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Sofia Peters is part of a pack of very-promising athletes moving up to Coupeville High School this fall. (Photo courtesy Peters)

Sofia Peters is not afraid of new challenges.

Throughout her middle school days, the Coupeville 8th grader has happily tackled a wide range of activities, playing softball and volleyball, along with participating in glee club and theater.

In everything she does, Peters has shown a willingness to embrace the spotlight, whether as a hard-hitting diamond warrior or in the multiple times she’s played a lead role during her six-year theater career.

Now, as she prepares to move up to high school this fall, she’s ready to add yet another accomplishment to her resume, swapping volleyball for cheer.

Peters has set solid goals for her high school career, aiming to make varsity softball by her sophomore year and varsity cheer by her junior season.

While she’s looking forward to both of her sports, her new one and her old one, she can’t deny softball has her heart.

“Softball is my favorite sport because I am a very competitive player and I have been playing with my friends for about four years,” Peters said. “They are my softball family and I would never trade that for anything.”

She credits her dad, Mike, who has been one of her coaches for her entire run on the diamond, with helping her reach her potential.

While playing for the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors team this season, Peters thumped the ball aggressively, helping the Wolves cruise to a 13-1 record.

She was one of the team’s most-productive power hitters, splashing doubles to all fields, while also cracking a home run in one rumble.

“Some things I enjoy about being an athlete would have to be playing games and being the best self I can be,” Peters said. “Playing with my team is like playing with a pack full of wolves.

“We are pumped, fast, and ready to make our way to the top no matter what stands in our way.”

Peters picks her hitting, fielding, and all-around hustle as positives in her game, though, like all athletes, she knows there’s always room to improve.

“One area I would like to work on is (keeping) my head in the game,” she said. “Sometimes I would be 100% focused, but, sometimes I get completely distracted.”

Helping her stay focused and continue to work are her teammates, a band of young women with whom she has grown up playing ball, and her large support crew.

“One other group of people who impacted me would have to be my school and my friends,” Peters said. “A lot of my teachers know about my softball team, and then my friends who are not playing with me come out and see me play.

“It motivates me to do the very best I can.”

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Veronica Crownover

   One look from Veronica Crownover and opposing pitchers get all flustered. (John Fisken photo)

The Terminator turns 15 today.

Coupeville High School freshman Veronica Crownover is celebrating her cake day just 11 sleeps ahead of the start of spring sports.

Come Monday, Mar. 29, unless there’s a terrible plot twist, the multi-talented one will hit the softball field, where she’ll be reunited with her teammates and coaches from the Venom squad that destroyed people in the summer before she hit 8th grade.

In the time since then, VV has continued to sharpen her softball skills, while also regularly popping up on honor rolls at school and delving into the theater arts.

But, as much as I approve of her side endeavors (education, it’s good for you!), it’s the diamond where I look forward to Crownover making a huge impact.

Owner of a big, booming bat and a slick glove at first base, she and fellow frosh softball phenom Sarah Wright are set to be stars from day one.

Seeing them get the chance to reunite with Katrina McGranahan, Lauren Rose, Hope Lodell and others (plus “new” old coaches Kevin McGranahan and Ron Wright) should be one of the biggest highlights of the upcoming season.

As she prepares to set up camp on the CHS diamond and go after all the records (all of them, I said), we just want to take a quick moment to wish Veronica a happy birthday.

May your day be awesome, Miss Crownover, and may the time fly by until you return to rule your softball kingdom.

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The cast of "City of Angels" works on a big number. (Chelsea Randall photo)

The cast of “City of Angels” works on a big number. (Chelsea Randall photo)

“City of Angels,” a Tony-award winning musical comedy from the creator of TV landmark “M*A*S*H,” is a fast-talkin’, toe-tappin’ mash-up of private eyes, crooners and dangerous dames.

As the cast and crew at Langley’s Whidbey Island Center for the Arts prepares for the Feb. 7-22 run, dive into our four-part series that shines a spotlight on what awaits you on opening night.

Through good times and bad, through chaotic rehearsals and the occasional hiccup, one thing has remained constant for the creative team behind “City of Angels.”

They love their cast.

“This is a great group,” said choreographer Chelsea Randall. “I love them all so much. They have been so fun and such troupers.”

Community theater often brings together a mix of seasoned pros and never-set-foot-on-a-stage newcomers.

Toss in the fact “City of Angels” is full of snappy songs and big dance scenes, plus a lot of whip-smart dialogue, and it’s not necessarily the easiest play to pull off.

But Randall and director Elizabeth Herbert, the very epitome of seasoned pros, have been pleasantly surprised by how well their diverse cast has meshed.

“This musical is challenging in any arena,” Herbert said. “So kudos to this community for stepping up to the task.”

Whether it’s Tristan Steel doing a dead-on impression of a tough-talkin’, frequently roughed-up private eye or Carrie Whitney scoring big laughs as a memorably ditzy starlet, this is a cast to watch.

Seriously. Go buy a ticket already.

