Matthew Russell Hendrickson
THEATER scene
Matthew has been involved with community theater for over 35 years.
He is currently a designer’s assistant for Brotin Design, a founding
member of a local film production company, Oscar Dante Motion,
and is still heavily involved with local theater.
Meet
O
ne of the theater genres that
flies under the ‘publicity radar’
is children’s theater. Even in
some places where both community
and professional theater are well publi-
cized, children’s theater performances are
sometimes relegated to the back pages. I
grew up in both children’s theater and the
regular theater. The only way we can fill
adult theater groups with actors is to start
by giving children an outlet to discover
the magic of theater. One local group is
trying to do just that.
Little Theater Productions (LTP),
spearheaded by Hillary Little, is one of the
local companies that decided to focus on
giving children the opportunity to explore
the creative outlet of stage performance.
Hillary grew up and attended high school
here in Gilroy. LTP offers inspirational and
educational theatre opportunities for local
youth 6-17 years old. They work with
experienced performers as well as those
who are new to theater and just getting
their feet wet. It’s a real joy to watch the
less confident kids come out of their
shells, make new friends and explore the
many rewarding life skills that come from
involvement in the arts.
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LTP works primarily with the City of
Gilroy Recreation Department. According
to Little, “I was contacted by the city to
direct ‘Honk, Jr.,’ with them back in 2015.
Since then we’ve produced ‘Beauty and
the Beast, Jr.’ (2016), ‘The Lion King,
Jr.’ (2017), ‘Oliver!’ (2018), and ‘Grease:
School Version’ (2018). We are now
rehearsing our sixth production, ‘Mary
Poppins, Jr.,’ which debuts at Gilroy High
School this April.”
In 1987, Hillary had her first experience
on stage in ‘Aladdin McFaddin,’ a different
version of the Aladdin story we all know
so well today. She was directed by her
good friend, Carol Harris, on the very same
Gilroy High School stage. Her motivation
to get involved in theater came from her
mother, Morgan Hill-based professional
photographer Rebecca Little, who is also
involved in the local theater and arts scene.
Hillary grew up performing with South
County groups including South Valley
Civic Theater, Children’s Musical Theater
San Jose, and Lana’s Dance Studio. During
her time at Gilroy High School, she sang
with the Chamber Singers and toured
Japan during her senior year. As an adult
she began performing professionally with
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
april/may 2019
groups such as American Musical Theater
San Jose, Cabrillo Stage, Symphony Silicon
Valley, The Retro Dome, and Beach Blanket
Babylon. All of which put her on a direct
course to share her love of the theater
craft with the young members of our
community.
For Hillary, children’s theatre is a
uniquely multifaceted outlet that allows the
more outgoing child to shine and provides
opportunities for the more reserved child
to play outside of their comfort zone.
Theater builds character, develops social
skills, encourages teamwork and focus,
gives us a sense of purpose, and puts us
in touch with our emotions. It’s one of
Hillary’s deepest loves, and she believes
every community can benefit from what
theater offers for not only the actors but
also the audience and everyone involved
in the production. “It is very rewarding to
notice progress and growth in my students.
Not only do they show improvement in
their artistic talents, controlled breathing,
precise diction, correct pitch, appropriate
volume, etcetera, but they also grow
emotionally.”
Little Theater Productions is one of
several local children’s theater groups.
gmhtoday.com
THEATER
Hillary Little