Photo Flash: Conejo Players Theatre Honors Local Arts Advocates

Conejo Players Theatre's inaugural Arts Advocate Awards was a heartfelt ceremony that honored and highlighted the amazing work of local theatre champions Richard "Dick" Johnson; Corey Fogelmanis of Disney Channel's Girl Meets World; and the City of Thousand Oaks.

Each honoree has played a foundational part in strengthening CPT, other area theatres, and the arts in general. They are shining examples of people who are guided by an appreciation of the arts; who understand their importance in the community; and who are ambassadors for arts awareness. In addition to the awards, the evening's entertainment included songs hand-picked to honor each recipient. The night was capped off with a champagne dessert reception in the backstage area of the theatre, where attendees were able to offer personal thank-yous to the honorees.

Accepting the Civic Advocate Award on behalf of the City of Thousand Oaks were Mayor Al Adam and councilmember Claudia Bill-de la Peña -- who both spoke of the need to support the arts in our community, and highlighted Conejo Players as an integral part of the city's culture. One of the songs chosen to honor the city was Betty Everett's "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)"; popular in 1964, the year Thousand Oaks was incorporated, it also appeared in The Marvelous Wonderettes -- a show from CPT's 2014 Season.

Mark Johnson gave a heartfelt, funny account of his father Dick Johnson and his many years volunteering with CPT. Later, Dick delighted the crowd with memorable stories about his time with the Players; he designed and directed his first CPT show, A Thousand Clowns, in 1969 -- and to date has designed and built over 50 sets and directed almost half that number of shows for the theatre. He retired his position of Executive Director several years ago, after serving 11 three-year terms. An Honorary Life Member of the Players, Dick has received 37 CPT Harlequin Awards. The songs chosen for Dick included "Getting to Know You" from The King and I (Dick designed the set for both of CPT's productions, first in 1969 and later in 2008) and "I Gotta Crow" from Peter Pan (a show he directed in 1984 and designed the set for in 2012).

Corey Fogelmanis accepted the Youth Advocate Award and expressed his gratitude for the experience he gained at Conejo Players -- which ultimately led to his recent success in television. Songs chosen for Corey included "Candy Man" from Willy Wonka and "Anything's Possible" from Seussical Jr.; Corey featured prominently in both shows at CPT.

Deidre Parmenter, CPT President, explained the motivation for the event: "As Conejo Players Theatre starts on a journey toward solidifying our future with a new Capital Campaign, we wanted to reflect a bit on why we do what we do. The arts are hugely important to us as individuals and to our community at large. We are where we are today because of individual contributions and a supportive community. Honoring those that advocate both for Conejo Players and for the arts in general was an easy choice. It's a tradition we hope to continue."

Take a look at some photos from the ceremony below!

Photos courtesy of Candace Gray