June 11, 2025 • 24 mins
Dive into the enchanting world of "The Mole Hill Stories" with director Jesse Pyle as she unveils the creative journey behind Chino Community Theater's latest production. This magical bilingual adaptation transforms three beloved children's tales by Lois Ehlert into a celebration of friendship, nature, and cultural diversity.
What makes this production truly special is its focus on developing new talent. Half of the twelve-member cast are making their theatrical debuts, while student directors Sebastian Olguin and Maya Mansour guide individual segments under Pyle's mentorship. The production features a vibrant, interactive set inspired by the original book illustrations, with creative solutions like slides and climbing elements that bring the stories to life for performers and audiences alike.
Behind the scenes, the show represents a beautiful intersection of generations. Four-year-old Jasper Pyle performs alongside experienced young actors, while student designers create lighting that transforms the moon and sun with the flip of a switch. The collaborative nature of community theater shines through as families work together both onstage and off—designing costumes that capture character essence rather than literal representations, building innovative set pieces, and crafting ambient soundscapes that enhance the storytelling.
"The Mole Hill Stories" offers the perfect introduction to theater for audiences of all ages. With three interconnected tales presented in bite-sized segments, the production creates an accessible, engaging experience that celebrates both English and Spanish language traditions. Whether you're bringing children to their first live performance or seeking a unique Father's Day outing, this production runs for just two weekends (July 13-22) and promises to be a feast for the eyes and imagination.
Experience the magic for yourself! Grab tickets at ChinoChildrensTheater.org, follow @CCCTbuzz on social media, or support these emerging artists by calling the box office at 909-590-1149.
June 13-21
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Steps to the Stage a 7th Street Community
Theatre podcast.
Welcome to Steps to the Stage a7th Street Community Theatre
podcast, where we talk to thecommunity theatre professionals
you know and love.
My name is Producer Kirk.
I'm your guest host today andwe are so excited to have our
(00:25):
director of the Mole HillStories, jesse Pyle, back with
us for what is probably yourfifth plus interview.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Maybe, maybe fourth or fifth, I think so.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Especially if you include the drama department
episode that we recently did.
So we're so glad that you'reback with us and I'm excited to
talk about this production onlybecause, I mean, we haven't had
something like this in a while,where we've had like real
littles making it happen.
So why don't you give us thebackground on deciding on this
(01:01):
and the story itself, and thenwe can get into a little bit
about the production?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Absolutely Well.
To begin with, I was luckyenough to direct a production of
Luchadora at my school thispast year, written by Alvaro
Sarrios, who is the person whowrote this play, as an
adaptation of three differentchildren's short stories by Lois
(01:26):
Ellert.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
So we have Mole's Hill, we have Cuckoo and we have
Moonrope and these are allthree beautiful children's
stories.
They have different backgroundsand gorgeous, gorgeous
illustrations that she didherself, based on different
indigenous and native artwork,and they are gloriously told and
(01:49):
just true to the simplicity ofa children's story.
And then they have beenre-outfitted as a play in three
parts that is bilingual andspeaks to the diversity of
(02:10):
friendship and growth and nature, and it's really a celebration
of both culture andcommunication and I just love it
.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
And so you discovered this through the play you did
with Ontario, or had you knownabout it prior?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
I hadn't known this play specifically yet, but I
knew of Alvaro Sarrio's, and sowhen I was looking for something
that I wanted to explore, Ilooked straight to what else he
had done and also what wouldserve this community here, and
the city of Chino has a dynamic-and very, very diverse
(02:49):
background and also ourchildren's theater really
started back in 1984 with a truecommunity atmosphere and we did
a lot of straight plays as wecall them at the time plays
without music and those playswere kind of the backbone of
(03:11):
things.
So we did Emperor's New Clothesand the Princess and the Pea and
all of these shows that werereally about getting the
community involved and lessabout huge spectacle, Although
if you look at our stage, wow,yeah, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
It really is.
I saw the post recently, but Ijust went out before we recorded
to take a look at it.
It always blows me away thatyou can blink in an eye and all
of a sudden we've transformedour little theater into this new
, beautiful landscape.
Exactly this new, beautifullandscape, exactly so.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
I wanted to embrace the idea of play and of creating
something as an ensemble, andtry it with a younger group of
people, one so that I couldincorporate my own son,
hopefully if he did well atauditions, which he did, but
also hoping that people wouldcome out of the woodworks for
(04:05):
this to audition Now.
It's a tough time slot becauseit was the end of the school
year.
Summer was coming up.
There's other shows in thelineup.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Camps are going on Exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
So we didn't have the biggest turnout ever, but we
had a beautiful turnout of castmembers and half of the cast has
never been in a show before.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
That's so amazing, and really that's what our camps
and these types of productionsare for is to introduce families
into the wonderful world ofcommunity theater.
Let's talk a little bit aboutcasting as well, as if you can
talk about your team that you'reworking with, because obviously
we love that.
