Everyday CK

CSTOCK Live Community Theater in Kitsap County WA has a rich and longstanding tradition for producing shows that appeal to family audiences.

So it’s not surprising to discover that many of the shows performed by CSTOCK in their theater at the Silverdale Community Center are comprised of cast members which contain entire families.

Such is the case with the recent popular run of CSTOCK’s ‘Music Man,’ the well-known Meredith Wilson hit musical of how ‘Trouble’ comes to a small Midwest town in Iowa in the form of a pool table and a musical instrument peddling flim-flam man named Harold Hill.

An hour before curtain, the ‘Green Room’ (otherwise known as the Poplar Room) is a flurry of pre-show activity. The Beddoe Family (consisting of Dad Dave, Mom Deb, and children Katharine, Calvin, George, and Henry) are busily applying make-up and doing last minute hair touch-up. George is the lone non-acting hold-out, simply content to watch his family perform and consume his fair share of cast refreshments. Henry is the show scene stealer and obvious choice for ‘Most Adorable Actor’ when he struts out on stage towards the end of the show, wearing his ‘Boy’s Band’ uniform and carrying a snare drum almost as big as he is!

The Gray Clan is an equally invested tribe, beginning with Dad Rod who serves on the CSTOCK Board of Directors and lends his vocal/acting skills as one of the four credential-chasing school board quartet members. As one of two Stage Managers, wife Maria keeps the production flowing smoothly each night as she skillfully coordinates nearly 50 cast members and navigates the hard-working stage crew through a myriad of challenging set changes. Their daughters Jenny and Kimberly skillfully portray Amaryllis, the wannabe piano player turned lisp lover, and “Ye Gads” spouting Zaneeta Shin, respectively.

This show signals the 3rd directorial outing for Chris Borer (Damn Yankees and 1940’s Radio Hour). He is the son of veteran C-STOCK legends Dale and Karen Borer. In this production, Karen lends her usual expertise in the light booth, along with younger brother Matthew, while Father Dale skillfully provides light design and performs onstage as River City’s town ‘boob.’

Additional families include father & son, Bill and Billy Buhl; husband & wife Joe and Sharon Martinelli; brother & sister Caitlyn and Cameron McConnell; husband & wife Bob and Clarice Nash; father & son Cameron and Wallace Ross; mother & daughter Maddie and Palmer Scheutzow; husband & wife Jess and Ann Sveen, and daughter Sarah; father & daughter Al and Alli Verhofstadt; father & son Carrey and Rand Wiseman.

It normally begins rather innocently when one member of the family gets bitten by the acting bug. A son or daughter tags along with a friend from school and auditions for a show. Next thing you know, “they’re playing for money in a pinch back suit”…(opps, sorry, just habit!) Then Dad is at the theater on the weekends, helping build sets, and Moms selling refreshments during the performances.

A great example of this during Music Man was Raoul and Rebecca Dominguiano, parents of Abigail (Wa Tan Ye girl) who attended nearly every rehearsal and performance, providing valued supervision of the show’s younger performers. No doubt Abigail’s two younger brothers will find their way up on stage in the near future!

While not everyone involved in a CSTOCK production is related, by the end of the show everyone certainly feels like one big family.

And such is the bittersweet ending to a wonderfully enjoyable and rewarding experience. For two months, you spend nearly 3 hours every weekday in rehearsals with these people. Many weekends you’re either practicing dance steps with the choreographer or building sets. Then a full week of run-through dress rehearsals, followed by opening weekend and 12 performances. You actually end up spending more time with these folks than you do your own ‘real’ family!

Then, suddenly, the show is over. The sense of loss and emptiness is pronounced, almost palpable. It feels as though a small piece of your creative heart and soul has been ripped out, joining together to become part of a larger, cherished collective memory.

And, like a moth to the flame, you audition for the next show, and start the entire process all over!

CSTOCK’s Vision Statement

To be the premier Theatrical Performing Arts Organization in the West Puget Sound.

CSTOCK’s Mission Statement

Provide educational opportunities for all ages.

Provide a significant positive cultural influence.

Provide quality community-oriented entertainment.

Tweet This Post 

Prior to the vote on the recent CK Support School Levy, there was quite a stir of rather heated debate occurring here on the Kitsap Sun website regarding the respective merits of voting yea or nay.

