San Luis Obispo Little Theatre Blog

San Luis Little Theatre's ACT Department Announces Spring Theatre Classes!

2008-12-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

ACT Spring Classes!
February 9-May 7
Registration begins January 1st.

CLASS OFFERINGS
All Class offerings are based on 10 student participation. If the class does not fill, it will not be offered.

Introduction to the Theatre $200
Tuesday 3:00 – 4:00 (Katie Mack-Montenegro)
Grades K-1 – Maximum 10 students per class
Ms. Katie will lead the children though role playing, songs, movement and theatre games to encourage and unleash their imagination.

Storytelling $200
Tuesday 4:15-5:15pm (Kerry DiMaggio)
Grades 2-3 – Maximum 10 students
Ancient theatre began as oral storytelling, so what better way to introduce our young performers to the world of theatre? Students will learn to present a theatrical story using their bodies, voices, and imaginations!

Acting I $200
Wednesday 4:00-5:00 pm (Katie Mack-Montenegro)
Grades 4-6 – Maximum 10 students
This class will offer ensemble and solo theatre games as a way of building script-based characters. This class is recommended for our returning students.

Musical Theatre I $200
Wednesday 4:00-5:00pm (Kerry DiMaggio)
Grades 3-6 – Maximum 12 students
Students will learn the basic elements of acting, singing, and dancing for participation in musical theatre productions. Prior musical experience is not required.

Musical Theatre II $200
Thursday 4:00-5:00pm (Adrian Balbontin)
Grades 7-12 – Maximum 12 students
This class is for our older musical theatre students with prior experience. The students will continue working on their acting, singing, and dancing skills to strengthen the abilities for participation in musical theatre auditions and productions.

For our Musical Theatre classes: please note that the instructor reserves the right to move students to a different level depending on experience.

Advanced Acting Techniques $275
Tuesday 4:00 – 5:30pm (Joe Foss)
Grades 7 – 12 – Maximum 10 students
Audtion Required, contact ACT for more info
This class is for our older actors who are interested in perusing acting and theatre in a college setting or as a career. Students will begin with analysis of a script, delve into more advanced character and scene work, and learn how to make strong physical choices with which to communicate theatrically. Session will end with a performance of students’ in-class work.

For more information, please contact Kerry, our ACT Coordinator,
at (805)781-3889 ext. 14 or act@slolittletheatre.org

*For more information on our teachers, please visit our website at slolittletheatre.org!

Daughters of the Lone Star State

2008-11-14T09:30:00.000-08:00

wow im really excited to see how well everything is starting to come along for this show!! the show opens on the 21st and its good. i really encourage anyone and everyone reading this to come out and see it at the SLO Little Theatre!

Announcing Final Performances for ACT's Fall Term!

2008-10-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who have partipated in our Fall 2008 Academy of Creative Theatre Classes. We are having a great time and really enjoying working with the children. We are looking forward to sharing all of our work with you at the end of our term, which is the week of December 9th. The final class presentations will take place on the following:

Advanced Acting Techniques
Tuesday, December 9th at 5pm

Introduction to Improv!
Wednesday, December 10th at 5pm

Musical Theatre I
Wednesday, December 10th at 5pm

Musical Theatre II
Wednesday, December 10th at 5pm

Introduction to Theatre
Thursday, December 11th at 4pm

The presentations are open to all family and friends who would like to attend. The students will attend class as normally scheduled on that day and then present their work at the scheduled time.

The emphasis of the ACT Department is on the process of developing theatre skills, therefore our final presentations are a way for us to share what we have learned in class rather than presenting a polished performance. Nevertheless, we are sure that you will enjoy what we have to share with you!

We hope to see you there!

Meet Our New ACT Coordinator!

2008-10-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

Dear ACT Family and Friends,

As many of you already know, my time at the SLO Little Theatre is coming to a close. I have had an amazing year working at the theatre, but it is time for me to move on to other ventures. I will still be actively involved in the theatre and hope to stay on as a teacher for the spring and summer sessions.

