Things are busy at the Jean Henderson Performing Arts Center as the
Davis Musical Theater company prepares for its 30th Anniversary Gala, to
be held on Saturday, August 23 at 6:30 p.m.
“Last night we had a Young Performer’s Theater committee meeting in the
women’s dressing room, the cast of “Shrek” was rehearsing the big tap
number on stage, and in the lobby, singers were rehearsing for the
Gala,” laughed Jan Isaacson, who added that set building and painting
for the upcoming production of “Shrek” were also taking place on the
dock in the afternoon.
The gala anniversary evening, at only $15 per ticket, will include hors
d’oeuvres and a light dinner catered by Symposium Restaurant, followed
by an evening of musical theater songs and highlights from dozens of
productions that have been offered by DMTC over the years.
“I found people who performed from the beginning of the company,” says
Jan, “so it will start off with ‘Oklahoma’ in 1987. Joe Anthony is
coming back to perform ‘Oh what a Beautiful Morning.’ I picked selected
songs from different decades. Mary Young is going to do ‘Everything’s
Coming Up Roses’ from ‘Gypsy.’ Jay Joseph lives in Las Vegas and he’s
coming back to sing ‘Buddy’s Blues’ from ‘Follies.’ The pièce de
resistance of the evening is going to be Ben Bruening’s half hour movie
tracing our history from the very beginning to now.”
Mayor Dan Wolk, a long time supporter of DMTC will present a
proclamation congratulating DMTC on its 30th anniversary and thanking
the company for its commitment in making performing arts accessible for
all in the Davis, California region.
"I am so delighted about presenting this proclamation to Jan and Steve
Isaacson and DMTC. As someone who is an alum of DMTC, has been a
performer in a number of musicals, and who recognizes the importance and
joy of community theater, this celebration has particular meaning to
me,” Mayor Wolk said.
Bob Bowen, Promotions Manger for the City of Davis. laughs ''If someone
had told me, back in 1984, that DMTC would be around for 30 years, I'd
have thought their gaffer's tape was wound too tightly, Having produced
my fair share of theater, I know how demanding and stressful it is to
raise money and produce theater in Davis. For DMTC to produce a series
of adult and children's shows - every year, and for more than a quarter
of a century - is a testament to the their passion and energy for theater."
Statistics show that many community theaters which get off the ground
and achieve some sort of success generally begin to peter out around 30.
The founding members start to get older and can’t do what they did 30
years before, the younger members don’t have the dedication. Ultimately
they call it quits, throw a big party to celebrate a long and productive
life.
At 30, the Davis Musical Theater is just hitting its stride. Last year
their house was amazingly 91% full and they expect to equal or surpass
that this year. The company appears to be healthier than ever with
exciting plans for the future.
DMTC produces six Main Stage musicals and five Young Performers Theater
musicals annually. That’s more than one hundred performances on the DMTC
stage each year. What keeps things so vibrant and alive?
“There’s a real sense of family about the group,” says actress Dannette
Vasser, who joined in 1997. “There’s not the backstage drama that you
sometimes find in other theater groups. It’s a very comfortable place to
be. Everybody gets along and a lot of that is due to the atmosphere Jan
and Steve foster. They’ve created this to be a family place, where all
different members of the community can work together to put on a show.”
“I consider DMTC my musical theater home,” says Mary Young, who has been
with the company since she followed choreographer Ron Cisneros to Davis
and performed Lady Thiang in the company’s second show, “The King and I.”.
Mary, who lives in Roseville, never thought she would ever drive to
Davis to perform but once she started she “just never stopped.” “It has
a lot to do with Jan and Steve. They are such good human beings,” she
said. “I had a really bad car accident a few years ago and Steve just
put me in the next show. Didn’t make me audition. It was my road to
recovery. Physical therapy, mental therapy. What better place to go and
just play.” Young will be performing "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from
"Gypsy" at the anniversary show.
Young’s daughter Wendy was in the fourth grade when her mother joined
the company, and she literally grew up with DMTC. “She was one of the
children in 'King and I,'” Young said, “and I remember washing black
hair dye out of her blond hair.”
