'Little Shop' honored

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."

Bailey, now a junior, continues to star in productions at the university and was awarded first place at the National Association of Teacher of Singing in March.

Stanislaus junior Carol Smelter who played another lead role - Audrey, said she had never seen "Little Shop" before the production.

"I had heard of the show, and knew the basics, but I had never seen the movie. As soon as I got the part, I went and got the CD to familiarize myself with it," she said.

Smelter said she would like to possibly start off student teaching choir at a high school and get into the theater and music scene from there.

"I do more musical theater - and Broadway is my passion," she said.

Smelter said she has participated in choir since the second grade, but has never had voice lessons.

"I really didn't start singing outside of choir until I got to college," she said. Smelter placed third at the National Association of Teachers of Signing alongside Bailey and other CSU Stanislaus students.

Bailey and Smelter, along with Audrey II puppeteer, Dan Mauterer, were recognized for their performances at the festival. Bailey and Smelter regularly participate in other productions for the school.

Smelter, a music and music education major, also cleared up the misunderstanding of the music and theater major differences. "Music majors have a specific interest - say an instrument for example, and theater majors work more on plays and the parts of a play such as the set, lighting, and costumes," she said.

Both departments work together often and teamed up for the production of, "Little Shop."

"It took about four to six weeks to get ready for the play," said Kristina Stamper, of the College of Arts dean's office.

The play was co-produced by Dr. Joseph Wigget who said everything had to go well and the chemistry of the cast and crew had to be just right for a production like that to work.

The costumes and makeup design were created by students working with Dr. Caroline Mercier of the Theater Department. Mercier said the lead characters' differed costumes portrayed the transformation of the characters

"I had the chance to see the play while visiting my niece who attends Stan State. I thought it was going to be an ordinary school play, but I was blown away. The characters - especially the two who played Audrey and Seymour were amazing," Nicole Balsamo, who is part of the theater arts and film department at Sacramento City College said. "I thought I was really watching the film version with all of the costumes and props."

The group didn't win first place at the festival, but representatives from the theater and music departments said they were honored to perform and represent CSU Stanislaus. Many of the students who were a part of the production of "Little Shop" remain good friends even outside of school.

"Josh auditioned for our last play, and stole the show," Smelter happily said.

Although Bailey and Smelter were not particularly familiar with the play, they proved that hard work, determination, and beautiful singing voices can earn you a spot at one of the most popular theater festivals around.