Sarah Brown
When Dean LeBret isn’t working for Sweet Home’s city wastewater collections service, he might be found in his garden, working under the hood of a car, teaching GED prep at Linn-Benton Community College’s Sweet Home branch, tending his myriad animals – or singing on stage under the guise of some character.
LeBret performed last week as Alfred Doolittle in Lebanon Association for Theatre Arts’s production of “My Fair Lady” – his third appearance on stage for LAFTA.
“I found LAFTA simply through a newspaper clipping in The New Era that was showing for auditions,” LeBret said. “I thought ‘wow, it’s been a long time since I did a play.’ So I came and worked with the group.”
His first appearance was two years ago in “Mary Poppins” as Burt, and the following year was a cowboy in “Oklahoma!”
“I’ve been acting since I can remember,” he said. “I think the first thing I ever did on stage I was -LESS-THAN-00223-a child-GREATER-THAN-00223- on a TV show called Romper Room.”
LeBret participated in plays occasionally while growing up, but landed as a high school teacher in Barstow, Calif. When his daughter Katie was 8 years old, they both auditioned for a part in a college “Cinderella” play. He got the role of Prince Charming, and Katie played a villager.
“It was really cool because her first production she got to be in the show with me,” he said.
When it came time to audition for “My Fair Lady,” LeBret wasn’t very interested in participating because he never really liked the movie, he said. But there was one thing about the play he was still passionate about: the people.
“I love the acting, but it’s the combination of acting and being with this group that is why I keep coming back,” he said.
In the end, “My Fair Lady” turned out to be a fun production to play in, he said, because the characters are “much more vibrant” than in the movie.