North Monterey County thespians are looking for a little support.

Talent. Ambition. Enthusiasm. The up-and-coming 42nd Street Players of North Monterey County High School in Castroville have all that plus a dedicated director. What more could they want?

"We need fans!" says Mollie Hicok, a performer in the club.

After receiving little support from fellow students for their musical and dramatic endeavors, the 42nd Street Players are reaching out to the community in hopes of enlarging their audiences.

"We get more support from parents and friends than we do from the school," says Naomi Hatter, the group''s publicist.

Additionally, Hatter says, the school''s relatively rural location makes it difficult to promote performances.

"It seems that a lot of people in Salinas and in Prunedale and in Castroville don''t come see us because they don''t know about it and our only means of publicity, pretty much, is flyers," she says.

So the group has taken charge and decided to make themselves known. Often touring with short plays they have written and produced themselves, the students perform at junior high schools, senior homes, and business luncheons, says director Theresa Boteilho.

Last year, the group received a grant to write, produce, and perform an informational play about AIDS. They presented it to several junior high schools in the area, Boteilho says.

Hatter says major changes within the group over the past few years have prevented the club from concentrating on publicity issues until now. The group has struggled with high director turnover and poor student commitment.

"We had a real big problem with people coming in and saying, ''Oh yeah, we''re in the club'' and then not doing anything," says Hatter. "It was very stressful."

In addition, she says, the club has had three different directors over the past four years, making it difficult to establish program continuity from year to year.

However, with the strong support of Boteilho, presently in her second year with the 42nd Street Players, and the recent restructuring of the club into a graded class, the program is solidifying.

"We are building up," says performer Nancy Richman.

While they presently lack a wide audience, they don''t want for ambition. Last year, the group presented eight shows, and have four scheduled for this season.

Next up is The Gift, a play written by Hicok and edited by Boteilho. It will be performed on Dec. 15 at 7:30pm, following "Holiday Art" at 7pm, a showcase of fine art and music. Looking ahead, Damn Yankees will run April 22-24 at 7pm. cw

Theater Openings

Annual Olio Revue Friday and Saturday at 8pm. Musical Revue. The First Theater''s Troupers of the Gold Coast celebrate the holiday season with their annual olio revue, an evening of their favorite, silliest vaudeville-style sketches and comic songs, from the turn of the century to today. Local writer Dee Olivetti has rewritten the lyrics to a famous old-time routine, to mention Peninsula cities. "You''ll laugh a lot," they promise. California''s First Theater, Scott and Pacific streets, Monterey. 375-4916. $10/adults; $8/seniors; $5/children. Through: 1/31.

Brand New and Sizzling Hot Saturday and Sunday, 5pm-7pm. Play Reading. Local actors present public readings of plays created in Lee Brady''s Playwriting Workshop, a class conducted at MPC each fall that culminates in a December performance. SRO Theater, Monterey Peninsula College, 980 Fremont St., Monterey. 646-4063. Free. Through: 12/6.

Goin'' Hollywood Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm; Sunday, 2pm. Musical. In a salute to the Golden Age of Hollywood, director Jerry DeBono has penned this tribute to some of the greatest stars of...well, that golden age. Local actors impersonate film greats such as Mae West, Abbott and Costello, Marilyn Monroe, the Marx Brothers, Greta Garbo, Carmen Miranda, Lauren Bacall, Laurel and Hardy and many more in song and comic vignettes. A large cast includes Michael Jacobs, Layne Littlefield, Michele Savage, Kerry Hartjen, Rob Foster and Connie Erickson. The show is guaranteed to bring you chuckles and a toe-tapping good time. Special benefit performance for Youth Music Monterey, Dec. 10, $15 and $10 (students with ID). Main Stage, Monterey Peninsula College, 980 Fremont St., Monterey. 646-4213. $15/general; $7/children; $11/seniors. Through: 12/20.

The Nutcracker Saturday at 2:30pm and 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm. Dance. Dance Kids, Inc. fills the Sunset Center with more than 90 dancers, young and old, to bring to life that favorite of Christmas ballets, The Nutcracker. During a Christmas Eve party, young Clara is whisked away by her favorite gift, a nutcracker, to a magic land where sugar plums dance and true love reigns forever. In addition to dance students from Dance Kids and the Carmel Ballet Company, local notables from many fields make guest appearances, including Carmel Mayor Ken White. In a tutu? Perhaps not. Nutcracker is directed by Carol Benton, produced by Walt deFaria, with choreography by Benton and Gloria Elber. A gala opening Saturday night includes a pre-show wine reception at Carmel''s Gem Restaurant, San Carlos between Ocean and Seventh, at 5:30pm; $40/adult, $30/children, to benefit Dance Kinds'' scholarship fund. After this weekend''s shows, the production moves to King City for one show only Dec. 13 at 2:30pm at the King City High School campus, where the cast is joined by members of the King City Ballet Company. Sunset Cultural Center, 8th and San Carlos, Carmel. 624-3729. $15/general; $8/children; $8/seniors. Through: 12/6.

