GOOD PEOPLE opens next Friday, PICASSO begins rehearsals, RAFFLE PRIZE WINNERS and LABOR DAY WEEKEND!

Where has the summer gone? Our first mainstage Season Show of the 2014-2015 Season opens next Friday. GOOD PEOPLE is "A masterwork of the comedy-drama genre." (Backstage) "Enthralling...utterly gripping...Remarkable." (LA Times) Written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, the play is set in South Boston and features a collection of authentic "Southie" characters who will make you laugh, cry and think about "the struggles, shifting loyalties and unshakable hopes that come with having next to nothing in America." The show is directed by David Carey Foster. You can read his Director's Notes about the show right HERE.

While many of you will be enjoying the last weekend of summer at the beach,  our talented crew will be putting the final touches on the set, lights, sound and more that will make GOOD PEOPLE come to life onstage next weekend. Set designer Dave Linfield does amazing things with our little stage.

Photos courtesy of Jamie Foster Photography

From a back porch in Chicago for PROOF, to a medieval monastery in INCORRUPTIBLE, a twinkle-lit cabaret in SOME ENCHANTED EVENING, and a kingdom where "dreams come true" in CINDERELLA, Dave Linfield works magic here at the Little Theatre for every single show we do. Our production of GOOD PEOPLE will somehow take us from a kitchen in South Boston, to an upscale doctor's office, to a fancy living room in Chestnut Hill and a church bingo hall, all in the course of two hours on our little stage. Come and see the magic next weekend! Click HERE to make your reservations today.

Rehearsals for our next mainstage Season production began with a read-through of the script last night. Steve Martin's PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE will take the stage on October 10th. Pictured above are two of our talented cast members: Cameron Rose and and Toby Tropper. Recent graduates of PCPA, Toby and Cameron will take on the iconic characters of Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in this very funny show, directed by Suzy Newman. 

And what's the BEST way to ensure the BEST seats at both of these wonderful productions, plus three more stellar shows between now and next June?  Purchase a SEASON SUBSCRIPTION!  Time is running out to make sure you're not left standing outside in the cold when one of our productions is SOLD OUT. Season tickets start at just $99 for five incredible shows. Click HERE for more information and to purchase one of the few remaining seats available for subscription sales! Great seats are still available, but they won't last long! And while you're on our website, check out all the amazing shows available in our UBU'S OTHER SHOE series of staged readings and our NEW AFTER HOURS @slotheatre comedies, also available at season subscription discounts.

Finally, I just want to make sure you know that there is always one lucky raffle basket WINNER chosen for every single show on our stage. Rita bought a fistful of raffle tickets and won the lovely gift basket offered during our production of PLAY ON! In addition to some awesome treats and tschotskes donated by our gift-basket-maker extraordinaire Arlene Sackman, Rita also won two bottles of OPOLO wine and an overnight stay at Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort & Spa. Clyde won our CINDERELLA basket, which included tickets to the San Luis Obispo Symphony's POPS BY THE SEA, which takes place at the Avila Beach Golf Resort this very weekend! Many thanks to our generous donors who make these gift baskets possible, and remember: you can't win unless you buy a ticket! Be sure to check out our GOOD PEOPLE gift basket when you see the show.

We'll be thinking about you enjoying the beach and barbecues this weekend, while we enjoy our own special brand of fun: creating live, local theatre right here at your San Luis Obispo Little Theatre.

Have a great holiday weekend and we'll see you next weekend for GOOD PEOPLE!

~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 

CINDERELLA packs the house, AUDITIONS this week, and GOOD PEOPLE heads toward tech. This week at the Little Theatre!

Good afternoon friends of the Little Theatre,

Our Academy of Creative Theatre summer production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella played to full houses all weekend long! What a treat to see so many young theatre-goers (many in costume) come to the Little Theatre and enjoy this classic musical. There are only a handful of tickets left for the final weekend of performance. Read about the show and reserve your tickets instantly online by clicking HERE.

