CineMagic show is 'Out of this World'
By Sally Carpenter sallyc@theacorn.com.

SPACE ODYSSEY- Grade-school students from throughout Camarillo will perform in this year's CineMagic show to raise money for Pleasant Valley schools. The science fiction-themed show, "Out of this World," will run from April 17 to April 19 at Pacifica High School, 600 Gonzalez Street, in Oxnard. For more information, please visit www.cinemagiccamarillo.com.

Next week, CineMagic, the Pleasant Valley Educational Foundation's seventh annual arts showcase, will blast into outer space with a spectacular of song and dance.

How do 265 youths of different ages, schools and abilities meld together to create a show? Through the efforts of an army of adult and teen volunteer leaders and director Lindann Cheney of Camarillo.

Cheney's directed CineMagic for six years. Her day job is teaching music and movement for at University Preparatory School, but CineMagic occupies the rest of her time.

Cheney's involvement began when, she said, she "naively" saw the first show and offered to help out if needed. "Next year they hollered big time," she said with a laugh, and she's directed every show since.

CineMagic is a nearly two-hour original musical written by Cheney, new each year. Cheney selects the songs over the summer, and has the script written and costumes designed by the September orientation. Students rehearsal one night a week after school and on Saturdays starting in January.

Casting is open to all students in grades one through eight from every school, public and private, in the Pleasant Valley School District, as well as homeschoolers.

After leaving eighth grade, about 30 of the "alumni," now in high school and college, have returned to CineMagic to work on backstage crews.

This year's theme is "Out of This World" and follows the Jetson family as it journeys to other planets to encounter aliens and "to see what makes other people tick," said Cheney. When the show ends, "everyone has a song in their heart," said Cheney "and (the characters) learn to work together."

Debbie Hager of Camarillo oversees costume construction. According to Hager, each child has two or more costumes. She said many of the costumes were bought and the others were made by about a dozen volunteers. But even the purchased pieces were modified, altered or embellished.

"I did something to every costume," she said.

Hager's been working on the clothing since December 2007 and she'll be mending rips and tears through closing night.

Hager's with CineMagic because she has three children in the program. To Hager, the best part of working on the show is "just being with my kids. They love this program. If they're gonna be here all day, I may as well be with them."

Janet Kildee of Camarillo assists Cheney by directing the 72 first and second graders in CineMagic during her off hours of teaching music at Rancho Rosal and CAPE schools. She has three daughters in the show, including Twyla, who plays one of the Jetsons.

For most of the first graders, Kildee said, CineMagic is their first time on stage. The children sing two songs and join in the finale.

Kildee said her biggest challenge in working with the youngest cast members is "getting them to do the song and dance at the same time."

CineMagic began as an afterschool program sponsored by the PVSD, Kildee said, but is now an independent organization and a fundraiser that supports district schools.

Kildee said that she loves "seeing the reaction on the kids' faces and their smiles after their numbers." When the show ends, many of the children are "bouncing up and down and saying, 'I want to do it again.' The kids enjoy dong it."

Noah Pepperman, 11, plays Luke Jetson, "the annoying older brother," as he describes the character. He said Luke gets into trouble as the ringleader of the siblings but "mellows out at the end."

The Las Colinas sixth grader's in his fifth year with Cinemagic. He likes hanging out with the cast and meeting new people each year. "I've made lots of friends from CineMagic," he said.

Nicholas De Los Santos, 13, is a CineMagic veteran. The seventh grader from Monte Vista has performed in all seven shows. He said the program had only 80 children when it started. The shows have become more sophisticated and added more technology over the years.

This year Nicholas plays a robot, of which he said "It's hard to get the jerky movements down."

Cheney never dreamed CineMagic would become this big, but that's because every child who applies will participate- no one is turned away. Children don't audition, but attend an interview so Cheney knows where to place them and to see if the child has a special talent. She also uses children with learning disabilities and autism in the show.

Cheney loves to see the children develop in the program. She described a cast member who was struggling in school and had a self esteem problem. Cheney noticed that the child had a nice voice, and that youth has now "completely come out of his shell" as an excellent performer.

Another child with "an okay voice," had been "stuck in the back" in previous CineMagic shows but wrote a note that she'd like a larger part, Cheney said. The director took a chance and at the first rehearsal, the child stunned the leaders with her talent.

To Cheney, the process of learning is more important than the final product. She said CineMagic helps children learn discipline, memory skills, people skills, and tolerance. When the children move into middle and high schools, they already have friends whom they know from CineMagic.

Cheney thanks the hundreds of volunteers who help make the program happen, as well as the community for its support- performances usually sell out.

In the end, Cheney said, CineMagic is "just the kids and watching them grow."

Show times are 7 p.m. Thurs. and Fri., April 17 and 18, and 11 a.m. Sat., April 19 at Pacifica High School, 600 Gonzales, Oxnard. Tickets at the door are $15 to $25.

For information, visit www.cinemagiccamarillo.com.