WANT TO GO?

Little Women

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday.

WHERE: Alban Arts Center, St. Albans

TICKETS: Adults $15. Seniors and students $10.

INFO: albanartscenter.com

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Director Stevie Jenkins couldn’t help but be a little worried about the snow coming into the area. His show “Little Women” was supposed to open Friday night at the Alban Arts Center in St. Albans.

“I’m a little nervous,” he said and then sighed wearily. “But it is like they say, the show must go on.”

Well, they’d see how it went, Jenkins added.

Weather forecasts are sometimes unreliable and at least on the day before “Little Women” opened, there wasn’t much talk about canceling or postponing opening weekend.

Jenkins was hopeful, but he was glad to have had the experience directing. It was his first time in that chair.

“It’s been a dream come true for me –directing community theater,” he said. “I’ve been doing theater since high school. I actually did my first community theater production at the Alban.”

That was in 2011 with “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.”

“I’ve always been an actor,” Jenkins said. “I’ve done shows with the Alban, with Children’s Theatre and the Light Opera Guild. My wife, Samantha, and I have also done professional theater.”

He said they’d done outdoor dramas with the Theatre of West Virginia and also with an outdoor theater company in Ohio. They’d performed with troupes in New York and North Carolina that toured elementary schools.

“I’ve done a lot of backstage work, too, but I’ve always dreamed of directing a show of my own,” he said.

Whatever he’s done and wherever he’s performed, Jenkins said that he always came back to the Alban.

“It’s always kind of been my home theater,” he said. “I’ve probably done 15 or 20 shows here over the years.”

Taking a shot at directing, it just seemed like time. So, last year, Jenkins submitted to the Alban Board for the opportunity to direct. “Little Women” was the show they wanted him to helm.

He said, “I love, I just love the opportunity to bring a classic of American literature to a more modern audience. This is a story about family and sisterhood. It’s a story about a regular family experiencing all of the things a regular family experiences –grief, loss, but also happiness and love.”

“It’s just very relatable,” Jenkins said.

Written by Louisa May Alcott, “Little Women” follows the lives of sisters Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy Marsh, as they navigate growing up in the mid-1800s. The book is a perennial favorite and adapted for stage, film and television many times.

Even with dozens of shows as an actor under his belt plus plenty of experience working behind the scenes, Jenkins said that directing was a bigger job than he thought it was. There were a lot of details to keep up with, many responsibilities and about 20 different schedules to work with.

Rehearsals went well, but the cast had to navigate through a busy holiday season. It was a lot and the recent turn in the weather hasn’t helped.

“But it’s been great,” he said. “It’s been definitely a learning experience. You have a lot to do and you have to figure out lights, sound and all kinds of technical stuff, but what I’ve found really rewarding is working with the actors.”

Jenkins said he’d loved helping the cast develop their characters.

“That’s been my favorite part,” he said. “As an actor, that’s my favorite thing, being able to develop my character and what motivates him. So, it’s been great to walk actors through the process.”

The director was excited to bring the show to the stage, even if the weather made everyone a little nervous.

“We’ll take it as it comes,” he said.