Young has had an opportunity to perform with not only her daughter but
also her grandchildren on the DMTC stage. In fact, the upcoming “Shrek”
will feature 3 generations of Youngs. “I haven’t been able to perform
with all three of my grandchildren,” she says, “But it’s on my bucket list.”
She remembers when DMTC moved from the Veterans' Memorial Theater into a
small theater they built in the Davis Commerce Park on Second Street,
near Sudwerk ... and being escorted out to the Port A Potties during
evening rehearsals.
People who started at the Second Street theater were like “the
survivors, ” laughed Marguerite Morris, who joined DMTC out of high
school in 1985 at age 19 to play Hodel in “Fiddler on the Roof.”
That was the show, Steve remembers, where Pat Piper bought the very
first DMTC season ticket (she would later become DMTC’s first lifetime
season ticket holder.)
Morrison remembers the difficulties working in that small theater and
the company’s eventual move downtown to the Varsity theater.
The landlord of the Second Street facility eventually raised the rent so
high that DMTC had to think about finding a new place to perform. Bob
Bowen, who met Jan and Steve while all were in the Davis Players, proved
a valuable friend.
'When they built their first theater in rented space over on Second
Street, I got involved. I also got involved when they approached the
city for a loan.
'Since DMTC still owed money on that loan, we negotiated a deal for them
to use the newly renovated Varsity Theater, beginning in January 1993,
so they would remain viable. I acted as their Varsity landlord until the
Davis City Council changed the Varsity back into an art film theater.'
“One of the things that makes me want to do shows there is the people,”
said Morris. “ I’ve made excellent long term friendships there. It’s a
family.” Morris herself will be singing the Mother Abbess' "Climb Every
Mountain" from "The Sound of Music" at the gala performance, one of her
favorite roles.
Morris’ daughter Rachel performed in 8 shows, when she was 9-11. “There
is always a tight knit group of kids as well as adults. There’s no real
age barrier. A lot of the older kids take younger kids under their wing
and show them the ropes.”
John Ewing, who joined as an actor in the late 1980 and moved on to
become a designer and director and member of the Board of Directors, has
a slightly different take on why he has stuck around. “One thing I like
about DMTC is they’ve always been really great about being open to
anybody, they always had open auditions. I get a real thrill out of
taking something from nothing and creating a show for an audience. The
great thing about the way DMTC does their shows is that so many ordinary
people, not necessarily pursuing theater as a career, have the
opportunity to experience it. You can’t get that anywhere else.”
Ewing points out that people come and people go, but he most values the
ones who have stuck around, people like Lenore and Gil Sebastian, who
were in the very first show Ewing did and are still around.
“I’m excited about Saturday’s Gala, that people who performed years and
years ago have been invited back to perform again.”
As the company has grown, the expertise of the Young Performer’s Theater
(started as “DMTC’s Children’s Theater” in 1987) both in its performers
and its parents has grown and become an essential part of the DMTC family.
Jen Nachmanoff is a mom who came to DMTC because her daughter Sophia
wanted to perform.”I’m a ceramic artist and have learned how to paint
here at the theater, so I’m now a painter too. I didn’t know how to
paint before I came here, but I’ve learned on the job. So I help with
the scenic artistry. We find out we can do things we never knew we could
do.”
Jen oversees the decorative tiles on the wall (continuing the work begun
by Jeni Price). She helps families create tiles and has been overseeing
the design and firing. I’ve only been here three years, but it feels
like forever. It’s the volunteers who make DMTC.”
Children in the Young Performer’s Theater learn all aspects of theater,
not just performing, and kids as young as 10 now run the light board for
main stage shows. “They’re focused, they’re mature, they know what
they’re doing. The kids who run the light board are phenomenal,” said
Steve proudly.
Lighting is a big part of every production, and an aspect which the
audience, for the most part, is unaware. Someone told me once that if
the audience doesn’t notice the lights, the lighting designer has done
her work well.