In these final weeks at the theatre I have had the pleasure of training our new ACT Coordinator, Kerry DiMaggio, and I would like to take some time to introduce her to all of you. Kerry has been involved in the SLO Little Theatre for many years in different capacities and I was very lucky to have her come on board this summer as a teacher for the ACT Summer Musical Camp. She is a gifted performer and teacher who shares her love for theatre with passion and fun. Her students love her energy, flexibility, and caring nature. I have every confidence that Kerry is going to make a great addition to the SLOLT Staff and lead the ACT Department into another successful season.

Thank you to all of you for your enthusiasm and support for me this past year. I look forward to what the future holds and am excited to stay involved in the program to see how all of you grow and shine.

Kerry has also wrote a letter to all of you (see below) with some details about her background and plans for the ACT Department. If you have any questions or just want to say hello, please feel free to contact us at act@slolittletheatre.org or (805) 781-3889 ext 14

Best,
Katie

P.S. For those of you interested in seeing what Kerry looks like, please see her headshot!
************************************************************************************

Dear Parents and Students,

My name is Kerry DiMaggio and as some of you know, I will soon be joining the Little Theatre team as ACT Coordinator. I am absolutely thrilled by the opportunity to be working at the theatre and with such wonderful and talented students, no less!

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know a little bit about myself. I’ve been a singer and actor most of my life; one of my earliest memories is performing songs from “The Little Mermaid” for a family-member audience…and I’ve been onstage ever since! I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre Arts from Cal Poly, where I worked in many aspects of theatre, from costume design to playwriting, acting to directing. One of my favorite courses at Cal Poly was Children’s Drama: one taste of teaching theatre to children and I was hooked! Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to be hired as a teacher for the ACT department; I co-taught the Summer Musical Theatre course, and am currently teaching the Musical Theatre I and II courses for the Fall session.

I’ve always been a strong believer in the importance of education. In particular, a theatre education teaches leadership, teamwork, and discipline, and concentration. A theatre education challenges us, stretches our imagination and creativity, and is just plain fun! I am so excited to be continuing my theatre education here as ACT Coordinator; not only will I be constantly learning, but I get to pass along my experience, enthusiasm, and love of theatre to children. What could be better?

As for the future of the program, we are enthusiastically planning the Spring and Summer sessions. We are very excited about both of these sessions; we will be offering some great classes for each. We are always looking for as many students as possible with which to share our program, so I’ll be sure to keep everyone updated! In addition, we are always looking to expand, enhance, and improve our program in as many ways as possible, so comments, suggestions, or ideas are always welcome. We want your child to get the best theatre education possible!

Thank you for your interest and continued support of the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre’s Academy of Creative Theatre. I am very much looking forward to meeting you in person. Please feel free to contact me with questions, concerns, anything!

Sincerely,
Kerry

Kerry DiMaggio
San Luis Obispo Little Theatre
ACT Coordinator
act@slolittletheatre.org
(805) 781-3889 ext 14

Party Tonight!

2008-10-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Don't forget to stop by the Corner View Restaurant today between 5 & 7 pm for happy hour! All tip proceeds go to support the San Luis Little Theatre.

MASTER CLASSES

2008-09-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

As part of the 1st Annual SLOLT Short Play Festival, we are offering a few special Master Classes at an affordable price. Check this out!

JOINS US FOR OUR FESTIVAL MASTER CLASSES!!!

Audition Technique Master Class
Saturday, October 18th from 10 am - 12.30 pm
Cost: $40
20 Student Maximum

As Artistic director of one of Germany's largest Broadway theatres, Corniela Drese has auditioned thousands of musical actors. Now is your opportunity to learn what makes a good audition and what you should avoid at all costs. This is a hands-on course, so bring in your favorite 1 minute monologue and 16 bars of a song with a playback accompaniment on CD, and get ready to take your next audition by storm!