We collaborate so much with avariety of different people on
(04:48):
our production teams, but alsowith our cast as well, so why
don't you get into that a littlebit?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yeah.
So there were people, thesecond that the season was
announced, who came up to me andsaid oh, miss Jessie, I really
want to help you out, I reallywant to be a part of your team
in some way.
And so I put out a littleGoogle form of what would you
like to help with and how wouldyou like to help and how much
experience do you have or not?
And I got a great number ofboth kids and adults who wanted
(05:17):
to be a part of this process,which was such an honor, and I
invited in three differentstudent directors.
Only two were able to actuallycommit to the time slot and they
have been fabulous.
So I have Sebastian Olguin, whois also my student at Ontario
High School and is doingfantastic work this summer all
over the place.
(05:38):
He worked on the first story ofthis series within the play
Moles Hill, and I have MayaMansour, who is new-ish to the
theater, but actually she's justdoing everything here Involved
in so many great things, so shefeels like we've known her for
(05:59):
10 years but, I, really thinkit's been much shorter and she
directed Moon Rope, which is thefinal piece of the play, with
my support, obviously.
Yeah, of course, and she is alsogoing to be our production
stage manager.
So, she's diversifying herportfolio so much just in this
short little amount of time, andSebastian was part of the
Superstars group, exactly, andwas also.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
I know I had the pleasure of recently seeing him
in your production of Charlieand the Chocolate Factory that
he just did fantastic in.
So that's I love that we havethat outreach not only to the
local schools but then withinour theater here and the variety
of different offerings that wehave.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yeah, and they are both extremely talented
performers, but we all know thatperforming and directing are
two different forms of artistryAbsolutely and they were very
willing to learn and collaborateand grow and they came up with
some really great ideas.
So I know it'll be a beautifulthing for everyone to come and
(06:59):
see.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
And what I love about this is, you know, especially
my children have been involvedin the theater and are now
directing and producing anddoing things.
Getting their education is thatwhen you offer these types of
opportunities, they maybestarted as actors, but now they
get into that directing or thatstage management and then they
find out the intricacies of itall.
Right, it's like when you're aparent and as you raise your
child, you start going oh, Iunderstand now what my parents
were saying to me or what theywere feeling at the time.
But more importantly is you'regiving them that doorway or
pathway to be our futuredirectors and future producers
(07:43):
and future adult actors, and soI love that we can give that
particular opportunity to somany people within our little
theater here.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Absolutely.
That is the hope and it's alsothe great gift of volunteering
here is that, if you'revolunteering in a mentorship
capacity, that you get to seethose sparks or those lights
light up for the first time andhave someone build their
confidence, their ownership oftheir craft in such unique ways.
(08:16):
And it really is a beautifulgift to yourself to get to give
that time and see those thingshappen to yourself to get to
give that time and see thosethings happen, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
So you talked about the set.
Why don't we talk a little bitabout that and that creation and
the design behind it and thethoughts and, obviously, the
beautiful outcome?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
So I had already spoken about the gorgeous,
gorgeous books themselves thatthese stories are based on
gorgeous books themselves thatthese stories are based on, and
the books are full of justbeautiful but also not
completely on the nose designs,right.
(08:54):
So there's some collaging,there's different kinds of
intricate cutting work andpatterns, and you'll see some of
those things reflected in thestage itself.
So Maya Tumboken said that shewas interested in becoming our
set designer and that shethought she could have some time
, but she's finishing up at USC.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Right.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
So my dad, who is just phenomenal in his own right
, mr Paul Larson.
He said, well, whatever sheneeds help with, I will help and
I'll be the boots on the groundhere and I'll be able to build,
and she can just communicateand then come in and do her
beautiful artistic flair at theend.
(09:37):
So Maya came up with thisgorgeous set design using a lot
of these bright and beautifulcolors and textures, and Mr
Larson addressed all of theneeds that came up during
rehearsal.
So, for example, they have toroll down the hill, and so we
(09:58):
just had like this kind ofrequest to I don't know, can we
find like a slide or some waythat we can roll down something
on our small stage?
I love that.
And so a slide appeared one dayand we have to climb up to the
moon.
So how are we going to do that?
Well, what about this like rockclimbing feature so that we can
(10:18):
use the rope that?
we need to use in moon rope, butalso have a safe, secure way
for the kids to have feet, gripsor whatever you call it because
I'm not a rock climber.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
That makes sense.
Yes, footholds.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
And we just have so many just really cool features
like that where both sides saidyes to each other and we were
able to collaborate in therehearsal room, come up with
ideas and then the next day knowthat they were going to deliver
.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
And there was like nothing really to go off of
right, because this is a newerproduction.
So you really just kind of camewith through that collaboration
.
You decided what that set wasgoing to be.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Right, ours is the very first amateur production of
the show Okay.
So they have done shows at, Ithink, depaul University.
A couple other places have doneproductions of this, but it's
been adults doing shows forchildren, versus our production.
Is true, children's theaterwith children Got it.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Now I think I may have asked and then glossed over
it, but let's go back to theauditions, because I don't think
we talked about that.
