Reflections on A Peculiar People
by Lauren E. Nichols “For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave.” (I Cor 7:22 NIV) It has been…
Director’s notes and commentary
by Lauren E. Nichols “For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave.” (I Cor 7:22 NIV) It has been…
Our current production of A Peculiar People by Rick Najera gives me an opportunity to recount again a curious story of the persistence of theater memory. Around the year 2010, our friend Michael Wilhelm (actor, playwright, teacher, artist) found a playbill in his…
by Lauren Nichols I have to be honest and confess that I enjoy having a break from directing, especially when I can deputize such a capable guest director as Mary Beth Frank. One thing I have appreciated with our current…
As I drive to the afO office for the third time in four days, I reflect that I don’t recall the last time I was able to work on three distinct projects in such a short span of time. Over…
The use of understudies in community theater is a debated topic. There are directors who prefer to have understudies available in case illness or emergency were to make the principle actors unavailable. Others feel that understudies gets short changed because…
The cast of The Christmas Express; photo by Rachel Wilhelm Photography As the artistic director of a faith-driven theater, I often find myself walking a theological tightrope when choosing plays for our company. We are always looking for shows with…
by Lauren Nichols, Artistic Director Antoine de Saint-Exupery's lovely novella, The Little Prince, is a story which repays repeated visits and grows with the reader over time. I first read it in high school, many, many years ago, and was moved…
Here’s a pop quiz question for you: what is the individual book with the second-highest worldwide sales in history, according to Wikipedia’s list of verified book sales? (It’s not the Bible, because their list excludes “all books of a religious, ideological,…
The Christmas Express by Pat Cook. November 11 – 20, 2022 AUDITION: Monday, May 23 at 7:00 PM, at afO’s office/rehearsal hall: 2310 Weisser Park Avenue Seeking 6 women and 4 men: HILDA TROWBRIDGE, a grumpy woman who manages the…