Puttin’ on a show:
L.I.T.E. Productions marks a five-year milestone

By Tom Moore

1997 The Elephant Man
1998 House of Wonders
1999 Moon Over Buffalo
1999 The Boys Next Door
2000 Bedroom Farce
2000 Fiddler on the Roof
2000 The Diary of Anne Frank
2001 Dangerous Liaisons
2001 The Wizard of Oz
2001 Equus
2002 Kiss Me, Kate
2002 Annie
2002 A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum

The idea was crazy, and somewhat overwhelming, but we knew we had to make the attempt: forming our own theater company. The opportunity to be in control of all aspects of production, from the play itself to the details of the business end, is something perhaps almost anyone involved in theater has thought about. It is a major goal for many pursuing artistic endeavors: creative freedom. And in the summer of 1997 a chance was presented to us.
Brother Bob Warren, who had formed CM Productions in 1994, left Laredo after many years. A Marist brother who worked as a counselor with the Catholic Campus Ministry for Texas A&M International University and Laredo Community College, Bob took a position with the UT Austin Catholic Center in August 1997.
A core group had formed during those years of CM Productions, working as actors and stage and technical crew on the plays Bob directed. Each production brought new people. Some stayed for only one show; some became members of this unruly, passionate, and very extended surrogate family. We had become for all practical purposes a repertory group.
The rock opera Tommy was the last show presented by CM Productions in July 1997. The production was the kind that can make a person fall in love with theater: a summer musical with a large cast, great songs, and an emotional story. To lose the possibility of any such future experiences, with such like-minded friends, was something no one wanted. So, how to continue? By not stopping. The final performance of Tommy was the beginning of L.I.T.E. Productions, the Laredo Institute for Theatrical Education, whose first production, The Elephant Man, opened in November 1997.
Five years and 13 plays later, L.I.T.E. Productions is thriving, if creative freedom and control are any measure of success. Most of us are engaged to some degree in an administrative as well as creative capacity. And our community outreach efforts continue to grow, including workshops for junior high and high school students and a scholarship program for graduating high school seniors who have worked on a specific number of L.I.T.E. Productions shows.
Several L.I.T.E. Productions board members and friends met recently to look back at the short history of our little theater company.

The idea
Danny Villarreal, founding board member: "It was during the last show of Tommy when we started talking about it. We were outside. It was myself, José Sanchez, Amanda Bean, John Flanagan was there, Diana Marcos was also there. I remember Amanda and I looked at each other and said, ‘This is it, you know? ‘After this show we’re closing down. CM Productions is gone.’ Amanda said, "Danny, I don’t want to stop doing this. I don’t want to stop doing this.’ I said, ‘We don’t have to stop. Why don’t we start our own? Let’s do it.’ As soon as I said that, I remember it plain as day, Joe Sanchez was walking up to us: ‘What are you all talking about?’ Like if he knew. I said, ‘We’re thinking of starting our own group.’ He said, ‘I’m in. I’m in. Let’s do it.’
"Then after the last show, we brought it up to Bob. Amanda I were hugging each other because the last show was over. It was sort of sad, a couple of tears rolled here and there.
"So that was it. That’s how it started. It was right after Tommy. Sandy Jacaman got together with us: ‘Hey, let’s work it out, let’s see what we have to do.’"
Diana Marcos, founding board secretary: "We just couldn’t see ourselves not doing it anymore, even though Bob wasn’t around."
Sandy Jacaman, founding board president: "I remember everything going on outside, but at that time I was Brother Bob’s assistant director, so I know I wasn’t outside at all. Then they all had come to me: ‘Hey, we want to do this.’ And I was like, ‘Okay.’"

Getting started
Peggy Phelps, founding board treasurer: "We had elections. We had a general board meeting, everybody who wanted to come. We sat in the auditorium and then we elected board members. From all those that were nominated, we voted for officers. Everybody voted for whatever office they thought they should be. Sandy got it all organized."
Jacaman: "It’s one of my skills, I guess, organizing. It got stressful because we were such a small group and trying to also be involved in the first production and all that. But everybody was really helpful. Manolo Rangel was the accountant. Mike Kazen was really helpful. The people at the County were really helpful getting us going. It just was tedious, because you have to set up your by-laws and all of that."
At that first election, Sandy Jacaman was voted president; John Flanagan, vice-president; Peggy Phelps, treasurer; and Diana Marcos, secretary. The remainder of the board was made up of Diana Sanchez, Amanda Bean, Diana Silva, Joe Sanchez, Danny Villarreal, and myself.
Villarreal: "Once we got the elections out of the way, we started working right away."