Musical Theater Master Class

Saturday, October 25th from 10 am - 12 pm
Cost: $30

Explore the world of musical theatre with our international guest director/teacher, Cornelia Drese. This 2 hour workshop will consist of both lecture and interactive exercises to bring students closer to the musical art form.

Playwrighting Master Class

Sunday, October 19th from 7 pm - 10 pm

Cost: $50

20 Student Maximum

Join us and discover what goes into crafting an exciting play and/or book. This is the perfect opportunity for new playwrights to explore the world of playwrighting and experienced authors to remind themselves of what's truly important as a storyteller. All class participants are invited to bring 5 pages of a manuscript for the feedback/discussion forum.

Meet our Master Class Teachers!

Cornelia Drese (Audition / Musical) joins us from Dresden, Germany, where she continues to enjoy a very successful career as a performer, teacher, producer and director. Her favorite roles on the German Broadway stage include : Grizabella in CATS, Eva Peron in EVITA, and Fantine in LES MISERABLES. She was also Artistic Director for the German-speaking productions of A.L.Webber's Phantom of the Opera and Mamma Mia / Abba. Cornelia is thrilled to join SLOLT as a festival guest director and master class teacher.

Ken Hodkinson (Playwrighting) studied Theatre and English at the University of British Columbia and holds a Doctor of Fine Arts from the playwrighting program at Yale University Drama School and at New York University. He has experience as a drama critic for CBC radio, Vancouver, and as a consultant for Paramount Pictures in London. Ken's plays have been produced in Canada and London. In addition, his WORLDLY WISE series of school texts are used throughout the USA and Canada.

To register, call 781-3889 x10. Spaces will be reserved on a first come, first serve basis. SLOLT accepts Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Discover, as well as personal checks and cash.

The 1st Annual Short Play Festival runs from October 17 - 26, 2008.

SHOWTIMES: Friday / Saturday at 8 pm & Saturday/Sunday at 2 pm.

Tickets are $15.

CLICK HERE to reserve your tickets today!

Central Coasting

2008-09-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

And here is the link to Central Coasting, a website for SLO County arts and entertainment. Gailee Walker-Wells, a director and friend of the theatre, has posted a great video of clips from the show. It is a wonderful advertising tool and a way to get your friends and family to the theatre!

Click Here to see a video clip of "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change"!

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change Review

2008-09-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

If you missed Joan Crowder's review of our current production, click here and find out why you don't want to miss it!

ACT Special Workshop - The Reality of Breaking into Los Angeles

2008-08-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

Join talent executive, Loch Powell, for an overview of the realities of breaking into the L.A. market. Learn the dos and don'ts of Hollywood and the most effective steps to take to give you the best chance of success. Don't miss your opportunity to ask questions of a Hollywood entertainment veteran in an intimate discussion forum. There is no charge for this event!

Loch Powell, veteran Hollywood talent executive for 17 years began as a model booker for the prestigious LA Models and segued into talent representation development. Through the years, Loch has represented many A List stars. Currently, Loch specializes in talent development for young adults with Leverage Management.

If you are interested in participating in this session, please come to the SLO Little Theatre on Friday, August 15th at 11am. Please be prompt as we have limited time available.

Thank you and we hope to see you at the theatre!

AND DON'T FORGET THAT REGISTRATION FOR OUR FALL CLASSES HAS BEGUN. CLASSES START THE WEEK OF AUGUST 26TH - THE BROCHURE IS ATTACHED OR CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION WWW.SLOLITTLETHEATRE.ORG

Central Coast Children's Choir Accepting New Students!

2008-08-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

Central Coast Children's Choir are currently accepting new students in the following choirs: Apprentice I Girls & Apprentice II Girls (auditions for grades 3 - 8), Debut Choir (no auditions needed, boys and girls grades 1 - 3) and boys in grades 3 - 8 for the premiere of San Luis Obispo's Boys Choir! We are so excited to announce that Dr. Thomas Davies, of Director of Cal Poly Choirs and Cuesta Master Chorale, will be leading our boys. This is a FANTASTIC opportunity for young boys to express themselves through vocal education and performance. Assistant Director, Richard Carrick, will teach their musicianship class and provide additional vocal coaching.

