Steps To The Stage

Kirk Lane

A Seventh Street Theatre Podcast highlighting all things theatre related. Our focus is community/regional theatre as well as school drama departments.

  1. Dead Man's Cell Phone - re-release

    2d ago

    Dead Man's Cell Phone - re-release

    Send us Fan Mail A phone rings in a cafe. A stranger answers. And suddenly a whole life gets rewritten in real time. That’s the haunting spark behind Dead Man’s Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl, and we can’t stop thinking about how accurately it predicts the way modern technology shapes our relationships, our attention, and even our grief. We’re joined by director Melissa Bossard and cast members Lauri Deards, Mark Agars, and Saverio Guccioni to talk about building this production for the Theater on the Edge Festival at Chino Community Theatre. We unpack the play’s central paradox: smartphones and social media can reconnect old friends and create community, yet they also train us to live at a distance from our own bodies, our tables, and the people right in front of us. Along the way, we dig into character choices for Jean, Dwight, and Gordon and the bigger question the script keeps asking: who are we when everyone only sees the version we choose to show? We also go behind the curtain on community theater craftsmanship, including black box staging, shared festival set pieces, projections, lighting, and the practical teamwork that makes experimental theater possible. One of the most exciting surprises: original music composed and arranged specifically for this production, created from the emotional world of the script. We even discuss why bringing in an intimacy and fight director matters for actor safety, trust, and better storytelling. If you care about live theater, identity in the digital age, or the real cost of always being “reachable,” hit play, then subscribe, share the episode with a theater friend, and leave us a review and a five-star rating. What’s one way your phone has changed how you connect with people? May 15th-30th www.ChinoCommunityTheatre.org Box Office 909-590-1149 Find STTS: Steps To The Stage (@stepstothestage) | Instagram Facebook Steps To The Stage (buzzsprout.com) Steps To The Stage - YouTube Please follow on your favorite podcast platform and we appreciate 5 Star ratings and positive reviews!

    35 min
  2. POTUS: Theatre On The Edge

    May 11

    POTUS: Theatre On The Edge

    Send us Fan Mail A farce can be silly, sharp, and still feel like a mirror, and POTUS pulls that off in a way that had us laughing while also nodding a little too hard. We sit down with director Paige and cast members Mary and Ren from Chino Community Theatre’s Theater on the Edge Festival to talk about why Selina Fillinger’s POTUS is more than a “day in the White House.” For us, it becomes a story about the work women do, the credit they do not get, and the way communities survive by taking turns holding each other up. We get personal about the paths that bring people back to the stage: Mary’s journey from childhood acting to a theater degree to environmental law, and Wren’s return to community theater after stepping away for school and shyness. We also unpack what makes community theater so powerful for both artists and audiences, especially when it may be someone’s only chance to experience live performance close to home. From directing nerves and ensemble trust to physical comedy, last-minute casting changes, and the behind-the-scenes miracle of props, sound, lights, and stage management, this conversation is a love letter to the village that makes theater happen. If you’re local, POTUS plays May 16, 22, 30 at 7:30 p.m. and May 17, 23, 31 at 2:30 p.m., with tickets at chinocommunitytheater.org. Subscribe, share this with a theater friend, and leave us a five-star review so more people can find Steps to the Stage. Box Office: 909-590-1149 Find STTS: Steps To The Stage (@stepstothestage) | Instagram Facebook Steps To The Stage (buzzsprout.com) Steps To The Stage - YouTube Please follow on your favorite podcast platform and we appreciate 5 Star ratings and positive reviews!

    34 min
  3. Dead Man’s Cell Phone: Theatre On The Edge

    May 11

    Dead Man’s Cell Phone: Theatre On The Edge

    Send us Fan Mail A phone rings in a cafe. A stranger answers. And suddenly a whole life gets rewritten in real time. That’s the haunting spark behind Dead Man’s Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl, and we can’t stop thinking about how accurately it predicts the way modern technology shapes our relationships, our attention, and even our grief. We’re joined by director Melissa Bossard and cast members Lauri Deards, Mark Agars, and Saverio Guccioni to talk about building this production for the Theater on the Edge Festival at Chino Community Theatre. We unpack the play’s central paradox: smartphones and social media can reconnect old friends and create community, yet they also train us to live at a distance from our own bodies, our tables, and the people right in front of us. Along the way, we dig into character choices for Jean, Dwight, and Gordon and the bigger question the script keeps asking: who are we when everyone only sees the version we choose to show? We also go behind the curtain on community theater craftsmanship, including black box staging, shared festival set pieces, projections, lighting, and the practical teamwork that makes experimental theater possible. One of the most exciting surprises: original music composed and arranged specifically for this production, created from the emotional world of the script. We even discuss why bringing in an intimacy and fight director matters for actor safety, trust, and better storytelling. If you care about live theater, identity in the digital age, or the real cost of always being “reachable,” hit play, then subscribe, share the episode with a theater friend, and leave us a review and a five-star rating. What’s one way your phone has changed how you connect with people? May 15th-30th www.ChinoCommunityTheatre.org Box Office 909-590-1149 Find STTS: Steps To The Stage (@stepstothestage) | Instagram Facebook Steps To The Stage (buzzsprout.com) Steps To The Stage - YouTube Please follow on your favorite podcast platform and we appreciate 5 Star ratings and positive reviews!

