After two-year hiatus Contra Costa Musical Theatre brings fun and laughs to El Campanil Theatre in Antioch Nov. 4-20

By Liz Nunan, Chair, Marketing Committee, Contra Costa Musical Theatre

Contra Costa Musical Theatre (CCMT) is thrilled to present the non-profit organization’s first musical production in over two years, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee!” The show will run on select dates Nov 4 – 20, and tickets are $38 for adults and $32 for Youth and Senior showgoers. Tickets are available on the El Campanil Theatre website.

About the Show 

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is a riotous ride, complete with audience participation and a delightful den of comedic genius. Winner of the Tony and the Drama Desk Awards for Best Book, this fabulous musical features a fast-paced, wildly funny and touching book by Rachel Sheinkin and a truly fresh and vibrant score by William Finn, this bee is one unforgettable experience.

The plot centers around an eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter, one speller leaves! At least the losers get a juice box.

About the Production 

CCMT’s production is directed by John Maio, produced by David Pinkham with Musical Direction from Kerry Leyden and choreography by Justin Sabino. The cast features wonderfully talented performers from across the Bay Area.

After many wonderful years at the Lesher Theater in Walnut Creek, CCMT productions are now traveling to different theaters across the community in an effort to reach new audiences. “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” will be presented at the historic El Campanil Theatre in Antioch.

PLEASE NOTE: This production is rated PG-13 due to a small number of profanities and vulgarities.

About CCMT

Contra Costa Musical Theatre, Inc. (CCMT) was founded in August 1961 with the purpose of bringing high-quality Broadway musicals to the East Bay. We are a community-based non-profit organization dedicated to an appreciation for and involvement in musical theatre of the highest quality. Since those early beginnings, CCMT productions have been presented on a variety of stages. We have been honored with numerous Shellie Awards and Bay Area Theatre Critic Circle Awards for our productions and the artists associated with our productions, and have had the unique privilege of presenting several East Bay Premieres in recent seasons.

Source: El Campanil Theatre

EL CAMPANIL THEATRE PRESENTS AN EL CAMPANIL THEATRE ACADEMY PRODUCTION
LES MISÉRABLES: SCHOOL EDITION
SEPTEMBER 23-25, 2022
ADULTS: $15, SENIORS: $12, YOUTH: $10
Directed by Joel Roster
Musical Direction by Carl Pantle
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg & Alain Boublil
English Libretto by Herbert Kretzmer
Based on the novel by Victor Hugo

The time is now; the day is here! The musical that enraptured the world and won 10 Tony Awards comes to Antioch in the hands of the young performers of El Campanil Theatre Academy! Set in 19th century France and spanning 18 years, this universal tale of love, loss, sin, and redemption set against the backdrop of the infamous June Rebellion promises to be the jaw-dropping event of the year!

15 young artists tell an epic story originally intended to be told by approximately 30-35 adults.

PLEASE NOTE: This production is rated PG-13 for language, violence, mature themes, and adult situations.

El Campanil Theatre is located at 602 W. 2nd Street in Antioch’s historic, downtown Rivertown.

For tickets visit Event Details – Les Misérables: School Edition – El Campanil Theatre (patronbase.com)

Founder of Studentfilmsonline.com platform brings competition to her hometown

Submissions accepted through Sept. 30

East County filmmaker Sophia Rivera is bringing the SFO Short Film Festival to her hometown at Antioch’s El Campanil Theatre in historic downtown Rivertown on October 28-29, 2022.

The festival is a LIVE event dedicated to showcasing short films created by college film students, high school students, and independent filmmakers locally in the Bay Area and across the U.S. Studentfilmsonline.com was founded in 2011 by Rivera who wanted to give back to the community. Its mission is to encourage networking and motivate emerging filmmakers to create more content, as well as to promote a career in filmmaking and talent through screenings.

Genres include: Short Drama/Action/Crime/Thriller; Short Comedy/Romance; Short Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Documentary and Short Animation.

Short film category submissions include: 1) Independent Filmmaker Short Film 2) SFO Film Student Challenge Competition and 3) High School Short Film Competition

Short Film Category Award for Best Film: Independent Filmmaker Short Film Award $300, High School Short Film Competition Award $250, and SFO Film Student Challenge Competition Award $500

SFO Short Film Festival is still accepting submissions until September 30, 2022.

Films can be submitted by visiting filmfreeway.com/SFOShortFilmFestival.

If you wish to attend the event tickets are available at ElCampanilTheatre.com. If you are interested in sponsoring the event, contact customerservice@studentfilmsonline.com.

El Campanil is a classic theatre with food concession available. We hope you will come join us and share in this festive event.

Vendor booth space still available!

Join us for the Annual Rivertown Peddlers Faire, Saturday, September 10th, from 9am – 3pm on G and W. 2nd Streets in Antioch‘s historic downtown! The event features over 75 dealers selling vintage goods, antiques, collectibles, re-purposed & handmade items, arts & crafts, live music, food & fun! Free Parking and Entry! While at the Rivertown Peddlers Faire, be sure to visit our Rivertown District antique and collectible stores. These stores will have additional inventory in preparation for the visitors on event day!

Rivertown Shops: Willow Park Mercantile, Bella’s Vintage House, Rivertown Treasure Chest, Shirley’s Closet & Moore

Rivertown Restaurants: Smith’s Landing Seafood Grill, Monica’s Riverview, Solid Rock Café, Chelsea’s, Rick’s on Second, Rivertown Sweets, Guadalajara Taqueria, Tease, Canton City, Taco Tone, La Plazuela, Tony’s Beer Garden,

Vendor Booths: There are four vendor booth spaces still available for rent. For the Vendor Application click, here.