For fifteen years, the Central Coast Children’s Choir has been a highly respected and valuable county asset. The choir has sung with the major performing groups in the community, including San Luis Obispo Vocal Arts Ensemble, Cuesta Master Chorale, SLO Symphony, Pacific Repertory Opera, and the Mozart Festival. We have supported other non-profit organizations, performing at benefits for Hospice, SLO Children’s Museum, and C.A.S.A. Over the years, Central Coast Children’s Choir singers have been chosen to represent California in National and Western State honor choirs in Anaheim, Las Vegas, New York, Honolulu, Chicago and Miami.

Rehearsals include musicianship training and vocal coaching to assist in developing healthy singing habits. Professional directors provide a friendly, supportive environment. Our organization is committed to creating choral excellence, instilling self-esteem and self-discipline, building lasting friendships, and inspiring the artist within each child.

You can also check out the website: http://www.centralcoastchildrenschoir.org/.

GUYS & DOLLS AUDITIONS!

2008-08-11T09:51:00.001-07:00

Chameleon Productions is holding open auditions for their upcoming production of Guys & Dolls!

Auditions will be held at St. Paul's Church at 800 Bello Street in Pismo Beach on Monday, August 18th and Tuesday, August 19th at 7:00pm. We are looking to cast thirty performers ages sixteen and up. Please bring sheet music with 16-24 bars of music prepared, it doesn't need to be from the show but if you are interested in a specific role we request that you be familiar with the show music. We also ask that you be prepared to do a short dance audition. Rehearsals begin August 31st and the show runs October 31st through November 15th at The Clark Center in Arroyo Grande. All roles are available so mark your calendars and we hope to see you there!

For more information please call Chameleon Productions at 474-8902.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND SUMMER SPECIAL COUPON!

2008-08-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

There's only one weekend left of Alice in Wonderland. This production is beautifully done and perfect for the whole family.

To persuade audiences to give up this gorgeous weather for a couple hours, we're offering a Summer Special Coupon code that give you an additional $2 off each ticket! You can use the coupon code online or call our box office at 786-2440.

Simply mention the code "AWSS08" and receive a special price of $6 for children and $10 for adults!!

Enjoy the show!

Alice in Wonderland - Opens this weekend!

2008-07-31T14:18:00.000-07:00

Alice in Wonderland
Opening this weekend!

The Academy of Creative Theatre (ACT) at the SLO Little Theatre is proud to announce the opening of their summer production of Alice in Wonderland. With a very talented cast of 15 young actors, this is not your average children's production. The land of wonder was created beautifully by our cast as a place of imagination and curiosity. Come and join us in our adventure through Wonderland!

Tickets can be purchased by visiting our website at http://www.slolittletheatre.org/ or by calling our box office at 786-2440.
Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for children 13 and under. Show dates and times are: August 1 @7pm, August 2 @ 2pm and 7pm, August 3 @ 2pm, August 8 @ 7pm, August 9 @ 2pm and 7pm, and August 10 @ 2pm.

This is a great family show, approriate for audiences of all ages.

We hope to see you all at the theatre!

ACTORS WARHOUSE NEEDS YOUR HELP!

2008-07-31T10:13:00.001-07:00

Hurray! AW has a FREE piano – all we have to do is pick it up. Need 4-6 people to help move it – Saturday at 1 pm. Picking up in SLO near French Hospital and delivering to Atascadero. Meet there if you’re in SLO and I’ll drive you back home. If you’re in North County I’ll pick you up. We have a u-haul truck with the lift in rear to make it easy. Please please please call asap if you can help. We have to pick it up Saturday or we lose it. 712-1134. Thanks!

BABY LEWIS IS HERE!!!

