Fairy Tale Theatre 2017
Summer is finally here. For kids that means school is out and summer break begins. It means reliving summer traditions like barbecues, water slides, hot days, and warm nights. At the Santa Maria Civic Theatre we have a summer tradition too with our free Fairy Tale Theatre 2017.
About Fairy Tale Theatre 2017
Every year SMCT presents a fun, family friendly play that is free to the entire community! This year, director Erica Croff is taking on the challenge of putting together Furry Tales: With a Twist. Erica has been acting on stage and off since 1998 and has been in 3 SMCT plays over the past 5 years. When the board needed someone to direct a fairy tale, she came to the rescue. Erica wanted to pick a play with a lot of laughs and this one certainly fits the bill.
About the Show
John Shade and Jim Dahman play Sam and Alex, a goofy pair with an inability to tell fairy tales the right way. Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. In the end, they need a little help from the audience to restore order to the mixed-up fairy tale world. John and Jim have great chemistry together, and keep themselves and Erica laughing all through rehearsals.
It hasn’t all been fun and games though. Erica says that directing has been a little overwhelming and a bit more work than she had anticipated. “I’m over budget and overworked,” she laughs. When asked what advice she would give to new directors, Erica said “Plan ahead, ask lots of questions, and don’t be afraid to ask for help!”
Sensory Friendly Performance
This year, we’re continuing the tradition of providing a sensory friendly showing of our Fairy Tale. The Laramie Project director Cagney Herrick pioneered the program last year along with the Central Coast Autism Center. The goal was to create a showing that would be better for patrons with Autism or other spectrum disorders.
For the show last year, we kept the lights on in the audience and removed any loud or sudden noises. In addition, we left open the door to the lobby to allow patrons to move about freely and avoid prolonged sitting. Erica is very excited about the event. “I hope it helps bring in an audience that normally couldn’t attend our regular performances and allows them to enjoy the play with everyone else!” Our sensory friendly performance will be on June 22nd at 7pm.
Furry Tales: With a Twist starts on June 16th at 7pm. Seating is first come first served for this free event. Come early! Doors open at 6:30. Click here for more show times. See you there!