Duo Are Driving Force Behind Theater

Six days before opening night, the yellow brick road was still mismatched plywood and the Wizard occasionally forgot his lines, but no one doubted that the cast of “The Wiz” would be ready for its opening tonight.

City leaders and patrons of the arts say that the Buena Park Civic Theatre is one of the most successful in the region for two reasons: director Tim Nelson and technical designer Jim Book.

Both have been involved with the theater since it opened 10 years ago, said Carol Young, chairwoman of the theater and vice chairwoman of the city’s Fine Arts Commission, and their reputation has helped draw essential financial support from the community.

For their long hours of service, the city recently honored Nelson and Book with the Elva Liesch Hughes Laureate of the Arts Award. The commendation, presented annually, is named for the late Hughes, who helped establish the city’s Fine Arts Commission in 1965.

Nelson, a 32-year-old Anaheim resident, teaches music in Westminster schools. And Book, 35, who lives in Orange, owns a lighting and special-effects company and is technical coordinator for Fullerton College’s theater arts department.

Both say that one key to the continuing success of the community playhouse is the caliber of actors and backstage professionals they can attract simply because of proximity to Los Angeles.

“It’s a lot of the reason we can get talented casts,” Nelson said. “They’re honing their skills. . . . Actors love to do [‘The Wiz’] because it isn’t done very often, and a lot of black talent comes out. It’s great.”

Young gives much of the credit, though, to Nelson and Book, who receive only modest stipends for their efforts.

“We stick with good directors,” she said. “A lot of cities jump around with theirs. And Tim himself--just his name brings them in.”

The shows, usually familiar but ambitious musicals, typically draw 300 people to each performance, Young said. The theater can seat as many as 500.

Nelson--slight, blond and exuding energy--uses encouragement to bring out the best in his cast.

The mustachioed Book, by contrast, is low-key as he uses a hydraulic stand to hang the lights. He regularly lends equipment to the city’s civic and youth theaters. What draws him to Buena Park, he said, is “the professionalism of the shows.”

As for the Wiz himself, portrayed by 25-year-old Rudy Martinez of La Palma, he said he had never seen a small theater so well organized.