‘Annie’ Becomes a Family Affair for San Ramon Mother and Daughters

By Robert Rezak

There's a lot of singing and dancing going on in the Shepard family's San Ramon
household these days.

Mother Suzanne and daughters Claire, 9, and Isabel (better known as Izzy), 12,
are deep in rehearsals for their roles in Diablo Theatre Company's production of the hit Broadway musical "Annie."

Although the show doesn't open until Sept. 10 at the Lesher Center for the Arts in
Walnut Creek, mom and the girls learned most of their lines, songs and dance steps by mid-July. Mom plays Annette, a French maid, and the girls play orphans (as in "It's the Hard Knock Life").

"We want to get it right," says Suzanne, a recreational therapist with a degree in
theater arts who has performed in other shows locally. "It's an honor and a thrill to be in this show."

Suzanne and the girls went to the auditions earlier in the year, never suspecting
they would be cast in the show.

"We thought there was just a small chance we would get chosen, so we went for
the fun of it," Suzanne recalls. " We thought, 'let's go for it.'"

And go for it they did.

" When it was over, the directors told us, ' Wow, you three were really prepared.
You're really good.' Now we have to prove it for 17 performances," Suzanne says.

Michael Shepard, a financial analyst, knew his wife was bitten by the show
business bug but he thought he could steer his daughters into sports.

Wrong.

"The girls always heard me singing show tunes around the house and before long
they were joining in," says Suzanne.

They've honed their performance skills over the years by appearing in youth and
community theater productions.

Both mom and dad see the positive results.

"Having to learn lines increased their reading, memory and speaking abilities,"
says Suzanne. "Being in a show is such a process that, among other things, requires
teamwork and discipline. As a result, I think Claire and Izzy are well grounded and
down to earth."

Meanwhile, although still maintaining his interest in sports, dad got hooked on the
theatre, too. He has become an active member of the theater community, volunteering his services backstage and in overseeing lights and other theatrical paraphernalia.

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WHAT: Diablo Theatre Company's production of "Annie," music and lyrics by Charles
Strause and Martin Charnin.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Sept. 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30; Oct. 1, 2 and 2p.m. Sept. 11, 12,
18, 19, 25, 26
WHERE: Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek
RUNNING TIME: 2 hours, 15 minutes, one intermission
TICKETS: $17-$48 (925) 943-7469; www.lesherartscenter.org,
www.diablotheatrecompany.org