Many of those commenting faulted WA State officials for not properly funding local public education. Still others placed the blame on district superintendents, staff, and school boards for not exercising prudent fiscal responsibility.

Well, if you weren’t aware, both the Senate and the House released their budget proposals last Tuesday, and next week, will negotiate a finalized budget. The negative impact that the extreme reductions proposed in this budget draft could have at the local level would be catastrophic.

Just in case you want to see what impact the proposed budget would have, please click here to view the School Funding Facts II, or click here to view the supporting documentation.

As our state legislators hash out the last minute details of the budget, the good folks down at Central Kitsap School District are continuing their efforts in developing CKSD budget options for school year 2010-11. Their proactive and fiscally conservative approach over the last several years has allowed them to anticipate and avoid the drastic large-scale layoffs faced last spring by other districts throughout the state and to keep cuts from impacting the classroom.

However, ultimately, the solvency of CKSD’s financial future rests with our elected legislators and the governor.  Our district financial personnel have already made all the reductions they can without taking any severe measures. Unfortunately, our district has little additional financial resources available to effectively absorb the multi-million dollar reductions contained in the current budget proposals.

Anyone who is familiar with our Superintendent, Greg Lynch, Executive Director David McVicker, and the hard working members of our school board, knows how seriously they all take their responsibilities and stewardship of district finances. These are all people who genuinely care about the quality of education our kids receive, and seek to equip our teachers and school staff with all the resources necessary to maintain that result.

I am extremely grateful to the voters of Central Kitsap who approved the recent levy renewal. The current economic times are tough on all of us and it’s not easy to commit even more of our hard earned dollars to a cause that is supposed to be fully funded by State government.

Let’s hope that the folks in Olympia find some other way to cover the budget shortfalls than to further impede our school district’s ability to ensure educational excellence.

Tweet This Post 

Having traveled rather extensively throughout the United States and overseas, few places compare to the abundance of beauty I’ve discovered here in the Pacific Northwest.

On the Kitsap Peninsula, we’re surrounded by the clear deep waters of the Puget Sound. To the west, the majestic Olympic Mountains rise up dramatically from the shores of Hood Canal. Gazing eastward allows awe-inspiring views of Mt. Rainier, and a ferry ride drops you off into the eclectic capital of cool, Seattle.

For me, personally, the quality of life in Kitsap County is best defined as a safe and enjoyable place to raise a family. All four of our kids have benefited greatly from attending Central Kitsap schools. And together, we continue to amass a wealth of lasting memories like time spent crabbing out on the Hood Canal.

How do you define the ‘Quality of Life’ here in Kitsap County WA? What is it that personally makes it such a great place for you to live?

How could the quality of life in Kitsap County WA be improved? What are we lacking here that would make a significant positive impact? If you could make any changes to our area, what would they be?

Tweet This Post 

Last night, the 5th grade students of Brownsville Elementary School performed a musical historical timeline on the History of Jazz at Brownsville Elementary School, located at 8795 Illahee Road, just south of the Brownsville Marina.

I had the pleasure of previewing a sneak-peek live rehearsal of the approx. 30-minute performance the day before, and I have to say there are some incredibly gifted singers and dancers at Brownsville Elementary. My son, Elliot, (a 2009 graduate of CK High who came along for the ride), commented that some of the singers were definitely ‘American Idol’ material!

Music Teacher, Shirley Jenkins, has done an outstanding job in helping these students learn, understand, and appreciate the rich history of Jazz music, not the easiest task for 5th graders. One of the selections the kids sang, ‘Birdland,’ is a favorite of mine. It’s an exceptionally difficult piece to perform and the kids pulled it off with flying colors.

Monies from the recently approved CK School Levy renewal help to fund valuable programs like this, so it was a very timely reminder to express my personal ‘Thanks!’ once again to all of our area residents who voted in favor of the levy.

Tweet This Post 

A Picture Slideshow of the recent Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for the New Greaves Way between Clear Creek Road and Old Frontier Road in Silverdale WA.

Tweet This Post 

The current CSTOCK (Central Stage of County Kitsap) production of Meredith Wilson’s ‘Music Man’ is a perfect example of why I’m such a HUGE fan of Live Theater and the value it offers to our community here in Kitsap County WA.

