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Life in the theater 
Octavio came from his home in
San Francisco to direct the play.
Acting fever
Tiffany Ellen Solano was 16 the
first time she appeared in La
Posada Magica. This is her eighth
year playing the lead character, Gracie.
She will sing, dance or act in nearly every
scene. But at this rehearsal she was sick as
a dog.
Octavio was sick the first day of rehearsals, she
said. He brought Northern California germs with
him.
SHARON HENRY
Register
columnist
ach holiday season since 1994, a little 
musical has played on the little stage at 
South Coast Repertory. During the year, 
the actors and musicians of La Posada 
Magica (The Magic Journey) scatter to other 
projects. They audition for soap operas and 
commercials, travel the world or get day jobs 
to pay the bills. But in December most return 
to rehearse six days a week for three weeks 
 and reclaim their roles in Octavio Solis 
musical. The play follows the adventures of a 
16­year­old girl and her neighbors during a 
posada, a traditional Mexican observance of 
Mary and Josephs journey to Bethlehem. After 
11 years, the play has become a little classic
Contact Sharon Henry or view prior sketchbooks at ocsketch.blogspot.com 
Life in the theater 
Page 2 sketchbook 
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LA POSADA MAGICA

Managing magic
Stage manager Jamie Tucker
sat in front of the stage and made
notes in the stage manager s
bible every movement made
by an actor (so understudies can
do the same), lighting cues,
rehearsal times and
other crucial
details for a live
show (that an
audience will
never notice).
Long Beach Civic Light Opera coffee mug from
1995. At the end of that season they offered me an
Equity contract.
Glasses tip: People with a narrow bridge often buy frames
that don t fit. That s why they slide down on their nose.
When other actors were rehearsing,
she rested on the
scenery.
He also has a full
time job as manager
of L.A. Eyewear in
South Coast Plaza.
It keeps me in the
lifestyle I ve grown
accustomed to,
he said. Barely
above poverty.
Teresa Velarde took a five-
year hiatus from acting to
become a licensed mental
health therapist. She has a
practice in Los Alamitos and also
counsels teens in Watts. This
year she ll play the widow
and dance with a giant
puppet.
Teresa asked each
cast member to
chip in $5 and she d
buy dinner for
opening night. I ll
get one of those big
3-foot burritos.
Doesn t that sound
like fun?
It might help if you
were a little
taller.
When she sings,
Hold me closer, hold her closer.
I can t
change
that.
Big sounds
One of the musicians, Lorenzo Martinez,
plays a guitarron. A guitarron isn t
strummed; the strings are
pinched, he said. Lorenzo has
had this instrument for
about 10 years. It s been
everywhere. He calls
it my big-bottomed
girl.
Aztec calendar pendant. I wear it
because it s from my girlfriend.
No
frets
Short neck: About the
same as a violin s.
The original Aztec
calendar is a 24-
ton carved stone,
discovered in
Mexico City in 1790.
Wings are
part of her
costume.
She made
pasta salad.
Artichoke hearts
Broccoli
Six-cheese
tortellini
I ve got an earache.
Maybe that
explains the
dizziness.
Tasteful roles
This year he performed with
the Tex-Mex band Los Tex
Maniacs for U.S. troops in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
The military issued the band
flak jackets to keep next to
them onstage, he said.
I m going
to tell everyone
what s in it in
case you re
allergic.
Earned an
M.F.A. in dance
from UC Irvine.
E
For La Posada
Magica tickets,
call 714-708-5555
or go to
www.scr.org.
Her last gig was as Jasmine in a Disney
production of Aladdin.
Tiffany
left
rehearsal
twice.
I heard
someone
say, She
went to
throw
up.
Aiming high
Playwright/director Octavio
Solis wrote La Posada
Magica in 1994 when he
was in Utah at the Sundance
Theatre Lab.
He let me sit in during a
rehearsal last week. The
play opened Friday.
It ll run through Dec. 23.
Curiously addicted
He eats at least one
tin of Altoids a day,
he said.
It s gone
to Paris
with me.