Your son is involved, but let'stalk about the whole casting
process and the rest of the cast.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Well, this is a different kind of show because
often with a musical, you'llhave kids come in and sing a
song and learn a dance andwhatnot.
But this show is based onliterature and one character in
particular rhymes every singleline.
So I asked for them to comewith a prepared poem in either
(11:53):
English or Spanish, because it'sa bilingual show as well.
And boy did these kids deliver.
You would have thought I wouldhave heard 20 Humpty Dumpties or
something Wow.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
And I Something familiar and basic.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I got beautiful storytelling poems from every
single performer and none ofthem were the same and quite a
few of them were in Spanish.
How amazing and it was justdelicious.
It was so wonderful toexperience and to have my
student directors next to me,and I also had my student
(12:26):
language coach next to me andthey were all in on the process.
So not only did they get to seethat kind of an audition, which
doesn't happen much inchildren's theater, you'll
either do cold readings if it'sa play without music, or you'll
do monologues if it's with olderkids, but for the youngers,
(12:47):
coming in with memorizedmaterial, it really seemed like
a way to level the playingground.
If I did get little ones, likemy son, who is four, four
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
That constitutes little.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Yes, and then as far as the cold readings go, we sent
them out of the room topractice for a little bit, but
they came back in and theyperformed their cold readings.
So for Jasper, my son, we senthim out with my husband to work
on stuff and he came in fullymemorized.
(13:19):
Every time we sent him out witha little scene he came back and
he already knew it.
So that was just a joy to beable to witness and to have like
a proud mama moment, but alsoto sit back and go.
Okay, just because I'm proud ofhim doesn't mean that he is
going to be the lead of thisshow, right?
That's just.
It's too much of an ask for afour-year-old, and also for me,
(13:44):
because you know the dynamics ofa child and a mother or a
father.
Yes, but they just-.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
I've worked with my children, I've coached my
children, and there is totallydifferent mindsets you have to
get yourself into and you haveto really.
Currently, I work with mydaughter occasionally and
there's that.
Okay, I'm the boss, but I'mstill the dad.
So how am I going to providethat environment to show that I
(14:09):
trust what you're doing andthat's why you're here?
But I also still need toprovide some guidance.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yeah, and a four-year-old is a whole
different ball of wax.
And this particularfour-year-old, he is so social
and he's so excited to be aroundpeople because he's kind of not
been around people as much.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Right Especially, yes , and I appreciate that with so
much of my heart, knowingeverything that you have gone
through as a family.
But all of that has shownthrough so much and this is just
a great way to celebrate thatjourney.
So that's fantastic, and therest of the cast.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
The rest of the cast.
Wow, it's so fun to see becausewe have true newbies who are in
leading roles.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
And you mentioned almost half the cast.
Yes, first time.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Six out of 12 are completely new to performance.
This will be all of theiropening opening nights.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
That is incredible.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
And then the other six really don't have that much
experience behind them, but theyhave a good amount because
they're a little on the youngerside and they just don't have as
much experience, and I feellike the growth that they have
had, but also the growth thatthis show affords with
creativity of creatingcharacters.
But we're not playing an actualfox or an actual raccoon or an
(15:31):
actual skunk on our hands andknees, because the audience
can't see that Right Right.
So we have to have somesuspension of disbelief and that
made it fun for costuming too.
Segway into my mama was thecostumer.
It's a true family affair.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Love that.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
And she had some great support both from parents
in the show, family members inthe show and also Kathy Miller,
who often helps with costumesand it's just beautifully done.
It's exactly the way I wanted it, where it's a humanized version
of that character and theabilities, the style of that
(16:11):
particular character, like thecharacterization in human form.
So we've got lots of overallsand beautiful dresses.
We've got some goddess energywith the moon and the tree and
the lake, all kind ofrepresenting different elements
in their own way.
I just love it.
It's beautiful for the eyes,it's definitely a feast.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
And how fantastic again, as you mentioned, that it
really was a family situationwhere you get to work so closely
with the founders of ourtheater and, obviously having
your son involved and so manyother friends and family that
you've been around for manyyears.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
And, if you didn't know, my first show was 1890s
Music Hall Review and I wasthree.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
So Jasper was technically three when we cast
Don't let anyone know and heturned four just shortly
thereafter Perfect.
So really this feels like afull circle moment in so many
ways.
I also think this is a greatentry-level show for audience
members because it's broken upinto three short stories and we
(17:21):
have the breathing room of beingable to have like ambiance and
story, but it's not supercomplex and it's a feast for the
eyes, like we said before.
So really I think that any agegroup, from the youngest to the
oldest, is going to be able tojust enjoy each beautiful story
for what it is and thecelebration of nature and
(17:43):
friendship, like I talked aboutbefore.
But really it's for all ages tocome and see They'll be able to
enjoy the bite-sized businessof it, and so three stories.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
is it presented as three separate stories, with the
beginning, middle end, then thenext story, or is that part of
the sauce that we're going tolearn when we watch it?
