[00:00] Cold Open

Heather Partin: Theater is a chance to see something, live theater, that the people in that room are going to be the only people that ever see it. And you can watch a movie and 12 million other people saw the exact same movie, but the 100 people in the room with you are the only ones who ever saw that night happen.

[00:22] Intro

Brady Renard: Thanks for joining us in Louisiana's Playground Podcast, your guide to all there is to see and taste and do here in Lake Charles. I'm Brady Renard.

Jillian Corder: And I'm Jillian Corder, and we're excited to bring you the authentic stories and experiences of Southwest Louisiana. We've got everything you need to explore this area and a great show for you today.

Brady Renard: Yeah, episode 104, if you're keeping track at home, just make another note in that ledger, because we've got another great show for you, as we always do. I mean, why would we intentionally do a bad show?

Jillian Corder: Yeah.

Brady Renard: Or say, you know what? We didn't do very hot. Just skip this one if you want to.

Jillian Corder: We're just going to delete it.

Brady Renard: Yeah, just, it ain't working.

Jillian Corder: We've never had any guests so terrible where we just said, we'll delete it instead.

Brady Renard: And this one is another good one, as we talk to the Lake Charles Little Theatre, well, not to them, but two of their board members.

Jillian Corder: We don't talk to the theater itself.

Brady Renard: Yeah, that would be special. Now that...

Jillian Corder: Episode might not gain any traction. Or maybe it would. Let's go viral. Yeah. Squinting at the wall. Yeah.

Brady Renard: So we talked to Brett Downer and Heather Partin, two of their board members who have been involved for decades. A very fun, passionate conversation, a lot to get to there. But before we do that, you know what time it is.

Jillian Corder: It's time to talk food in a little segment we call Envie Eats.

[01:47] Envie Eats: Spicy Rico

Brady Renard: And this week we head across the bridge over to Sulphur for one of my new favorite restaurants.

Jillian Corder: Agreed. Spicy Rico.

Brady Renard: It is a, if you've seen like Chipotle, Mo's, Izzo's, that style of like Subway of burrito stations is kind of what you would kind of call it, even though there's much more than just burritos there. It's their take on it. It's a locally owned Mexican restaurant that specifically, it's a craft your own Mexican cuisine. And they have like quesadillas and bowls and burritos and nachos and salads. And so there's a lot of different options. And I think there's eight or so different protein options. And that doesn't count any of the veggies and the sauces and... It was so good.

Jillian Corder: What I hear a lot around here, around these parts, I hear people saying, oh, they're missing out on one of those chain build your own burrito style places. Well, here you go.

Brady Renard: Pound for pound can go. This is your fix.

Jillian Corder: This is your fix, is Spicy Rico.

Brady Renard: Exceptional. I really enjoyed, you know, the cleanliness of the restaurant. I enjoyed the actual food. Like no notes is kind of how I would say about it. It was all very, very good. Do you want to start?

Jillian Corder: I can.

Brady Renard: Yeah.

Jillian Corder: Do you want, did you get a burrito? You got a burrito, right?

Brady Renard: Yeah.

Jillian Corder: Okay, well then I'll start because I didn't get the burrito. I went with a bowl, which is my favorite thing because I can also like, it's to me, it's easier to save for like a reheat moment if necessary. So I got a bowl, bed of rice, lettuce, the good kind, the kind we're eating these days here in 2026. The good kind. So rice, lettuce, black beans, grilled chicken, cheese, came with some salsa, chips. So good. It's, I know all those ingredients sound pretty basic, right, for a burrito bowl?

Brady Renard: But they're each individually like great on the corn, right?

Jillian Corder: Yes. Very good. Very, very good. It had just all the right seasoning on all the right bits, and then all put together, it was really delicious. It just, I don't know. I ate all of it really quickly, way too fast kind of thing.

Brady Renard: You were not the only one.

Jillian Corder: Surprise, surprise.

Brady Renard: And that wasn't even a shot at my own self. One of the people, our photographer that comes with us, she started eating and she said, okay, I think I ate too fast.

