Los Alamos Little Theater’s Emily Stark addresses the March 3 meeting of the Kiwanis Club. Courtesy photo

BY BROOKE DAVIS
Kiwanis Club

At their March 3 meeting, the Kiwanis Club heard from Emily Stark of the Los Alamos Little Theater (LALT). She discussed the organization’s challenging past season and gave insights into their activities and the intricacies of bringing a production to life.

Stark moved to Los Alamos in 2022 and shortly thereafter auditioned at LALT for her first role. She has volunteered for the organization in just about every capacity: stage manager, producer, actor, director and more.

The 2025-2026 LALT production season in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) was going to be cancelled as the County had to close the building for a protracted asbestos abatement and fire suppression upgrade to the building. The LALT Board, in an effort to remain relevant to the community and retain their volunteer base, decided to be creative and produce live stage entertainment in other venues they could find.

Their first event was a Shakespeare-in-the-Park performance of Julius Caesar in front of the Hans Bethe House. It required a lot of ingenuity to bring about, including finding rehearsal space, costumes, props, and the decision to make it an open event. The play was a success and, through donations, a profitable one. LALT is contemplating repeating the event with another Shakespeare play this year.

LALT’s latest performance,” Bird in the Hand”, a spy thriller story, was obtained from Stark’s
uncle, who wrote it as three aspects of a play to be performed simultaneously in three separate but adjacent locations. It was staged in three areas of the Senior Center and each audience was treated to a different part of the story. At the end, groups from each audience met to discuss what they had seen and ask each other questions. Stark said she was happily surprised about the discussions and the groups’ enthusiasm. One of the major complexities of the production was finding all the spaces required for rehearsals and the cacophony of often rehearsing all three parts at the same time. She expressed thanks for the overwhelming support from the businesses and venues in the community for opening their doors.

In May, LALT is planning a variety show fundraiser for refurbishing the old lighting system in
the building to support lower temperature bulbs that are more compatible with the new fire suppression system