Did you know that all of the performers that you see onstage at the Little Theatre are volunteers? This season, we producing 25 plays! That's a lot of volunteers! All of our auditions are open (no roles are precast), so, there are a ton of opportunities for you to take the stage (no matter what your skill level.) Auditions for the Ubu's Other Shoe staged readings of Take Me Out and Frost Nixon take place tonight and next month, respectively. Auditions for our upcoming musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee take place next week. You can always get the latest audition information by clicking HERE.

Good People, the first season production of the Little Theatre's 68th anniversary season, opens in just over two weeks! This award-winning play, directed by David Carey Foster, follows Margie,who has just been let go from yet another job. Facing eviction and scrambling to catch a break, Margie thinks an old fling who has made it out of Southie might be her ticket to a fresh new start. But is this apparently self-made man secure enough to face his humble beginnings? Margie is about to risk what little she has left to find out. With his signature humorous glow, Lindsay-Abaire explores the struggles, shifting loyalties and unshakable hopes that come with having next to nothing in America.

This wonderful cast includes: Elaine Fournier, Christopher Riordan, Natalia Salsbury, Anita Schwaber, Patty Thayer and Gregg Wolff.

Get your tickets to Good People by clicking HERE.

Thank you for your support of the Little Theatre! We couldn't do it without you!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

-Kevin

Just 2 more weekends of our magical CINDERELLA, auditions for TAKE ME OUT and SPELLING BEE are coming up and GOOD PEOPLE is on its way!

"Indeed, it is possible for a cast of children to perform a lovely play!" --Adriana Catanzarite, New Times

It seems like we just started our magical journey to the kingdom where dreams come true and it's already almost over. There are just 8 more performances of our summer Academy of Creative Theatre musical CINDERELLA. This is a show for kids of all ages. And yes, I'm talking to you! You're going to love this show, whether you're 5 or 95!  Take a look at what New Times had to say about the show HERE. Then, you'd better hurry and make your reservations HERE because this one is selling out. We had full houses for every show last weekend and we hope to see you here this weekend!

"A funny and troubling look at athletes and identity...Take Me Out is a dynamic, involving play." --Donald Lyons, New York Post

Do you like baseball? Do you like being on stage? Are you a guy? Then, come on down to auditions for Take Me Out next Monday and Tuesday at 6 pm. Director Daniel Freeman is looking for about 10-12 men for this award-winning Ubu's Other Shoe Staged Reading. Not only that, he could really use a couple of guys who can speak Spanish, and even one who can speak Japanese. Click HERE for full descriptions of the cast and more information about auditions, then come on down!

"Putnam County is that rarity of rarities, a super-smart show that is also a bona fide crowd-pleaser." --The Wall Street Journal

Guess what?!! It's time for another musical! Auditions for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, directed by Dana Shaheen will take place on August 24 and 25 right here at the Little Theatre. This delightful musical will hit the Little Theatre stage in November, so check your calendar, warm-up your singing voice and come on down!  Click HERE for more details, character descriptions and other instructions (scroll down the page for information about Spelling Bee.) You can even download the sides you will be asked to read from at auditions, so you can be fully prepared to give it your all.

And while you're on our AUDITIONS PAGE, check out all the dates for auditions for the rest of the season. This is going to be one heckuva year at the Little Theatre, with auditions for shows taking place almost every two weeks! So, go to our website and scope out all the great shows planned for our 2014-15 Season and plan your schedule NOW to participate in at least one show this year. Come on, you know you want to. This is YOUR year!

"A masterwork of the comedy-drama genre." --Backstage
"Enthralling...utterly gripping...Remarkable." --LA Times

Rehearsals are in full swing for this amazing comedy-drama written by award-winning author David Lindsey-Abaire. If you're a fan of Ubu's Other Shoe Staged Readings, you may remember seeing this show on our stage as a staged reading in 2012. It was so successful and such a moving show as a reading, that the artistic team included it in our mainstage season this year. The show is directed by David Carey Foster, an experienced actor and director who you may have seen onstage a few years ago at PCPA or The Great American Melodrama. Now, you're more likely to catch him on The Mentalist or Dexter. We're thrilled to welcome him as director of our season opening show for our 68th Season here at the Little Theatre.