2008-07-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Debi Lewis on her GORGEOUS new baby girl!! I guess doing the musical Baby last season was worth all the hard work! ;-)

Here's an excerpt from Debi's email:

Grace Madison Lewis was born last Wed July 23 @ 8:14 pm. Gracie, as we will call her, was 7.4 lbs and 20 inches. My labor was pretty bad. It lasted for 35 hours! She was wedged in crooked, so it was really hard to get her out, but it was worth it! She’s amazing and I’ve never known such love. I’m in awe of her!

We have a blog if you’d like to see pics and baby updates of our little bundle. Check it out... www.thelifeofalewis.blogspot.com

Can’t wait for you all to meet her. She’s an absolute joy!

Debi

Tech week at SLOLT

2008-07-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody!

Once again, we are in tech week. It seems lately like we hop from one tech to the next. On Friday night Alice in Wonderland opens and the kids have been working like crazy.

We've had some AMAZING volunteers working on sets, costumes and props. Gene Goldschmidt has truly topped himself with his creative solutions for the larger than life teapot which has to hide the our young door mouse actress and the over-sized mushroom that not only has to move around but hold another young actress. Sharon Woodside-Hanish has done it again with her charming and creative costumes. Charlene Premer finished all the show props in record time, delivering the CUTEST baby and other odds and ends weeks before even going into teach. Heidi Ennslin and Lynn Hessler came in to paint set pieces, including an enormous book generously donated by the SLO Literacy Council. The kids and parents came in to paint the floor and prepare the backstage area. It's been a week of wonderful activity all leading up to one thing...opening night!

Of course kudos must go to our two talented directors, Annie H. Kee and Katie Mack-Montenegro who have taken a group of young actors and created another world.

Although 'hell week' can be exhausting for all involved, it is also the phase that reminds me how lucky we are to have the volunteer base that we do. Without our AMAZING volunteers, we wouldn't be able to do what we do! And our ACT kids are so talented and their excitement is catching.

I hope you can come by and see Alice in Wonderland and all the fabulous work done by our very own community artists and performers!

Wendy-Marie Foerster
Executive Director

2008-07-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

Don't Forget to Buy Your 2008-2009 Season Subscription!

2008-07-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

Readers' Theatre - THREE DAYS OF RAIN

2008-07-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

THREE DAYS OF RAIN
By Richard Greenberg
Directed by Gailee Walker Wells

Friday, July 25, 2008 at 8 pm
888 Morro Street in SLO

Click here to order your tickets online, or pay cash at the door

A year after he disappeared on the day of his father's funeral, Walker Janeway returns to New York. He takes up temporary residence in the unused space where thirty-five years earlier, his father Ned, and Ned's late partner Theo, both architects, lived and designed the great house that would make them famous. Sleepless and emotionally jangled, Walker scours the old empty space for clues, evidences or keys to the tortured family history. Discovering his father's journal hidden under the bed, he finds it as unforthcoming as his nearly silent father had been. Walker is joined by his sister, Nan, and their friend from childhood, Pip, Theo's son, to hear the reading of Ned's will. It is there that Walker forces the confrontation that the others need. After an evening of harrowing and sometimes comically inadvertent revelations, Walker disappears once more. This time he returns later that evening with a surprising, but to him, definitive solution to the family puzzle. We travel back to 1960, when Ned's journal begins. We meet the parents at the same age their children are in Act One: Ned, who seems very different from the cold monster the children conjured; the charismatic and putative genius, Theo; and Lena, Walker and Nan's mother, the delightful, troubled "Southern woman who admits to thirty." In the guise of a love story, we are offered all the information needed to devise an alternative reading of the sad, unexpectedly romantic family story.

THE CAST:

Nick Bell...................Walker/Ned
Spencer Goss............Pip/Theo
Kelli Rodda...............Nan/Lina

OPEN AUDITIONS FOR GUYS AND DOLLS!

2008-07-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

Chameleon Productions is holding open auditions for their upcoming production of Guys and Dolls!

For more information please call Chameleon Productions at 474-8902.