    35 min
  4. Don Lugo High School: Beetlejuice Jr. STTS Drama Department

    Apr 20

    Don Lugo High School: Beetlejuice Jr. STTS Drama Department

    Send us Fan Mail Beetlejuice Jr is a big, weird, high-energy musical and the Don Lugo Theater Company is using it to show what student performers can really do when a school backs the arts. I’m joined by Don Lugo director Candida Celaya, alumni-turned-VAPA specialist Andrea, and student leaders Bella (Lydia) and Jesse (Beetlejuice) for a candid conversation about building a high school theater program that keeps growing in the Inland Empire. We get into the origin story of the department and the reality behind producing theater at a public school: choosing shows, securing rights, managing rehearsals, creating playbills, and finding the people who make it all happen. Andrea shares how “Visual And Performing Arts” support and Prop 28 funding can translate into real training for students, from choreography and stage management to lighting design and music direction. If you’re curious about tech theater careers, community theater pathways, or how arts education builds confidence, this one has a lot to take home. Bella and Jesse also open up about why these roles matter beyond applause, including how Lydia’s story can connect to real loss and how a dream role can push a student to grow fast. Don Lugo’s Beetlejuice Jr runs April 23rd, 24th, and 25th at 6:30 PM, with tickets on GoFan and updates on their Instagram. Subscribe, share this with a theater friend, and leave us a review so more listeners can find local theater stories like this. Home | Don Lugo Hs Theatre Instagram Don Antonio Lugo High School Events and Tickets by GoFan Find STTS: Steps To The Stage (@stepstothestage) | Instagram Facebook Steps To The Stage (buzzsprout.com) Steps To The Stage - YouTube Please follow on your favorite podcast platform and we appreciate 5 Star ratings and positive reviews!

    49 min
  5. Full Monty, Full Heart

    Apr 5

    Full Monty, Full Heart

    Send us Fan Mail A musical about six unemployed steel workers who decide to strip for cash sounds like a punchline until you look closer. We’re staging The Full Monty at Chino Community Theater, and what keeps surprising us is how much heart sits underneath the laughs: pride after a layoff, fear about providing for family, friendships that turn into lifelines, and the messy work of rebuilding confidence when life knocks you flat.  We sit down with our director Toni and cast members Justin, Ralph, and Sam to talk about what it takes to mount a bold community theater musical in an intimate space. They share their theater paths across California, the military, and beyond, plus what it feels like to come back after years away. We also get honest about process: juggling music rehearsals and choreography, adapting when scripts arrive late, and why Toni pushes us to create our own characters instead of copying the film or a past production.  You’ll hear why the musical version can hit harder than the movie, how ensemble chemistry can make a show live or die, and the behind-the-scenes work from costumes to set design that makes the big moments land. If you love live theater, musical theater, or stories about finding dignity after a setback, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share the episode with a theater friend, and leave a rating or review so more people can find the show. April 17-May 3rd Landing page for Seventh Street Theatre 909-590-1149 Find STTS: Steps To The Stage (@stepstothestage) | Instagram Facebook Steps To The Stage (buzzsprout.com) Steps To The Stage - YouTube Please follow on your favorite podcast platform and we appreciate 5 Star ratings and positive reviews!

    37 min
  6. POTUS Eleve Theatre Company: STTS IE

    Mar 9

    POTUS Eleve Theatre Company: STTS IE

    Send us Fan Mail A president we never hear. Seven women we can’t ignore. We sit down with Eleve' Theater Company to unpack the whiplash world of POTUS by Selina Fillinger, a ferocious farce where doors slam, spin cycles faster than the news, and the people holding power together aren’t the ones at the podium. Melissa, the director, shares why art should unsettle and how this script spotlights women leading from the shadows—strategizing, firefighting, and finding solidarity under pressure. We trace Eleve’s origin story from a string of no’s for “Wit” to a mission built on yes: yes to edge, yes to new work, yes to women-centered plays the community rarely sees. With a grant-backed partnership at Chance Theater’s 48-seat black box in Anaheim, the team brings a DIY ethos to life—hand-built doors for farce timing, self-sourced costumes, and prop lists wild enough to ping a delivery algorithm. The intimacy of the space becomes an asset: the audience is part of the charge, close enough to feel the speed of decisions and the shock of consequences. Cast members dig deep into character and context. Leyna’s Harriet, the chief of staff, carries strategy and stamina; Sej’s Jean, the press secretary, maps the White House to corporate corridors where women navigate promotion politics and pay the tax of honesty; Cydney’s Stephanie embodies the under-credited labor that keeps the day moving. Together they show how systems pit women against each other even as they build alliances to make it through an impossible 24 hours. The result is comedy that tells the truth at speed—tragedy accelerated until it’s hilarious and uncomfortably real. If you’re hungry for smart political theater, community grit, and an ensemble that elevates each other, this conversation will pull you in. Join us for craft talk, candid stories, and a look at why representation onstage changes what audiences feel and remember. Don’t miss the run: March 13–15 at Chance Theater in Anaheim, already more than half sold. Subscribe, share this with a theater friend, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find the show. Elevé Theatre Company presents POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive | Chance Theater Facebook Instagram Facebook - Back To The Grind Coffee  Find STTS: Steps To The Stage (@stepstothestage) | Instagram Facebook Steps To The Stage (buzzsprout.com) Steps To The Stage - YouTube Please follow on your favorite podcast platform and we appreciate 5 Star ratings and positive reviews!