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Well, when you come, you'll kind of notice that there
is a little bit of a throughline that goes through all of
them.
So characters will repeat insome of the stories and the
beginning of one story startsout, or the end of one story I
apologize is the beginning ofthe next story, but they are
(18:25):
standalone in their own way andin that way it'll be easy for
someone to not feel like, oh,I'm not following this story,
right Got it.
It's one complete story.
One complete story.
One complete story, but withfamiliar characters throughout.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
And then, just from the theater perspective then, is
it a one-act intermission, oris it three acts, or is it one
continuous with no intermission?
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Well, we have like a little bit of a built-in break
for the youngers as far as thatgoes.
So there are two small breaks,but it's definitely it could be
played as a whole.
But the way that we have it setup, people will be able to take
those breathers if they needthem.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Now, something near and dear to my heart obviously
is the technology side of things.
So how are you incorporatingsound and lighting into the
beautiful design on stage?
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Well, speaking of my awesome theater program, I have
a recent graduate, LauraMadrigal, who agreed to come
back.
She's done a couple of thingsat the community theater before,
but she agreed to come back andlighting, design this show and
she is just a whiz at puttinglooks together, but also the
(19:39):
backdrop of these colorful youknow, the colorful stage and the
moon especially she's just beenable to make like a stained
glass look, the moon waxing andwaning, turning into the sun
with like the flip of a switch.
It's just, she's incredible andI'm so proud of her and I'm
(20:01):
super, super excited for her to,you know, go on to Cal Poly
Pomona and keep, you know,exploring what she's going to do
in life.
But I'm just so happy she tookthe time to stick with me a
little bit longer after theschool year was out.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
That's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
And then on sound, Sophie Colby, who has run sound
before, asked if she could try.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Yes, I've worked with her several times and acted
with her there.
You go.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
So, under your mentorship and many others, she
asked if she could be a part ofthe process and I said well, do
you think you could handle alittle sound design?
And so she had a great timepicking, sampling some things
and helping to create theambiance and the environment
that we need, with soundscapesat different moments, songs at
(20:47):
different moments, and she had agreat time and she had some
wonderful support.
But our lighting technician andour sound technician are brand
new to the boards as well.
So we have Nico and Gwyn doingtheir very first versions of
design, of tech work there.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
That's amazing.
Yeah, and that's I mean.
Obviously it's what I do for aliving and and get to travel
around, but it's, it's well.
It's like anything, but,especially in the tech world,
you just have to do it.
So, it's great that you'regiving those opportunities.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
And backstage.
Like I said, Maya is going tobe stage managing and she was
the student director, so sheknows it very well.
But I also have some of mystudents from Ontario, XCD.
Felix, who designed the props,is the assistant stage manager,
and then Len and Berlin aredoing their first time run crew
(21:43):
here.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Wonderful, yeah, wonderful.
Any other people you want tomention or things that you want
to bring up to let our audienceknow, so that they know they're
coming to an amazing production.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Well, I'm so grateful for the support of our producer
, sochi Neri Estrella, and forour speech coach, or our
language coach, addison Estrella, and I just think it's going to
be such a beautiful production,but it's only two weeks long.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Okay, so let's talk about dates.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Yeah, yeah, so we open on Friday, the 13th, is
that right Is?
Speaker 1 (22:21):
it Friday the 13th.
It is Friday the 13th Coming up.
It's such a lucky, auspiciousday.
There you go.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
So Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th.
Sunday the 15th is Father's Dayand it's a nice, just little
delicious Father's Day treat.
I believe my husband will becoming and that will be the only
matinee.
It's at 2.30 and then thefollowing Thursday, Friday and
Saturday, also at seven o'clock.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Wonderful, and I know my family's planning on
attending on Father's Day aswell.
Oh, my goodness, I'll bespending Father's Day as well.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Oh, my goodness, I'll be spending Father's Day with
you.
As you're wearing your dadcords, I am wearing my dad cords
.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
I see it Exactly.
It's coming up, so that's great.
And how do we go about gettingtickets?
Speaker 2 (23:05):
You can get tickets from the Chino Children's
Theaterorg website and thenyou'll click on seat yourself
and you can get tickets there.
You can also follow at CCCTbuzz on Instagram or Facebook or
Tik TOK to be able to find outmore about the show.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Got it, and I think you can call the box office as
well 909-590-1149.
Exactly, and if it's the lastminute, we might be able to get
a ticket for you at the door aswell.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Absolutely Just come on by.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
We really would love for you to come out this
upcoming weekend and thefollowing weekend and enjoy this
amazing production, which isnew to the amateur stage.
That's fantastic.
We have new actors.
We have new people part of theamateur stage.
That's fantastic.
We have new actors.
We have new people part of theproduction crew.
So thank you so much, jesse,for being here and taking some
time out of your day to talk tous and share a little bit about
(24:01):
the experience, and we're reallylooking forward to see this
beautiful story.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Thank you, kirk, it was my pleasure.
