An OKTOBERFEST of Theatre Offerings on the California Central Coast!

Hard to believe that we bid farewell to September this week and welcome the beginning of October - the first full month of fall!  Many areas of the country are experiencing fall colors and cooler temperatures - and even here on the California Central Coast, a change can be felt in the air.  But regardless of the change of season in the weather - the seasons of our various area theatres continue to provide a steady diet and wide variety of live entertainment for your viewing pleasure!

In the Village of Arroyo Grande, the Clark Center (www.clarkcenter.org) has a number of quality entertainment opportunities in the weeks ahead, including the popular Central Coast Follies "Love is in the Air!" October 1-4 to support Parkinson's Disease research, Emmylou Harris and her Red Dirt Boys on October 7, the Sons of the San Joaquin on October 10, Pacific Repertory Opera's The Pirates of Penzance October 16-18, Smokey Joe's Cafe October 24, and Inga Swearingen on October 25 - featuring music from her upcoming album as well as old favorites and feature performances from special guests.

More than 30 years ago, Cliff and Mary-Lee Clark were at a musical program at the Arroyo Grande High School gymnasium when they were struck with the idea for the Clark Center.  After sitting and sweating through the event in the stuffy gym, the Clarks vowed to raise money to build a more professional auditorium.  A group of dedicated community leaders, arts patrons and parents soon came together in order to raise the money to build a high-quality facility to serve children, local artists and community service groups.  

In 1986, The South County Performing Arts Building Foundation was established and began a unique partnership with the Lucia Mar Unified School District in order to create a joint-use community and school facility on the site of the Arroyo Grande High School Campus.   The Foundation agreed to establish an Endowment fund to help with the maintenance of the facility and to fund capital improvements.  In turn, the school district pledged to supervise building efforts and maintain the facility for 99 years - provided that students got first dibs on the new space.  The Clark Center Association was later formed to sponsor professional entertainment, publicize and market the facility and provide all "front-of-house" services, including the Box Office, ushers, concessions and parking.  

In 1999, construction began and was funded with the $9 million the Foundation raised through gifts from private citizens and supplemented by generous grants from the State of California, San Luis Obispo County, and the cities of Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, and Grover Beach. 

Since opening in 2002, the Clark Center for the Performing Arts has become one of the Central Coast's premier venues for world-class, professional performing arts in an intimate setting.

The Studio of Performing Arts (www.thestudioofperformingarts.com), also in Arroyo Grande, will present The Miracle Worker November 6-21.

The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (www.pcpa.org), the Central Coast's resident professional theatre company, is busily preparing for its 2009/10 season - which opens with C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, November 5 - December 23 at the Marian Theatre in Santa Maria, followed by Macbeth February 18 - March 7.

The Santa Maria Civic Theatre's (www.smct.org) first production of their 50th Anniversary Season - Love, Sex, and the I.R.S. runs through October 3.  Auditions for the second show of the season, Wake Up, Darling, were held recently, with performances scheduled for November 20 - December 12.

In Oceano, The Great American Melodrama & Vaudeville (www.americanmelodrama.com) presents Scary Poppins through November 15.  Following Scary Poppins at each performance is the "United Swing Organization Vaudeville Revue."  Set in a USO dance hall during World War II, this song, dance and comedy revue features the same cast singing great jazzy harmonies and dancing up a storm to some of the most popular tunes from the height of the swing era.

Kelrik Productions (www.kelrikproductions.com), located in San Luis Obispo, is currently in rehearsal for RENT, which will be presented at the Spanos Theatre (www.pacslo.org) October 15-18.

Laramie Project - Ten Years Later: An Epilogue, written by Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and Stephen Belber; directed by Jeffrey Azevedo, will be presented October 12th, 8pm, in the Chumash Auditorium at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  This performance will be one of over 100 staged readings taking place on the same night across the country as part of a nationwide event.  Please contact Jeffrey Azevedo (415-328-3582 or JeffreyAzevedo@gmail.com) with any questions.

At the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre (www.slolittletheatre.org), the second show of their 2009/10 season, Rumors, will run October 9 - November 1.  The Visit, written by Friedrich Durrenmatt and directed by Stewart Moss, will be on November 6 and 7 in a readers' theatre format.  Auditions for the children's theatre production of A Little Princess will be October 20 and 22, with performances scheduled for January 15-31 in 2010.  A staged reading of The Devil's Chaplain, a new play about "the real Charles Darwin," by Alan Navarre, will be presented on November 29.  And rumor has it that director, Natalia Berryman, still needs a couple more men to round out the cast of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying that will run November 20 - December 20.

The Houselights Theatre (www.houselightstheatre.org) in Cambria recently completed a remount run of their popular summer musical Always ... Patsy Cline at the Spanos Theatre (www.pacslo.org).  Stay tuned for details concerning their next show.

The Pewter Plough Playhouse (www.pewterploughplayhouse.org), also in Cambria, has opened their fall season, with The Mousetrap, which runs through November 8.  Homeland Insecurity or How I Learned To Love The Patriot Act will be presented in a readers' theatre format on October 14.

And then in Paso Robles, the Pioneer Players (www.pioneerplayers.org) are gearing up for their next production - Oliver, scheduled to be presented sometime in January of 2010.  Stay tuned for specific details concerning audition and performance dates in the near future!

From Paso Robles to Santa Maria, and numerous locales in between, our live theatre venues await your patronage - so get up out of that chair and support live entertainment here on the California Central Coast!

Curt Miner ... your BroadwayWorld.com guy on the ground with the California Central Coast theatre "news & views"