The San Luis Obispo Little Theatre recently received a $10,000 grant from The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County (CFSLOCO.) These grant funds will be used to organize, inventory and catalogue the Little Theatre’s recently acquired collection of almost 10,000 costumes and accessories (purchased from the now closed Costume Capers) ultimately creating a full service costume shop that will serve not only the Little Theatre’s own theatrical production needs, but will make this extensive inventory available and accessible to other performing arts groups, local schools and the general public. (Above photo: Kevin Harris, Heidi McPherson of CFSLOCO, Patty Thayer and SLOLT Board President Michael Simkins.)
Debi Hernandez and Keith Wetzel
BACKGROUND
The local theatre community was in shock late last year when Costume Capers announced that they were going to permanently close their doors after nearly 30 years in San Luis Obispo. “Over the last three decades, Keith Wetzel and Debi Hernandez at Costume Capers have provided costumes for hundreds of productions at the Little Theatre,” said Kevin Harris, Managing Artistic Director, “Their support of all of our local theatre groups has been incredible. The store’s closure was a major blow to the local arts scene.”
When we announced that the Little Theatre would be purchasing the complete, curated collection, public support was overwhelming. Over $10,000 in donations came in to underwrite the costume purchase and now this grant from The Community Foundation will fund the final piece of the puzzle: the creation of our new costume shop!
The big costume move!
Zandi and Greg Peters will supervise the organization and creation of our new shop. Zandi has done costume design and repair for many theatre companies on the Central Coast and Greg has 42 years of experience as a controller/CFO with extensive knowledge of accounting systems, business databases and strategic planning techniques. The perfect team to take on the task of organizing, cataloging and entering the entire costume inventory into a new database. The process won’t be easy, nor will it be quick, but we hope to be up and running by February, 2017.
Thank you to The Community Foundation SLO County and to the dozens of generous donors who supported this purchase. We are thrilled to be able to offer this curated inventory of costumes to our community, both on our own stage and in other venues, and we are honored to be able to continue the legacy of creative costuming begun by San Luis Obispo’s favorite costumers over 30 years ago.
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION SLO COUNTY
The Little Theatre was chosen to receive this grant and is among 30 recipients whose grants total $228,800. This year’s CFSLOCO grantmaking program is made possible through the generous support of the Foundation’s Community Endowment and many donor funds held at the Foundation. In only 16 years, the CFSLOCO has given out more than $28million in grants to assist nonprofit agencies. For more information on the CFSLOCO or any funds, call (805) 543-2323 or visit cfsloco.org.
Photo courtesy of Jamie Foster Photography
Just two more weekends left for BYE, BYE BIRDIE! If you haven’t got tickets yet for this delightful musical comedy, there are still just a few open seats left. Check our website for availability. But even if we’re sold-out, that doesn’t mean you have to miss out! Our Wait List can work miracles! Just show up one hour before show time, get your name on the list, have a glass of wine while you wait and cross your fingers! We can generally accommodate between four and ten additional guests in seats that become available at the last minute.
You know, more and more of our shows are selling out after just one weekend of performances, which is great for us, but sometimes not so great for you. If you don’t want to get left standing in line for last minute tickets next season — our landmark 70th Anniversary Year! — there is one thing you can do right NOW. Become a Season Subscriber! Ensure the BEST seats at the BEST price, with unlimited EXCHANGES all year long by purchasing your SEASON TICKETS today. You’ll never hear the words SOLD-OUT again!
Create your very own happy ending. Check out the complete season schedule HERE, then download a Season Ticket Order Form and make your reservations today!
Photo courtesy of Jamie Foster Photography