On our own
Phelps: "It was scary. But I think most of us had something to prove, that we could do it. That we weren’t totally dependent."
Jacaman: "It was exciting, though. It was exciting because it was new and it wasn’t a cookie-cutter thing."
Villarreal: "Butterflies were flying around. We were nervous. But if we put our heads together we could make it. And we did. And it was scary, that first show, Elephant Man."
Marcos: "I started doing stuff that I had never done before. When I had worked with other people before, I was always told what to do. We had never really been the ones to generate the projects. Having Bob around -- since had been my teacher, I never got away from that teacher/student relationship, and it was a real reversal for me, having people ask me what to do.
"When we did The Elephant Man were so worried. We felt like a bunch of little kids because Bob would take care of everything."
Jacaman: "Everybody did everything. And that was the whole beauty -- or terror! -- of the first one. Bob was always so in control of everything, and now everybody was acting and doing everything else, too."
Villarreal: "Yeah: ‘Wait a minute, we need advertising, we need programs, we need this, we need that. . . .’ It was figuring it all out, one step at a time."
Jacaman: "And it was a pretty darn good production."
Villarreal: "We were ready at least two weeks before, three weeks before. And that’s when we met Joe."
Joe Flores, current board president: "I had just moved down from Austin, and I had just gotten my job with the school district. I wasn’t doing anything, so I auditioned for [Laredo Little Theatre’s] M*A*S*H*, and I was doing Hawkeye. I was three weeks into it when Amanda told me, ‘Some friends of mine are doing The Elephant Man, do you want to audition for it?’ I was already doing a play. Elephant Man was one that I’d always wanted to work on, but I couldn’t do it.
"I had just got done doing M*A*S*H*, and I was in the back. It was the last performance, I was getting my stuff together. And John came back there, and said there was a vacancy in Elephant Man, and he wanted to know if I was interested in coming out in the production. So I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’"
Phelps: "He went in, and he sat on the floor, and just stared at the stage for a whole rehearsal. But we were so used to people sitting on the floor: ‘He’s already part of the group, he automatically sits in the aisle on the floor.’"

Wearing many hats
Those of us involved with L.I.T.E. Productions take pride in the fact that while we are board members making administrative decisions, we are also "in the trenches," working on every aspect of production -- directing and acting, building sets and sewing costumes, working the box office during performances and the concession stand during intermissions.
Phelps: "I think that’s the whole purpose of L.I.T.E. That’s what we’re all about. Basically -- and I think we all agree -- we’re only on the board if we are involved in what everybody is doing."
Jacaman: "Which is really what community theater is all about. It really is a community involved, board members and all."
Flores: "Artistically it makes all the difference, because we’re the ones running the show, we’re the ones who also have artistic control. If you do have a board where it’s a different board as opposed to the people doing it, you don’t always have artistic control over everything all the time. Those of who are in the trenches, when we’re working on something, it’s really easy for us to make a board decision. We’re there. We can make a financial decision, for example, as long as there’s five of us."
Villarreal: "We call each other up, we can reach each other. We have a lot of control."
Flores: "And we know everything that’s going on in the play. We know when we’re having a problem with an actor, we know we’re having a problem with anything. We know what’s going on. It’s a lot of artistic freedom. As opposed to being bossed around by people who aren’t really working in theater."
Marcos: "It’s a very good feeling, but sometimes it feels like such a great responsibility. We’ve sometimes bitten off more than we could chew, and we end up grumpy and tired and working on two shows at the same time, and acting with one side of our face and sewing costumes with the other, but I don’t think we would want to do it any differently."
Jacaman: "It think it gives L.I.T.E. a freshness. It keeps everything newer. It draws in a lot more people, because they’re appreciative of the fact that the board is involved and they get motivated by that."
Flores: "That’s where the education aspect comes in. Those of us with all the experience -- if we were just the board, saying we’re just going to make decisions and we let other people do it -- we’re the ones who’ve been doing it for a while, so . . . what are we teaching other people? If we do it like that: nothing.
"Also, it makes it easier for us when we give out scholarships. We know the kids that are working hard for us. We know the things that are going on.
"Plus we show other people that this something we love to do, and then that’s what affects other people.
"We are a board, we do function, it just happens that we all get along and we’re all real good friends, so we can communicate different ideas to each other. As opposed to like just two or three people doing all the work, because that’s something that also happens. Sometimes you’ll have an organization where it’s only two or three people doing everything, and everybody else is sitting back."
Marcos: "All of us have a great respect for each other’s ideas and contributions."
Mando Lopez, board member: "The persons affiliated with L.I.T.E. productions have one thing in common. It is a passion for the unique combination of talent that makes live theater such an invigorating experience. The group has evolved from a band of actors who loved the purity of the stage to a much larger community of veteran actors, technical experts, community benefactors, and child actors who are expanding the reach of theater in Laredo. The core of the group are the professional educators in the group, Joe Flores, Diana Marcos, and Peggy Phelps, as well as seasoned actors and actresses. The community members and parents and aspiring young actors represent fruit of years of work in building a theater presence in South Texas."

