ArtScene ’93 Draws Large Crowds With Variety of Causes and Interests : Thousand Oaks: Hundreds checked out latest technology, exchanged mailing lists and prepared for opening of Civic Arts Plaza.

Seven-year-old William Hillstrom III of Simi Valley could barely afford a moment to look up from the multicolored monitor.

“I’m learning how to do stuff, like catch elves and finding treasures,” the bright-eyed second-grader said during a break from his computer games.

Instructor Catherine Perez was huddled with young William inside the technology demonstration room at Goebel Senior Adult Center in Thousand Oaks, where hundreds of artisans gathered Sunday for ArtScene ’93.

Ask a computer instructor what the 20th-Century devices have to do with art and you get an earful.

Artists can redraw or enhance a picture without wasting paper, and the characters and scenes depicted in many programs are the works of talented artists, Perez said.

But computers have a more practical side, said Perez, who works with FutureKids, the Thousand Oaks-based firm specializing in teaching computers to children.

“It makes school fun,” Perez said. “Kids think it’s a game, but it’s not because they have to answer questions where they learn history, science and phonics.”

FutureKids was just one of dozens of groups invited to ArtScene ’93.

Representatives from the Conejo Players, the Ventura County Symphony Assn., the Thousand Oaks Art Assn. and more than 20 other agencies attended the event to explore the latest technology, exchange mailing lists and prepare for next year’s opening of the Civic Arts Plaza.

“People are looking for ways to entertain themselves or do things that don’t cost a lot of money,” said Margaret Travers, membership director of the Arts Council of the Conejo Valley.

“Art gives them an opportunity for self-expression, involvement and self-gratification,” she said.

JoAnne Chang spent part of the afternoon Sunday seeking new additions to the Village Voices Chorale.

“We need baritones and tenors,” she said from behind her informational booth, where a television screen showed videotapes of the latest performance. “It’s especially hard to find male singers.”

Kathy Blakeman of the Santa Susana Repertory Co. said the professional performing arts group readily accepted an invitation to ArtScene ’93.

“We get people on our mailing lists and hopefully they’ll come to our performances,” said Blakeman, whose company will produce “A Christmas Carol” on upcoming weekends in December.

“Plus, we’re kind of new out here, so it’s important to be visible and get to be known in the community,” she said.

For Valerie Baltzer of the Cabrillo Music Center, ArtScene ’93 was an opportunity to lobby Thousand Oaks officials on behalf of the center, which is seeking a new place to perform after more than 25 years in Oxnard.

“Right now we’re homeless, but we hope to perform at the new Civic Arts Plaza,” said Baltzer, the company’s secretary who dabbles part-time in acting.

“We hope to be named the resident company,” she said. “We made our pitch last night.”

Arts Plaza officials expect to name a resident company sometime next year, well before the planned opening next October.

“This thing really will be the workhorse for the community,” said Dick Johnson, chairman of the Thousand Oaks-based Alliance for the Arts, looking over a miniature replica of the $64-million plaza under construction alongside the Ventura Freeway.

“The whole complex is going to bring such a focus to the arts community,” he said. “It’s important to have all the various organizations learn to work together and understand each other.”

ArtScene ’93 featured keynote speaker Gary Schaub, the director of the Walnut Creek Cultural Services Department, which recently opened a new performing arts center.

Round-table sessions also were held throughout the afternoon to discuss various issues affecting the arts community.

“We’ve discussed funding, finding facilities, developing audiences, children’s programming, you name it,” said Steve Wiley, an ArtScene organizer who works for the Conejo Recreation and Park District.

“These are the same challenges we’ve always faced,” he said.