Two Weavers in Winter Friday and Saturday, 8pm. Performance Art. The Carl Cherry Center brings us two shows in one this weekend. First on stage is Lark Simmons in Wings Before Feathers--Singing While In Flight, original songs and poems of transmigration using piano/synthesizer, guitar and vocals. Next is Kedron Bryson in Aunt Dolly''s Sacred Singer, her personal tribute to the matriarchs via the vehicle of the Singer sewing machine left her by her late Aunt Dolly. Her task, the matriarchal spirits tell her, is to find the appropriate pattern in this material world. The show''s sponsors promise us "warmth and light amid the winter dark." Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, 4th Avenue and Guadalupe Street, Carmel. 624-7491. $11/general. Through: 12/5.

Closings

The Circle Friday and Saturday, 8pm; Sunday, 5pm. Comedy. Nick Hovick directs the Staff Players in this 1920s-era Somerset Maugham drawing room comedy. It''s a romantic bit of fluff and charm, centering around an ironic reunion among lovers and spouses, where everyone gets his or her come-uppance. Indoor Forest Theater, Santa Rita and Mountain View, Carmel. 624-1531. $12/general; $9/children; $9/seniors. Through: 12/6.

A Christmas Carol Thurs.-Sat., 8pm; Sunday, 7pm. Drama. Unicorn Theater takes on Scrooge and all the ghosts of Christmas in this classic Dickens tale of meanness redeemed. Hoffman Street Playhouse, Hoffman Street at Lighthouse Avenue, Monterey. 649-0259. $15/general; $12/children. Through: 12/23.

La Virgen Del Tepeyac Thursday, Friday and Saturday 8pm, Sunday 4pm and 8pm. Pageant. The historic San Juan Bautista Mission explodes in an extravaganza of music, dance and theater every other Christmas in Luis Valdez''s adaptation of the beloved Mexican story of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Working from a 17th-century text, Valdez''s spectacle reenacts the day in 1531 when the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared to the Indian Juan Diego, and told him to command the Bishop of Mexico to build her a church on Tepeyac Hill, the site of indigenous Indian worship for centuries before the arrival of the Conquistadores. The play is performed and sung entirely in Spanish and Aztec, with librettos for English-speaking audience members. It''s a family affair, with staging, music direction, costumes and lighting by Valdez family members. San Juan Bautista Mission basilica, 2nd and Mariposa streets, San Juan Bautista. 623-2444. $17/general; $8/children; $14/seniors. Through: 12/20.

Auditions

Once Upon a Mattress Saturday and Sunday, 1pm. Musical Comedy. MPC holds open auditions for production of Once Upon a Mattress, a fractured fairy-tale rendition of "The Princess and the Pea," set to music and updated. Director needs 15 men and 15 women, ages 13-73. But 74 is probably all right, too. Monterey Peninsula College Music Hall, 980 Fremont St., Monterey. 646-4213. Through: 12/6/98

Two at Wharf Monday and Wednesday, 7:30pm. Musicals. The Bruce Ariss Wharf Theater holds open auditions for its two next shows, On the Air, a musical revue of old-time radio, which opens Feb. 12; and The Sound of Music, opening July 1. Private auditions are available upon request. Wharf Theater, Wharf #1, Monterey. 649-2332/659-2440.

Art Openings

Carmel Art Association "Happiness Is:" Works by local professional artists. Dolores Street, between 5th and 6th avenues, Carmel. 624-6176. Reception: 12/5, 6pm. Through: 1/7/99.

Grove Homescapes "Du Temps Perdu." Hand-colored black-and-white photographs of Paris by Meredith Mullins. 472 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove. 647-1719. Reception: 12/6, 1pm. Through: 1/31/99.

Monterey Museum of Art "Winterfest: A Multi-Cultural Celebration." Works that "focus on the artistry of a Victoran Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Pueblo Indian and Mexican celebrations." Reception: 12/9, 5:30-7:30pm; admission: $25/MMA members; $35/non-members. Demonstrations of holiday rituals are presented 12/19, 1-3:30pm. Also, "Artists'' Miniatures 1998," works by more than 100 local artists. On 1/4, works will be raffled off to art lovers who buy $3 tickets. "Storybook Illustrations," works by Laura Regan, who will give a talk on 12/12 at 10:30am. 599 Pacific St., Monterey. 372-5477. Reception: 12/9, 5:30pm. Through: 1/3/99.

New Masters Gallery "Will Bullas: 12th Annual Show." Works by Will Bullas. Anyone coming to the gallery, and bringing an unwrapped new toy or article of clothing to benefit the YWCA of Monterey County''s Safe House and the Salvation Army, receives a copy of the show poster. Dolores Street, between Ocean and 7th avenues, Carmel. 625-5137. Reception: 12/5, 5-8pm. Through 12/21.