I hope everyone comes out andgives it a chance.
It's going to be a beautifulshow.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
The Mole Hill stories .
Everyone, please come out andsupport your local community
theater, thanks, thank you.
Thanks for listening to Stepsto the Stage, a 7th Street
community theater podcast.
Follow us on your favoritepodcast platform and leave us a
review and a five-star rating.
It really helps.
You can also find us onInstagram, facebook and YouTube.
(24:35):
Special thanks to ChinoCommunity Theater and Chino
Community Children's Theater fortheir generous support and very
special thank you to thelisteners.
Steps to the Stage was createdby Joey Rice and Kirk Lane.
Logo created by Marley Lane.
Original music by Joey Rice.
Your host, marley Lane.
Engineer and producer, joeyRice.
Engineer and executive producer, kirk Lane.
Welcome to Steps to the Stage a 7th Street Community
Theatre podcast.
Welcome to Steps to the Stage a7th Street Community Theatre
podcast, where we talk to thecommunity theatre professionals
you know and love.
My name is Producer Kirk.
I'm your guest host today andwe are so excited to have our
(00:25):
director of the Mole HillStories, jesse Pyle, back with
us for what is probably yourfifth plus interview.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Maybe, maybe fourth or fifth, I think so.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Especially if you include the drama department
episode that we recently did.
So we're so glad that you'reback with us and I'm excited to
talk about this production onlybecause, I mean, we haven't had
something like this in a while,where we've had like real
littles making it happen.
So why don't you give us thebackground on deciding on this
(01:01):
and the story itself, and thenwe can get into a little bit
about the production?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Absolutely Well.
To begin with, I was luckyenough to direct a production of
Luchadora at my school thispast year, written by Alvaro
Sarrios, who is the person whowrote this play, as an
adaptation of three differentchildren's short stories by Lois
(01:26):
Ellert.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
So we have Mole's Hill, we have Cuckoo and we have
Moonrope and these are allthree beautiful children's
stories.
They have different backgroundsand gorgeous, gorgeous
illustrations that she didherself, based on different
indigenous and native artwork,and they are gloriously told and
(01:49):
just true to the simplicity ofa children's story.
And then they have beenre-outfitted as a play in three
parts that is bilingual andspeaks to the diversity of
(02:10):
friendship and growth and nature, and it's really a celebration
of both culture andcommunication and I just love it
.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
And so you discovered this through the play you did
with Ontario, or had you knownabout it prior?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
I hadn't known this play specifically yet, but I
knew of Alvaro Sarrio's, and sowhen I was looking for something
that I wanted to explore, Ilooked straight to what else he
had done and also what wouldserve this community here, and
the city of Chino has a dynamic-and very, very diverse
(02:49):
background and also ourchildren's theater really
started back in 1984 with a truecommunity atmosphere and we did
a lot of straight plays as wecall them at the time plays
without music and those playswere kind of the backbone of
(03:11):
things.
So we did Emperor's New Clothesand the Princess and the Pea and
all of these shows that werereally about getting the
community involved and lessabout huge spectacle, Although
if you look at our stage, wow,yeah, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
It really is.
I saw the post recently, but Ijust went out before we recorded
to take a look at it.
It always blows me away thatyou can blink in an eye and all
of a sudden we've transformedour little theater into this new
, beautiful landscape.
Exactly this new, beautifullandscape, exactly so.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
I wanted to embrace the idea of play and of creating
something as an ensemble, andtry it with a younger group of
people, one so that I couldincorporate my own son,
hopefully if he did well atauditions, which he did, but
also hoping that people wouldcome out of the woodworks for
(04:05):
this to audition Now.
It's a tough time slot becauseit was the end of the school
year.
Summer was coming up.
There's other shows in thelineup.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Camps are going on Exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
So we didn't have the biggest turnout ever, but we
had a beautiful turnout of castmembers and half of the cast has
never been in a show before.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
That's so amazing, and really that's what our camps
and these types of productionsare for is to introduce families
into the wonderful world ofcommunity theater.
Let's talk a little bit aboutcasting as well, as if you can
talk about your team that you'reworking with, because obviously
we love that.
We collaborate so much with avariety of different people on
(04:48):
our production teams, but alsowith our cast as well, so why
don't you get into that a littlebit?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yeah.
So there were people, thesecond that the season was
announced, who came up to me andsaid oh, miss Jessie, I really
want to help you out, I reallywant to be a part of your team
in some way.
And so I put out a littleGoogle form of what would you
like to help with and how wouldyou like to help and how much
experience do you have or not?
And I got a great number ofboth kids and adults who wanted
(05:17):
to be a part of this process,which was such an honor, and I
invited in three differentstudent directors.
Only two were able to actuallycommit to the time slot and they
have been fabulous.
So I have Sebastian Olguin, whois also my student at Ontario
High School and is doingfantastic work this summer all
over the place.
