LPT Presents Special Outreach Performance Of HIP POCKET 3/14

Lamb's Players Theatre will present a special showcase performance of its touring school production, Hip Pocket, as part of the first annual fundraiser for LPT's Educational Outreach program on Saturday, March 14, 2009. The performance and fundraiser will be held in the Nautilus Room of the Coronado Community Center at 1845 Strand Way.

The event begins at 4:00pm with a reception in which guests will enjoy light refreshments followed by the play performance at 5:00pm. The evening will also include a salute to Mary-Lynn Deddeh and The Mary-Lynn Deddeh Fund for Kids. Tickets for the fundraising event are $10 each. This fee includes refreshments, a live showcase performance of Hip Pocket and one Opportunity Drawing ticket. The winner of the Opportunity Drawing gets to select a school that he or she would like Hip Pocket to be performed at free of charge. All donations are welcome and further Opportunity Drawing tickets may be purchased in advance or at the door (1 for $10, 3 for $25, 7 for $50).

For more information on attending this event, contact Jennifer Siren at (619) 437-6050 ext. 20 or jennifer.siren@lambsplayers.org. For more information on Lamb's Players Theatre's Educational Outreach Program, visit the Education page of LPT's Web site at www.lambsplayers.org.

The first annual Educational Outreach fundraiser will benefit this year's production entitled Hip Pocket, a fast-paced, music and poetry-infused performance designed to encourage literacy as well as social and moral responsibility in elementary and middle school students. At local schools, the cost for one performance of Hip Pocket is $425 and any additional same-day shows cost $325. Grants from LPT's Funding Partners have made some free performances available for San Diego County schools where enrollment in free lunch programs exceeds 50% of the student body. This fundraiser will also enable more schools to host the production free of charge.

Hip Pocket is currently being performed at various San Diego County elementary and middle schools from January 21 - March 27, 2009. Written and directed by associate artistic director Kerry Meads, the cast of Hip Pocket includes Bryan Barbarin, Stephanie Draude, Noe Espinoza and April Wikholm. LPT resident ensemble members Colleen Kollar Smith (choreography) and Jon Lorenz (music) collaborate with Meads. Set design is by Connor Peirson, costume design is by Jemima Dutra and road management is by Paul Maley.

Since 1986, Lamb's Players Theatre's Educational Outreach program has performed shows for over 35,000 San Diego County students annually. LPT believes that live theatre is a vital art form and a powerful tool for making an impact on the next generation. The Educational Outreach program is committed to reaching young people of diverse ethnic, cultural and economic backgrounds, particularly those from underprivileged areas. Each year LPT continues the tradition of bringing arts education into local schools by developing new productions and programs that address important character issues such as cooperation and respect, while fostering communication and imagination.

Lamb's Players Theatre is one of San Diego's leading professional theatres. The company produces in two of the region's premier locations: San Diego's vibrant downtown Gaslamp Quarter, and the beautiful island community of Coronado. In the Gaslamp Quarter, Lamb's Players produces longer-running productions at the Horton Grand Theatre, a beautifully intimate 250-seat proscenium theatre located steps away from dozens of restaurants and nightspots, the San Diego Convention Center, and Petco Park. In Coronado, the theatre presents a full subscription season in its beautiful 350-seat theatre, just a short drive over the Bay Bridge from downtown San Diego. The company's Coronado theatre is within walking distance of numerous shops and restaurants, the Coronado beach, and the historic Hotel del Coronado.

San Diego's third largest theatre company, Lamb's Players Theatre is one of only a handful of artist-directed Ensemble theatres in the nation. The theatre is committed to the tradition of "repertory" theatre, maintaining both a long-term ensemble of resident actors, designers and directors and a body of work to which they frequently return. In addition to producing classics and lesser-known gems of the theatre, Lamb's Players is committed to the development of new work. The theatre also has a special interest in exploring spiritual issues for a diverse mainstream audience.