"Voices of Old Conejo" Living History Performances at Stagecoach Inn Museum Newbury Park Sept 23, 24, 30 and Oct 1, 2023

Brand new production - Voices of Old Conejo “In the Movies.” See how Hollywood used our valley on screen. You will watch snippets of scenes from several films and television shows filmed in the Conejo Valley now portrayed by the Museum Theater Players. Enjoy an evening on the Grand Lawn and try your hand at matching the 13 movies and television shows with their titles. See you at the movies! Come casually and dress warmly.

Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 4pm and 7:30pm, September 23, 24, 30, and October 1

Members: $15; Non-Members: $20

Tickets available at stagecoachinnmuseum.com or the gate.

Stagecoach Inn Museum, 51 S. Ventu Park Rd., Newbury Park

The Elite Theatre Company Presents "The Cover of LIFE" in Oxnard October 21 to November 21

The Elite Theatre Company is proud to announce its upcoming production of The Cover of LIFE– a play by R.T. Robinson directed by Patrick T. Rogers. The production runs for five weekends beginning Friday, October 21st, 2022.

Tood, Weetsie, and Sybill are brides in rural Louisiana in 1943. Each married a Cliffert brother. The men are off to war and a local news story about these young wives keeping the home fires burning intrigues Henry Luce. He decides that they belong on the cover of LIFE Magazine and assigns Kate Miller to the story. She has been covering the war in Europe and, though she views doing a “women’s piece” as a career setback, she accepts because it will be her first cover story. Kate spends a week with the Cliffert women, and her haughty urban attitude gives way to sympathy as she begins to understand them while coming face to face with her own powerlessness in a man’s world.

Filled with charm and fun, The Cover of LIFE is a deeply affecting story about the struggle for self-worth.

The play itself will run Friday, October 21st with a final performance on Sunday, November 21st. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm with a special Thursday performance on November 17th, at 8pm. Information at www.theelite.org.

The Elite Theater Company is located at 2731 Victoria Ave, Oxnard. Adult admission is $20.00 with discounts for Seniors, Students and Military at $17.00. Groups of 10 or more are at $10.00 each.

The Elite Theatre Company has adjusted its policy regarding COVID safety. While proof of vaccination is no longer required for audience members, we ask for cooperation, and request that unvaccinated audience members wear protective masks while inside the theater building. ALL volunteer staff and crew at the Elite Theatre Company must show proof of vaccination and boosters and will continue to wear masks for the protection of our audiences, staff, and artists. This policy shall remain in effect until further notice.

Please NOTE: Currently, only cash ticket sales at the door! No bills over $20 accepted.

The Elite Theatre Company has been entertaining, educating, and enriching its audience since 1994. After 19 seasons at the Petit Playhouse in Oxnard’s Historic Heritage Square, the theatre company moved to its present, larger venue at Channel Islands Harbor Fisherman’s Wharf at the site of the old Maritime Museum, a facility that elevated The Elite’s ability to produce the highest quality theater in Ventura County on its Main and South stages. The Elite Theatre Company is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, as well as a proud member of the Four-Star Theater Awards Committee and the alliance of Ventura County Theaters.

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in Thousand Oaks November 4-20, 2022

Young Artists Ensemble presents the first installment of its Family Theatre Season production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, directed by Caroline Esposito. Performances are November 4 through 20, 2022, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 at In the Theatre on the Hill at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts

403 West Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks. This show will feature young participants ages 10-19.

When little Lucy Pevensie and her siblings find a mysterious, magical portal deep inside an old wardrobe, they stumble into an incredible adventure! Surrounded by fauns, unicorns, centaurs, talking beavers and more, the children ultimately find themselves assisting the mighty lion Aslan in his battle against the villainous White Witch for the heart and soul of Narnia. This classic tale of good versus evil, and love and courage triumphing over selfishness and fear, will warm even the iciest hearts.