First-time actors
In addition to learning the administrative ropes of theater, several board members tried their hand at acting for the first time with L.I.T.E. Peggy’s first time on stage was in 1999’s Moon Over Buffalo.
Phelps: "It was fun. I’d rather not. But it was an interesting experience. It put me on stage. I got rid of all my likes or dislikes. It’s not something I want to do all the time. I’d much rather do the back stuff, the stuff that’s not onstage."
Sandy had a small part in The Elephant Man. The next year, she was back in familiar territory as assistant director for House of Wonders. When one actor had to withdraw from the production, she stepped in to fill the part, which was larger than that in the previous play.
Jacaman: "I really enjoyed it. I am a business woman, everybody always puts me in that box -- I was president, I did the administrative stuff -- and it’s all that same drive. It’s such a wonderful way of expressing yourself, just being given the opportunity. It was fun, I really enjoyed it, and it’s something that I would like to do again sometime if it ever affords itself."

Local boy makes good
Albert Sanchez acted in several plays with L.I.T.E., including The Boys Next Door, Bedroom Farce, and Fiddler on the Roof. He had had no theater experience prior to college; his first play Company, was directed by Spencer Oldham at Laredo Community College. Oldham mentioned to him that was going to direct Boys Next Door with L.I.T.E.
Sanchez: "At that point in college, at LCC, I had no idea what I wanted to do, I was very lost. I hadn’t developed my instincts. I was a biology major. The last thing I wanted to do was get on stage. But through the experience of a couple of shows, I decided to go for acting.
"My first show was what really got me interested. And then Boys Next Door was so much fun, I really enjoyed it. It was people who were having a great time doing it. It just really boosted my confidence."
Albert decided to study theater. He attended Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, and graduated in May 2002 with a bachelor of arts in acting. He recently got his first acting job touring with the National Theater of the Performing Arts for four months.
Sanchez: "One thing I’ve come to realize in the past couple of years is that my first experiences couldn’t have gone any better, because I was working with artists who were humble and generous. A lot of times people who start off start off with people who just cannot do a lot; they just think on this pedestal. And it’s hard to learn from people like that. And the cast and everyone made it fun. That’s why I’ll always want to come back to it.
"One thing I noticed -- a lot of people that I met in New York, they started out in bigger theaters, highly prestigious theaters in their towns, very professional. They come up to these theater schools for their degrees, and it’s life or death. It’s not fun for them. And I went in there and . . . everyday in class was hard, it was very difficult. But I never left crying, or breaking down, or feeling like this is my life and I’m going to die if I don’t get something out of it today. Ninety percent of those people there come out like that, and I think it’s even more difficult when you graduate, because that’s where it really tests you. I didn’t come out feeling like that. I came out feeling, ‘You know what? Don’t forget your roots. Don’t forget how much fun it was.’ Everybody was very supportive, and that’s what gave me the courage to go audition in New York in the first place. So I got my courage from the stage. They gave me my courage there on stage."