(05:38):
He worked on the first story ofthis series within the play
Moles Hill, and I have MayaMansour, who is new-ish to the
theater, but actually she's justdoing everything here Involved
in so many great things, so shefeels like we've known her for
(05:59):
10 years but, I, really thinkit's been much shorter and she
directed Moon Rope, which is thefinal piece of the play, with
my support, obviously.
Yeah, of course, and she is alsogoing to be our production
stage manager.
So, she's diversifying herportfolio so much just in this
short little amount of time, andSebastian was part of the
Superstars group, exactly, andwas also.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
I know I had the pleasure of recently seeing him
in your production of Charlieand the Chocolate Factory that
he just did fantastic in.
So that's I love that we havethat outreach not only to the
local schools but then withinour theater here and the variety
of different offerings that wehave.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yeah, and they are both extremely talented
performers, but we all know thatperforming and directing are
two different forms of artistryAbsolutely and they were very
willing to learn and collaborateand grow and they came up with
some really great ideas.
So I know it'll be a beautifulthing for everyone to come and
(06:59):
see.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
And what I love about this is, you know, especially
my children have been involvedin the theater and are now
directing and producing anddoing things.
Getting their education is thatwhen you offer these types of
opportunities, they maybestarted as actors, but now they
get into that directing or thatstage management and then they
find out the intricacies of itall.
Right, it's like when you're aparent and as you raise your
child, you start going oh, Iunderstand now what my parents
were saying to me or what theywere feeling at the time.
But more importantly is you'regiving them that doorway or
pathway to be our futuredirectors and future producers
(07:43):
and future adult actors, and soI love that we can give that
particular opportunity to somany people within our little
theater here.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Absolutely.
That is the hope and it's alsothe great gift of volunteering
here is that, if you'revolunteering in a mentorship
capacity, that you get to seethose sparks or those lights
light up for the first time andhave someone build their
confidence, their ownership oftheir craft in such unique ways.
(08:16):
And it really is a beautifulgift to yourself to get to give
that time and see those thingshappen to yourself to get to
give that time and see thosethings happen, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
So you talked about the set.
Why don't we talk a little bitabout that and that creation and
the design behind it and thethoughts and, obviously, the
beautiful outcome?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
So I had already spoken about the gorgeous,
gorgeous books themselves thatthese stories are based on
gorgeous books themselves thatthese stories are based on, and
the books are full of justbeautiful but also not
completely on the nose designs,right.
(08:54):
So there's some collaging,there's different kinds of
intricate cutting work andpatterns, and you'll see some of
those things reflected in thestage itself.
So Maya Tumboken said that shewas interested in becoming our
set designer and that shethought she could have some time
, but she's finishing up at USC.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Right.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
So my dad, who is just phenomenal in his own right
, mr Paul Larson.
He said, well, whatever sheneeds help with, I will help and
I'll be the boots on the groundhere and I'll be able to build,
and she can just communicateand then come in and do her
beautiful artistic flair at theend.
(09:37):
So Maya came up with thisgorgeous set design using a lot
of these bright and beautifulcolors and textures, and Mr
Larson addressed all of theneeds that came up during
rehearsal.
So, for example, they have toroll down the hill, and so we
(09:58):
just had like this kind ofrequest to I don't know, can we
find like a slide or some waythat we can roll down something
on our small stage?
I love that.
And so a slide appeared one dayand we have to climb up to the
moon.
So how are we going to do that?
Well, what about this like rockclimbing feature so that we can
(10:18):
use the rope that?
we need to use in moon rope, butalso have a safe, secure way
for the kids to have feet, gripsor whatever you call it because
I'm not a rock climber.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
That makes sense.
Yes, footholds.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
And we just have so many just really cool features
like that where both sides saidyes to each other and we were
able to collaborate in therehearsal room, come up with
ideas and then the next day knowthat they were going to deliver
.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
And there was like nothing really to go off of
right, because this is a newerproduction.
So you really just kind of camewith through that collaboration
.
You decided what that set wasgoing to be.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Right, ours is the very first amateur production of
the show Okay.
So they have done shows at, Ithink, depaul University.
A couple other places have doneproductions of this, but it's
been adults doing shows forchildren, versus our production.
Is true, children's theaterwith children Got it.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Now I think I may have asked and then glossed over
it, but let's go back to theauditions, because I don't think
we talked about that.
Your son is involved, but let'stalk about the whole casting
process and the rest of the cast.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Well, this is a different kind of show because
often with a musical, you'llhave kids come in and sing a
song and learn a dance andwhatnot.
But this show is based onliterature and one character in
particular rhymes every singleline.
So I asked for them to comewith a prepared poem in either
(11:53):
English or Spanish, because it'sa bilingual show as well.
And boy did these kids deliver.
You would have thought I wouldhave heard 20 Humpty Dumpties or
something Wow.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
And I Something familiar and basic.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I got beautiful storytelling poems from every
single performer and none ofthem were the same and quite a
few of them were in Spanish.
How amazing and it was justdelicious.
It was so wonderful toexperience and to have my
student directors next to me,and I also had my student
(12:26):
language coach next to me andthey were all in on the process.
