The Weekly Newspaper of Manhattan Beach Herald Publications - El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 Vol. 7, No. 3 March 6, 2014 Inside This Issue Business & Professional.........................6 Calendar................................3 Classifieds............................2 Finance..................................3 Food................................... 4-5 Pets........................................8 Politically Spreaking..........6 Seniors..................................3 Sports....................................7 Weekend Forecast Cutie-Pies and Cookies It’s Girl Scout cookie time again! Pictured are 9-year old Reese Martinez (L) and 7-year old Rachel Goins from Torrance Girl Scout Troop 15195. Photo by Charlene Nishimura Performing Arts Center Open to All By Nancy Peters Most local residents are familiar with the iconic El Segundo High School on Main Street, extending from Mariposa Avenue (south) to Oak Avenue (north) and from Main Street (west) to Sheldon Street (east), with its new football stadium and track, baseball fields, and the several structures on the campus that comprise the band room and black-box theatre, the science building, the library and the very recognizable bell tower at the center of it all. The building began construction in 1927, with the first graduating class in 1929, and major building renovations completed in 2005. But those renovations did not include the auditorium. At the heart of the building is the auditorium, provided with new seats in the late 1990s. After a bond measure was approved by the voting residents in 2011, there was the green light for the latest state-of-the-art improvements. A new sound booth and sound system, a computerized lighting board, a new curtain and fly system on stage, and a video projector system with SurroundSound were all part of the major renovation of the auditorium. New, more comfortable seats were added. The 830 seats sit on a sloped grade in a staggered configuration so no patron has an obstructed view of the stage. The backstage was completely redone, adding new dressing rooms, offices, storage closets and a second floor to access the fly system. In August 2011, the El Segundo Performing Arts Center (www.elsegundopac.org) opened to the public. The center is available for use by El Segundo Unified School District, is utilized by El Segundo High as its assembly venue, and is rented by outside production groups. On Sunday mornings, The Bridge (formerly El Segundo Foursquare Church) worships in the majestic space. The District is the proprietor of the center and hired a full-time employee to manage the coordination of the use of the theatre space. In July 2012, an alumna of the high school who performed on the stage numerous times began a new career. Angelica Roque, the Director of Theatre Operations, shares her passion for the Performing Arts Center with anyone who asks. “I just want the building to be used to its utmost capacity,” she said. “The community invested in the renovation as a separate bond issue to upgrade the auditorium, making it an impressive space to outsiders of the city--not just to the School District, not just to the Parks and Rec Department. It is a showplace and brings in revenue. I feel it is my job to protect that investment.” A department of one, Angelica is in charge of a myriad of moving parts, from keeping a calendar in order so no conflicts are booked to making certain that contracts for use are written correctly so the District is paid the right amount by the renters of the venue. Basically, she is the liaison for all who enter the theater. Angelica first performed on the high school auditorium stage at the age of nine, when as a fourth grader she was part of the cast of Annie in a production from the El Segundo Recreation and Parks Department Drama Program. “I had a really loud voice, so the director moved me up from the chorus to play one of the featured orphans,” she shared, “but the first time I sang in front of an audience, I was four years old, I think, at Miceli’s Restaurant. I sang Under the Boardwalk and then two years later, I performed with my dad at a wedding. I remember I caught him looking at the words, but I was ‘seasoned’ at the age of six and didn’t have to look. That is a vivid memory for me, thinking, ‘Who doesn’t know the words to Whole New World, Dad?” Angelica comes from a performing family. Her parents, Danny and Nora, who met in the choir at church, and her two brothers, Christopher and Brandon, are all performers. Her dad created a cabaret act he showcases in clubs in Hollywood and Las Vegas and has been a Disneyland cast member, worked at Knott’s Berry Farm as a character in many of the shows, and is a natural-born performer. Her mom, who has worked for various school districts (not including El Segundo) as an administrative employee for many years, sings and acts in productions as a hobby but is always cast as the leading lady. Her brother, Chris, is a founding member of Coeurage Theatre Company and a working LA stage actor. Brandon, the middle brother, is a percussionist with the El Segundo Community Concert Band and was a member of the UCLA Drumline. “I think I have been singing since before I was born,” Angelica laughingly related. “You know, like a genetic disease. I loved to sing even before I could talk. I love to sing the classics, especially jazz, but a good musical theatre song is good too. When the lyrics tell a good story and the music transports the listener, I love a song like that.” Angelica continued, “I got my first professional singing job at 16 when I became the out-front singer for the Beach Cities Swing Band. I loved being a member of my college a cappella group, the TriTones. Now I perform with a cover band on the Casinos Circuit and in my dad’s cabaret act. I sing with Chris every week at our church.” Angelica has also been a Young American since 2004, performing before graduating from high school after a recruited audition. Over the last nine years, she has traveled the United States and the United Kingdom as a touring teaching member for workshops that teach students about music and performing during an intensive three-day course prior to a live performance. This last year she directed the New Kids Show for the Young Americans. “The Young Americans has been a great experience for me,” Angelica added. “I learned a lot from the members of the Swing Band, especially about music of the eras they play. And my performing years as a student right here on that stage [Performing Arts Center], are all memorable. Performers form bonds, making friends for a lifetime. But right now, I thoroughly enjoy what I do. I am really passionate about the theatre! I love the new sound system. The lighting board is fun to program. The backstage is such an improvement from what I and my friends remember of that area when we were in plays. I feel a personal connection with the Performing Arts Center. And I get paid to do the things I love to do. What could be better than that?” • Friday Mostly Sunny 69˚/54˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 78˚/55˚ Sunday Mostly Cloudy 77˚/56˚
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