Off Book with Beth

Springfield Little Theatre has been putting on shows since 1934. Executive Director Beth Domann has been in the building since 1978. Between them, that’s a lot of stories that never made it into a program.

OFF BOOK WITH BETH is where they finally get told. Every month, Beth pulls someone into the room — board members, actors, costumers — and asks what really happened.

What actually goes into putting a show on this stage. What famously went wrong, and what the audience never knew. Why ticket sales cover less than half of what it costs to keep the curtain rising. And why a town this size has, in Beth’s words, a freaky vortex of talent.

Going off book, on the record.

New episodes every month. Free, and always will be.

Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, and each new episode will find you on its own. If you’d rather just press play, listen below!

Beth Domann is the Executive Director of Springfield Little Theatre, which means she oversees every part of the mainstage season performed and crewed entirely by community volunteers. She’s been part of the life of The Landers Theatre since 1978 — first watching rehearsals from the house, then onstage, and now running the place. She has directed, produced, performed, and, on at least one occasion, driven around Springfield in a full nun costume in a red Corvette convertible.

Ask her about this theatre and she’ll talk about everyone but herself — the staff, the board, the volunteers who give extraordinary amounts of time and talent, and a community that keeps showing up. Which is most of what this podcast is: Beth getting other people to tell their stories, and every so often letting one of her own slip out.

Every episode goes to our 1934 CLUB members before it goes public. It’s one of the ways we say thank you to the people who make everything here possible.

Membership starts at just $19.34 a month.

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