So Much To Do!!!

2008-07-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Once again I got stuck in a time warp and lost a month. Between getting Best of Hollywood up and running and the season subscription rush, we've been swamped int he office. In addition, we received 170 play submissions for our first short play festival and had to read and score them all so we could post our semi-finalists. (see website for more info). In any case, things are beginning to slow down so we can all get back to blogging and sharing the daily life at the theatre with whoever would like to read about it. :-)

Don't forget this Friday we are kicking off our 2008-2009 Readers' Theatre season with Three Days of Rain by Richard Greenberg, directed by Gailee Walker Wells. Tickets are only $10 and available at the door or online through our website.

August 1st is opening night for Alice in Wonderland our summer ACT production. The kids have been working so hard to create a fantasy world that I think you'll all enjoy. It's the perfect family summer activity, so we hope to see you all there.

Our play festival guest director, Cornielia Drese, will be blogging with us a bit until she lands in SLO in October, so keep an eye out! In fact, I hope that all our directors will join us on our blog this season to share with you a behind the scenes peek at their production. We are so excited about the season. It's going to be FABULOUS!

See you at the theatre!

Best of Hollywood

2008-06-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

OPENS JUNE 27th!!!

If you enjoyed “Razzle Dazzle” or any of our Award-winning Legend Series Shows, you will LOVE “Best of Hollywood”! Don’t miss this unforgettable musical homage to the films of Tinseltown. Once again, Mary Meserve-Miller and Suzy Miller combine their dynamic creative talents, along with the genius of Robyn Metchik, to create a fabulous song and dance-filled journey through eight decades of Hollywood films. Join us and one of the most incredibly talented casts ever assembled at SLOLT for what promises to be one of the most highly acclaimed shows EVER produced on our stage. You won’t want to miss this show! And don’t forget, every Saturday night is Martini Night, with a light gourmet supper and a no-host bar before the show. Hooray for Hollywood!

ACT Summer Camps

2008-06-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming fast and with it comes 3 great ACT camps to keep all of our young performers busy this summer. Camps are filling fast, so register today!

The first camp is our Acting Out! Camp, a one week acting camp for performers in grades 1-6. The camp will explore character development, theatre games, improv, and audition techniques. At the end of the week, the students will perform for their family and friends. The camp runs June 16th -20th and costs $150. Grades 1-3 will work from 9am-12pm daily and Grades 4-6 will work from 1pm-4pm daily.

Our second camp is our Musical Theatre Camp, a two week camp for our performers in grades 1-6. In this camp the students will take classes in singing, acting, dancing, and audition techniques. The students will put their talents to work on a musical that will be performed on the last day of camp. The camp runs July 14-25th, with 1-3 graders attending from 9am-12pm and the 3-6th graders attending from 1pm-4pm. The last few days of camp (7/23, 7/24, 7/25) all campers will attend all day. The cost for the camp is $300.

Our final camp is for our older performers (grades 7-12), ACT Conservatory. The conservatory is a two week intensive camp where our students will attend classs from 9am-4pm. The morning sessions will concentrate on various workshops in different areas of theatre performance (Shakespeare, improv, voice, dance, stage combat, acting for the camera). The afternoon sessions will concentrate on various acting styles, advanced scene work, monologues, and audition techniques. The camp runs from August 3-15th and tuition is $450. On August 15th at 4pm, the conservatory students will present a showcase performance with what they have been working on for family, friends, and SLOLT directors.

For additional information, please contact the ACT Coordinator at (805) 781-3889 ext 14 or act@slolittletheatre.org There are scholarships, sibling discounts, and payment plans available for all our camps. A $50 deposit is due at the time of registration and the remaining tuition is due by the end of camp. Registration can be done via phone, mail, email, or fax. Camps are filling fast, so call today!

Here's a chance for single SLOLTers to support A.C.T.!!

2008-06-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

COME HELP SUPPORT A.C.T.!!!

