The other day, Anita Moisen gave me an interesting tour of the James Armsrong Theater complex in Torrance. Anita is the Volunteer coordinator for the theater and is responsible for assigning the many volunteers that are there on perormance dates to collect tickets, show people to their seats and man the refreshment booth at intermission. She told me that they now have about one hundred and twenty volunteers on their books, and sixteen of these are members of RSVP.

This weeks production was a performance of the musical "Fame" and I went along on closing night to meet RSVP volunteer, Cecelia Sauber. Tonight, Cecelia would be one of those responsible for showing patrons to their seat as they came in. A few weeks ago she had also performed the same task during a production of "The Wiz" (a stage and musical adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz"). Cecelia told me that she really enjoys this task as she also gets to see the shows after she has made sure everyone has been seated comfortably. "There are such a lot of interesting shows that I get to see this way, and I probably wouldn't get to see them if I hadn't volunteered to do this", Cecelia said. "If you enjoy the theater, I would definitely recommend donating some time for it".

As I talked to Cecelia, Bill Wilson and Lillian Corner, two more RSVP members, signed in as ushers at the theater office. They reiterated Cecelia's comments and said that they do as many as two shows a month during the busy season.

I met with RSVP volunteer Helen Ball a few days later. Helen puts in 40 hours a month as a "Friend of the Library" but still manages to volunteer on a regular basis at the James Armstrong Theater. A lifetime resident of Torrance, Helen is particularly pleased to be involved with the variety of cultures that abound in our city and that are represented at the theater. Some of the many things she has been involved with include Symphony Concerts, Choral Group presentations, The Chinese Acrobat Group, East Indian Dancers, Armenian Music and Dance, Light Opera, and Ballet. In fact she will be at the theater as a volunteer when Torrance acts as host in May for a festival of ballet performances put on by the finalists from seven Western States.

Helen (3rd from the left) with some other theater volunteers at a Christmas show. (Photo from Helen Ball)

The theater complex is also in a beautiful setting with a well tended Japanese garden just to the right of the entrance.

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