So I was minding my own business in January when I got a call from an old friend. As in someone I’ve known over 30 years. He was calling me to let me know that I had been nominated and chosen to be an honoree at their annual Honors Gala along with my father.
A bit of history…when I was 12, my dad saw an ad in the paper for a production of Best Foot Forward (it’s a musical by the folks who wrote the music for Meet Me In St Louis among other things) in Balboa Park. The production was done by students in San Diego Junior Theatre, a youth theater organization. Since he had been slowly introducing me to theater, he thought this would be a great activity for us. It was a great show, with some of the best talent at JT (that’s what we all call it) on stage. Knowing that I liked to perform, my dad asked if I wanted to take classes and I said yes. Little did I know how much that decision would change all of our lives.
At JT, you enroll in classes, which give you the opportunity to audition for the main stage productions. After each two productions you are cast in, you must work on the backstage crew before you can be cast again, which keeps thing more egalitarian. This program in an after-school program; though many talented folks come through and go on to careers in front of the lights, this isn’t a school for performers.
In 5+ years, I was in 5 shows, on the crew for 10+ more and generally found my home away from home at the Casa del Prado. Since my dad had
to drive me there, he started volunteering in the office, where he helped the Box Office Manager. A few months in, Inez, the well-loved secretary dies vey unexpectedly, and the Box Office Manager, Bernita Fox, took over the office on a temporary basis since no one else knew how to keep things going. My dad got a battlefield commission to be Box Office Manager – a volunteer position. This was around 1977; he stayed in that job until I came home from college in January of 1986. He was there when the city put permanent seats in the theater, which required a new seating chart (which my grandfather lettered by hand). He oversaw the computerization of the Box Office and the addition of accepting credit cards. He also served at least two terms on the Board of Directors.
When I came back from college, I took over. for the first 8 months I was a volunteer, but they started to pay me in September on 1986. I was there for 2.5 years. When some of my fellow alumni wanted to put on a fund raiser, I gave them a hand, which lead to an auxiliary organization, which continues to raise funds and do volunteer work for JT. (It’s now more of a parent organization, but they do great stuff.) I also served 2 terms on the board, and have helped at the December Nights (Christmas on the Prado to us old folks) and Gala Fundraisers throughout the years.
So for all this and more, my Dad and I are being honored on May 4th with some other great folks by JT. And though both my dad and I are pleased to accept this honor, we also know that plenty of other folks have given as much and more to this organization. In addition to the great training I received at JT, for things theatrical and not, I had a place to belong. And to this day I believe that JT continues to be that place for many kids. And all the other accolades aside, if I have contributed to this organization’s continued success, that’s the greatest honor I could receive.
My thanks to Skypp Cabanas who nominated my dad and I, and my congratulation to the other honorees. If you’re in San Diego on May 4th and you’d like to join us, it would be great to have you there, and have you support this organization. This is the website for tickets.
I’ll leave you with this piece of wisdom (I’m almost 50, I’m allowed to dispense wisdom now). For all the hours that I have spent volunteering my time – JT, Friends of UCSD Theater, the San Diego Maritime Museum, The County Trails of the Sweetwater Valley, The Boulder History Museum and others – I have always received back more than I have given.
