gmhTODAY 18 gmhToday Feb March 2018 | Page 81

Now Playing SVCT From Thailand to the Theater T hanachi Kapinkan is your normal, average, every-day teenager in many ways. He goes to high school and listens to music and Facebooks with his friends. But Thanachi is here in Gilroy as an exchange student from Thailand. He is 17 years old and normally lives in his home town of Songkhla in Thailand. Songkhla is a large coastal city with a population of roughly 75,000 residents, a very prosperous fishing town and also a major port of trade in the region. Thanachi chose to come to the United States for his senior year abroad so he could improve his learning of the English language and to be able to see America. He is very excited to be able to experi- ence all of the culture and places to see in California. Thanachi will also get to experience his first stage performance here in America. He was encouraged by one of the production staff for SVCT’s “Thoroughly Modern Millie” when he attended “Follies” at SVCT in October and he landed a part. Aside from doing some small dance performing for local festivals in his home town he has never been in a play or performed in front of an audience before, so he will be making his singing and acting debut in Morgan Hill. on stage in front of an audience she said “There is a magical thing that happens when you feel that you have really connected with the audience in a meaningful way. It sounds cliché, but it is very powerful when it happens. The comments from audience members after the show can be very moving. During Limelight’s “Love, Loss and What I wore” I delivered a monologue as a breast cancer survivor. Many of the audience members after each performance would share their own experiences and how much my performance touched them. That was among the most meaningful experiences I’ve had in front of an audience.” Roberta will be performing in LAT’s upcoming production of “The Savannah Sipping Society.” Having seen her perform multiple times I am sure that you will not want to pass up a chance see her perform on stage. Matthew Russell Hendrickson 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. GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN “Preson & Dahlia's Hate Mail” A Comedy in Correspondence By Bill Corbett and Kira Obolensky Starring Jayson Stebbins and Whitney Pintello Directed by Marion Pintello. February 9th—March 3rd A polite complaint letter sets off years of tempestuous poison (and passionate!) pen wars between this unlikely couple with hilarious results! Pintello Comedy 8191 Swanston Lane • Gilroy pintellocomedy.com “The Savannah Sipping Society” By Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope & Jamie Wooten February 9,10,16,17,18,23,24,25 March 2,3 This joyful and touching comedy is written by a trio with numerous film and television credits including The Golden Girls. Together this team has written eight plays, including “The Dixie Swim Club,” that have been produced all over the country. In “The Savannah Sipping Society,” four very different Southern women have a chance encounter at a spontaneous happy hour and decide to recapture the zest for life they have lost over the years. Randa (Roberta Vinkhuyzen), perfectionist and overachiever, is forced to deal with a career derailment. Dot (Valerie Vanni, making her Limelight debut) must deal with the recent demise of her husband, a less than perfect retirement, and life alone. Outrageous Marla Faye (Rachel Perry) blew into Savannah after she divorced her husband because of his affair with a 23-year-old dental hygienist. She desires a new happier life, particularly if it can also provide revenge on her ex-hus- band. Jinx (Christy Wait) is also new to Savannah and volunteers to be the life coach for this mismatched group, only to discover that she is the one in need of coaching. Limelight Actors Theater 7341 Monterey Street • Gilroy limelightactorstheater.com “Thoroughly Modern Millie” Adapted by James Lapine February 23,24,25 March 2,3,4,9,10,11,16.17 Set in New York City in 1922, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of young Millie Dillmount from Kansas, who comes to New York in search of a new life for herself. Her grand plan is to find a job as a secretary for a wealthy man and then marry him. However, her plan goes completely awry. The owner of her dingy hotel kidnaps young girls to sell to the Far East, her wealthy boss is slow in proposing marriage and the man she actually falls in love with doesn’t have a dime to his name… or so he tells her. SVCT • 17090 Monterey Road Morgan Hill • svct.org FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 gmhtoday.com 81