Jillian Corder: Like, oh, oh, kind of thing. Gotta slow yourself down on it.

Brady Renard: Yeah, you have to, your stomach has to catch up to, your eyes need to catch up to your stomach.

Jillian Corder: It also was a lot of food. So if you get the rice in the bowl and the beans and lettuce on top, and the cheese was actually like melted on the top, I don't know. It just, it was everything I've ever wanted. And I did feel like I was missing that kind of fix, and now I found it.

Brady Renard: Yeah, no, there...

Jillian Corder: But now, this is my go-to.

Brady Renard: I was so happy that it lived up to the expectations. I had heard great things about it and we wanted to make sure to include it at some point on the podcast. And so, and it timed out really well and we went and yeah, it was wonderful. I got the burrito. I love a good burrito. Rice, I went just to do a little differently. I went with the carnitas, so a pork with rice. I did the Spanish rice. I did the pinto beans, queso, shredded cheese. They have a fresh jalapeno mixture that they cook down and kind of create kind of like a jalapeno sauce that's chunky jalapenos. Almost like a jalapeno pico in a way, right? Except it's just jalapenos. Phenomenal. And then I had three different hot sauces. They were all different and wonderful. One of them was more of a salsa than a hot sauce. Another one was kind of a picante style salsa, hot sauce. There was a tomatillo that was brilliant with the carnitas because it just works, right? A verde salsa. A verde sauce works with pork typically. And then it was just, it was another hotter sauce that I think would have paired even better with like a chicken.

Jillian Corder: I can't stop laughing. Salsas are my favorite part. That's what I can't stop laughing about, because whenever we go to a restaurant and a server comes to the table and they're like, hey there, the only thing I order, I say, I need your queso, white, please. And then Brady, when they ask, what kind of salsa do you want? He's like, one of each, please.

Brady Renard: All of them. I want to try them all.

Jillian Corder: He needs one of each, needs to try all of them. And whichever one he deems his favorite, he's going to get. At least.

Brady Renard: And it was just brilliant. And so I kind of switched to each one and they were all really good. And I could tell this one would pair really well with this type of meat or this type of rice or beans or whatever. And that was probably my favorite part, is that I could get a burrito four different ways and really kind of change it up each time.

Jillian Corder: There's so many proteins on the list that like when I was about to order, I was kind of like torn because there's ground beef, there's carnitas, there's what they call Mexican brisket, there's chicken, there's everything.

Brady Renard: Kind of talking, it is similar to their barbacoa. It's just, I would say it's probably a little less spicy. It's kind of the way. It's a little bit more simple with the seasonings that they use.

Jillian Corder: Options that you could go there 100 times and never get the same thing twice. No, and gosh, it was so good.

Brady Renard: It's really good and fun to kind of explore those different favorites and go in each time and order something different. And I know that there are some plans from what I can kind of gather that this may not be the only location forever.

Jillian Corder: You're hoping.

Brady Renard: Yeah, and so, and also to be on the lookout too, I think there will be some different chicken options too, some different season. And so a lot of great food, and I really think that if you happen to go, that you're really going to enjoy.

Jillian Corder: Right there in Sulphur off of Beglis Parkway and near Burton. So easy peasy to get to from the interstate. Great spot. Burton Street.

Brady Renard: Burton Road, not Burton Coliseum.

Jillian Corder: That's not in Sulphur, so no. You're right.

Brady Renard: But just being Beglis and Burton?

Jillian Corder: If you put that in your Google Maps, it will know what I'm talking about. It will find it. Spicy Rico. You should try it.

[08:06] Guest Introduction

Brady Renard: From a great meal to a great couple of guests, we welcome on Brett Downer and Heather Partin. Brett has been on the Lake Charles Little Theatre stage for over 40 years, has served as president, and his family has really been a part of the theater since its first season, so generations deep. Heather, meanwhile, has been right there alongside him for the last 39 years as an actor, costumer, and everything else in between. And together they've even co-authored a book on the Little Theatre's history. And now they're leading the charge on a huge milestone as the Little Theatre turns 100 this year. And today we're talking about what a century of community theater means to a city. Welcome to the show, Heather and Brett.

