Expectations high for the Carpenter Center

By Chris Lew
Daily Forty-Niner

None of the Carpenter Performing Arts Center's 1,065 seats will be filled when its sixth season kicks off Sept. 15. Even the center's curtain will be closed.

But it's not because the center has low expectations. In fact, it's just the opposite.

"We're kicking off the year with a brand new concept, the Back Stage Cabaret," said CPAC Executive Director Peter Lesnik. "We are moving the curtain up and making a backstage club with food and drinks served on stage."

The CPAC's opening event perfectly fits into the center's theme this year of "Expect more," Lesnik said.

"We just keep growing," Lesnik said. "There are more series this year and the continuing series have more performances. We are just filling out the calendar. Three years ago we had 98 uses and last year we had 285 uses."

The center's first major event is the sixth annual Wide Screen Film Festival. The festival, which runs from Sept. 20-24, will feature "Bridge on the River Kwai," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "Diary of Anne Frank" and an Elvis double feature.

One of the returning acts from last year is Grammy Award winning jazz vocalist Diane Shuur who "brought the house down" last year, according to Lesnik.

"Everyone here had a ball with her last year," he said.

Also continuing this year is the CPAC's partnership with the Long Beach Community Concert Association.

"It's beneficial for both parties, we bring in a whole new audience and they get access to a new facility," said Bethany Price, the center's marketing director. "We combine our resources."

Included in this series are the Shuur performance, a concert by the a cappella group, The Nylons, on the Oct. 28 and the "It's Magic!" show which proved to be popular last year, Lesnik said.

"Last year we had a huge magic act with six magicians and it was extremely well received," he said. "So this year we are doing it again with all new magicians."

One series, "Family Matters," has been expanded and split into two separate shows in an effort to reach an audience that hasn't been tapped.

"There isn't as much for families in this area," Price said. "There is a great demand for it that isn't being satisfied."

Another goal of the center this year, as it is every year, is to increase student awareness.
"I've been talking with students a lot lately, and a lot still don't know what the Carpenter Center is or where it is located," Lesnik said.

One of the ways of the center has tried to remedy this is by offering student rush tickets, Price said.

"There are always student discounts offered in advance, but the student rush is a half an hour before any show," she said. "If there are any tickets left for the performance they will be available to students for a flat fee of $10 dollars, no matter if it is usually $20, $30 or $45."

Expectations and knowledge continue to grow for the center with each season, Lesnik said.

"We keep on refining ourselves and our programming. I've been here for three years and I keep learning."