For more information visit www.rivertownpeddlersfaire.com.

Film submissions from other, local filmmakers still accepted until Sept. 5th

Jason D. Morris

Award winning filmmaker, Jason D. Morris is bringing his love for films to his hometown of Antioch with The Dark Fest on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. Co-founder of the short film festival featuring genres of film noir, mystery, science fiction, horror, dark comedy and more, Morris grew up in Antioch, and as so many others who grew up here in the 80’s and 90’s, one of his best memories is watching films in the historically beautiful Stamm and El Campanil theaters. Those very experiences are ultimately what pushed him into filmmaking.

A graduate of Antioch High School and attendee of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco led to his career in film. After having produced and directed several feature films, including some in Antioch, he co-founded Resurrection Films with several other likeminded filmmakers which eventually led to the creation of The Dark Fest, after their experiences of taking their first film out on the festival circuit.

The first major production from Resurrection Films was a documentary based on Chris Carter’s (of The X-Files) television show Millennium, titled Millennium after the Millennium. Millennium starred film actor Lance Henriksen (The Right Stuff, Aliens) in one of his most enduring roles as Frank Black, an FBI profiler. Millennium paved the way for shows like Criminal Minds, Mindhunter and many others. The documentary screened in eight countries and garnered 21 awards during its festival run, including screenings at the LA Comic-Con, Monsterpalooza in Burbank and Horror Hound’s Horror Convention in Indianapolis. But festivals are expensive and far away for the average filmmaker, this can make getting your film seen expensively prohibitive.

Since Morris had already shot four films in Antioch, bringing Hollywood talent such as Academy nominated actor Eric Roberts, Ricco Ross and Henriksen to his productions, he thought “why not set up an event for other local filmmakers to have easier access to getting their films screened?” With such a creative hub of activity in Antioch and the surrounding areas many film productions go unnoticed and have little options for an audience. The Dark Fest aims to alleviate this issue for local filmmakers looking for a way to screen their films without the hefty expense of renting a theater or having to travel to far away locations. The members of Resurrection Films have hopes to continue the festival and expand it into a bigger event with more community involvement and celebration of local filmmakers.

Film Submissions

If you’re a filmmaker, submissions are still open until September 5th by visiting filmfreeway.com/thedarkfest  and email info@thedarkfest.com. If you are interested in sponsoring the event, please reach out at info@thedarkfest.com. As for the rest of you we hope to see you in Antioch’s historic downtown Rivertown on September 17 at El Campanil Theatre for a night of dark cinema.

About The Dark Fest:

Resurrection Films presents The Dark Fest, showcasing short films from the dark side of cinema with genres of film noir, mystery, science fiction, horror, dark comedy and more, as we celebrate local filmmakers from the bay area, and around the world. Join us at 5:30pm Sept. 17 at the El Campanil Theatre for musical pre-show entertainment by local musicians Matthew Gatsos on piano and Evan Morris on saxophone while enjoying concessions provided for purchase by the venue. Screening begins at 6pm and ends at 10pm.

Tickets

Tickets are $10 for Adults and $8 for Seniors & Youth.

THIS EVENT IS RATED R. NO ONE UNDER 17 WILL BE ADMITTED UNLESS ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT. To purchase tickets, visit elcampaniltheatre.com or click here.

El Campanil Theatre is located at 602 W. 2nd Street.

Sponsored by City, Hayward-based Fil-Am organization

By Allen D. Payton

The City of Antioch with the Bay Area Background Movement will host a Multicultural Festival in Rivertown Saturday, August 20 from Noon to 7:00 p.m. in Waldie Plaza across W. 2nd Street from City Hall.

The Bay Area Backyard Movement is led by Klarize Bautista and is part of the Fil-Am Bay Area Pop Up organization based in Hayward that has already held two events in Antioch, last year.

“We first started off with Fil-Am Bay Area Pop-Up then we transitioned,” Bautista shared about her organization. “It’s still connected.”

According to their website the Fil-Am Bay Area Pop says, “We are a pop up market based in Hayward, CA and soon expanding to different cities! Giving small businesses a platform and be able to network. As well as bringing the community back together after the pandemic! Always community/collaboration, NEVER competition!”

Asked why they decided to come to Antioch she replied, “my sister-in-law lives there. We did two events, there last year. They were the Backyard Movement. The first one Mayor Lamar (Thorpe) was invited to and Joanne at the Mercantile.”

Asked where they were held, Bautista said, “It was in Tenacity Gym located on Wilbur Avenue. We did an event there in August, last year. The turnout was huge. Then we did another one and we collaborated with Mayor Thorpe and gave out pumpkins.”

Actually, it wasn’t a permitted event,” she stated. “Mayor Thorpe said he would help us find a better and larger location.”

“We kept in contact with Mayor Thorpe,” Bautista continued. “That’s how we met Brad.” (Helfenberger, the city’s Parks and Recreation Director).

“We’re all about diversity,” she said when asked what cultures will be represented. “We will have Thai food, we have Filipino vendors, we have a Mexican vendor, we have Hawai’ian, Samoan vendors.”

About the entertainment Bautista said, “the Chinese dragon will open up the stage for us and walking around with live drumming. Then we will have Tahitian Dancers.”

Asked if they will be from the Tahitian dance studio in Antioch she replied, “I believe they are from Concord. We called people in Antioch, but no one was answering their phones.”

“We will have Egyptian dancers, Filipino Culture dancers and we will also have Cambodian dancers,” Bautista continued.

“We try to highlight as many cultures as we can,” she added.

Helfenberger was asked why the event will include food trucks that will compete with restaurants in the city-designated, Rivertown Dining District, but he did not respond.

For more information visit BAY AREA BACKYARD MOVEMENT | Linktree.