Officials to Consider Ban on Rap : Thousand Oaks: Panel will consider plan for new Civic Arts Plaza auditorium. Promoters prefer more genteel entertainment.

Leery of the booming, crashing music that attracts hordes of sometimes-rowdy teen-agers, Thousand Oaks theater commissioners Wednesday will consider banning heavy metal and rap concerts from the new Civic Arts Plaza auditorium.

From head-banging rock to peppy rap, shows that draw mainly teen-age crowds require room for fans to jump around and rush the stage, city officials said. Furthermore, they added, the hip-hop dancing and wild screaming that often punctuate such shows do not belong in an elegant concert hall.

Instead, talent promoters have proposed filling the Civic Arts Plaza’s inaugural season with more genteel entertainment, such as the Conejo Symphony. For younger crowds, they might present magician David Copperfield or comic Bill Cosby.

Such shows would better suit the quiet suburban image of Thousand Oaks--and better match the plush 1,800-seat auditorium, with its purple upholstered seats, matching carpeted aisles and glimmering gold curtain, they said.

“To the horror of my 18-year-old,” theater Commissioner Larry Janss said, “I do agree.”

But some local musicians contend that city officials will be cutting out a segment of the Thousand Oaks population by banning certain sounds from the cultural center’s auditorium.

“There’s a lot of young adults who find Thousand Oaks an excellent place to live, but still like rock ‘n’ roll,” said R. Scott Horn, a guitarist for the Newbury Park-based band Lizards of Wizdom. “A civic arts plaza should encourage all of a community’s musical preferences.”

As for his band, which blends elements of folk music with hard rock, Horn said the seven musicians are “chomping at the bit to play in the Civic Arts Plaza.”

Lizards of Wizdom, like other local rock bands, would probably play in the adjacent 400-seat forum theater, rather than the 1,800-seat auditorium.

Even if commissioners agree to ban heavy metal and rap from the larger auditorium, they could still open the forum theater for local groups.

But that compromise wouldn’t satisfy everyone.

Itching for a little excitement in their safe suburb, several high school students said they crave big-name bands in Thousand Oaks.

“I know they don’t want to bring anarchy here,” said Dustin Mackey, a sophomore at Thousand Oaks High School. “But those kind of concerts would show people where T. O. is.”

For exactly that reason, Sheriff’s Cmdr. Kathryn Kemp supports a ban on rough-edged concerts.

Rap shows have sporadically attracted violent youths at venues throughout Southern California.

In this county, Ventura’s now-defunct Mayfair Theatre experienced some trouble last year during punk shows and rave dance concerts. City officials closed the popular night spot in May after neighbors complained about raucous, disruptive crowds.