatre in Los Angeles or at dozens of other regional theatres in the country. This is David's first experience directing a community theatre production, but we hope it won't be the last. Putting together this ambitious production of GOOD PEOPLE under David's expert direction has been an incredible experience for our talented, amateur cast and we can't wait to share it with you. You can read David's thoughts about the show in the Director's Notes from our playbill HERE.

Good People opens this Friday, September 5th and runs through Sunday, September 21st.  CLICK HERE to make your reservations today.

Directors David Norum (FROST/NIXON) and Don Stewart (A CHRISTMAS STORY) are looking for some talented actors to take on our next two shows. Get all the details about auditions for both of these shows on our website HERE and we hope to see you at auditions over the next two weeks.

FROST/NIXON is an Ubu's Other Shoe Staged Reading that won't require a huge rehearsal time commitment, making it a great way to get your feet wet as an actor here at the Little Theatre. Roles are available for 9 men and 2 women and the show runs for two days only, October 21-22. Powerful script, great director. Gonna be a great show!

A CHRISTMAS STORY will be a great way to spend the holidays onstage! Roles are available for 5 children and 4 adults, so you can bring the whole family down for auditions! The show will run December 5-21. If you're not familiar with the story that has become a holiday viewing tradition for thousands of families, check out a clip of the popular film version above and "don't shoot your eye out!"

 Do you think you'd enjoy being part of a Little Theatre production backstage?  The Little Theatre is always looking for people to work behind the scenes on sets, lighting, stage crew, props, costumes and STAGE MANAGEMENT! If you're calm, cool and collected under pressure, like to spend your weekends with theatre folk and enjoy being one of those magical people who can make everything run smoothly, mark your calendars for our STAGE MANAGEMENT TRAINING on Sunday, September 28th at 1 pm. Watch this BLOG and our WEBSITE  for more information or EMAIL Kevin Harris to sign up today!

Gotta run now. Our final dress rehearsal for GOOD PEOPLE is tonight and there is much to be done before opening night on Friday! Hope to see you at the Little Theatre very soon - have a great week!

~Patty

CINDERELLA takes a final bow, our VOLUNTEERS rock, we've got a Raffle Basket WINNER, more AUDITIONS and GOOD PEOPLE is next, right here at the Little Theatre!

That's right. We've reached the final weekend of our magical production of Cinderella. If you haven't seen it yet, you'd best make your reservations soon. There are only a handful of tickets remaining for our 4 shows this weekend. CLICK HERE to make your reservations today.

We've received some wonderful stories in the local press about this delightful Academy of Creative Theatre show. Simply click the links to read the New Times review, a Times-Press-Recorder profile of our talented, young Cinderella, Cali Singleton, and a very nice feature story in the Adobe Press.

The house was packed for our 2014 Open House and Volunteer Appreciation BBQ last Sunday! After noshing and mingling in the lobby, we all sat down in the theatre to enjoy a look back at the 2013-14 Season on the big screens. The highlight of the afternoon was the presentation of the annual Volunteer Awards. We LOVE each and every one of our volunteers but every year there are a few in the crowd who go above and beyond the call of duty. This year's honorees included (clockwise from upper left) Lester Wilson (receiving his award and a hug from Kerry DiMaggio), Ryan Loyd (pictured with Kevin Harris), Carol and Ron Burkhart (pictured with Elaine Fournier and Dave Linfield) and Jamie Foster, (pictured with yours truly, Patty Thayer.)  Thanks to all of our incredible volunteers for helping to make this the best little theatre on the Central Coast!

Speaking of winners, CONGRATULATIONS to Rita Sumabat, the lucky winner of our lovely raffle basket from our July production of Play On!  Rita stopped by to pick up her loot on Thursday and we snapped her picture. The winning ticket for our Cinderella raffle basket will be drawn on Sunday, August 24 following the final performance. Good luck everyone! 

AUDITIONS!!!  Did you hear me? I said AUDITIONS for this lovely, little musical, to be directed by Dana Shaheen, will take place this Sunday and Monday. Click HERE for all the details and come on down and give it a shot. You never know, right? You can also click HERE to get your tickets NOW.

Last, but not least, it's GOOD PEOPLE!  There are just two more weeks until opening night of this award-winning comedy/drama. You can read director David Carey Foster's Director's Notes about the show by clicking HERE, and you can reserve your seats right now by clicking HERE. (Quick tip: our new Thursday evening performances have the best seating still available!)

Enjoy your weekend everyone! And I hope to see you again soon right here at the Little Theatre!

~Patty 

It's Possible! CINDERELLA opens Friday Night, AUDITIONS on Sunday, Subscriptions are SELLING OUT, and so much MORE -- this week ONLY at the Little Theatre!

Photos by Jamie Foster Photography

"Impossible! For a plain, yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage. Impossible! For a plain, country bumpkin and a prince to join in marriage....Impossible! Things are happening every day!"

The classic story of dreams-come-true will light up the Little Theatre stage this weekend, as our Academy of Creative Theatre students present Rodgers & Hammerstein's CINDERELLA! This delightful production has been adapted specifically for young actors, but it still includes all your favorite tunes from the original, beloved musical. It's the perfect show to share with your kids, your grand-kids, nephews, nieces, and kids of all ages, from the very young, to the young at heart!

