Camarillo Community Theatre given recognition at awards ceremony
By Sally Carpenter sallyc@theacorn.com

The stars shone brightly at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center on Jan. 23 for the inaugural presentation of the 4-Star Theatre Award Ceremony to honor the best of local community theater. Sixteen actors, artists and technicians took home prizes for Camarillo Community Theatre.

Trophies were given for excellent work in acting, directing, sound, lighting, set design, costume and production to each of the four participating groups: Camarillo Community Theatre, Elite Theatre Company in Oxnard, Ojai Art Center Theater and Santa Paula Theater Center. The High Street Arts Center in Moorpark will become a participating member next year.

The awards committee comprises three representatives from each theater. During 2007, the members attended all the shows at a theater other than their own. In December, the committee selected the winners and invited them to the ceremony.

Committee members Leslie Nichols and Frank Malle served as masters of ceremony for the presentation in Simi Valley.

Malle opened the night with such observations as, "You know you're in community theater when your kids know your lines better than you do . . . your sofa spends more time on stage than in your living room . . . a gunshot on stage wakes up the audience . . . the stage manager tells you to be careful because there's wet paint on stage right and it's only five minutes until curtain . . . you consider Neil Simon a misunderstood genius."

But Malle grew serious when he described theater as "sacred boards" where actors "pour out dreams, struggles, triumphs . . . reflect on the past (and) project their highest aspirations of the future . . . take a journey limited by their own imaginations."

The audience watched a slide show of photographs from all the productions. Committee member Juanita Seavey of CCT presented a bouquet to Nichols for her leadership of the committee. After the awards were handed out, Spanky, Outstanding Lead Performance winner from Elite Theater, sang "I Want the Girl" from "Ruthless!" The audience members then mingled at a reception hosted in the center's multipurpose room.

Seavey and Jeff Wallach won the Outstanding Direction award for CCT's "The Diary of Anne Frank." Wallach said it was "absolutely wonderful" for the theater community to come together and support each other with the awards. He and Seavey wanted to direct "Diary" because it's an important project with "a message we wanted to send to youth today to never forget . . . never again."

"Diary" was recognized again when David Newcomer received the Outstanding Male Lead Performance for his role as Otto Frank. Newcomer felt honored to play the role and said "It's not often an actor gets a meaty part like that." He had to learn the part quickly because he replaced a previously cast actor only two weeks before opening night.

Erin Fagundes brought home the Outstanding Female Lead Performance prize as Percy in CCT's "The Spitfire Grill." The Amgen employee integrates her volunteer theater work into her busy life by involving her whole family. Her two children are in youth theater; her husband is appearing in Conejo Players' "The King and I," and Fagundes is in rehearsals as Lucy for CCT's upcoming "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" opening Feb. 8. She and her husband met while in a show together at Conejo Players, and they were married in that theater.

Drama is also a family affair for Joan Novakovich, who won Outstanding Costume Design along with co-designers Donna Powell and Lorna Bowen for CCT's "Li'l Abner." Novakovich's daughter Kathee Boyer earned an Outstanding Overall Production trophy for CCT's "Grease," with coproducers Adrienne Freeland and Janis Johnson. Ken Rayzor, the Outstanding Sound Design winner for "Grease," is Novakovich's son-in-law. And Rayzor's 15-year-old son Adam was given Outstanding Lighting Design kudos for "The Diary of Anne Frank."

The other 4Star award winners from CCT are Philip Wieck, Outstanding Featured Male Performance, "Li'l Abner"; Valorie ParadiseLant, Outstanding Featured Female Performance, "The Spitfire Grill"; Bob Decker, Outstanding Set Design, "The Spitfire Grill"; and Zach Spencer, Outstanding Sound Design, "Grease."

Camarillo Community Theatre is at 330 Skyway Drive. For details about the 2008 season, call (805) 388-5716.