So not only did they get to seethat kind of an audition, which
doesn't happen much inchildren's theater, you'll
either do cold readings if it'sa play without music, or you'll
do monologues if it's with olderkids, but for the youngers,
(12:47):
coming in with memorizedmaterial, it really seemed like
a way to level the playingground.
If I did get little ones, likemy son, who is four, four
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
That constitutes little.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Yes, and then as far as the cold readings go, we sent
them out of the room topractice for a little bit, but
they came back in and theyperformed their cold readings.
So for Jasper, my son, we senthim out with my husband to work
on stuff and he came in fullymemorized.
(13:19):
Every time we sent him out witha little scene he came back and
he already knew it.
So that was just a joy to beable to witness and to have like
a proud mama moment, but alsoto sit back and go.
Okay, just because I'm proud ofhim doesn't mean that he is
going to be the lead of thisshow, right?
That's just.
It's too much of an ask for afour-year-old, and also for me,
(13:44):
because you know the dynamics ofa child and a mother or a
father.
Yes, but they just-.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
I've worked with my children, I've coached my
children, and there is totallydifferent mindsets you have to
get yourself into and you haveto really.
Currently, I work with mydaughter occasionally and
there's that.
Okay, I'm the boss, but I'mstill the dad.
So how am I going to providethat environment to show that I
(14:09):
trust what you're doing andthat's why you're here?
But I also still need toprovide some guidance.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yeah, and a four-year-old is a whole
different ball of wax.
And this particularfour-year-old, he is so social
and he's so excited to be aroundpeople because he's kind of not
been around people as much.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Right Especially, yes , and I appreciate that with so
much of my heart, knowingeverything that you have gone
through as a family.
But all of that has shownthrough so much and this is just
a great way to celebrate thatjourney.
So that's fantastic, and therest of the cast.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
The rest of the cast.
Wow, it's so fun to see becausewe have true newbies who are in
leading roles.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
And you mentioned almost half the cast.
Yes, first time.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Six out of 12 are completely new to performance.
This will be all of theiropening opening nights.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
That is incredible.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
And then the other six really don't have that much
experience behind them, but theyhave a good amount because
they're a little on the youngerside and they just don't have as
much experience, and I feellike the growth that they have
had, but also the growth thatthis show affords with
creativity of creatingcharacters.
But we're not playing an actualfox or an actual raccoon or an
(15:31):
actual skunk on our hands andknees, because the audience
can't see that Right Right.
So we have to have somesuspension of disbelief and that
made it fun for costuming too.
Segway into my mama was thecostumer.
It's a true family affair.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Love that.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
And she had some great support both from parents
in the show, family members inthe show and also Kathy Miller,
who often helps with costumesand it's just beautifully done.
It's exactly the way I wanted it, where it's a humanized version
of that character and theabilities, the style of that
(16:11):
particular character, like thecharacterization in human form.
So we've got lots of overallsand beautiful dresses.
We've got some goddess energywith the moon and the tree and
the lake, all kind ofrepresenting different elements
in their own way.
I just love it.
It's beautiful for the eyes,it's definitely a feast.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
And how fantastic again, as you mentioned, that it
really was a family situationwhere you get to work so closely
with the founders of ourtheater and, obviously having
your son involved and so manyother friends and family that
you've been around for manyyears.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
And, if you didn't know, my first show was 1890s
Music Hall Review and I wasthree.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
So Jasper was technically three when we cast
Don't let anyone know and heturned four just shortly
thereafter Perfect.
So really this feels like afull circle moment in so many
ways.
I also think this is a greatentry-level show for audience
members because it's broken upinto three short stories and we
(17:21):
have the breathing room of beingable to have like ambiance and
story, but it's not supercomplex and it's a feast for the
eyes, like we said before.
So really I think that any agegroup, from the youngest to the
oldest, is going to be able tojust enjoy each beautiful story
for what it is and thecelebration of nature and
(17:43):
friendship, like I talked aboutbefore.
But really it's for all ages tocome and see They'll be able to
enjoy the bite-sized businessof it, and so three stories.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
is it presented as three separate stories, with the
beginning, middle end, then thenext story, or is that part of
the sauce that we're going tolearn when we watch it?
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Well, when you come, you'll kind of notice that there
is a little bit of a throughline that goes through all of
them.
So characters will repeat insome of the stories and the
beginning of one story startsout, or the end of one story I
apologize is the beginning ofthe next story, but they are
(18:25):
standalone in their own way andin that way it'll be easy for
someone to not feel like, oh,I'm not following this story,
right Got it.
It's one complete story.
One complete story.
One complete story, but withfamiliar characters throughout.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
And then, just from the theater perspective then, is
it a one-act intermission, oris it three acts, or is it one
continuous with no intermission?
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Well, we have like a little bit of a built-in break
for the youngers as far as thatgoes.
So there are two small breaks,but it's definitely it could be
played as a whole.