Heather Partin: Thanks, Brady. Glad to be here.

[08:48] Rapid Fire

Jillian Corder: So when we have guests on, the very first thing we do here on Louisiana's Playground is let our listeners know how you play here in Louisiana's Playground. Okay, so rapid fire questions. Are you ready? Go.

Brett Downer: Sure.

Jillian Corder: Okay. Crawfish or gumbo?

Heather Partin: Crawfish.

Brett Downer: Gumbo.

Brady Renard: I love this.

Jillian Corder: Let's see how different they are.

Brady Renard: Okay. But is there a gumbo season?

Jillian Corder: Oh yeah, there's always a part two.

Heather Partin: Yes.

Brett Downer: Yeah, there is. And the potato salad goes outside of it.

Heather Partin: Exactly. I agree on that one.

Jillian Corder: Agreed on that part.

Brett Downer: These are the only answers for these questions.

Jillian Corder: Yeah, I know. These are the only answers for these questions. Yeah. Brady believes there's not a gumbo season.

Brady Renard: Gumbo's amazing. I had gumbo yesterday and it was brilliant.

Jillian Corder: Gumbo.

Brett Downer: Two restaurants year round. Yes.

Jillian Corder: Brady has had gumbo every Wednesday all summer. Every single Wednesday.

Brady Renard: It's gumbo Wednesday. Gumbo Wednesday.

Jillian Corder: Hashtag gumbo Wednesday.

Brett Downer: Every Saturday now is football season.

Jillian Corder: So there you go.

Brady Renard: Beautiful.

Jillian Corder: Okay, next up, poolside or beachside?

Brett Downer: Beachside.

Heather Partin: Poolside.

Jillian Corder: This is really fun.

Brady Renard: This is perfect.

Jillian Corder: This is almost like me and Brady though. This is kind of how we feel about it too. Okay. Concert or comedy show?

Brett Downer: Comedy show.

Heather Partin: Concert.

Brady Renard: That is brilliant.

Jillian Corder: This is great.

Brett Downer: This is how we argue off stage too.

Jillian Corder: This is a look, a peek inside.

Brett Downer: It feels like rehearsal.

Jillian Corder: How it always works.

[10:10] The Partnership

Jillian Corder: Okay, so tell us, okay, you are obviously a little bit different from each other. You've got your differences. How do you make this work in a professional setting to make the Lake Charles Little Theatre what it is?

Heather Partin: Brett is better at big picture things. He can see an idea and know what needs to happen, know what the idea is going to be and the end product. And I am good at the little bitty things that lead up to that.

Brett Downer: Heather, yeah, Heather keeps that grid, the magic matrix, has its own name, for all the organization of all the people and what scenes there are and when you're supposed to be on stage and what the props are. She actually makes it happen. The ideas, and there's actual performance, and that's how that happens.

Jillian Corder: Yeah, so the visionary and the taskmaster are kind of...

[10:53] Rosa Hart and the Theatre's Origins

Brady Renard: Well, 100 years of community theater in Lake Charles, how does that happen?

Heather Partin: It's just crazy to think about 100 years, 100 years of theater. It started because of Rosa Hart.

Jillian Corder: And everybody knows that name around here, around in Lake Charles, the Rosa Hart Theatre. But tell them, help us learn a little bit about who she is, who she was.

Brett Downer: Well, for one, she lived in town. She did the bookings for the local movie theaters. She had her own bookshop. She was a tutor to lots of kids and she wrote to lots and lots of celebrities. And she and some other, who came to town because of it, Hollywood star, she had correspondence with and they came and actually performed in Little Theatre shows. She just was a big idea, big voice, big energy here in town. And she and a group of some civic minded, arts minded women in the 20s that would form the theater. They argued on the porch of an old house downtown, formed a theater, had shows on within months.

Brady Renard: And I love that, wrote celebrities, and because what's the worst thing that could happen? They say no.

Heather Partin: Yeah.