New blood
Auditions for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in November were poignant for several of us. The seats of the Lamar auditorium were filled with a younger crowd, some in their late teens, most in their early 20s. Several of us could see ourselves there, years before, when we had decided to continue with theater after high school or give it a try for the first time, with the Laredo Little Theatre, or with CM Productions. We weren’t the youngest or newest people in the group anymore.
And there are more following this new influx, those who started out as elementary or junior high school kids and who year by year are learning more, doing more, and taking on more responsibilities, such as running the box office or concession stand at performances, in addition to acting. They include the children or younger siblings of board members and actors. Albert’s brother Beau, for example, started with Fiddler.
Phelps: "Fiddler was the first show that had a lot of kids involved in it, kids that have stayed."
Sanchez: "It’s something you wouldn’t think exists in Laredo. When you hear ‘kids’ activities’ all you think of is cheerleading and sports, and the arts I think are a very important thing, particularly once you get past high school. I think it’s a great start for them, that not everybody gets to be a part of. And the greater thing is they don’t have to compete for it. It’s there for you. It gives you confidence. You don’t have to try out. All you’re trying out for is a part, not to have the experience."
Danny’s daughters Vanessa and Katherine appeared in Annie Jr. as well as Fiddler.
Villarreal: "My kids love it. Katherine more than Vanessa. Vanessa enjoys the whole aspect of behind the scenes and being on stage with everybody and her friends. She loves it.
"I remember the parents of one of the kids coming up to me after the last show of Annie, and they were telling me that their daughter, at church and so on, was real timid, real shy, didn’t want to talk to anybody. And once she started doing the show -- now she’s outgoing. Her father was very grateful to L.I.T.E. for doing this. He said it turned her around completely."
Marcos: "My two younger daughters, Magali and Ilyssa, they’re both very quiet in and of themselves. They’re not looking for the limelight. But as young as they are, they’ve learned the importance of the back end of things, the backstage. It’s amazing, they take on these huge responsibilities backstage. They’re not echoing mommy; they’re not following in the footsteps. Theater has become very important to them, just in different ways. It’s a neat thing. Anissa, the oldest, her interest is limited to watching and avidly criticizing. She’s done some set work, but she’s just not into the theater thing as much."
Mando’s daughter Mara Lopez, whose theater experience began as a sixth grade drama student taught by Peggy, was a cast member in Fiddler and The Diary of Anne Frank. She served as assistant director for Annie Jr. His sons Alex and Armando have become mainstays as well in the children’s productions.
Lopez: "My wife and I are so blessed to have three wonderful children who are part of the L.I.T.E. family. My young sons Alex and Armando have been in two plays, while my daughter Mara has benefited from the well-rounded theater education that is at the heart of L.I.T.E.’s philosophy. She has acted in three plays. More importantly, she has served as an assistant director, stage director, and technical assistant for plays, and she is only 15 years of age. And there are many others like her in the L.I.T.E. family. The confidence that this engenders in young theater workers bodes well for theater in Laredo."
Phelps: "Mara is a dedicated young lady. She knows how I work, I know how she works. It was fun. And I’ll do it again. The whole family is becoming involved. Mando is becoming a very good actor. Alex is amazing. I’m waiting for Alex to grow up a little bit and then I’ll do Fiddler Jr.
"There is an outlet for kids here. It’s a good outlet for the kids."

The point
Why do it? What is the attraction, despite the time demands and the schedule conflicts? A set takes about four weeks to build. In five hours it can be taken down, the stage bare once more. Why all the work for something that is so short-lived, that has nothing permanent to show for it except photographs, a wrinkled program, maybe some backstage video?
Villarreal: "I guess it keeps us young, and happy. It’s fun."
Flores: "The thing about L.I.T.E. Productions -- without the One-Act Play contest you really wouldn’t have theater arts classes. The schools would feel no need to do that. But L.I.T.E. is a better illustration of theater and getting other people involved. I like doing some of the big shows like Fiddler because you’ll get people from all different areas of the community, people from all different kinds of professions, and you get them together, and they’re going through this journey, this process. And it bonds us because we’re someone’s surrogate family, and I’m not just talking about as a theater group. In a play itself, for example, someone’s your little sister, someone’s your father, and so you go through certain experiences that you would only go through in a play. I think it bonds you in a way that no other group project does. We’ve met all kinds of cool people just by doing a play."
Phelps: "From my standpoint it involves the kids. It gives the kids another outlet, a creative outlet, which is something that is sadly missing in today’s society. It’s a horrible thing to say, but it’s something that’s sadly missing in the way we deal with our lives by sitting in front of a computer for ten hours or whatever. It gives kids a chance to go play. It gives them an opportunity to go and be creative and do things that are not cut-and-dry. School is cut-and-dry. TV is cut-and-dry.
"We do it because it serves a purpose. It serves a purpose for the community. It serves a purpose for me personally. I get to be creative. I get to do the things I enjoy doing, and that I don’t have to do. I chose to stay away from Equus until it opened. And that was fine with them. They understood that. But I went back and did house for it, and was very impressed. But personally, it does give me an opportunity be creative, to do things. Not only to do something for the kids, but to do something for myself. Which is why I don’t do the stage, because I’m uncomfortable on the stage. But I’m a show-off. I like always seeing my name on the program. It’s there because I did that: ‘That’s me, that’s what I do.’ Because that’s the way I am.
Villarreal: "Peggy has become more three-dimensional now than ever, since I first met her."
Phelps: "I’ve changed a lot because of the theater. I’m a totally different person, because of CM, or L.I.T.E., or these guys . . . whatever. I’ve grown. I’ve developed. I’ve expanded my horizons. Before, I would go to choir, then come home, me and Robert and Truman and problems. The theater opens up all these doors of possibilities."