Granted, being involved in a local production is a big time commitment and requires a lot of work. Most of CSTOCK’s shows are large cast musicals, like ’Music Man’ with nearly 50 cast members! Add to that the production crew, costuming, set construction, orchestra musicians, parents/volunteers, etc., and you’ve got the population of a small town! River City, Iowa, to be exact!

What’s so exciting to watch is how everyone works so hard and diligently together, combining their individual talents and abilities, to create and perform as a seamless ensemble.

This is no easy task, especially given the wide range of ages represented among the cast, coordinating all the various elements of the production, and the challenging logistical constraints of performing in a very small theater space.

What I personally find so rewarding is the positive affect our community theater has on our member’s self-worth and esteem, especially for the youth. It’s thrilling to observe a kid gain a greater sense of personal confidence and develop improved social skills. They also learn the valued lesson of hard work, and the satisfying reward of applause.

During the course of intense rehearsals, camaraderie and friendships are fostered among the cast and crew. Many of our shows have enlisted the talents of entire families, providing them with a safe and enjoyable environment to spend quality time together.

CSTOCK community theater offers its audience a muchly needed escape from the everyday worries and cares of  life. A show magically transports you to another time, another place, where you become wonderfully lost within the story.

‘Music Man’ runs for 3 more weekends. Fridays and Saturdays the show starts at 7:30pm. On Sundays, curtain opens at 6pm. Purchase your tickets on-line now because all three shows this past weekend were nearly sold out!

And, allow me to encourage you to invest in community theater and become involved in CSTOCK, as either an active volunteer/participant, or simply as a regular audience member.

Thanks for your helpful support!

For more information on how you  can plug-in, go to www.cstock.org

Other Kitsap County Community Theaters:

Jewel Box Theater in Poulsbo

Western WA Center for the Arts (WWCA) in Port Orchard

Bremerton Community Theater (BCT)

Bainbridge Performing Arts

Kitsap Children’s Musical Theater

The Forest Theater on Seabeck Hwy.

Tweet This Post 

UPDATE:  Thanks to County Commissioner Josh Brown who dropped everything to run down to Olympia and negotiate a compromise with DNR. The Seabeck Marina project is moving forward. We’re not completely out of the woods just yet, but things certainly are much more encouraging. Thanks to all the supportive and vocal residents of Seabeck and Kitsap County for making your opinions heard!

Read about the DNR Reversal HERE!

I know that the folks at WA State DNR do, in fact, accomplish many good things to help preserve the environment and maintain our quality of life here on the Kitsap Peninsula, but in this particular instance with the new Seabeck Marina, they aren’t doing anything right!

I accessed the Kitsap Sun website last night to find out the outcome of our Central Kitsap School Support Levy. I was thrilled to discover that the measure had passed, as had all the other district levies in the county.

Unfortunately, my joy was short lived as my eyes were quickly diverted to an adjoining article.

“Confusion Over Lease Stops Construction at New Seabeck Marina“

No sooner had construction finally commenced on the new marina out in Seabeck then our beloved DNR (WA State Dept. of Natural Resources) stepped in and forced an abrupt halt to the work in progress.

Evidently, when the Olympic View LLC partners purchased the marina in 2004, there was a corresponding lease on the use of state-owned bed-lands (land below the low-tide mark). During the ensuing years of wading through endless bureaucratic red tape, the lease was placed into an inactive status.

In 2007, the partners attempted to re-activate the lease but were told by the State that a new policy was being drafted that would require a habitat review (something they had already completed). By the end of 2009 they asked the State once again for permission to re-activate the lease, but the results were only confusion as to what the requirements were for satisfying the new habitat review. As a result, the partners were forced to hire a land-use attorney to help them make sense of the new policy.

Demolition work and pile driving had begun this past week because developers wanted to take advantage of a narrow two-week window allowed under State Department of Fish and Wildlife rules. The restrictive time frames are in place to protect underwater habitat. The next window when this type of work can be performed won’t open until July.

This past Monday, the State issued a ‘Stop Work’ order and at the same time,  informed the partners that DNR staff wouldn’t be able to review their lease agreement until “sometime between April and November.”