Jillian Corder: They ignore you.

Brady Renard: And they didn't.

Heather Partin: The Life magazine story.

Brett Downer: That's right. She kept correspondence with journalists too. Life magazine, the Fox News or CNN of the day now. In 1948, they wanted to give Americans a representation of what community theater was like. And they chose Lake Charles Little Theatre. They did eight pages of photos, and it's a centerpiece of the magazine. We have a half dozen copies of those. We'll have them at our anniversary celebrations.

Jillian Corder: That's wonderful. She kind of was a tourism bureau all in one person before you guys were here at Visit Lake Charles. I felt like she really was trying to get people to come this way.

Brett Downer: People like Charles Laughton and Vincent Price. Bette Davis even came to the area because of that, because she would just write letters. Sometimes it would be guest artists and shows.

Jillian Corder: That's amazing.

Brett Downer: She just insisted on a lot of things. And she's the reason why, even though she died before any of us were even born, even me. But the idea that... Even breath. But just the spirit of that, really, it's in a real way, in the sense that she just would basically grab people off the street and encourage bakers and butchers and candlestick makers and all that sort of thing. Everybody's been in a Little Theatre. And it's always been a volunteer organization. There's never been anybody who was the paid head of it or the executive director or things like that. It's entirely a volunteer enterprise from start to finish.

[13:16] The Volunteer Spirit

Jillian Corder: So 100 years later, how are you guys doing that same thing now?

Heather Partin: We do that same thing. We dedicate our time and our hours that we're not at work and not dealing with our, you know, having family things going on.

Brady Renard: It feels like it's the secret sauce though. It is. Because when you start creating jobs and you start creating things where there's expectations and money, that's where things get kind of messy. But when you're doing it for the love of the game...

Brett Downer: Yeah, that's the reason why, because 100 years later, this is a different town in the sense that there's so many different ways you can entertain yourself, entertainment options. It's still the fact that people like the idea that apart from whatever their day job is, law or real estate or farming, whatever it is, they can still do something about the magic being on stage. And maybe their school didn't have it, or maybe they didn't have the time, but they could do things at night and actually be on stage. Or you could go see local talent perform. That's the mix that's been the same for 100 years, even with everything else we have around us in Chuck now. People will still go to shows and they'll still be in shows.

Jillian Corder: And the fact that, I love that when you guys go to rehearsal, every single person that's there is there, like you said, for the love of the game, because it's their passion project.

Heather Partin: It is.

Jillian Corder: Being in a room with people that are all in it for the same reason has got to feel really good.

Heather Partin: Yeah.

Brett Downer: And it doesn't cost anything. There's no fees to be in a show. You don't pay for costumes or scripts or things like that. It's just entirely paid for by supporters and donors.

[14:42] Behind the Scenes

Brady Renard: What's something that someone in the audience may not realize is going on as part of the whole production?

Heather Partin: One of my favorite Little Theatre things is that what you don't realize is a lot of times the furniture you see on stage is the furniture that belongs to the cast or the director or the set. So I might not have a sofa for the week of the show because it's on the stage, or that kind of thing.

Brady Renard: That's amazing.

Jillian Corder: Yeah. But that tells you kind of about the production itself and that everybody's pouring everything they got into it, right?

Heather Partin: It's true. Yeah. Everything you've got goes into it, from time and energy and talent and furniture.

Brady Renard: So beyond that, to say, what is the most Little Theatre thing that's happened? What would it be for you? I mean, the fact that you don't have a couch there is probably pretty up there.

Heather Partin: Okay, so this is one of my favorite stories. I was not involved in this production, but 1986, we are moving into the New Stable Playhouse, which was where we were on Enterprise Boulevard. So ten minutes before curtain, they are still screwing down chairs. Like, we sold three more tickets, screw in some more chairs. So the show starts, and I don't know if your, Noises Off is a show about doing a show. And about 30 minutes into the production, the light board catches on fire. And the light board operator has the sense to rip it out of the wall. And in that theater, our light board was up a spiral staircase.

Jillian Corder: Oh my gosh.