If you're NOT a season ticket holder (and you still can be by clicking HERE!) we recommend getting your tickets early for GOOD PEOPLE, opening on September 5th. Click HERE for more information and tickets. (Please note: Good People includes strong language and is suggested for mature audiences.)

And now, just because I love it so much, I'll leave you with a clip from the Broadway musical version of Rodgers & Hammerstein's CINDERELLA.  One of my favorite moments in our production features Fairy Godmother Bella Yaguda and Cinderella Cali Singleton singing IMPOSSIBLE, complete with pumpkin carriage, dancing horses, an adorable footman carrying glass slippers and best of all, a magical dress transformation.  Click HERE to see it happen on Broadway and I hope you'll join us this weekend for our delightful young actors' version of this delightful tale of dreams-come-true. Have a wonderful weekend!

CINDERELLA has a magical (sold out!) opening weekend, GOOD PEOPLE takes the stage, and AUDITIONS every week through August! Only at the Little Theatre!

Good morning friends of the Little Theatre,

What an amazing opening weekend for our Academy of Creative Theatre production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella! The cast and crew of young performers brings this classic, magical musical to life on our stage. All four performances were full this last weekend, but there are plenty of great seats available for future shows. Read more about the play and order your tickets by clicking HERE. Cinderella is a perfect way to introduce the power of live theatre to you child (or grandchild!) Share the magic before it disappears forever!

Now that Cinderella is open and running, our next mainstage show, Good People, can take the stage during rehearsals. This season the Little Theatre is producing 25 plays- most of the time, there are 5-6 productions in various stages of rehearsal/performance simultaneously using our home at 888 Morro Street. Good People will rehearse on the Cinderella set until it turns back into a pumpkin after its final performance on Sunday, August 24. The set for Good People will be constructed before the evening rehearsal on Monday, August 25. The production opens just 11 days later on September 5. You can read more about our season opener, Good People, and get your tickets by clicking HERE.

25 plays require 200+ actors. This season, we have auditions at the Little Theatre an average of once every two weeks. There are incredible opportunities for actors of all ages and skill levels. Tonight (Monday, 8/11/14) is the final night of auditions for Steve Martins hilarious comedy Picasso at the Lapin Agile directed by Suzy Newman. Check out all of the audition details HERE. Next week (8/18, 8/18) we'll be having auditions for the Ubu's Other Shoe staged reading of Take Me Out, directed by Daniel Freeman. The week after that? It's time to find the cast of the fantastic musical comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, directed by Dana Shaheen. You can see all of our audition details (and dates for the entire year) by clicking HERE.

It's Time to Celebrate! Come celebrate the Little Theatre's 2013-2014 season with the people who made it possible: YOU!  Our 300+ volunteers who generously gave of their time in so many ways during our 67th season! Please join us to celebrate the old and ring in the new. It's a great way to see old friends, make new friends, remember all the great moments of last season and have a blast! WHEN:   SUNDAY, AUGUST 17 @ 5 PM   WHERE: SLO LITTLE THEATRE, 888 MORRO ST. SLO   WHAT:   2014 OPEN HOUSE & VOLUNTEER                APPRECIATION BBQ featuring:                     Annual Volunteer Awards                ▪  A Look Back at 2013-14 on the Big Screens                ▪  Delicious BBQ, Wine, Beer & Soft Drinks                ▪  Fun, Friends & Laughter! It was a great 2013-2014 season. Let's celebrate the great times and the fantastic shows we enjoyed last season and start building the excitement for the 2014-2015 Season featuring  25 shows, 225 performances on 45 out of 52 weekends! Please CLICK HERE to RSVP and we hope to see all of you there!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

-Kevin