TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Broadway might be out of budget for some families, but a local theater company is offering an affordable alternative with heart.
Spotlight Community Theater, located at 6245 E. Bellevue St. on Tucson’s east side, is preparing for the debut of its latest production, How I Would’ve Done It, an original play written by the company’s founder, Chris J. Abeyta.
“I didn’t have the experience some of the places were looking for when I first was looking,” said Abeyta. “I didn’t have the money to join some of the groups because the groups wanted thousands of dollars.”
Abeyta founded Spotlight Community Theater four years ago to give aspiring performers — regardless of experience or financial means — a place to shine. One of those actors is Salvatore Lovallo.
“I was on Facebook looking around and I saw they were hosting, like, an audition for a play,” Lovallo said. “And I’m like, ‘I’m interested in that, I’ll try that out.’”
Lovallo now plays a detective in How I Would’ve Done It, which marks Abeyta’s first full-length original production.
“This is a first for me getting to write a fully fledged production like this,” Abeyta said.
In addition to keeping live theater accessible — tickets are “pay what you can” — the company also donates 25% of ticket sales to local charities.
“We’ve gotten to work with a number of different charities,” Abeyta said. “The Kids Cures Foundation, the American Legion. We’ve worked with Masterpiece International. This year we’re working with Reaching People Far From God.”
Actress Barb Hildenbrand says that affordability is key. “This is an affordable way to do it,” she said. “It is a way for people who want to see theater or just try it for the first time.”
How I Would’ve Done It runs July 24-26.
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Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
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