Heather Partin: You know, to look out over the crowd. Runs down the spiral staircase and the quickest way out of the building was through the audience. So he's holding this by the wires on fire and runs through the audience out the door and everybody applauds that it was such a great gimmick for the show.

Jillian Corder: I thought it was part of the show.

Brady Renard: And it was.

Jillian Corder: And it totally was. And he did it again for the matinee. How many light boards did you have to catch on fire that season?

Brett Downer: Such a Lake Charles Little Theatre thing. In fact, that was the first show that was done in that building. And then the last season opener was the very same show, Noises Off again, and by the end of the season had been destroyed by a hurricane, which is its own Little Theatre story itself. Every home the theater has had for 100 years has been destroyed by God's elements. Fire, water, wind. We have to have gallows humor about that. It's burned down, blown down, been flooded out, been condemned.

Jillian Corder: Disney Earth. Earth is the last one and then Captain Planet will come and that'll be it. Yeah. Oh my goodness. Well, here's hoping. Yeah, that it's. Here's hoping.

Heather Partin: That we get a new home built and it will survive the elements.

Jillian Corder: That's what we're hoping.

[17:29] The Local Talent

Jillian Corder: And so for someone who's never been to a production of yours, what's something that people should expect?

Heather Partin: The thing that people are always surprised about, and it kind of takes me aback because I know it, so everybody else should know it, is the level of talent we have in this area. They'll watch a show, and after the show, oh, I had no idea that people could sing like this and dance like this and act like this, and oh, I forgot that was my plumber I was watching and thought it was, you know, Henry VIII or whatever. That kind of thing, that people don't realize the amount of talent we have here in the Lake area.

Jillian Corder: Yeah, I think a lot of times when people are trying to come, something here, they say, oh, it's great for Lake Charles. Like, they use like a qualifier on it or something. And it's like, no, it's great, period. It's a great amount of talent that we have in this area.

Brett Downer: And that's really true. It's always been the case, whether it's Lake Charles Little Theatre or ACTS Theatre or some of the other theaters. This town's been amazing. You realize the Lake Charles area is one of those EGOT areas. Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, Pulitzer, people with Lake Charles ties have all won these major awards. This is an amazing incubator stage for the arts in all the different ways.

Brady Renard: And I love that you mentioned, you know, my plumber's on stage. There's something special to that, I'm sure, for anyone in the audience that happens to be a local that went, is seeing those familiar faces. What's that like, I guess, from what you've seen from people?

Heather Partin: A few former teachers who come to see the shows. And she tells me and other people tell me that she sits in the audience and she was my student. She was my student. Yes, I was four years ago. But yeah, and I mean, it's that they, I think audience members then take an ownership of that production because they are closely related to someone who is in, or, I've been to that store, that's my lawyer, something like that, they feel a part of it because they have the connection to those people that are on stage.

Jillian Corder: And in your 40 years experience, is there someone who you have known of that shows up to say, I want to, I want to audition for a show? And you're like, you? Wait, what? Like that it's even surprised you that, oh, didn't know that they had this in them? I don't know.

Brett Downer: Oh, I like it when people that say, I usually don't come to plays, or clearly they were dragged to a show or something like that. And they honestly liked it. Because people that don't want to go wouldn't just say that. And then they turn or end up being in a show afterwards. People, they're not predisposed maybe to go see a play or something, but they go for some other reason. They end up being a part on stage or backstage. There's lots of examples of that.

[20:07] What Theater Gives a Community

Brady Renard: In your opinion, what does a community theater like the Little Theatre give a community that, like, what would they be missing if we didn't have it?

Brett Downer: Well, you could turn back, say, let's go back several years or whatever. And here is Sylvia Kushner, who was a music teacher at McNeese here in town. Her husband conducted the symphony and their young son Tony saw her in a Lake Charles Little Theatre production of The Diary of Anne Frank. That would have been one of his first exposures to theater. And today he's been an Oscar nominee. He's been a multiple Pulitzer winner, Tony Award winner. And his first experience would have been something that went on to the Lake Charles Little Theatre stage. It really does start things. I mean, Dolly Parton, for heaven's sake, got her music career in Lake Charles. So many artistic things like that where the smallest thing at the youngest age or at any point in people's lives. And there's really artistic achievement, not just fun to see people in town.

