Carmel Magazine

A ll the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts." William Shakespeare penned those famous lines in the comedy "As You Like It" around 1600. Probably as yet unaware of the quote, sev- eral centuries later a young Gail Higginbotham lived them. She was born to act. "I was always staging plays, even though I'd never actually seen one," she recalls. "I saw the world through the eyes of an actor and was in my teens before it occurred to me that not every- one around me was in costume and planning their entrances and exits." Circumstances led her away from a life in the theater, however. "There are a lot of things about the theater world that are not conducive to a positive lifestyle," Higginbotham states. But in 1981, now married and the mother of five, living in Salinas, she was asked to produce and direct a production with a large contingent of musicians and singers for her church. Then another. And another. "By the four th produc- tion, I was producing 'Peter Pan' with a cast of 50 kids," she says. A teacher from the Alisal School District who saw that show asked if she would be interested in staging it at Salinas' Sherwood Hall. "I had no idea she was serious, but said yes," Higginbotham recalls. Soon thereafter, the teacher called with the news that the hall was booked the following week. "I'd never even been Gail Higginbotham—here on the set of "Seussical, TYA"— has shared her love of theater by bringing dramatic arts to children for over 25 years. Photo: Kelli Uldall Kids on Center Stage A R I E L B u i l d s C h a r a c t e r t h r o u g h t h e D r a m a t i c A r t s B Y M I C H A E L C H AT F I E L D 144 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 4 "

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