Known as “The Skim Event”—where singles meet & non-profits compete!
SCM helps singles meet & greet with our local non-profits & aims to provide education & inspiration to match our collective resources to better our non-profit community.
Mix it up, change it up & give it up to party for a cause!

Next Event
Date: June 24, 2008Time: 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

Location: Embassy Suites, 333 Madonna Rd, San Luis Obispo

Click http://www.scmevent.com/ to register.

My Fair Lady Review - Mustang Daily

2008-06-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

Stephen Espinosa (Col. Pickering), Lauren Alburn (Eliza) and Alan Benson (Prof. Higgins)
Photo by Jonothan of BluePhoto

A big thank you to Bridget for her coverage of My Fair Lady! For more Mustang Daily articles, click on the 'arts' link below.

'My Fair Lady' goes local, still amazes

By: Bridget Veltri

Issue date: 6/2/08 Section: Arts

I am a bit of a musical theater snob.

I've been lucky to have had opportunities to see the crème de la crème perform on the legendary stages of both Broadway and London's West End.

The San Luis Obispo Little Theatre's (SLOLT) performance of "My Fair Lady" was my first community theater musical experience.

As I filed into the intimate theater, a minority among a sea of senior citizens, I thought this local performance would need more than "a little bit of luck" to stack up to my previous experiences.

Armed with a pen, a notebook and cynicism, I settled into my seat and prepared for what I thought would be the longest two-and-a-half hours of my life. But as familiar tunes streamed out of the speakers above and the lights dimmed, my elitist attitude began to fade.

The cast scurried about the stage conversing in convincing Cockney accents and dressed in surprisingly elaborate costumes, except for one unlucky ensemble member in an ill-fitted red dress.

After Eliza Doolittle (Lauren Alburn) finished singing "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," I was a community theater convert and had to restrain myself from bursting into song with her.

Audrey Hepburn is to "My Fair Lady" as Julia Roberts is to "Pretty Woman." In Alburn's first performance with the SLOLT, she played a character immortalized on the big screen by the iconic Hepburn and on the stage by Julie Andrews - no pressure. She was impressive and belted out the songs as if she was a Cockney canary.

Alfred Doolittle (Mike Mesker) didn't need a "little bit of luck" to bring Eliza's pub-frequenting father to life. His rise to "middle-class morality" was both convincing and entertaining.

Alan Benson brought his professional acting experience to the role of Henry Higgins and was a delight to watch.

For those unfamiliar with the musical - based on "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw - it is a story about love and personal transformation. It's the story of Eliza Doolittle, a woman plagued by a thick accent who makes her living by selling flowers on the streets of London, and Henry Higgins, an arrogant language academic who casually comments that "the way she speaks is what keeps her in her place" and with the right coaching he could turn her into a lady. Higgins eats his words when Doolittle shows up at his door for lessons.

Both the main characters embark on personal journeys: Doolittle's from flower girl to lady and Higgins' from snooty confirmed bachelor to a gentleman finally ready to let "a woman in his life."

There is a reason why they call it the SLO Little Theater: it's tiny. The audience surrounds the stage on three sides and the front row is inches away. The cast's witty banter compensated for the lack of curtains during set changes.

The atmosphere was crammed but comfy, and the theater's size added to the experience. While one of the women seated next to me dozed off and snored at several points during the performance, the other was there to see her young granddaughters perform, and informed me that her daughter made the strawberry tarts Col. Pickering (Stephen Espinosa) enjoyed in Higgins' study just before Doolittle has her breakthrough moment and sings about the infamous "rain in Spain."

The cast did more for me than just put on a show; they showed that you can do justice to a classic musical on a small scale, and the best part is you don't have to pay big Broadway prices to enjoy an afternoon of theater. Tickets are $22 for general admission, and $19 for students and seniors. The show, sponsored by Bob and Ruth Bostrom, will run through June 22.

Just as Higgins found love with someone he never imagined, I found a quality production in a place I never imagined: the SLO Little Theatre.

I am now a reformed theater snob.