Jillian Corder: Yeah, just drove past that Gold Band Records little memorial out there with all the pink stuff and glitter right now for in honor of Dolly.

Brady Renard: And in honor of her, I'm working nine to five today.

Jillian Corder: Yeah? I'll try to get off at five today, too. That sounds good. Let's work.

[21:17] Keeping Volunteers Coming Back

Jillian Corder: Why do you think, this is a lot of hard work and dedication, right? It's got to be your true passion of y'all's and all of the volunteers you have. What do you think keeps those volunteers coming back year after year?

Heather Partin: For me, there is nothing like that view from the wings. When you were standing in the wings and there's curtains around you and those lights go down, and then all of a sudden it's alive. And it's a very different view than from the audience, where you're just seeing the pretty picture that's set out for you, but that view from the wings when you stand there and watch everything from the side and it's just, it's the most amazing feeling. Yeah.

Brett Downer: It's because there's live news, live TV, and live theater. In an age where more and more things are pre-taped or rehearsed or artificially created in the age of AI, there's still something, you have one shot to do it and do it right. You can watch it happen or you could be the one performing it or something. That's something that's so fun to do. And that's something that's just an artistic value, I guess, without sounding really corny. It's just really fun to watch and fun to be part of.

Brady Renard: Tying back to something you said as well a while ago where the guy that wants to volunteer and says, this wasn't for me, I've got drug here. For the people that say that the theater's not really for me, who is it for them?

Heather Partin: I mean, in terms of, if you're talking volunteering and being a part of the theater, any person in any walk of life, because it's not just the actor. For every one actor you see on stage, there's somebody that is good at carpentry and built those sets. There's somebody that loves to garage sale and found that one little prop that we needed. There's somebody who is a banker who's great at keeping books and that's who sold you your ticket. There's somebody who loves to cook and that who is running your concession stand and doing your opening night receptions?

Jillian Corder: Yeah.

Heather Partin: What is your passion and your talent? There's a space for it.

Brady Renard: Sure. And what about the person at home that maybe hasn't yet considered that Little Theatre is a cool night out?

Jillian Corder: Yeah.

Heather Partin: Oh, I mean, it's, for me, I'm talking too much.

Jillian Corder: No, you're not.

Heather Partin: Theater's a chance to see something, live theater, that the people in that room are going to be the only people that ever see that. Yeah. And you can watch a movie and 12 million other people saw the exact same movie. But the 100 people in the room with you are the only ones who ever saw that exact...

Jillian Corder: And every night, every version of that production is slightly different.

Brady Renard: And you never know, there might even be a fireboard that's ran across the audience. That could happen.

[24:07] The 100th Anniversary Season

Brett Downer: The other thing is this is the fact that this is a season to do that really, for the 100th anniversary season, without sounding too much like a plug. If you were to go see something for the first time, you're going to see Grease, you can see Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, you can see Twelfth Night, you can see Cabaret. Things that people have some familiarity with anyway. You may even know what the outcome is or know what the lyrics to the songs are. It's a great way to see theater for the first time. See it live.

Brady Renard: I like that you mentioned that. It's almost like you're reading my mind and kind of where we were going. Those four plays feel like they can't be any different than each other. They are quite different. I mean, like you start with something like Grease and then end with something like Cabaret. Once again, that is black and white in terms of what they're about and the feel of them. What went into those four, and specifically like the tonal shifts, because I feel like it was very intentional.

Heather Partin: Well, I will let you know our play selection committee and our board worked very hard on putting this season together. And how do you encapsulate 100 years in four items? So you kind of take a little bit of everything you can. We're going to have some cute and fun. We're going to have some serious. We're going to have some historical and we're going to have some, you know, political, historical cabaret. I mean, how do you describe Cabaret?