Five years later
In the fall of 1997 we were only concerned with getting through The Elephant Man. Thoughts of the next play were far from anyone’s mind, let alone the next five years. There have been changes, such as John Flanagan leaving Laredo to pursue a Ph.D., and Brother Bob moving back to Laredo, becoming board president, and then being transferred to New Jersey; friends who have been with us for too short a time before moving on to other chapters of their lives. L.I.T.E. continues to thrive, and though the group will be without a performance venue for several months as Lamar auditorium undergoes renovations, an eye continues to be kept on the future.
Flores: "I think we’re flourishing now, creatively. In 1997, we did one play, Elephant Man. In 1998 House of Wonders was our only show. We jumped up to two shows in 1999. In 2000 we upped it to three shows a year. Which is a lot, considering that usually we all work on every play, and we’re all employed by other means. The last three years we’ve done three shows a year, which is very good, considering the process in which we do it. Technically, if we wanted to, we could do more shows -- it would kill us -- but I don’t think the quality would be as good. And that’s one thing I’ve been very proud of with L.I.T.E. Productions. I think that as a group we care about the quality of the show that we’re going to do. We’re not putting up a show just to put up a show."
Jacaman: "It feels like L.I.T.E. is here to stay. It doesn’t feel like it’s going anywhere."
Villarreal: "We’ve had our disagreements, arguments, but we always understand that’s the name of the game."
Phelps: "Yes, we’ve had our disagreements, and we all get ready to quit and then decide, no, we can’t quit. We’ve had our ups and downs. We’re going to have a down right now because we don’t have a home, but it’s temporary. We’ve had hopes. We’ve had dreams, and I think the dreams are coming true. Now we can dream further on, do more dreaming."
Flores: "I’m really happy with the enthusiasm we have now. We have the confidence now to say, ‘Let’s do that play.’ We’ve been able to do these shows and do them really well."
Sanchez: "I think L.I.T.E.’s a diamond in the rough. Going to the theater mecca of the country, you see all these theaters, and there are theaters the size of this living room that are making it. They are working in Manhattan. I don’t know how they do it. Even after all the stuff that’s happened in New York, they’re still making it. The one thing I would like to see L.I.T.E. focus more on is word of mouth. Getting the word out. Because there are so many people out there -- everyday when I come back, they ask, ‘How did you get into theater?’ ‘L.I.T.E.’ ‘Who’s that? And where can I get their phone number? How can I get a hold of them? I’d love to do anything. I don’t care. I just want to do anything. I will sell popcorn.’ They want to be involved.
"I think L.I.T.E.’s picked up the harder part -- being able to stick to your guns and take risks. I think that’s the harder part to get rather than a place to do it under. Artistically, it think they’re ahead of the game, for as conservative an area as this can be."
Jacaman: "The say in business, five years is your make or break period. I’m very proud of L.I.T.E. It feels very good to say I was the founding president. I’m very proud of what I did at the beginning, and I’m very proud of what has evolved since. That initial spark, initial desire to have something for the community is really present, and that’s what I like. I am very, very proud of the work that L.I.T.E. does. And I love the name -- Laredo Institute for Theatrical Education -- that was John Flanagan’s idea. It’s really something to be very proud of."

(Tom Moore has been involved with Laredo community theater since 1991. A founding member of L.I.T.E. Productions, he served two years as board treasurer, and is currently a board member at-large. He has been an actor and stage crew member for L.I.T.E., and directed the productions House of Wonders and Dangerous Liaisons.)