Arson Won’t Stop the Show, Directors Say

Workers on Monday spent the day clearing out charred furniture and mopping up water used to quench a fire that spread through the scene shop of the Conejo Players’ Theater.

The blaze, reported at 5:05 a.m. Sunday is believed to be the work of arsonists, and an investigation is ongoing, said Joe Luna, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department. The fire appears to have been set backstage in a couch and chair used as props in the community theater’s productions.

Although the fire and water heavily damaged furniture, scenery and backdrops used by the playhouse, located on 351 S. Moorpark Road, members of Conejo Players governing board said the show will go on as planned.

“Fortunately, it happened on a closing night. We haven’t had to cancel any performances,” said Arnold Fadden, business advisor for the Conejo Players Inc.

The fire occurred the morning after the Conejo Players’ final performance of “Mr. Roberts.” The company’s next production, “Steel Magnolias,” is not set to open until Aug. 23.

“We’ll stick with the schedule, but we’re apt to be stumbling over things for awhile,” said Herman Detering, treasurer for the theater company.

The Sunday morning incident is not the Conejo Players’ first brush with arson. Earlier this year, vandals set fire to a trash can and pushed it against the theater’s front doors, burning through them, Detering said.

“I’d be very surprised to find out [the two incidents] were related,” he said. “The fire in the trash can looked like the kind of thing kids would do.”

Detering said there were no signs of a break-in and no apparent theft. “The things worth stealing are things we’d notice quite rapidly,” Detering said.

Although the fire was hot enough to twist parts of a steel scaffolding nearby and melt a plastic office chair, damage to the $430,000 tile-roofed, wood and stucco theater was limited.

Total damage to the building and its contents was estimated to be $30,000, according to fire officials.

“The sprinkler system saved it--if it wasn’t for that it would have been a lot worse,” Fadden said. “Considering the circumstances, we were pretty fortunate.”