Breaking a Leg and Raising the Bar: Kevin Harris from SLO Rep #ARTober

As part of our ARTober celebration with the City of San Luis Obispo, I sat down with Kevin Harris, managing artistic director of San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre (SLO Rep). Kevin’s been leading SLO Rep since 2008, transforming it from a volunteer-based community theater into a professional regional destination. With a new theater in the works and some exciting productions underway, SLO Rep continues to push the boundaries of live performance on the Central Coast.

We kicked things off with Misery, their latest production based on the Stephen King novel. Kevin shared how intimate the experience of watching this show becomes in their space: “You’re four or five feet away from Paul Sheldon and the crazy Annie Wilkes. That kind of proximity makes the tension feel even more real—like something you just can’t experience in a movie theater.”

The shift from community theater to professional stage has been quite the journey, and Kevin talked about how the community has embraced that change. “SLO is primed to support a regional theater like this,” he explained. “The talent we don’t have locally? They’re happy to come here—especially if it means escaping Chicago or New York in the winter for a few weeks!”

The conversation naturally turned to the future and the ambitious project of building a new theater in San Luis Obispo. Kevin didn’ttouched on how long the journey has been: “This has been a decade in the making. It’s going to be right at the gateway to the Cultural Arts District—a vision the city voted on back in the ’90s. It’s exciting to see it finally coming to life.”

Kevin spoke about how they plan to expand their programming once the new theater opens: “We’ll have two performance spaces, which means we can run more shows at the same time and offer different types of productions. Classics, new works, family-friendly fare—something for everyone.”

SLO Rep also plays a key role in ARTober, and Kevin was quick to emphasize the importance of events like this: “ARTober is a great reminder of how important arts and culture are to a community. They’re what make cities thrive. And with the new theater, we expect to bring about 50,000 visitors downtown every year.”

Before wrapping up, we chatted about some upcoming productions, including Million Dollar Quartet and the 13th annual run of A Christmas Story. “We try to curate a season that offers something for everyone,” Kevin said. “It’s about creating unforgettable moments for our audiences and inviting them to share in the magic of live theater.”

Kevin summed it up beautifully: “Live theater is about sitting in a dark box with strangers, contemplating existence.”

With SLO Rep continuing to make bold moves, from thrilling productions to building a new home, it’s clear that their story is just getting started.

Catch the full interview with Kevin Harris on Up+Adam HERE. Stay tuned for the rest of our ARTober series with the City of San Luis Obispo.