On October 18, 1985, when DMTC opened its first show at the “Old
Theater,” which had no walls, insulation, heating or air, Steve
remembers chaos on opening night, when Diane Wershing was running the
lights. There had been no time for lighting rehearsal.
“I remember going to the theater for opening night and HOPING that they
had hung lights,” Wershing said, “Luckily, it was a show that I knew
inside and out, so as long as someone was going to hang the lights and
hook up something for me to control them with, I figured I could wing
it. I was hoping beyond hope that there was something for me to work
with, and lo and behold there was. A little 6-dimmer board that I could
hold in my lap in the back row of the audience. I ran the lights from
there.”
More recently, in the final performance of “South Pacific,” the 10 year
old light board just died. Light board operator Mia Piazza turned on the
board and there was no response. They were faced with having to cancel a
show that was sold out. But they were able to turn on the house lights
and the work lights, and Steve went out to face the audience. “This was
going to test how good a salesman I am. I explained that our light board
died and someone in the audience cried out ‘the show must go on!’ We did
the whole show with just the work lights on and the house lights on.
When we finished a scene and we’d cry out ‘scene!” It was like a
recital. The audience loved it!”
One thing that separates DMTC from many theater companies is it has been
and remains an all-volunteer organization, and everyone works on
everything. Actors know when they audition that they will be expected to
help build sets or help in some other way.
“Except for the piano player we’re still all volunteer,” said Jan
proudly. “We have the best volunteers around. People love it here.
They’re here because they want to be here. It’s not a paid job. I always
say we must be doing something right.”
They even have a complete all-volunteer orchestra. Nikki Nicola and Pam
Thompson both get all the musicians. “We had 26 for ‘Les Miserables,’”
Jan pointed out proudly. “We never have to worry about the orchestra.
Ever. People ask ‘how do you get your musicians to volunteer.’ I tell
them they all get a free cookie and a drink at intermission. The ushers
go down, take the orchestra order before the show gets started, at
intermission they bring it down there. They love not having to get
dressed up.”
Steve adds, “Other music directors ask ‘how do you get them to
volunteer?’ I say....uh...ask them?”
Costumer Jean Henderson has been with the company for 17 years and for
her recent 70th birthday, a surprise party was held and she was told the
theater had been renamed for her. “It came as a complete surprise,” she
said. “I was so shocked.”
Henderson loves the DMTC family. “I don’t like to be with just old
people. I like the diversity of age, I get to know what’s going on in
the world. I’m not the retirement home kind of person.”
One of her new roles, since DMTC got a liquor license, is to handle the
bar before the shows and at intermission. “People like being able to
take the drinks into the theater. I try to find something that will
represent the show.” For “Peter Pan” she found a drink that used Cpt
Morgan rum. “We had ‘Barricade lemonade’ with vodka and sparkling water
for ‘Les Miserables,’ a Spamarita for ‘Spamalot,’ and a Fa-Gin for
‘Oliver!’.
As the company has aged, the shows have gotten bigger. On April 14, 2012
DMTC’s second performance of “Titanic, the Musical” opened exactly 100
years to the minute of the sinking of the great ship. Ludy’s Main Street
BBQ recreated the last 11-course meal served on the great ship, as a
fundraiser for over 50 patrons.
Thanks to donations by many patrons, the company was able to buy mirrors
for a spectacular production of “A Chorus Line” in April of this year
In June, Steve directed “Les Miserables,” the show he had dreamed of
directing since he first saw it in 1988. The production was described by
one patron as “the best night I’ve had in this theater.”
Though the Davis Musical Theater Company does not always get the respect
or the attention it has earned, the fact is that they have outlasted
every single theater company in Davis, that they are the
longest-running, year-round, non-professional musical theater company in
California, and that the quality of productions has continued to improve
every year over the past 30 years, as evidenced by their loyal audience
(40% of which comes from Davis and 60% of which comes from other areas).
The company has proved that they are indeed doing something right.
As DMTC start its new season, the company is deserving of a hearty
bravo! for a job well done
