CineMagic show is 'out of this world'
265 children sing, dance in sci-fi spectacular
By Sally Carpenter sallyc@theacorn.com.

Next week, CineMagic, the Pleasant Valley Educational Foundation's seventh annual arts showcase, will blast into outer space with a spectacular of song and dance. How do 265 youths of different ages, schools and abilities blend their talents to create the shows? Through the efforts of an army of adult and teen volunteer leaders and director Lindann Cheney of Camarillo.

Cheney has directed CineMagic for six years. She has a day job teaching music and movement at University Preparatory School, but CineMagic occupies the rest of her time.

Cheney's involvement began, she said, when she "naively" saw the first show and offered to help out if needed. "Next year they hollered big time," she said with a laugh, and she's directed every show since.

CineMagic is a nearly twohour original musical written by Cheney, new each year. She selects the songs over the summer, and has the script written and the costumes designed by the orientation in September. Starting in January, students rehearse one night a week after school and on Saturdays.

Casting is open to all students in grades one through eight from all schools, public and private, in the Pleasant Valley School District, home-schoolers included.

After leaving the eighth grade, about 30 "alumni," now in high school and college, have returned to CineMagic to work on backstage crews.

This year's theme is "Out of This World" and follows the Jetson family as it journeys to other planets to encounter aliens and "to see what makes other people tick," said Cheney. When the show ends, "everyone has a song in their heart," she said, "and they learn to work together."

Debbie Hager of Camarillo oversees costume construction, and each child has at least two. She said many of the costumes were purchased; the others were made by about a dozen volunteers. Even the purchased pieces were modified, altered or embellished.

"I did something to every costume," she said.

Hager's been working on the clothes since December and she'll be mending rips and tears through closing night.

She has three children in the program and said the best part of working on the show is "just being with my kids. They love this program. If they're going to be here all day, I may as well be with them."

Janet Kildee of Camarillo assists Cheney by directing the 72 first- and second-graders in CineMagic during her off hours from teaching music at Rancho Rosal and CAPE schools. She has three daughters in the show, including Twyla, who plays one of the Jetsons.

For most of the first-graders, Kildee said, CineMagic is their first time on stage. The children sing two songs and join in the finale.

Kildee said her biggest challenge in working with the youngest cast members is "getting them to do the song and dance at the same time."

CineMagic began as an afterschool program sponsored by the PVSD, Kildee said, but is now an independent fundraising organization that supports district schools.

Kildee said she loves "seeing the reaction on the kids' faces and their smiles after their numbers." When the show ends, many of the children are "bouncing up and down and saying, 'I want to do it again.' The kids enjoy doing it."

Noah Pepperman, 11, plays Luke Jetson, who he describes as "the annoying older brother." He said Luke, ringleader of the siblings, gets into trouble but "mellows out at the end."

The Las Colinas sixth-grader is in his fifth year with CineMagic. He likes hanging out with the cast and meeting new people each year. "I've made lots of friends from CineMagic," he said.

Nicholas De Los Santos, 13, is a CineMagic veteran. The seventh-grader from Monte Vista has performed in all seven shows and said the program had only 80 children at the beginning. The shows have become increasingly sophisticated and have added technology over the years.

This year Nicholas plays a robot, a role he said is "hard to get the jerky movements down."

Cheney never dreamed CineMagic would become this big, but that's because every child who applies will participate- no one is turned away. Children don't audition, but attend an interview so that Cheney knows where to place them and discover if a child has a special talent. Children with learning disabilities and autism participate in the shows.

Cheney loves to see the children develop in the program. She described one cast member who was struggling in school and had a selfesteem problem. She noticed that child had a nice voice, and the youth has now "completely come out of his shell" as an excellent performer.

Another child with "an okay voice," had been "stuck in the back" in previous CineMagic shows but wrote a note to say she'd like a larger part, Cheney said. The director took a chance and at the first rehearsal, the girl stunned the leaders with her talent.

To Cheney, the process of learning is more important than the final product. CineMagic, she said, helps children learn discipline, memory skills, people skills and tolerance. When they move on into middle and high school, they already have friends they know from CineMagic.

Cheney thanked the hundreds of volunteers who've helped make the program materialize and grow, and the community for its support- the performances usually sell out.

Ultimately, Cheney said, CineMagic is "just the kids and watching them grow."

Showtimes are 7 p.m. Thurs. and Fri., April 17 and 18, and 11 a.m. Sat., April 19 at Pacifica High School, 600 E. Gonzales Road, Oxnard.

Tickets at the door are $15 to $25. For more information, visit www.cinemagiccamarillo.com.