Just over the threshold from the launch of the 2015-2016 season, Lakeside Little Theatre (LLT) has reason to celebrate a half century of uninterrupted activity and its status as Mexico’s oldest English-speaking theater.
It is a thriving and self-sustaining non-profit organization operated by a team of dedicated volunteer officers and staff, and well settled under the roof of its own playhouse.
LLT brought up the lights on its first production in June 1965, with “Saddle Bag Saloon,” an original musical penned and directed by founder Betty Kuzell that was staged at Chapala’s old railway station. It was a loose-knit group that moved its shows from place to place prior to a prolonged roost on the second floor of the Chula Vista Golf Club clubhouse.
There are no survivors of the original theatrical gang that became a unifying force in Chapala’s growing expatriate community. But the Reporter brought together three devoted theater buffs and LLT veterans who have been instrumental in keeping the organization glued together, asking them to share memories and insights on the second half of its history.
Georgette Richmond, Don Chaloner and Barbara Clippinger have performed in dozens of productions over the years and all three have been strong leaders during their respective terms as board president.
Living through episodes of comedy and drama, both on and off stage, they have built long-lasting friendships, gone through poignant moments of the human experience and enjoyed laughter brought on by mishaps and misadventures that go with the territory.
Richmond’s first acting role was in the 1985 comedy “Send me No Flowers,” one of the last shows put on at Chula Vista. She recalls the travails of performing on a tiny stage with only inches of backstage area, no dressing rooms and rudimentary lighting system made up of bulbs bolted into powdered milk cans.
Richmond was on board when shows were once again put on the road during the season dedicated to fund-raising for construction on its permanent San Antonio headquarters, designed by the late Jack Bateman and built on land donated by Ricardo O’Rourke. The debut production at the new playhouse was Woody Allen’s “Don’t Drink the Water,” staged in January 1988.
Chaloner first trod the LLT boards two months later in “The Robinhood Caper.” “All I remember was forgetting my lines one night. It was like being under a big cloud for what felt like an hour while I tried to think of what to say. Finally I improvised, blurting out ‘What time does the taxi come?’ and the other actors picked it up from there.”
Memorizing dialogues is one of the major challenges for the pool of players available in a retirement community. But Richmond looks on the bright side. “It’s a great exercise for aging brains and an antidote for memory loss.”
Besides that, this community is blessed with forgiving audiences who tend to overlook muffed lines and the incongruence of silver-haired actors playing ingénue roles.
Barbara Clippinger was drawn into the LLT family before she finished unpacking her bags as a lakeside newcomer. She immediately landed a role in the musical mime show “Love in the Park,” staged in February 1997, and has been active ever since as a performer, choreographer and the director of 11 productions to date. She’s on the slate to direct the musical comedy “Nunsense,” opening in February.
Clippinger points out that one of the greatest perks of getting involved in LLT has been the opportunity to work alongside talented professionals from the stage and film world.
Between the three interview subjects, names of prominent actors, directors and set designers that crop up include Rocky Karns, Allyn M. Howard, B.J Byrne, April Watts, Anya Flesh, Norma Lyerly, Larry Greccov, Tod Jonson, Ektor Carranza, Richard Vath, and his wife Joyce, all of whom have left the ranks for new destinations elsewhere on earth and beyond.
But as the foreign populace grows and evolves, Lakeside Little Theatre continually attracts new blood, amateurs and pros alike, who seek new friendships, fresh experiences and the invigorating elixir of tripping the light fantastic.