'Little Shop' honored
By: Jaime Caputa
Issue date: 5/21/08 Section: Entertainment
Upon entering the theater for the performance of, "Little Shop of Horrors" in the fall of 2006 put on by the theater and music department at California State University, Stanislaus, it was a typical set of an average school play.
However, play-goers were blown away by the cast and props, and the play was viewed by a very special person representing a very special festival.
It took weeks of pre-production, hectic schedules, and many late-night rehearsals to make the production of "Little Shop of Horrors" a success. After a successful run of shows, the play was selected to participate in the Region 8 Festival of the 2007 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival held in Cedar City, Utah.
Every year, the Region 8 Festival selects college theater programs to participate in its five-day program that includes workshops, seminars, and awards. The university has been recognized and invited since 1972, but this was the first time that a musical production from CSU Stanislaus had been invited to the festival.
"The finest work produced in college theater programs are invited each year," a representative from the ACTF said. "Little Shop of Horrors" was asked to participate when someone in the audience caught a show at the university.
"The ACTF sends out their people to go and watch college performances. One of them saw, 'Little Shop' and that's how we were invited," said Josh Bailey who played Seymour - one of the lead roles in the production. "We came really close to winning. I remember there was something wrong with the microphones when we performed."
Bailey said any student can try out for the university's plays and being a theater or music major is not a requirement. He auditioned for "Little Shop of Horrors" and got the lead role.
"It took a few weeks to get ready for the play," he said. Bailey, who transferred to CSU, Stanislaus, did not always study music.
"In junior college, I was a chemistry major," he said. He said that he didn't always sing. "I started singing opera three years ago."
However, play-goers were blown away by the cast and props, and the play was viewed by a very special person representing a very special festival.
It took weeks of pre-production, hectic schedules, and many late-night rehearsals to make the production of "Little Shop of Horrors" a success. After a successful run of shows, the play was selected to participate in the Region 8 Festival of the 2007 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival held in Cedar City, Utah.
Every year, the Region 8 Festival selects college theater programs to participate in its five-day program that includes workshops, seminars, and awards. The university has been recognized and invited since 1972, but this was the first time that a musical production from CSU Stanislaus had been invited to the festival.
"The finest work produced in college theater programs are invited each year," a representative from the ACTF said. "Little Shop of Horrors" was asked to participate when someone in the audience caught a show at the university.
"The ACTF sends out their people to go and watch college performances. One of them saw, 'Little Shop' and that's how we were invited," said Josh Bailey who played Seymour - one of the lead roles in the production. "We came really close to winning. I remember there was something wrong with the microphones when we performed."
Bailey said any student can try out for the university's plays and being a theater or music major is not a requirement. He auditioned for "Little Shop of Horrors" and got the lead role.
"It took a few weeks to get ready for the play," he said. Bailey, who transferred to CSU, Stanislaus, did not always study music.
"In junior college, I was a chemistry major," he said. He said that he didn't always sing. "I started singing opera three years ago."
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