Projecting what may lie ahead for talented young people in Yuba-Sutter community theater for 2003 requires looking back over 2002, a year in which many individuals enlarged and refined their stage talents.

Overall, perhaps the most surprising thing is the number of talented people who have either grown up or gravitated to Marysville and Yuba City -- hardly a Manhattan of musical theater. So many are there that it would be foolish to attempt a comprehensive survey. Some undoubtedly would be overlooked. Others would be mentioned, but inadequately, if only for a lack of space and time.

Instead, let us focus on the few I've had the opportunity to observe closely. Among these Dahni Trujillo stands out.

Trujillo was 14 years old last I checked with her mother, Linda Plmmer, but her voice is fast becoming ageless. That a child can achieve such a mature sound so early in life probably comes from a combination of innate gifts, training and experience. Or so it would seem if you review Trujillo's background.

I believe she began her singing tutelage in Marysville's Bethel American Methodist Episcopal Church choir at the tender age of six or seven. The choir is largely African-American and is widely regarded as an outstanding training ground. More or less every Sunday for seven years Trujillo therefore has been belting out gospel standards, strengthening her voice to compete with the more experienced elders around her.

Parts in local children's theater and community theater productions soon came along, which introduced her to the additional tasks of acting and dancing while singing. Looking beyond the two rivers for additional opportunities to shine, she became involved with Sacramento's Galena Street East group. For several years now she has traveled to the capital to participate in the comparatively huge productions Galena puts on.

In 2002, Trujillo took part in three plays this reviewing got to see: Gypsy, The Hobbit and The Boyfriend. Taken together, her performances show a steady development in voice, dance and acting abilities.

In the Ponderosa Theater Company production of Gypsy, Trujillo sang in set group pieces, but her strong bell voice could easily be discerned from the weaker contributions. It was in Faith Christian Players' production The Hobbit that her voice was finally showcased. As Smaug the Dragon, she was decked out in a sequined cape of sweeping length. Her character was a symbol of power and so was her voice.

Honed to a soulful, bluesy edge by years of gospel singing, Trujillo oozed a smoky tune -- the name of which I've lost -- warning hero hobbit Bilbo Baggins of the unwisdom of dragon hunting. Her earthy rendition ranged melodically from whisper to wail, ending in an unexpected last get-out-of-my-sight-you-two-timing-man note that fairly begged for a cabaret license.

In The Boyfriend, a mammoth musical put on by Marysville Charter Academy of the Arts, Trujillo played Hortense the French maid, a character role that gave her a second act show-stopper solo, "Nicer in Nice."

This time around Trujillo -- a demure young lady with long dark hair and heartbreak eyes -- deployed her talents in a balanced display of song, dance and acting. The whole show was "two-thumbs up" of course, but Trujillo stood out. Her saucy delivery of the lyrically complex "Nicer in Nice," her energy as a blossoming hoofer and her personal comedic twist to Hortense showed star qualities across the board -- all of which led this reviewer to ask her mother why her daughter hadn't pushed for a starring role.

"She likes the smaller parts because the songs are better and it gives her a chance to create a unique character," Plummer explained.

This made sense, to an extent, but as one Trujillo fan, I must say. It is time to find a leading musical role for her, or even a one-entertainer show in which her mature command of melody and lyric can be displayed to her best advantage.

I for one believe she would make a wonderful Eliza Doolittle in The Acting' Company's forthcoming My Fair Lady. If Trujillo can do such an excellent job with a French accent as she did in The Boyfriend, then a grating cockney should be well within in her powers.

But if such a breakout opportunity can't be found or created for Trujillo here in her hometown in 2003, then we should all do our best to help her find it in the wider world of professional entertainment, which is where she truly deserves to be.