Salida Theater Project
Quality, sustainable, and inspirational theater for our community.
Past Productions
Mountain Octopus
September/October 2024
Written by Beth Kander
Directed by Devon Kasper
Cast: Leslie Matthews, Greta Hooston, Bill Rogers, Aggie Alvez, Ximena Wheeler, Liz Dunn, and Caleb Awe
Crew and Backstage: Elle Kriebel, Danica Hinerman, Addie Kriebel, Kit Louis Rivers, Greg West, Danielle Frost, Mary Dunay, and Naters
Produced by Salida Theater Project
“Mountain Octopus” chronicles a few days in Chance – a town very similar to Salida itself and to the mythical Grover’s Corners of Wilder’s OUR TOWN. A town where people live a quiet life, enjoying each other’s company, looking forward to tomorrow with few expectations. A town that accepts the inevitable pains of life as well as the hoped-for joy. A town that takes everyone’s problems seriously, but with a grain of salt. This is a new play written by Beth Kander that was commissioned by Creede Repertory Theater and produced during their 2023 season. Ms. Kander catches the essence of small-town life and gives each player an appropriate answer to their “what do I do now” questions. Thornton Wilder would approve of this script and so will you.
Dead Man’s Cell Phone
May 2, 3, 4 2024
Directed by Greta Hooston
Starring: Aggie Alvez, Justin Critelli, Devon Jencks, Joan Lobeck, Jan Justis and Bill Rogers
Produced by Salida Theater Project
An incessantly ringing cell phone in a quiet café. A stranger at the next table who has had enough of it. And a dead man-with a lot of loose ends. So begins Dead Man’s Cell Phone. This is a laugh-out loud zany dark comedy that explores how we remember the dead – and how that memorialization changes us. It is the journey of a woman forced to confront her presumptions about morality, redemption, and isolation in a technologically obsessed society. Sharp and fresh: a beautiful piece of writing and theater that blends that mundane with the metaphysical.
Love…really??
February 14, 15 2024
A comedic evening of Reader’s Theater: Unconventional love stories featuring snippets from:
- Human Events by A. R. Gurney
Directed by Greta Hooston - Beyond Therapy by Christopher Durang
Directed by Devon Kasper - How to Transcend a Happy Marriage by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Allen Lane - Spike Heels by Theresa Rebeck
Directed by Greg West
Pictured Are:
BACK ROW: Theresa Vosburgh, Susan McQuade, Allen Lane, Justin Critelli, Caleb Miguel, Matthew Ecker, Vincent Guiterrez, Bill Rogers
MIDDLE ROW: Tom Westrup, Leslie Matthews, Greg West, Devon Kasper
BOTTOM ROW: Greta Hooston, Elizabeth Dunn, Tina Gramann, Joan Lobeck and Aggie Alvez,
Missing from the photo is Allison Bradford
Rocky Mountain Horror Picture Show
October 27, 28 2023
Everything Brilliant
July 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30 2023
Directed by Brade Bradshaw
Starring Kelsey Elyse Rodriquez
Produced by Salida Theater Project
You’re six years old. Mom’s in the hospital. Dad says “she’s done something stupid”. She finds it hard to be happy. So you start to make a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world. 1. Ice cream. 2. Kung Fu movies. 3. Staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch TV. 4. The color yellow. These are the first four items on a list of every brilliant thing in the world worth living for. Every Brilliant Thing is a life-affirming story of how to achieve hope through focusing on the smallest miracles of life.
Cast and crew of Every Brilliant Thing and 2 Across
Back row L to R: Allen Lane (director of 2 Across), Elle Kriebel, Devon Jencks and Danica Hinerman
Front row L to R: Brade Bradshaw (director of Every Brilliant Thing), Kelsey Elyse Rodriguez, Tamsen Glazer and Justin Critelli
2 Across
July 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30 2023
By Jerry Mayer
Directed by Allen Lane
Assistant Director Leslie Matthews
Starring Justin Critelli and Devon Jencks
Produced by Salida Theater Project
Two strangers, a man and a woman, board a San Francisco BART train at 4:30am. They’re alone in the car, each is married, both are doing the New York Times crossword. She’s an organized, sensible psychologist. He’s a free-spirited, unemployed ad exec. She is a crossword pro, he always quits. When he tosses the puzzle away, she snaps, “Crosswords are a metaphor for life, those who finish, succeed, those who don’t fail.” now he vows to finish. Described by critics as “Hilarious”, “Witty”, “Romantic” and “Wonderfully entertaining”.
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