Remembering 60 years of Stockton Civic Theatre

They rehearsed in empty store buildings, in people's homes and anywhere else they could find available space.

The audience at the dress rehearsals, on the stage at Madison Elementary School, consisted of residents of the State Hospital.

The actors, leads and extras, helped paint scenery when they weren't rehearsing their lines.

Those and other memories of the early days of Stockton Civic Theatre will be recalled Sunday during the company's Willie Awards ceremony to honor the best productions of the 2010-11 season. More than that, the Willie Awards, begun after the 1953-54 season and named for William Shakespeare, will pay tribute to the recently completed 60th season of the theater, with early members of the company presenting this year's awards.

That SCT has not only survived that long, but has grown and thrived, comes as no real surprise to its early members.

"It was a slow process, and I think that's why it made it," said Dolly Blair, 82, who debuted in 1954's "Detective Story" and was that year's best supporting actress. "(Co-founder Frank Jones) was never full of himself. Neither was Clyde (Nielsen). They were just plodding along, putting on plays, quietly doing their thing. And it just grew. I don't know that it was a tidal wave, just more like a lovely breeze."

Stockton Civic Theatre blew into town an outgrowth of a Stockton Unified School District adult drama class taught by Jones, a city librarian with a theater background, and Nielsen, a banker.

"I wasn't in the night class, but those were the people that started (SCT); they wanted to be on stage," said Julie Grider, 85, who first performed in 1951's "The Curious Savage." "I knew most of the people who were in it, and just hearing about things from those people, I wanted to do it. I'd done some musicals with the opera association, but I wanted to do some things with lighter music.

"There was no little theater here at the time, other than the movie theaters. Those of us who wanted to be up there singing and dancing and making fools out of ourselves, we had our chance. We got hooked on it, and it just grew, by word of mouth."

Jones and Nielsen secured use of the Madison School Auditorium, but had no place to store scenery or costumes. Given the limitations, they chose the simple-to-stage "Our Town" as their first of five productions in 1951.

With space limitations the productions of the 1950s were driven by characters and stories.

"Civic Theatre did some serious stuff and they did it well," said Al Muller, who first was involved with the group in 1961, creating the costumes for "Ondine."

The drama "Member of the Wedding" was among the groundbreaking pieces, featuring a multiracial cast.

"During that period we were rehearsing 'Member of the Wedding,' there was (a racial event) in Alabama," Blair said. "Incidents began to take place at that time. (Director) Frank Jones took the cast to a black church in Stockton. We sat in the balcony while they had a service for the loss of the people in the South. I'll never forgot the way they looked at us, like, 'What the hell are they doing here?' That was Frank. He kept pushing. I'm eternally grateful he made me conscious (of the civil rights movement) earlier than I would have been."

If there were shows that made people think, there were also those that made them laugh, or just entertained them, including a 1961 production of "Guys and Dolls."

Dorothy and Ed Mulvihill played Sister Sara Brown and Sky Masterson. The couple had met at a theater in Oakland that Dorothy had founded with fellow College of Pacific graduates.

"It was something that fed my soul, fed my being," said Dorothy Mulvihill, who would play other roles and run a youth program for the company in addition to founding the drama department at Manteca High School, where the theater is named for her.

In her SCT debut, she and her husband joined Paul Petrie and Petty Marlette, who portrayed the play's other couple, Nathan Detroit and Adelaide.

"They made us feel good," Dorothy Mulvihill said. "They'd worked with Civic Theatre before, and they were very welcoming. We had a wonderful cast and we had a very good show."

The success of "Guys and Dolls" reinforced the prevailing theory that Stockton Civic Theatre had outgrown Madison Auditorium and it managed to raise $31,500 to buy the Zion Lutheran Church at Willow and Monroe streets, and another $20,000 to convert the church into a theater.

The 1962-63 season opened there with a production of "The Miracle Worker," and the cast included Gene Wisenor as Mr. Keller.

"I started when I was 30 in 1960," the now 81-year-old Wisenor said. "I always wanted to try it. I went to a rehearsal for a play that was already cast. They let me do an extra part, a townsperson who wanders in. Within four plays I was playing leads. I loved it. I wasn't afraid of anything. I could memorize page after page."

Wisenor was so adept he was given an opportunity to perform with the International Theatre in Vienna, Austria. He sold his car and power tools to bankroll his year abroad.

The International Theatre struggled financially, but Wisenor was hired by the Vienna English Theatre, which was funded by the government, and spent six years performing for school children to help them learn English.

Others associated with SCT have enjoyed professional success as well, including "Fat City" author Leonard Gardner; "The Young and the Restless" actress Jeanne Cooper, who was part of the original night education class; Maxim Popovich, who starred in movies, television and stage roles with the stage name Paul Maxwell; producer-director Bill Humphreys; Emmy Award-winning writer Kevin Falls; and Broadway actor Donald Corren.

Launching careers is only one legacy of Stockton Civic Theatre, which moved to its present location on Rosemarie Lane in 1981.

"I think it probably gave to the people who felt as I did that music was a real part of life," Grider said. "Music and art and acting were some of the most interesting things in life. You wanted to be a part of it. It gave everybody a chance, because they didn't have any restrictions on who could try out for the shows, come in and join the group."

Muller, too, appreciates the opportunities SCT has afforded.

"One thing that stands out in my mind is that all of my kids have been in productions at the theater at one time or another, under my direction or somebody else's," Muller said. "They have grown up and carried that interest with them as adults. Some of my grandkids have done things at the theater. That, to me, is exciting. It's what community theater is supposed to be about, where kids are treated with a great deal of respect, have an opportunity to come in and work with stage hands and all of a sudden they have enough courage to try out for something. That's been terrific."

What's also terrific, he said, are the friendships that have grown from the theater. It's those friends, those devoted souls who are the driving force behind Stockton Civic Theatre.

It was true in 1951 and it's true 60 years later.

Contact reporter Lori Gilbert at (209) 546-8284 or lgilbert@recordnet.com. Visit her blog at recordnet.com/lensblog.

What: Stockton Civic Theatre's annual season awards, which this year combines with a celebration of its 60th season. When: 5 p.m. reception on Sunday, ceremony at 6 p.m. with dessert and champagne to follow Where: Stockton Civic Theatre, 2312 Rosemarie Lane, Stockton Admission: $12; tickets available at the door or by calling (209) 473-2424

Willie Awards