n Saturday, December 5, 2009, the Little Theatre opened its doors to our community as a participant in the Images Annual Tour of Homes. We were pleased to be asked to be one of the facilities in the area that would be a part of this splendid and grand affair. It is a worthy fundraiser that has a tradition of showing the best in structures and facades in the New Smyrna Beach area, all uniquely decorated for the holiday season.

In all we had exactly 160 visitors for the tour from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The blustery weather caused a few challenges for our outside volunteers, Gary Bolinsky, Bob Kemp, and Bob Armbrust. But, umbrellas in hand, they donned their gloves, hooded shirts and raingear and got the cars parked and the patrons inside to see the tour.

Here's a little about what our visitors saw:

The Lobby: On entering the Theatre, attendees were welcomed with a presentation from Dottie Hughes, telling them about the theatre's history - stories about how we got started, Hannah Bonnet, our volunteer organization and a little bit about what coming to see a show at the Little Theatre is like. The Little Theatre building hosts eight live performances each year. The process to get this auditioned, rehearsed and staged utilizes all aspects of the theatre and visitors would see the entire scope of how this process takes place during their tour.

Hanging in the lobby is a portrait of our benefactor, Hannah Bonnett, when she was Mayor of New Smyrna back in the mid 1940s. She made our theatre building possible by donating the land to our organization and the building was first erected here and opened in 1952. The lobby features the only windows in the entire building, those in the entryway doors. The theatre was designed for maximum darkness so that productions could be completely under the control of our special effects and lights and sound equipment. Attendees pass by the Lights and Sound Booth, which provides state-of-the-art effects for our live stage productions. Noel Bickford would be giving them a demonstration of our sound system in the auditorium and they'd get to see the set of Oliver! lighted and on display on the stage.

The Auditorium and Stage: This part of the tour was narrated by Carol Choma. Our theatre seats 250 patrons for a performance. We have wheel chair seating to accommodate up to 6 with additional seating for up to 4 that might be accompanying patrons in wheel chairs. The auditorium was completely renovated when we closed our theatre for the 2004-05 season for a total rebuild of the entire theatre structure. The auditorium and the stage are the only remaining parts of the original structure that was erected in the early 1950s. The motif is in shades of blue to match the plush curtain of brilliant velvet which opens on each performance.

Attendees were invited to go up on the stage (and perform if they felt the need). The stage was all decked out with the set for Oliver! which was our holiday production for 2009. Oliver! is a musical stage play based on the Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist. It tells the tale of a young boy who gets in with the wrong crowd, is kidnapped and disappears and then is rescued and returned safely home. It's a musical, and so our very expensive and grand Clavinova piano was out on the stage. This wonderful instrument was a donation by a group of patrons who wanted to see a new piano for the Little Theatre's musical productions.

The Rehearsal Hall: This part if the tour was narrated by Bea Scalise and Arlene Mendenhall. The rehearsal hall is a new part of the structure and allows us to rehearse an upcoming production while we are performing the current production. The room is exactly the size of the stage with exactly the same dimensions front to back and side to side. We also use this room for membership meetings, auditions, and theatre exhibits. The rehearsal hall is where we hold our summer camps and after-school classes for WonderLand Theatre, our young thespian program at the Little Theatre. These sessions teach children from four years old to teen what it takes to get up on the stage and do a play - from acting skills, makeup, and costumes to actually building sets.

Backstage: This part of the tour was narrated by Diane Parent with Rose Dingas leading the visitors into the costume/prop area for a short presentation. The tour took attendees backstage to our set building area, which is outfitted with the latest in electrical saws, benches and the tools required to build a quality flat for the walls of a set, hang doors, build staircases, erect banisters and all the other set components that make up a realistic stage production.

Also backstage is our Costume and Prop department. It's upstairs in the loft, and houses over 3,000 garments that our costume department makes available to actors on our stage. We also store our props in the loft. We have vintage radios, door bells, coffee pots, typewriters, table and floor lamps, chairs and sofas, and even has an old wooden wheelchair, probably early 1900s vintage. This department has become well-known by other theatres in the area and, from time to time, we make these items available for use to these organizations and elsewhere in the community at no charge.

Tour attendees were directed to the back of the set after visiting the loft. This is the "real" backstage area. It's where actors wait for their cue to go on. A gun shot, or a phrase, or a car's horn, and they are through the door, or the window to deliver their lines. Sometimes cues are written in the back of a flat of the set for a particular actor to remember exactly when to enter. It's a topsy turvy atmosphere at best, and lends to the excitement of being backstage at the Little Theatre.

The Green Room: This part of the tour was narrated by Jo Phillipp. The Green Room and Makeup Room are more new features of the theatre that were built during the renovation. The Green Room is where the actors hang out when they're not on stage. Their own stage door side entrance brings them into where they will get their makeup on just right, and then proceed to the dressing room for their costumes. Audio speakers are mounted on the wall so that they can hear everything that is going on out on the stage. Before the curtain opens, they spend a few moments in the Green Room contemplating their lines, possibly rehearsing some of the problem areas. Backstage and the Green Room are off-limits to anyone not in the production on show nights. Quiet is maintained so that each actor can run lines, get into character and simply be ready to go on when their time comes. It's just like being on the professional stage.

The entire tour took between 30 and 45 minutes - longer, if someone wanted more information. There was no time limit. And attendees were welcome to linger or stay behind if they want to investigate a particular aspect of the Little Theatre in more detail. Docents and tour guides narrated for each area and answered questions and described features as they were presented.

The Box Office was open for anyone who wanted to attend one of the Oliver! performances that evening or the next day's matinee. Agnes Briggs and Wynne Cook were on hand to explain what goes on in the Box Office and to make reservations for ticket purchasers.

On hand to keep things moving smoothly and to assist those narrating the Little Theatre's story were Hal and Nancy Linn, Bill Cook, Tina Brown, Mary Rapp, and Bev Zaumeyer.

The Images organization at Atlantic Center for the Arts was very impressed with our contribution to their Tour this year and expressed that opinion to several Board members. Many tour attendees also were impressed and for many, it was the first time they'd had the opportunity to be inside the Little Theatre.