Send a text

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!

Send a text

Courage looks different under stage lights. We sit down at Chino Hills High School’s theater to unpack how a training-first program turns nervous auditions into confident performances, and how a tight-knit ensemble carries each other through missed cues, costume malfunctions, and the rush of opening night. With director Kerry Rupe at the helm and students Anthony, Drake, Angie, and Shelby sharing the mic, we trace real journeys from backstage to center stage—and the life skills that stick long after the curtain falls.

We dive into the choices that built a powerhouse program: closing some productions to class members to strengthen commitment and shared vocabulary, then keeping the spring musical open to discover hidden talent school-wide. The team breaks down how ambitious titles like Little Shop of Horrors, Newsies, Puffs, and Legally Blonde come to life with serious sets, lighting, sound, and costumes. You’ll hear why tech isn’t background—it’s a character with its own voice—and how stage management and design develop leadership, empathy, and precision. Along the way, students explain how theater became their community, contrasting the scoreboard pressure of sports with the ensemble mindset that meets people where they are and grows them.

We also explore how the program reaches beyond the stage. From the Princess Tea fundraiser that doubles as long-form improv training to PR crews mixing hallway posters with TikTok and Instagram, this group treats outreach like part of the craft. Cross-school partnerships boost attendance and celebrate a bigger truth: there’s room for everyone when the goal is great theater. As Little Shop heads into tech week, energy runs high, ticket sales climb, and students reflect on dancing, timing, and playing iconic roles with fresh choices. It’s a portrait of arts education at its best—bold shows, steady mentorship, and a culture that turns fear into fuel.

If you care about student creativity, community theater, or the behind-the-scenes alchemy that makes a musical sing, hit play and share this one with a friend. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and tell us: what moment first made you fall in love with the stage?

Instagram

chinohillshstheatre (@chinohillshstheatre) | TikTok

CHHS Theatre

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!

Send a text

A storm rattles the windows, the timetable is no comfort, and a ghostly locomotive refuses to be just a rumor. We’re bringing Arnold Ridley’s The Ghost Train to life with a bold 1930s aesthetic—think noir shadows and comic-book color—that turns a small station into a pressure cooker where fear and wit trade jabs. Sage Patel walks us through the vision: why an old thriller still lands today, how a tight room can hold thirteen distinct voices, and why the train itself must feel alive through sound, light, and clever stagecraft.

You’ll meet Jamie Putnam, who crafts Miss Bourne with tenderness and steel, and Craig A. Jackman, leaning into the mischievous curiosity of Teddy Deacon. Together we dig into how people perform bravery when they’re stranded with strangers, how costumes can telegraph independence or insecurity, and how props become actions rather than decorations. We also pull back the curtain on the ensemble’s casting surprises, a scenic design inspired by Dick Tracy’s saturated world, and the invisible heroes who make suspense sing: lighting, sound, carpentry, and front-of-house. Community theater is the engine here—mentors teaching tools and timing, techs shaping breath and silence, and a crew that treats every detail as story.

If you’re local to the Inland Empire, come ride with us: The Ghost Train runs January 16–31 at Chino Community Theater. Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30, with a gala after opening Friday, a two-for-one phone-only special on Saturday, and a Sunday talkback with the cast and crew. Grab your seats at chinocommunitytheater.org or call 909-590-1149. Enjoy the episode, share it with a theater-loving friend, and leave a rating and review to help more people find the show.

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!