If you access the WA State DNR website, you’ll find the following Mission Statement:

To provide professional, forward-looking stewardship of our state lands, natural resources, and environment.

To provide leadership in creating a sustainable future for the Trusts and all citizens.

We manage 5.6 million acres of forest, range, agricultural, aquatic, and commercial lands for the people of Washington. These lands generate more than $200 million a year, much of it to support public schools, state institutions, and county services. We also manage these lands to provide fish and wildlife habitat, clean and abundant water, and public access for you.

The Seabeck Marina project has always made perfect sense. There is a very pronounced need for marine services and moorage facilities on the west side of Hood Canal in Kitsap County. Since the closure of the previous marina, local businesses have been struggling, and patiently awaiting construction of the new marina to attract customers. Support by local residents has been overwhelmingly positive, knowing that a new marina would bring vital growth to the area and improve property values.

Does anyone else find it rather absurd that we can have two very expensive ‘ghost town’ marinas in Silverdale and Bremerton, and yet when private money wants to foot the bill for a marina with huge potential use and popularity, all the State can do is pose endless obstacles?

Tweet This Post 

“Do your kids re-buckle their knickerbockers ‘below’ the knee? Are they memorizing jokes out of Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang? Are certain words creeping into their conversations? Words like ‘Swell’ and ‘So’s yer Old Man!”

CSTOCK’s long awaited production of the ever-popular Meredith Wilson hit musical “Music Man” is scheduled to open this coming Friday, February 12th.

An affectionate musical tribute to Smalltown, USA of a bygone era, Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man” follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys’ band he vows to organize – this despite the fact that he doesn’t know a trombone from a treble clef. His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian the librarian, who transforms him into a respectable citizen by curtain’s fall.

Director Chris Borer (1940’s Radio Hour, Damn Yankees) has assembled an amazing cast of nearly 50 talented actors, singers, and dancers to bring this epic musical to life!

Music Man will be playing 4 consecutive weekends Feb. 12th thru March 7th at the CSTOCK Theater, located in the Silverdale Community Center next to the Silverdale Way Walgreens.  Shows start at 7:30pm on Friday and Saturday nights, and 6pm on Sunday night.

So grab Your Favorite Libertine Men and Scarlet Women and take the nearest Wells Fargo Wagon to see CSTOCK’s ‘Music Man!’

For more information and to purchase tickets online, GO HERE!

Tweet This Post 

Co-Owner Joel Skellie behind the counter at The Global Bean

Live Music by Nathan Paggard and Ben Jacobson

The Global Bean is located at 2021 NW Myhre Road, Silverdale WA

Hours:  M-Th 7am-10pm • Fri 7am-Midnight

Sat 8am-Midnight • Sun 9am-7pm

Tweet This Post 

There’s been a lot of somewhat heated, yet healthy discussion/debate regarding the upcoming local school support levies being voted upon by February 9th.

You can follow one of the ‘lively’ conversations HERE.

A rather interesting and timely article appeared in today’s Kitsap Sun:

“Judge Rules State not Fulfilling Duty to Fund Education”

KS Staff Blogger Marietta Nelson offers an ensuing commentary that poses the probing question: “What’s Missing?”

I can’t speak personally for the other districts within Kitsap County, but I can vouch for the Central Kitsap School District both as a resident and a parent of four CKSD students.

One of the benefits of living here in Central Kitsap is the sense of family and community that we all share. For those of us whose children have attended CK schools we have experienced firsthand the value and quality of education provided by the educators and staff of Central Kitsap School District.

I’ve never seen teachers and administrators who take such an active role in the lives of our kids. Superintendent Greg Lynch and the School Board Members (especially Chris Stokke) can be seen at nearly every school function or activity (even taking time out to personally read books in class to elementary students). Such occasions have afforded me countless opportunities of becoming better acquainted with our school leaders/administrators.

We are most fortunate here in Central Kitsap to have such highly qualified administrators/staff, and dedicated board members, all who possess high ethical standards and personal integrity.

A vote of “YES’ to renew the upcoming CK school support levy is not only a vote for our kids, but it’s also a vote of trust and confidence in our teachers and district leadership, to empower them all to continue their proven track record of educational excellence!

Tweet This Post