Peninsula Youth Theatre has received the 2006 Mayor’s Award for “outstanding social contribution.” In the Nov. 16 award ceremony at City Hall, Mountain View Mayor Nick Galiotto recognized PYT for providing outstanding dramatic learning opportunities to the area’s youth and for bringing enriching, accessible and family-friendly entertainment to the city through its outdoor summer performances, musicals, plays adapted from beloved children’s books and extensive outreach to underprivileged youth.

Established in 1969, the Mayor’s Awards recognize social programs and physical projects that enhance the city. Programs nominated for social awards must make a significant contribution in such areas as education, youth development, human services, tolerance and inclusivity. Physical projects, which may include residential and commercial properties as well as parks and other community spaces, must make a significant contribution through their architectural or landscape design, environmental enhancements or remodeling efforts.

A 13-member jury of representatives from local businesses, schools, city commissions, neighborhood associations, architecture firms and the community at large selected this year’s 12 winners from a large pool of nominations.

Stories on Stage presents Charles Dickens' beloved holiday masterpiece, A Christmas Carol. The timeless tale of how nasty, stingy Ebenezer Scrooge finds redemption and love for his fellow man through the intervention of the ghosts of Christmas past, present and yet-to-come is the perfect way to greet the holiday season!

A Christmas Carol was adapted from Charles Dickens by PYT Artistic Director Dexter Fidler and is directed by Elise Guerrero. It plays Dec. 15-16 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. Show times are 9:30 and 11 a.m. Friday, and 11:30 a.m.,1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. (added due to popular demand!) Saturday. Tickets cost $5 to $7 To order, call the MVCPA box office at (650) 903-6000 or visit www.pytnet.org .

The Winter/Spring 2006 class schedule is now available for online registration. Click HERE for our full list of classes.

Space is still available in our Winter Drama Camp. Shake the vacation blues with this fun and relaxed theater class. The camp runs Dec. 26-Jan 5. Click HERE for more information!

Peninsula Youth Theatre invites youths ages 8-20 to audition for Thoroughly Modern Millie, directed by Elise Guerrero, Jan. 6-7 at PYT’s rehearsal studios, 2500 Old Middlefield Way, Mountain View.

Prepare a song and a one-minute prose monologue. Bring sheet music or an instrumental tape or CD. Dress to dance. Come to PYT at one of the following times: 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. Jan. 6, or 2 or 6 p.m. Jan. 7. No experience is required. There is a $160 registration fee. Callbacks will be Jan. 9-11. Performances will be March 10-18 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.

Did you know that there are great ways to get discounted tickets for lots of great arts events in Silicon Valley?

West Valley Light Opera offers a half-price student rush for ALL performances for high school and college students. Students with a current and valid student ID card may "rush" for tickets 20 minutes before the curtain at any performance by going to the box office in the lobby of the Saratoga Civic Theater.

Artsopolis.com offers half-price tickets to most of Silicon Valley's hottest events! Once you join the email list, you'll begin receiving a weekly newsletter of half-price ticket offerings for the week - this week included discounts for TheatreWorks, The Nutcracker and lots of other great events.

Several PYT committees are reaching out to the greater PYT family for help. Here are some excellent opportunities for adults to make new friends, learn new skills, become more familiar with the organization, and make a difference for PYT, the kids and the community:

JoAnn Buchanan, PYT propmistress and board member, is looking for people to chair or co- chair props – an integral part of any show -- for the upcoming productions of Cinderella (May 12- 20), A Little Princess (July 6-15) and Sweet Charity (July 28-Aug. 5). The job appeals to people who are creative, crafty, and like to shop for or make things. Those interested should contact JoAnn at (650) 823-0796 or redhair@stanford.edu . JoAnn says novices are welcome since PYT has put together a how-to guide and she can serve as mentor.

Alette Mahler, head of PYT’s costume committee, is looking for someone to handle costume bank rentals from March through May, while Alette is busy designing costumes for Cinderella. The job entails becoming familiar with PYT’s costume stock and meeting with prospective renters at TheatreWorks in Menlo Park to help them pull clothing options for their actors. Those interested should contact Alette at (650) 941-9225, home; (650) 224-0214, cell; or alette1955@yahoo.com .

The production staff of Thoroughly Modern Millie is looking for someone to assemble a PowerPoint presentation of slides furnished by set designer Andrea Bechert. The staff also seeks to borrow an LCD projector with a zoom lens that has a 60-foot throw to project the slides at the theater. Please contact Joan Adelman at (650) 988-8798, extension 304, or jadelman@pytnet.org if you can help.

The marketing committee is compiling a list of parents who are willing to “adopt a school” for the remainder of the 2006-07 season. These parents would commit to being PYT’s direct liaison to the school, personally delivering audition fliers, show posters, class brochures and, especially, information about PYT’s 2007-08 season. It’s a great way to make sure your school has dibs on tickets to popular CenterStage and Stories on Stage school shows. Please contact Victoria Villeneuve, PYT board member and publicity committee chair, at (650) 947-9455 or vpine@sbcglobal.net to adopt your school.

PYT is excited to welcome Rebecca Ennals as our director for Sweet Charity. The artistic staff includes choreographer Katie O'Bryon, music director Robert Nieves, lighting designer Chris Karabats and set designer Andrea Bechert. Rebecca has been the associate artist at San Francisco Shakespeare Festival for the past four years, and has an MFA from the University of California at Davis.

Although the auditions are still months away, work on the production already has begun, due to next summer's planned move to a new rehearsal and production space.

"Kristi Scott did a fabulous job with Joseph last summer and would have been a perfect choice for Sweet Charity except for one thing: She lives in Hawaii," reported Artistic Director Dexter Fidler. "We've never done this level of pre- production work on a show, where every detail is being hammered out months ahead of time, and so we really needed a local director that we could meet with in person over and over. Luckily we found Rebecca."