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A president we never hear. Seven women we can’t ignore. We sit down with Eleve' Theater Company to unpack the whiplash world of POTUS by Selina Fillinger, a ferocious farce where doors slam, spin cycles faster than the news, and the people holding power together aren’t the ones at the podium. Melissa, the director, shares why art should unsettle and how this script spotlights women leading from the shadows—strategizing, firefighting, and finding solidarity under pressure.

We trace Eleve’s origin story from a string of no’s for “Wit” to a mission built on yes: yes to edge, yes to new work, yes to women-centered plays the community rarely sees. With a grant-backed partnership at Chance Theater’s 48-seat black box in Anaheim, the team brings a DIY ethos to life—hand-built doors for farce timing, self-sourced costumes, and prop lists wild enough to ping a delivery algorithm. The intimacy of the space becomes an asset: the audience is part of the charge, close enough to feel the speed of decisions and the shock of consequences.

Cast members dig deep into character and context. Leyna’s Harriet, the chief of staff, carries strategy and stamina; Sej’s Jean, the press secretary, maps the White House to corporate corridors where women navigate promotion politics and pay the tax of honesty; Cydney’s Stephanie embodies the under-credited labor that keeps the day moving. Together they show how systems pit women against each other even as they build alliances to make it through an impossible 24 hours. The result is comedy that tells the truth at speed—tragedy accelerated until it’s hilarious and uncomfortably real.

If you’re hungry for smart political theater, community grit, and an ensemble that elevates each other, this conversation will pull you in. Join us for craft talk, candid stories, and a look at why representation onstage changes what audiences feel and remember. Don’t miss the run: March 13–15 at Chance Theater in Anaheim, already more than half sold. Subscribe, share this with a theater friend, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find the show.

Elevé Theatre Company presents POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive | Chance Theater

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What if Neverland isn’t a place you fly to but a world you build together? We’re pulling back the curtain on our reimagined Peter Pan Jr., where the nursery anchors reality and the stage reshapes itself with moving blocks into forests, ships, and hideaways. That design choice isn’t just clever staging; it’s a manifesto about how play transforms what we see and how young actors can hold a complex story with honesty and joy.

We dive into the heart of the concept by turning light and shadow into living forces. Tinker Bell appears as pure light with a musical voice, while the crocodile becomes a shadow presence—time, fear, and consequence embodied—linked to both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook, played by the same actor. This lens lets us find layers in every role: Hook as more than a villain, Peter as a charming whirlwind who can also be selfish, Wendy as the spine that learns to lead. The result is a children’s theater production that treats kids as artists and the audience as smart partners in the story.

Our creative team is a mentorship story in motion. Former students now lead choreography, music, art design, costumes, lights, and sound, guiding a cast of 30 young performers with care and high standards. You’ll hear how we direct without micromanaging, why confidence is a daily choice, and how tiny details—clock numerals stitched into Hook’s coat, twig toothbrushes and bark slippers for the lost boys—help actors discover behavior and make scenes breathe. We also honor the founders whose educational vision still fuels everything we do.

If you love theater that balances clarity with risk, tradition with fresh craft, and spectacle with soul, this conversation will light you up. Join us to celebrate five years of growth, 25,000 downloads across 79 countries, and a community that keeps lifting each other higher. Subscribe, share this with a theater friend, and leave a quick review to help more people find the show—then tell us: which character’s arc surprised you most?

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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.

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