North County Theatre Works kicks off Community Shorts 

North County Theatre Works co-founder Catherine Kingsbury works with two student actors onstage. The theatre company presents its first show in the monthly Community Shorts series on Sunday, Aug. 23. Courtesy photo

Monthly series brings short fiction readings to Templeton PAC

– The creative folks of North County Theatre Works are back at it with a monthly series of short readings performed onstage by community members, aptly titled Community Shorts. The series kicks off Sunday, Aug. 23 at the Templeton Performing Arts Center, located on the campus of Templeton High School.

“The Community Shorts series is intended to be an informal, fun series of short fiction readings performed by actors, educators, and community leaders,” said Catherine Kingsbury, co-founder of North County Theatre Works with Marcy Goodnow.

With its “Heroes” theme, the Aug. 23 show features readings by Kingsbury, local actress Jean Miller, THS counselor Maria Carroll, and former THS principal Andrew Cherry. Writers Eudora Welty, O. Henry, Ernest Hemingway, and Stephen Crane will be represented in this first show.

Kingsbury heads up the Templeton High School theater department and manages the Templeton Performing Arts Center. At Paso Robles High School, Goodnow teaches drama, leadership and dance. With their highly successful and well-attended production of “In the Heights” over the summer, Kingsbury and Goodnow established North County Theatre Works as a frontrunner in the local theatre scene.

“[Community Shorts] is a way to keep the North County Theatre Works group chugging away while Marcy and I are busy with our school productions,” said Kingsbury. “We intend to eventually add more full-length shows to our playbill, but we want to build slowly and make sure each production is quality work.”

Each program in the Community Shorts series will begin at 4 p.m. on Sundays, last approximately 90 minutes, and include three to five fiction stories with language and topics appropriate for public entertainment. The monthly events and stories will be grouped together by theme or author, but please take note– this is not to be mistaken for children’s story time!
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It’s similar to the popular public radio program in which celebrities read some of their favorite short stories in front of a live audience,” said Kingsbury. The celebrities, in this case, are members of the local community.

Revenue from ticket sales or donations will pay for use of the facility and help fund North County Theatre Works. The “Heroes” show begins at 4 p.m. with doors open at 3:30; donations will be accepted at the door. The show is family-friendly, according to Kingsbury, but all audience members must be able to sit quietly while the stories are read.

Upcoming themes and show dates
Aug. 23, “Heroes”
Sept. 20, “Ray Bradbury”
Oct. 25, “Finders and Founders”
Nov. 29, “Family — For Better or Worse”
Dec. 27, “Holidays on Ice”
Jan. 31, “Resolutions”
Feb. 28, “Lovers and other Strangers”
March 6, “Lies We Tell”
April 3, “Spring Fever”
May 8 (Mothers’ Day), “Strong Women”