August 8-24

Fridays & Saturdays @ 7 pm
Saturdays & Sundays @ 2 pm

Directed by Shelagh Garren
Musical Direction by Lacey McNamara
Choreography by Kelly Fidopiastis

Featuring:

Cali Singleton, Conner Allen, Alexx Ascencio, Jed Authier, Kaylee Beardsley, Isaac Capp, Penny DellaPelle, Abby Dorman, Isabella Grznar, Riley Hutcheson, Sophia Lea, Zoe Piette, Serafina Regusci, Maddie Smith, Elizabeth Tharp, Bella Yaguda and Veda Yaguda.

Tickets: $13 Students / $20 Adults

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SEATS TODAY

Just one more reminder that if you've been waiting for just the right time to come on down to the theatre and audition for a play?  THIS IS IT! There are auditions happening almost every two weeks this year in our most ambitious season to date. This weekend, it's the hilarious Steve Martin comedy, PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE. Next week, we're in a need of a few good men for Richard Greenberg's TAKE ME OUT. But there's more! CLICK HERE to see details about auditions for these two shows, PLUS future audition dates. It's going to be an exciting season here at the Little Theatre and you need to play a part in it!

Subscriptions are still available for these five awesome shows, but if you want to guarantee the BEST SEATS, at the BEST PRICE, with the MOST FLEXIBILITY on exchanges?  You'd best hurry on down to the box office to get yours now! We have already sold more season tickets than we sold for the 2013-14 Season (which was also a record breaker) and we're approaching that magical number where we'll have to cut off our subscription sales in order to ensure there are enough seats to meet the demand for individual tickets throughout the year. Don't be left outside standing in line for tickets when we inevitably sell out your favorite show. Come on in out of the cold and become a member of our subscriber family! CLICK HERE for more information and to order your season tickets online.

Got kids? We've got GREAT CLASSES for them!  The Academy of Creative Theatre is now registering for Fall After School Theatre Classes for children ages 5-18. From our beginning "Drama Kids" class to our advanced "Improv II" and "Acting" classes, all ACT programs are taught by experienced, professional teaching artists and take place in a lively, nurturing and FUN environment. Worried about tuition costs? Don't be. Thanks to a generous grant from the Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County, we have generous scholarships available for your child. CLICK HERE for more information about classes and to register online.

Courtesy of Jamie Foster Photography

Whatever you do this weekend, enjoy it! And remember that nothing is impossible...things are happening every day!

Come see Cinderella - you'll love it!

PINOCCHIO's adventures, AUDITIONS galore and RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN!

PINOCCHIO is everywhere today! First of all, there's a lovely photo and a BIG thanks to Central Coast Funds for Children in the GOOD NEWS section of the Tribune today. There's an awesome video featuring two of our young actors, and the lovely Kerry DiMaggio, on the KSBY WEBSITE (and it will air on the 6 pm news tonight too!) We're also a HOT DATE in New Times today and finally, check out the great review by Joan Crowder in today's Tribune TICKET (It's not posted online yet, but you can pick up a copy of the Tribune at your local market!)

This is a great show for young and old alike, and it's rapidly selling out for our two remaining weekends, so make your reservations now to ensure your seats. Here... I'll make it easy for you: just CLICK HERE for your tickets NOW!

So much theatre, so little time....

Seriously, I know Kevin told you all about this a couple of days ago, but it bears repeating again and again...and again. Come on out and audition for a show! First of all, there's PROOF  next weekend, January 25-26. Director Teresa Thuman will be in town all the way from Seattle to see what you've got, so come on down to the theatre and give it a shot. What have you got to lose? CLICK HERE for more information about the play, roles available and preparing for your audition.

 If you love to act, but don't feel like you have enough time for a full production, why not try out for one of our Ubu's Other Shoe staged readings?  Great theatre, limited rehearsal time and just two performances. The next auditions will be February 5th at 6:30 pm for a staged reading of PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS, directed by Lisa Woske. Five roles, hilarious play. CLICK HERE for everything you need to know before the audition.

Last, but most certainly not least....A CHORUS LINE!!  You know who you are. You love to sing, you love to dance, THIS is the show you were born to do! And working with director/choreographer Zach Johnson and Musical Director Lacey McNamara is going to be a blast. Mark your calendars now for Feb. 18, 19, 25 & 26, then CLICK HERE for all the details on preparing your audition.  

Finally, just a quick note from the girl who works upstairs at the theatre. Remember her? It's me. There are definitely a few perks to be had when you work late at the Little Theatre. Sometimes you get to overhear the rehearsals for the next show. And if you're really lucky, the next show is a musical. And if you're really, REALLY lucky, the musical features some of the most beautiful songs ever written by two of Broadway's most prolific and legendary teams:  RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN!

Well lately... It's a Grand Night for Singing as I sit In My Own Little Corner in My Own Little Room. I may be As Corny as Kansas in August, but sometimes I feel Younger than Springtime as I spend Some Enchanted Evenings in my little office upstairs. Musicals are definitely one of My Favorite Things. 

You may not be able to sit upstairs and listen to rehearsal, but you can get your tickets early for SOME ENCHANTED EVENING: THE SONGS OF RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN. Trust me, you'll love it. Opens on  Valentine's Day, February 14th. Not a bad idea for a date with your sweetheart. 

Ok. Enough singing for now. I hope to see you at the Little Theatre soon. Have a great weekend. :)

~Patty

P.S. And just because I absolutely LOVE this one... here it is. Hugh Jackman in the 1999 production of OKLAHOMA!