The curtain came up on the little theater at the Colley Senior Complex Thursday and before it came down, the audience was in stitches.

The play, which had no name, was a Whitman's Sampler of old time humor and the stories were told by those who lived them.

"The skits were like those that are told around a campfire - funny, silly little things," said Bob Gordon, the "director" of the group. "The songs were old songs that most of the audience had heard or sung and they were able to sing along with us. It was a lot of fun for us and evidently for the audience because they laughed a lot."

The writer for the play was

"no one in particular and all of us in general."

"Our little theater group meets every Tuesday at noon and we bring material and talk about material," Gordon said. "We'll read through some of it and it's rather humorous because the one who is reading a part might not be anywhere close to resembling the character they are portraying. It's fun and funny."

Gordon said the purpose of the little theater group is to have a place where each person can contribute something and enjoy it.

"We chose the nutrition center for our first performance because we had a 'captive' audience," Gordon said, laughing.

Mary Ann Casey, director of the senior center, said the little theater at the Colley Senior Center provides many opportunities for the seniors of Pike County.

"We are doing this to entertain, to bring laughter and to bring the community together," she said. "We also want to teach the young people about the old days and those who lived them. The storytellers today were wonderful. They wrote the skits and then brought them to life. We invite anyone who is interested in any aspect of theater to join our little theater group."

Casey said plans are to "play" to audiences at nursing home, churches, senior centers and, perhaps, schools.

"We want to add a chorus line at some point," she said. "This is just a fun group and they will bring a lot of laughter and joy to a lot of people.&uot;

Gordon added that when the group gets more experience under the stage lights, "We'll have a full blown production."