Reserved Seating is $19 for Adults, $16 for Children, Students, & Seniors with $12 Super Friday Discounts available on November 11 and 18. Groups of ten or more receive a discount of 10% if purchased in a single transaction for a single performance (all group sales are final). Tickets can be purchased by calling 805-381-1246 or at www.yaeonline.com. Family Theatre Season Tickets are also available and provide a 25% discount. Masks are strongly recommended but not required.

The 2022-2023 Family Theatre Season continues with DISNEY’S DESCENDANTS: THE MUSICAL performing in February 2023 with special Conejo Theatre For Everyone performances February 24 – 26. Disney’s most infamous villains have all been exiled to the Isle of the Lost where their teenage children have made their parents proud by becoming “Rotten to The Core.” When the Prince of Auredon – son of Beauty and the Beast – decides to offer four “Villain’s Kids” spots at Auredon Prep and a chance at a different path, the children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella De Vil find themselves with a difficult choice to make – honor their evil parents or help each other forge their own identities.

The Family Theatre Season closes with INTO THE WOODS, performing in May 2023.

When you live next door to an evil witch, don’t take anything from her garden no matter how tasty it looks! Follow four classic fairy tales at once as they intersect and veer off the path in one of Stephen Sondheim’s greatest works. Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack, and the Baker and his Wife all head into the woods to find their destinies and along the way encounter Charming Princes, Big Bad Wolves, Witches, and Giants. Anything can happen in the woods but finding their way back out again may prove more difficult and require more growing up than they ever imagined.

Young Artists Ensemble is an award-winning theatre company for young people that has received many accolades, including the Encore Statue Award from the City of Thousand Oaks for Excellence in the Arts.

"Roe" by Lisa Loomer at California Lutheran University October 18, 20, 21 in Thousand Oaks

California Lutheran University Department of Theatre Arts and Dance presents a staged reading of "Roe" by Lisa Loomer. The play, which has been produced at several theatres around the country, follows the original Supreme Court case over several decades though the eyes of the original Roe v Wade participants.

October 19,20,21 at 8 PM Preus-Brandt Forum (60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks) on the CLU campus. Tickets are free.

For more information, call (805) 493-3452.

www.callutheran.edu/calendar/event/5550

Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival Returns to Cal Lutheran Thousand Oaks July 1 to August 7

Twenty-five years after the first Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival was held, and following a two-year pandemic-caused hiatus, the event kicks off its joyous return to California Lutheran University’s Kingsmen Park with performances of one of the Bard’s most popular comedies.

The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company will perform “As You Like It” at 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from July 1 through 17 on the Thousand Oaks campus.

Warren C. Bowles, who has decades of experience in Shakespearean and contemporary theater throughout the country, presents the play as the festival’s first Black director. He has spent many years working with Mixed Blood Theatre Company in Minneapolis as a director, actor, playwright, stage manager and fight choreographer. Mixed Blood uses theater to disrupt injustices, advance equity, build community and inspire people to create ripple effects of social change.

Like theater groups across the country, Kingsmen Shakespeare Company has been reexamining how it addresses systemic racism. This includes not only the diversity of its casting, but also who is in control of that casting.

“Our company committed itself over the last two years to do better. Warren helped us achieve diverse casting in both plays we are presenting this season.,” said founder and artistic director Michael J. Arndt. “Macbeth” runs July 23 through Aug. 7.

Rosalind, one of Shakespeare’s most iconic female characters, is played by Chloe Baldwin, a former festival apprentice who has appeared in regional productions and on film and television. Seta Wainiqolo, a Cal Lutheran alumnus and former festival intern and apprentice who studied at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, is the nobleman Jacques.

Set in the magical Forest of Arden, “As You Like It” is a wild romantic tale that plays with gender roles, politics and nature. Unlike many other directors, Bowles didn’t feel the need to put a unique spin on one of Shakespeare’s most-produced comedies.

