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

Farewell PICASSO, adieu FROST/NIXON, au revoir MADDY SINCLAIR and hello SPELLING BEE!

Jamie Foster Photography

Ah well...farewell to PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE. Now that the cast of this beautiful show has taken its final bow we can share a couple of photos of surprise scenes without posting a spoiler alert too. Great cast, awesome set and fabulous direction. I know I've said it before, but I'm really going to miss this one.

Jamie Foster Photography

Yep. "Elvis" has left the building, but not without scoring two solid weeks of sold-out shows and leavin' 'em laughing as he went. Hope you all enjoyed this show as much as I did, sparkly gold glitter, twinkle lights and all.

Danielle Dutro Photography

FROST/NIXON had two nearly full houses last week as our UBU'S OTHER SHOE STAGED READING series continues to break new ground in the high quality of its performances and in attendance. The cast of 10 actors included three of our talented PICASSO actors, who decided to do "double-duty" performing in both shows. Toby Tropper went from playing Pablo Picasso to David Frost, while Cameron Rose transformed himself from Albert Einstein to James Reston, and Tom Ammon shed his character of Gaston to become Nixon aide Jack Brennan. Next up for Ubu?  ANNA IN THE TROPICS, directed by Leo Cortez.

We also said au revoir to MADDY SINCLAIR after her final performance on Sunday. What a show!  Congratulations Maddy on a stellar premier and we can't wait to see what's next for you. Our AFTER HOURS @slotheatre late-night comedies are off to a great start thanks to this talented British comedienne. So what's next, you may ask?

RyLo Media Design

Glad you asked! This Friday we will celebrate Halloween night with NO SHAME THEATRE! If you like LIVE, ORIGINAL, FREE late-night theatre, come on down for what is sure to be a one-of-a-kind All Hallows Eve. 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. Need a giggle before Friday?  Click HERE to see RyLo Media Design's NO SHAME HALLOWEEN video.  BOO!

CAL POLY ARTS is making a very special offer for friends of the Little Theatre: a 10% discount on any full-priced ticket to the Globe Theatre's performance of KING LEAR at the PAC on November 18th!  Performed by members of England's Globe Theatre and starring James Marcell (Geoffrey from Fresh Prince of Bel Air) this show is a must-see for lovers of Shakespeare and great theatre. Here's how to get your discount:

Click HERE for the Cal Poly Arts show page, then click "BUY TICKETS" and enter the promo code: GLOBE to receive your discount. Order online or by calling (805) 756-4849.

And finally, mark your calendars for November 7th and the Tony Award winning musical, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE!  This delightful musical comedy has been called: "Irresistible!" and "Riotously funny!" Directed by Dana Shaheen, the show features the talents of Madison Shaheen, Stephanie Wilson, Caitlin Tobin, Heather Malcolm, Garrett Larsen, Gregory Gorrindo, Mike Mesker, Robin Kirk Wolf and Vincent Lemos.

If you'd like to find out a bit more about the show, click HERE to watch an interview with composer/ lyricist William Finn and Broadway director James Lapine about the original Broadway show. Then click HERE for your tickets before our limited 3-week run is SOLD-OUT!

Happy Halloween Everyone! Hope you have a great week and I look forward to seeing you soon, right here at your San Luis Obispo Little Theatre.

~Patty

"This is more than a story about one dysfunctional family...the play asks questions about what we do to our children, what we owe our parents, how we move forward, and what we leave behind."

~ Joan Crowder, The Tribune

As we enter our third weekend, INDEPENDENCE continues to leave audiences speechless. Remember dramas? I know, sometimes they're tough to watch. I come home from work and I'm tired. I head for the TV and I don't immediately think about watching a heavy drama about dysfunctional families or a documentary about the war in Afghanistan. I want to laugh! I want to smile and be uplifted. It's the same with movies and even theatre sometimes. I love a good musical as much as the next theatre groupie. But you see, I forget sometimes how a well-written, beautifully-acted drama affects me. A well-thought out work of art speaks to me on a deeper level and can leave me feeling fulfilled and satisfied and well-fed in a way that a Will Ferrell comedy or an action adventure like Iron Man or even The Sound of Music (as much as I love it!) can't. 

If you haven't seen this show yet, please do. You won't be disappointed. Lee Blessing's insightful script, Suzy Newman's skillful direction and the acting of four amazing women will send you home feeling like you've seen the real thing: a great evening (or afternoon) of intimate, dynamic, live theatre. 

But don't just take my word for it. You can read Joan Crowder's review in the Tribune today right HERE and Anna Weltner's review in last week's New Times HERE.  And of course, you can get your tickets on our website HERE.

Speaking of great dramas, maybe you've heard of Eugene O'Neill?

Sparked by the dark hollows and brilliant imaginings of his subconscious, master American playwright Eugene O'Neill conceived Desire Under the Elms as he slept one night, resulting in a work with the powerful emotional pitch of a fever dream. Next week, our Ubu's Other Shoe 10th Anniversary Season of staged readings continues with this classic family drama. I'll be there and I hope you will be too!

Wed. November 6th @ 7 pm

Thu. November 7th @ 7 pm
Please join us for a talk-back with the director 

and cast after Wednesday evening's performance.

Directed by Brent Keast
Featuring:

Tom Ammon, Graham Smith, Brooke Foster, Evan Camacho,
Clayton Greiman, Joy Brenner, Cathryn Cannavino, and Sharlotte Elston

CLICK HERE for more information and tickets. 

AUDITIONS - NOVEMBER 13th!

Now's your chance to sing some of the greatest music ever written - the songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein! This show has it all, music from such great shows as Carousel, Oklahoma, South Pacific, The Sound of Music and many more. We're looking for five dynamic performers and possibly a chorus as well.

WED. NOVEMBER 13th 

6 - 9:30 pm

CLICK HERE for more information

(And don't worry - tickets to the show will be available very soon!!)

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!

We're looking forward to a very happy holiday season here at the Little Theatre with a double-header of holiday treats!  The beloved classic MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET opens on November 22nd, filling our mainstage season slot Thursdays-Sundays at 7 pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm. Then, on November 30th, we will be adding a very special late-night holiday show. THE SANTALAND DIARIES, a one-man-show based on a short story by David Sedaris and starring Kevin Harris, will take the stage on Fridays and Saturdays at 9:15 pm. Rehearsals are in full swing now and we'll look forward to wishing you a very happy holiday with two great shows very soon!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hope you all have a very safe and fun Halloween. Don't eat too much candy and we'll hope to see you downtown, right here at the Little Theatre, very soon. 

Cheers!

~Patty