Los Alamos Little Theater’s production of Rose’s Dilemma by Neil Simon premiers Nov 8. Courtesy image
LALT NEWS
Rose’s Dilemma will be ticket-taker and greeter extraordinaire Bill Davis’s 222nd consecutive show with Los Alamos Little Theater. No, that’s not a typo. In earlier times Bill also built sets, and appeared onstage only once – in The Boyfriend, where he danced with Jody Shepherd, Rose’s lead set painter.
The 20+ departments that comprise everything other than directing and acting on LALT’s shows are staffed by a plethora of old-timers and newbies-to-LALT – but not to theater! Audiences won’t see all of the pieces/parts that go into supporting the actors in their characterizations, but dozens of folks donate their time and expertise to LALT to design and build/paint/decorate/manipulate lights/sound/sets and costumes/hair/makeup; they prompt at rehearsals, take care of front-of-house ticketing and ticket-taking and refreshments, design and build programs and logos and publicity and the bridge banner and the above- the-door show sign; they photograph and maintain LALT’s archives – everything any professional theater does gets done at LALT by a friendly crew of volunteers.
Pat Beck, an onstage mainstay in LALT’s comedies, is a relative newcomer to the technical side. She’s fast becoming a stage properties maven, and the birthday cake she built for Tick Tick BOOM! lasted through that three-week run, a delicious confection made of love, spackling, and grout.
Gwen (Set building) and Paul (Set Designer/builder) Lewis have produced, directed, stage- managed, acted, worked lights and sound and costumes and makeup and hair and backstage-crew on too many shows to list – Paul also designed LALT’s current lighting and sound systems, and has done yeoman service on the Board of Directors.
Peggy Durbin (Program Design/Execution) has been acting and directing in community theatre in Los Alamos since 1982. As a techie, she stage-crewed The Mikado wearing kabuki makeup and a kimono, mopped up water splashed by an onstage fountain in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and opened and closed more melodrama curtains than she can count. Peggy says, “Being involved with LALT over the years has been a hoot and a half! I received superb mentoring, got to work with some of the most delightful people who ever drew breath, was involved in getting kids interested in and involved in theatre, and, I hope, brought some joy into the lives of our audiences.”
Rose’s Dilemma by Neil Simon will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23 and 2 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Performing Arts Center, 1670 Nectar Street.
Tickets are available at CB Fox, BrownPaperTickets.com, or at the door. For more information, email producer Gracie Cainelli, <graciecainelli@gmail.com> or visit www.LALT.org. Produced by arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.