Brett Downer: And went big. It's hard to do two musicals in one season. Grease will be probably the biggest budget, largest production a theater has ever done. And we're going to do two of them after that. So all big shows for good reasons.

Jillian Corder: Do you have a lot of the same performers in every single one? Is it all the same cast or do you have a lot of people that kind of switch out? They can't do it all? Are you in every single one?

Brett Downer: I know you'll say this too. This is something where if we do a program for a show, we love to count how many people are in a show for the first time. Something even Rosa Hart would do. We looked at the programs when we did the book on the theater's history, where she'd put a note if somebody had never been on stage before. That was a point of pride with her. And I still love to count how many people on stage hadn't been there for, and also people in the audience that I don't recognize. I love it when we do shows like, I don't know who those people were. And that's a great thing. It isn't the smaller thing that a smaller town had with something like that, where there'd be a common core. There's still some people that do that, but there's new people all the time. And that's still a metric for the theater.

Jillian Corder: It is now on my bucket list. It's, I'm going to be, yes. Come on.

Heather Partin: Get ready.

Jillian Corder: I'm going to be so annoyed.

Brett Downer: This is being recorded. You said it. You just said it.

Jillian Corder: I'm so in. I swear I'm so in.

Brady Renard: Well, you mentioned the committee, that how they choose. I guess what goes into giving, or how much thought is it in terms of giving the audience what you think, I think they're really gonna respond to this, or is it more of self-reflection? What's that process like?

Heather Partin: It's different in different years. I mean, I know in the past, the theater would come up, the board or the play selection would say, we're gonna have a theme this year, and it's gonna be all about, you know, [placeholder sound], whatever the theme is. And they find shows that fit in that theme. I know for this year, a big part of it was get as many people to come to the theater as possible because this is our 100th season. We wanted to share our 100th season with as much of the Lake Area as we can.

Jillian Corder: So give us maybe some crowd favorites, if you will.

Brett Downer: And lots of opportunities for people to be part of it on stage. Like Grease has a huge cast. And that's something where if you're a first timer, maybe it's a small part or something like that, it's a great way to be part of it, not just as a ticket buyer, but as a performer.

Jillian Corder: I want to be.

[27:56] Closing on Cabaret

Brady Renard: A part of Nazi Germany with Cabaret. That was a weird segue, but hopefully you knew kind of where I was going once I said it. That was a weird segue. Yeah, thank you. What made Cabaret the right choice to close out 100?

Heather Partin: We knew we wanted two musicals this season. And we actually had two board members, two younger board members who were completely passionate about this. And they came up with this presentation and this plan and this design and this idea. And us old people on the board went, okay. It's your baby. And of course we're there. I don't mean to say, you're on your own, dude. I want to have a drink. This is what Little Theatre wants. This is what Rosa Hart wanted, was to get each new generation involved in it. And yeah, if I can take a step back and let some younger people take it and go. Amen. Go.

Jillian Corder: Something really poignant about that for the 100th anniversary. Yeah.

Brett Downer: Because doing things like that is not just to look back, but look what we did for the past century. It's what we want to do for the next one. Because we need to build a new building, get new people involved, do those kind of shows where they're big undertakings, but it's worth it.

Heather Partin: It's worth it.

Jillian Corder: So 100 years of the Lake Charles Little Theatre, 40 years that you've been in the biz.

Brett Downer: And we're still 36.

Heather Partin: And we are still 36.

Jillian Corder: That's incredible.

Heather Partin: That's amazing.

Brady Renard: We're all the same age.

Jillian Corder: We're all the same age. That is, yeah.

Heather Partin: Ignore the gray.

[29:31] What Still Surprises Them

Jillian Corder: But after 40 years of doing this, what still surprises you about the theater?

Heather Partin: God, what doesn't? I mean, just. I mean, today I can't tell you, I was sitting at my desk and I get a text from Mike Brignac, who's the director of Grease, and I showed it to y'all. It's the video of a crate that contains the parts of Greased Lightning that is rolling up to the theater. I mean, I giggled at my desk. I was so excited to get to rehearsal tonight and look at that crate. You know, and so it's stuff like that, you know, I kicked the table. I'm sorry.