Nico Restaurant Paintings by Gabriel Murphy. San Carlos Street between Ocean and Seventh Avenues. 659-5159. Reception: 12/6, 3pm. Through: 12/21.

Pacific Grove Art Center Works by Julie Smith''s art students; paintings by Manuel Santana; ceramics by Dianna Holubec; jewelry by Ling Yen-Jones; "Christmas Stocking Event." 568 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove. 375-2208. Reception: 12/4, 7pm. Through: 1/8/99.

Spa on the Plaza "Big Sur Florals." Watercolors by Big Sur artist Helen Jerene Morton. 201 Alvarado St., Monterey. 647-9000. Reception: 12/4, 6pm. Through: 2/1/99.

Venture Gallery "Holiday Miniature Show." Miniature works in many media by local artists. In addition to opening reception, there is an open house at the gallery on 12/5, from 11am to 5pm. 260 Alvarado Mall, at the Doubletree Hotel, Monterey. 372-6279. Reception: 12/5, 5pm. Through: 1/4/99.

William A. Karges Fine Art "Early California & American Paintings." Works by various artists. 5th Avenue and Dolores Street, Carmel. 625-4266. Reception: 12/5, 4pm. Through: 12/5.

Art Listings

Ansel Adams Gallery "Chip Hooper: Photographs." Black-and-white photographs that "capture and liberate the dynamic and subtle interplay of light and form in our natural world" by local photographer. The Inn at Spanish Bay, 2700 17 Mile Dr., Pebble Beach. 375-7215. Through: 12/15.

Carl Cherry Center "Shadows." Metaphysical and introspective paintings and drawings by Anita Benson exploring shadows and configurations in nature. 4th Avenue and Guadalupe Street, Carmel. 624-7491. Through: 12/11.

Carmel Valley Manor "Museum Posters." Posters from the collection of Jules Trattner. 8545 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley. 626-4711. Through: 12/31.

Center for Photographic Art "Juried Exhibition." Works by 39 photographers as chosen by juror Mark Petr. San Carlos Street and 8th Avenue (in the Sunset Center), Carmel. 625-5181. Through: 12/4.

Gray''s Art Gallery "Memories of Women." Light sculptures, murals, painted stone implements Yael Maayani-Brown, Shannon Harvey, Berit Anderson-Friedman, Maria Concha Salinas and Graciela Vega-Cendejas. 1104 Broadway Ave., Suite K, Seaside. 899-1069. Through: 12/5.

Monterey College of Law An exhibit of photography and printmaking by Lesley Anne Spowart. 404 W. Franklin St., Monterey. 373-3301. Through: 12/30.

Monterey Museum of Art--La Mirada "Face to Face: The Paintings of Mabel Alvarez." 720 Via Mirada, Monterey. 372-3689, 372-5477. Through: 3/7/99.

Monterey Regional Waste District Office "Recycled Art Festival." Award-winning projects made from recycled materials, ranging from sculpture to art pieces by Michael Duffy, Steve Gaily, Dick Iverson, Ed Leiper, Paola Berthoin, and others. 14201 Del Monte Blvd., Marina. 384-5313. Through: 12/20.

MPC Art Gallery "By Special Invitation." A variety of artwork, from photography to found-object sculptures, by Monterey County high school students. 980 Fremont St., Monterey. 646-3060. Through: 12/11.

Morgan''s Coffee & Tea "Endangered Species." Color portrait photography by Pomyol Arce of the Sahara Desert nomads. 498 Washington St., Monterey. Through: 12/31.

Mudzimu Gallery Sculptures by Gedion Nyanhongo, from Zimbabwe. 6th Avenue, between Lincoln and Dolores streets, Carmel. 626-2946. Through: 12/20.

National Steinbeck Center "El Arte De Mexico: Tres Aspectos de Tradicion." Paintings by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Jose Clemente Orozco related to The Virgin of Guadalupe. 1 Main St., Salinas. 753-6411. Through: 1/10/99.

Seaside City Hall Works by Alison Cloran, Betty Rees and the Carmel Crafts Guild. 440 Harcourt Ave., Seaside. 899-6270. Reception: 12/11, 7pm. Through: 12/31.

Shallcross Gallery "Works on Paper." A variety of works on paper by California artists Carolyn Berry, Mira Kamada, Antonella Brughera, Gloria Shaw and Marjorie Faris. Visitors enter to win a lithograph by Mira Kamada. 499 Calle Principal, Monterey. 655-0642. Through: 12/30.

Thunderbird Bookstore Color photography of landscapes and seascapes by David J. Gubernick. In the Barnyard Shopping Center, off Highway 1 and Carmel Valley Road, Carmel. 624-1803. Through: 12/10.

Weston Gallery "Devotion." New works by local artist Jeffrey Becom. Lincoln Street and 6th Avenue, Carmel. 624-4453. Through: 12/23.

White Oak Grill "Day''s End." Color photography of sunset images by David J. Gubernick. 19 East Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley. 659-7632. Through: 12/31.