    43 min
  7. Peter Pan Jr.: Where Hook Has Layers And Peter’s Kind Of A Jerk

    Mar 2

    Peter Pan Jr.: Where Hook Has Layers And Peter’s Kind Of A Jerk

    Send us Fan Mail What if Neverland isn’t a place you fly to but a world you build together? We’re pulling back the curtain on our reimagined Peter Pan Jr., where the nursery anchors reality and the stage reshapes itself with moving blocks into forests, ships, and hideaways. That design choice isn’t just clever staging; it’s a manifesto about how play transforms what we see and how young actors can hold a complex story with honesty and joy. We dive into the heart of the concept by turning light and shadow into living forces. Tinker Bell appears as pure light with a musical voice, while the crocodile becomes a shadow presence—time, fear, and consequence embodied—linked to both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook, played by the same actor. This lens lets us find layers in every role: Hook as more than a villain, Peter as a charming whirlwind who can also be selfish, Wendy as the spine that learns to lead. The result is a children’s theater production that treats kids as artists and the audience as smart partners in the story. Our creative team is a mentorship story in motion. Former students now lead choreography, music, art design, costumes, lights, and sound, guiding a cast of 30 young performers with care and high standards. You’ll hear how we direct without micromanaging, why confidence is a daily choice, and how tiny details—clock numerals stitched into Hook’s coat, twig toothbrushes and bark slippers for the lost boys—help actors discover behavior and make scenes breathe. We also honor the founders whose educational vision still fuels everything we do. If you love theater that balances clarity with risk, tradition with fresh craft, and spectacle with soul, this conversation will light you up. Join us to celebrate five years of growth, 25,000 downloads across 79 countries, and a community that keeps lifting each other higher. Subscribe, share this with a theater friend, and leave a quick review to help more people find the show—then tell us: which character’s arc surprised you most? Find STTS: Steps To The Stage (@stepstothestage) | Instagram Facebook Steps To The Stage (buzzsprout.com) Steps To The Stage - YouTube Please follow on your favorite podcast platform and we appreciate 5 Star ratings and positive reviews!

    31 min
  8. Lost Girl: Wendy After Neverland

    Feb 20

    Lost Girl: Wendy After Neverland

    Send us Fan Mail What if the story didn’t end at the window? We sit down with director Debbie and cast members Sophie (Wendy), Evangeline, Jandy, and Gavin to explore Lost Girl, a daring, female-forward play that follows Wendy Darling’s life after Neverland. Instead of chasing pixie dust, we trace the quiet shock of coming home: the disbelief of others, the ache of a promise never kept, and the courage it takes to reclaim a voice that was written off as a side note to Peter’s legend. Debbie shares how playwright Kimberly Bellflower centers young women with nuance and grit, using a chorus labeled ABC to embody Wendy’s inner thoughts and stitch time together through subtext. The cast breaks down how this device turns emotion into movement, letting us feel the pull between memory and growth. We talk modern themes—agency, closure, and healing—and why Wendy is neither invincible nor helpless. She’s a person finding her footing after an untidy ending, which makes her deeply relatable. Design choices amplify the story rather than distract from it. A near-bare stage revolves around a single window and an aged nursery, symbols of waiting and stasis that contrast Wendy’s slow, brave steps forward. Modular blocks and a small turntable ease shifts from the nursery to the city, while recurring sound motifs become the heartbeat of Wendy’s journey. The team also reveals a smart collaboration with the upcoming Peter Pan Jr., creating visual continuity and a shared creative language across productions. Along the way, we celebrate the ensemble’s craft: how young actors tackled layered subtext, how casting shaped chemistry, and how Slightly’s gentle loyalty reframes what support looks like. If you care about contemporary theater, fresh adaptations, and stories where girls write their own endings, this conversation will hit home. Tickets for Lost Girl run February 27 through March 7. Grab your seats at chinochildrenstheater.org or call 909-590-1149. If you enjoyed this episode, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves reimagined classics, and leave a quick review—your support helps more people find us. Find STTS: Steps To The Stage (@stepstothestage) | Instagram Facebook Steps To The Stage (buzzsprout.com) Steps To The Stage - YouTube Please follow on your favorite podcast platform and we appreciate 5 Star ratings and positive reviews!

    26 min
5
out of 5
18 Ratings

About

A Seventh Street Theatre Podcast highlighting all things theatre related. Our focus is community/regional theatre as well as school drama departments.

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