Jillian Corder: You're that excited? She kicked the table.

Heather Partin: It takes you aback. You never know. With this Grease being the latest experience, I have cast members that come in and I found this dress in my closet. Can I wear it? I'm like, yes. Oh my God. That's the dress I was looking for your character. You know, that kind of thing. So yeah, every show, every season has surprises for me.

Brett Downer: It's because it's live. It's the same reason I like to go to the Astros game. I know what's going to happen, but I don't know what's going to happen. And I have to be there. It's not going to be repeated. If it's a double header, it won't be the same.

Brady Renard: And that's a good connection because that is a part of, I think, why sports has continued to be popular and is only growing in popularity is that there is that act of you might think you know what's going to happen, but you don't know what's going to happen until you see it.

Brett Downer: And even the participants don't. The same as being on stage. You got to watch a show.

Jillian Corder: One of my absolute favorite theater experiences was my mom and I went to go see Hairspray. It was Broadway Across America. They were traveling. They were in Lafayette. And we saw Hairspray. And at some point in it, they just started giggling. The actors on stage couldn't control themselves, started laughing. They just stopped. They're literally hands on knees laughing. The orchestra's just like trying to like play in the meantime. And it was, the audience was just as giggling and excited about watching them. And it was one of my favorite experiences. I know that that's not, you know, part of Hairspray. But I was excited to be, like you said, one of the audience members that experienced that, nobody else will have that except for the people that were in the room that night. And there was something to that. It's like my favorite experience of all time in the theater.

[31:52] Looking Ahead 100 Years

Brady Renard: And so when you think about Lake Charles Little Theatre in 200 years, so an extra 100 years, what do you hope stays exactly the same and what do you hope maybe is a little different?

Heather Partin: I would hope that the passion and the interest and the volunteers are still there, that the people are still excited about it and still pulling their furniture out of their house and putting it in the back of their car and driving into the theater, and that kind of thing. And I hope there are still people that are rummaging through estate sales and calling up whoever the costumer is in 100 years and going, you're never going to believe what I found at this person's estate sale, you know, that kind of thing. And differences, I hope our building doesn't burn down or get blown down or flood. It's.

Brett Downer: That it would be a collection point like it's always been, in the sense that people can still come and do things and it's live. And that's one thing, no matter what is automated in the future world or what can be artificially brought together, you still have live events like that. And also because in this town, a collection point in the sense that the entire Nellie Lutcher Cultural District there, think of the anchors it'll have when we rebuild to be the theater here further up on the same side of the street, the Mardi Gras Museum, performance space right there with a mural of Nellie Lutcher herself there. All along there becomes a backbone for the kind of arts that have always been in this town. An incredible achievement that people have had coming from Lake Charles. And I'll be 136 for that one, so I don't know if it'll be there.

Jillian Corder: Yeah, that's right. Happy birthday. I'm a little bit younger, I'll be 134, so yeah, it's okay. That's it.

[33:30] Sign-Off

Brady Renard: Well, we thank both of you for joining us here on the show. And the biggest thank you of all goes out to you, the listener, for spending time right here on this here podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a rating or review wherever you listen, whether that be Spotify video, YouTube video on our website, on your...

Jillian Corder: KPLC 7 News Roku app, Samsung refrigerator.

Brady Renard: There's a bunch of places that you might be able to watch it.

Jillian Corder: He's still trying to get that Samsung refrigerator with the video. It's never going to happen. But of course, leaving us a rating or review helps us further grow our audience and share the stories that we have here in Lake Charles. So go to visitlakecharles.org slash podcast for more episodes, advice on where to eat and what's happening this very weekend.

Brady Renard: We're also on TikTok.

Jillian Corder: That too.

Brady Renard: She's Jillian Corder.

Jillian Corder: That's Brady Renard.

Brady Renard: Thanks again for coming to play at Louisiana's Playground. C'est tout. Stay tuned.

Jillian Corder: Bye.