But the way that we have it setup, people will be able to take
those breathers if they needthem.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Now, something near and dear to my heart obviously
is the technology side of things.
So how are you incorporatingsound and lighting into the
beautiful design on stage?
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Well, speaking of my awesome theater program, I have
a recent graduate, LauraMadrigal, who agreed to come
back.
She's done a couple of thingsat the community theater before,
but she agreed to come back andlighting, design this show and
she is just a whiz at puttinglooks together, but also the
(19:39):
backdrop of these colorful youknow, the colorful stage and the
moon especially she's just beenable to make like a stained
glass look, the moon waxing andwaning, turning into the sun
with like the flip of a switch.
It's just, she's incredible andI'm so proud of her and I'm
(20:01):
super, super excited for her to,you know, go on to Cal Poly
Pomona and keep, you know,exploring what she's going to do
in life.
But I'm just so happy she tookthe time to stick with me a
little bit longer after theschool year was out.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
That's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
And then on sound, Sophie Colby, who has run sound
before, asked if she could try.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Yes, I've worked with her several times and acted
with her there.
You go.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
So, under your mentorship and many others, she
asked if she could be a part ofthe process and I said well, do
you think you could handle alittle sound design?
And so she had a great timepicking, sampling some things
and helping to create theambiance and the environment
that we need, with soundscapesat different moments, songs at
(20:47):
different moments, and she had agreat time and she had some
wonderful support.
But our lighting technician andour sound technician are brand
new to the boards as well.
So we have Nico and Gwyn doingtheir very first versions of
design, of tech work there.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
That's amazing.
Yeah, and that's I mean.
Obviously it's what I do for aliving and and get to travel
around, but it's, it's well.
It's like anything, but,especially in the tech world,
you just have to do it.
So, it's great that you'regiving those opportunities.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
And backstage.
Like I said, Maya is going tobe stage managing and she was
the student director, so sheknows it very well.
But I also have some of mystudents from Ontario, XCD.
Felix, who designed the props,is the assistant stage manager,
and then Len and Berlin aredoing their first time run crew
(21:43):
here.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Wonderful, yeah, wonderful.
Any other people you want tomention or things that you want
to bring up to let our audienceknow, so that they know they're
coming to an amazing production.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Well, I'm so grateful for the support of our producer
, sochi Neri Estrella, and forour speech coach, or our
language coach, addison Estrella, and I just think it's going to
be such a beautiful production,but it's only two weeks long.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Okay, so let's talk about dates.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Yeah, yeah, so we open on Friday, the 13th, is
that right Is?
Speaker 1 (22:21):
it Friday the 13th.
It is Friday the 13th Coming up.
It's such a lucky, auspiciousday.
There you go.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
So Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th.
Sunday the 15th is Father's Dayand it's a nice, just little
delicious Father's Day treat.
I believe my husband will becoming and that will be the only
matinee.
It's at 2.30 and then thefollowing Thursday, Friday and
Saturday, also at seven o'clock.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Wonderful, and I know my family's planning on
attending on Father's Day aswell.
Oh, my goodness, I'll bespending Father's Day as well.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Oh, my goodness, I'll be spending Father's Day with
you.
As you're wearing your dadcords, I am wearing my dad cords
.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
I see it Exactly.
It's coming up, so that's great.
And how do we go about gettingtickets?
Speaker 2 (23:05):
You can get tickets from the Chino Children's
Theaterorg website and thenyou'll click on seat yourself
and you can get tickets there.
You can also follow at CCCTbuzz on Instagram or Facebook or
Tik TOK to be able to find outmore about the show.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Got it, and I think you can call the box office as
well 909-590-1149.
Exactly, and if it's the lastminute, we might be able to get
a ticket for you at the door aswell.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Absolutely Just come on by.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
We really would love for you to come out this
upcoming weekend and thefollowing weekend and enjoy this
amazing production, which isnew to the amateur stage.
That's fantastic.
We have new actors.
We have new people part of theamateur stage.
That's fantastic.
We have new actors.
We have new people part of theproduction crew.
So thank you so much, jesse,for being here and taking some
time out of your day to talk tous and share a little bit about
(24:01):
the experience, and we're reallylooking forward to see this
beautiful story.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Thank you, kirk, it was my pleasure.
I hope everyone comes out andgives it a chance.
It's going to be a beautifulshow.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
The Mole Hill stories .
Everyone, please come out andsupport your local community
theater, thanks, thank you.
Thanks for listening to Stepsto the Stage, a 7th Street
community theater podcast.
Follow us on your favoritepodcast platform and leave us a
review and a five-star rating.
It really helps.
You can also find us onInstagram, facebook and YouTube.
(24:35):
Special thanks to ChinoCommunity Theater and Chino
Community Children's Theater fortheir generous support and very
special thank you to thelisteners.
Steps to the Stage was createdby Joey Rice and Kirk Lane.
Logo created by Marley Lane.
Original music by Joey Rice.
Your host, marley Lane.
Engineer and producer, joeyRice.
Engineer and executive producer, kirk Lane.
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