4 minute read
El Dorado Musical Theatre
El Dorado Musical
El Dorado Musical Theatre
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The region’s successful theater company gets a new home.
by MARK BILLINGSLEY photography by CHRISTOPHER KIGHT
It’s been a well-choreographed move, with the cast and crew each playing their roles to ensure the success of the debut of El Dorado Musical Theatre’s (EDMT) new headquarters in the El Dorado Hills Business Park.
The new space at 4949 Windplay Drive in El Dorado Hills will allow the 20-year organization to consolidate four separate workspaces under one roof, with a 450seat theater in the plans, as well. The space has room for seven studios, as well as design and costuming workshops. No longer will the EDMT crew have to lug sets from a warehouse in Rancho Cordova to rehearsal or performance spaces. Costumes can be fitted and altered during rehearsals rather than having to be sent out of the current space, tailored, and brought back to the performers.
“There will be so much more opportunity for collaboration with it all being in the same space,” says Zach Wilson, EDMT’s 22-year-old technical director and onstage talent who has been in more than 50 EDMT productions. “We don’t have to drive down to Rancho Cordova to our set shop anymore. The bigger space allows us to expand in many ways and serve the people in the community.”
EDMT’s new home
Wilson and his older sister, Anjie Rose, grew up on and off the EDMT stage. eir mother, Debbie Wilson, is also a co-founder. Zach was the lead in “ e Music Man,” which ended its run in May. It was his last play as an actor/ singer/dancer, as once a performer turns 22, he or she ages out of the company. Wilson will transition to the behind-thescenes work fulltime this summer.
“Growing up, I always loved coming to rehearsals and the shows,” he says. “I have always admired people who were in the shows and looked up to them, and they were always very nice to me. It’s been a nice group of people and that never changed in almost 20 years. But now the scale, the amount of people we now the scale, the amount of people we can reach, and the production value of can reach, and the production value of the shows has been increasing exponentially, and it’s really cool to be a part of that, and now I’m the one setting an example for younger people.”
Emily Hobbs played Marian Paroo opposite of Wilson’s Harold Hill in “ e Music Man.” Hobbs is a 2022 Folsom High School graduate who received a scholarship to attend Syracuse University in the fall to continue her theater arts studies. She’s been able to see EDMT grow into a regional powerhouse for children and young adults looking to have a lot of fun and potentially turn their love of theater into a career.
“I started when I was 7, and I’m now 18, so I’ve grown so much, not only in performance skill, but also in confi dence and being able to work with people, be-
Costumes can be fi tted and altered during rehearsals rather than having to be sent out of the current space, tailored, and brought back to the performers.
cause that’s so important, not just in this industry, but in life,” Hobbs says. “I’ve learned so many life skills in theater— how to talk with people, how to work out problems and how to do teamwork. Theater is the biggest team sport ever.”
The El Dorado Musical Theatre will be settling into the new space just as Hobbs leaves for college on the other side of the country. There is a tinge of jealousy, she admits. But she also shares her excitement for the friends and family she leaves behind. Her mother, Chris Hobbs, is EDMT’s producer.
“I’m super happy for them, but I just missed it,” Hobbs says of the move to the larger building. “It’s a beautiful space, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
“Is this the final move? Maybe it is,” Debbie Wilson says. “Not only do we have more room for the performing arts institute, but what I’d really like to do is have a school attached. That way, kids could get their academics in the morning and then get their theatrical training in the afternoon.”
So, it would be like “Fame,” the popular early 1980s hit TV show set in a New York City performing arts high school?
“Yes, but hopefully without that much drama off stage,” she says. “We always say ‘keep the drama on stage.’ (The school) is my dream and this move is a step in that direction. This theater, this company, started around my kitchen table.”
And now the EDMT curtain opens for another successful 20-year run.
