A new community theater group has formed in Nipomo. It was born out of the small community’s love of the stage, and a deficit it’s felt since the Adobe Players disbanded nine years ago, explained Angi Herrick, one of the founding members of the new Central Coast Theater Works.
Herrick, who used to act with the Adobe Players, is directing Central Coast Theater Works’ debut production, a family-friendly holiday favorite, which was met with an enthusiastic turnout at its recent auditions.
“I was a part of the old group, and those of us who were in that group kind of went to different theaters. I do a lot of work with Santa Maria Civic Theatre, and others went to the SLO Little Theatre,” Herrick said. “So we all just kind of scattered.”
Now Nipomo performers have their own community theater group to join. Herrick said she was surprised by the turnout of not just adult actors, but youngsters as well, including parents and their kids.
The production, titled It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, is a play within a play. Well, more accurately, it’s a radio play within a play. So the production is a semi-readers’ theater experience, except the cast is actually portraying a live radio play happening in the 1940s.
“I thought, ‘Here’s a way a lot of people can get involved, who might be intimidated about learning lines, and include a lot of people from the surrounding community,” Herrick said, “and we need minimal props, minimal costumes, and minimal sets.”
Part of the problem back in the day for the Adobe Players, Herrick explained, was the lack of a venue. The format of the radio play will allow the cast to fit snugly into Dorothea Lange Elementary School’s facilities in Nipomo, but the group is on the lookout for a more expansive venue for full productions in the future.
In true radio show fashion, the production includes Foley art, or the art of sound effects in a dramatic radio show. A local father and son, Vince Surra and Dante Surra, have joined the production not just to share their talents as percussionists, but also as live Foley artists and actors. The duo will lend their Foley art skills to the production and show off their acting chops as they portray the characters Benny “Boom Boom” Santino and Son.
While Surra and son have to be quick with their timing and sound effects, the rest of the actors on stage have to be quick with many different characters, explained Sarah Willingham, a longtime Santa Maria Civic Theatre contributor and fellow founding member of Central Coast Theater Works.
“One of the best parts about this, is most of us, we get to play a lot of different characters with different voices and personas,” Willingham said. “That’s been really fun for us, and a challenge, but that’s what really makes this piece unique. It’s a classic story, and I think everybody remembers watching the classic as a kid, but this one has the spin of being a 1940s radio production.”
Willingham said that some actors get literally dozens of parts, with multiple accents, and even some scenes where one actor portrays a conversation between multiple characters. The production is playful, and gives everyone a chance to shine, Willingham and Herrick agreed.
The lead character, George Bailey, is voiced by 2014 Nipomo High School graduate David Caruso, who was involved in the drama department at Nipomo High. Caruso explained that the readers’ theater format was low pressure enough that he felt comfortable going for the lead role.
“I’m actually kind of happy I don’t have a lot of different characters to play,” he said. “George is pretty moody, in my opinion, and is constantly changing.”
Central Coast Theater Works is a Nipomo Area Recreation Association program, explained the organization’s Executive Director Nancy Marohn, who helped form a committee to ensure Nipomo Recreation supported a small community theater group. The program will include classes for kids and adults, as well as Central Coast Theater Works’ future productions.
There has already been lots of talk about the rest of the season, which will run through the next year, explained Willingham and Herrick. Marohn said that as long as Nipomo residents want live theater, her organization would lend a helping hand to preserve the inclusive spirit of community theater.
“The reason Nipomo Rec is so excited about being the catalyst for bringing theater to Nipomo is that we are bringing kids, adults, and seniors all together,” Marohn said. “Our mission statement is to enhance the quality of life of all residents in Nipomo, and just knowing we have the full gamut of people who live in Nipomo who will actually be able to go to one of their schools, and take their kids to an affordable performance, and it’s local, it gives me the chills.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne thinks the more theater, the merrier. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 3, 2015.