The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is the professional theater company of Cal Lutheran. Admission is $25 for adults, $20 for seniors 62 and older and active military, $15 for students 18 and older with ID, and free for children. Lawn boxes, which accommodate four to six people, are $90 to $110. Online ticketing is available for an additional fee. The grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for pre-show picnicking and entertainment. For more information and tickets, visit kingsmenshakespeare.org or call 805-493-3452.

Conejo Players Theatre Presents "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" July 8-17

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International

Directed by: Sahai Lara

Produced by: Dana Marley-Kolb

PLOT: An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter…one speller leaves! At least the losers get a juice box. Rated PG-13 for language.

PERFORMANCES: July 8 - July 17, 2022. Friday & Saturday at 8 p.m. Saturday & Sunday at 2 p.m.

LOCATION: Conejo Players Theatre 351 So. Moorpark Rd., Thousand Oaks

TICKETS: www.conejoplayers.org or call box office at 805-495-3715

CAST:

Aaron Ellis as Chip Tolentino

Jenna Lay as Logainne Schwarzandgrubeniere

Jack Cleary as Leaf Coneybear

Jacob Coners as William Barfee

Paige Pensivy as Marcy Park

Hannah Saltman as Olive Ostrovsky

Ashley Cherney as Rona Lisa Peretti

Leilani Toone as Vice Principal Panch

Jeremy Matticks as Mitch

and 4 audience volunteers

* At this time of printing, all patrons will need to show proof of vaccination, or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours from the time of entry to attend shows at Conejo Players.

Elite Theatre Company Presents "Lobby Hero" in Oxnard July 8 to August 7

The Elite Theatre Company is proud to announce its upcoming production of Lobby Hero – a play by Kenneth Lonergan, directed by Cate Caplin. Lobby Hero runs for five weekends on the Main Stage from July 8, 2022 to August 7, 2022.

When Jeff, a charming young security guard, is drawn into a local murder investigation, loyalties are strained to the breaking point. Jeff’s tightly wound supervisor is called to bear witness in criminal trial involving his troubled brother. Meanwhile, an attractive rookie cop finds she must stand up to her seasoned but morally suspect partner. Truth, honor and duty becomes elusive, and justice proves costly in this comedic and insightful drama.

Cast in order of appearance Gabriel Tejeda-Benitez as Jeff, Herb Hall as William, Bill Walthall as Bill and Rosie Gordon as Dawn.

Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm with a special Thursday performance on August 4th, at 8pm. Information at www.theelite.org.

The Elite Theater Company is located at 2731 Victoria Ave, Oxnard. Adult admission is $20.00 with discounts for Seniors, Students and Military at $17.00. Groups of 10 or more are at $10.00 each. All proceeds from the Thursday performance will be donated to UNICEF for the children of Ukraine.

Lobby Hero is presented with the approval of Dramatists Play Service, Inc

The Elite Theatre Company, in consultation with other theatrical companies and performance venues in southern California, is adjusting its precautionary policies regarding the ongoing pandemic. To gain entrance to the theatre, all artists, audiences, and staff are required to present a photo ID plus proof of vaccination and booster against COVID-19 or an officially administered negative COVID-19 test (taken within the previous 72 hours). Audience members may choose whether to wear masks; all volunteer staff and crew at The Elite Theatre will continue to wear masks for the protection of our audiences, staff, and artists; this policy shall remain in effect until further notice.

The Elite Theatre Company has been entertaining, educating, and enriching its audience since 1994. After 19 seasons at the Petit Playhouse in Oxnard’s Historic Heritage Square, the theatre company moved to its present, larger venue at Channel Islands Harbor Fisherman’s Wharf at the site of the old Maritime Museum, a facility that elevated The Elite’s ability to produce the highest quality theater in Ventura County on its Main and South stages. The Elite Theatre Company is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, as well as a proud member of the Four-Star Theater Awards Committee and the alliance of Ventura County Theaters.