Then have your autograph book with you and hang out at the stage door until you get every last name in your little book. A list to make that hunt a bit easier:

The “City of Angels” cast:

Stone: Tristan A.B. Steel
Stine: Robert Atkinson
Donna/Oolie: Savannah True Randall
Carla/Alaura: Karla (Gilbert) Crouch
Buddy/Irwin: Jim Carroll
Gabby/Bobbi: Deana Duncan
Munoz/Pancho: Ryan Saenz
Avril/Mallory: Carrie Whitney
Jimmy Powers/Pasco: Jim Castaneda
Dr. Mandril: Lars Larson
Peter Kingsley: Gabe Harshman
Sonny/Yamato: Keith Mack
Mahoney/Del Dacosta: Bob Thurmond
Big Sixx/Studio Cop: Steve Ford
Luther/Werner: Mikkel Hustad
Gene: Pete Seybert
Madam/Masseuse: Kathy Stanley
Angel City Quartet: Matt Bell, Linda Mclean, Christina Parker, Rob Scott
Ensemble: Hannah Mack, Melinda Mack, Sarah Parker, Loretta Seybert, Aleah Stacey

To buy tickets heads over to: http://wicaonline.com/2013-2014/CITYOFANGELS.html

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Jim Castaneda

Jim Castaneda

“City of Angels,” a Tony-award winning musical comedy from the creator of TV landmark “M*A*S*H,” is a fast-talkin’, toe-tappin’ mash-up of private eyes, crooners and dangerous dames.

As the cast and crew at Langley’s Whidbey Island Center for the Arts prepares for the Feb. 7-22 run, dive into our four-part series that shines a spotlight on what awaits you on opening night.

Don’t expect Jim Castaneda to have stage fright.

While he’s making his community theater debut in “City of Angels,” and playing four roles just for the heck of it, he’s spent considerable time on stages in his life.

Whether singing professionally with his band, Woodrush, or touring as a solo artist, put a microphone in front of him and he’s at ease. He can, and has, played intimate settings and large venues, playing both his own and others music.

But while he’s comfortable performing in front of people, stepping back onto the theatrical stage — he appeared in a handful of productions like “West Side Story” back in his Lake Stevens High School days — brings its own new challenges.

“It’s a lot different than when I’m normally on-stage,” Castaneda said. “That’s about ad-libbing, having a drink onstage between songs, maybe, chillin’, hanging out and having a good night with the folks.

“The preparation involved here has been miles apart; so many people counting on each other,” he added. “Trading lines, hitting cues. The timing has to be right, the volume has to be bigger. Here, you’re in a scene, lines here, lines there, and everything has to come together.”

He has to be quick on his feet, as well, since he moves back and forth between four parts — different roles that require different looks, feels and sounds.

In a musical comedy that bounces from the color world of old school Hollywood to the black-and-white surroundings of a pulp private eye novel come to life, Castaneda is a man of many lives.

He’s Jimmy Powers, a Frank Sinatra-style movie star crooner, as well as a morgue orderly, a police officer and a drunk, swing-dancing hobo.

“I have to have four distinctive walks, four distinctive characters,” Castaneda said. “It’s been interesting to see how the costumes and disguises work.

“The experience has been great; I’ve learned a lot so far,” he added. “You learn something new each time; there’s so much knowledge floating around that theater and everyone has different ways of working. I find it completely interesting.”

While nailing his songs is no problem for the seasoned pro, one new wrinkle is the addition of dance.

While he did a bit of soft shoe back in his a capella days, “City of Angels,” where he’s part of two major dance scenes, is a whole different story.

“I’m finding out I’m a pretty good dancer,” Castaneda said. “Working with (choreographer) Chelsea (Randall) has been a blast. She shows us different moves, different genres, and always makes it fun.

“I’m picking up the moves and learning to execute them time after time,” he added. “I’ve been getting lots of positive feedback, so that’s been nice.”

A fan of movies and theater productions, Castaneda had always wanted to try his hand on stage. Getting the chance to jump into a quirky, extremely well-written tale peppered with crowd-pleasing songs has just made the experience that much better.

“It’s kind of amazing, this play. The songs are unusually catchy,” he said. “Every character that sings is distinctive and the songs fit their character and flesh out their story through the lyrics.

“I find myself whistling along to everyone’s lyrics in this show!”

Next, in Part Three of our series, meet The Big Bosses, as we spy on the mother/daughter team of director Elizabeth Herbert and choreographer Chelsea Randall, as they run their cast through an early rehearsal.

To buy tickets head over to: http://wicaonline.com/2013-2014/CITYOFANGELS.html

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Savanna

Robert Atkinson as the screenwriter at the heart of “City of Angels” and a few of his hard-boiled creations (l to r, Deana Duncan, Tristan Steel and Savannah Randall). (Jeanne Juneau photo)

“City of Angels,” a Tony-award winning musical comedy from the creator of TV landmark “M*A*S*H,” is a fast-talkin’, toe-tappin’ mash-up of private eyes, crooners and dangerous dames.

As the cast and crew at Langley’s Whidbey Island Center for the Arts prepares for the Feb. 7-22 run, dive into our four-part series that shines a spotlight on what awaits you on opening night.

OK, just accept it — Nicolas Cage is not going to be there.

While WICA’s latest production shares a title with the 1998 weepie starring Cage as an angel who swoons over Meg Ryan, the two couldn’t be farther apart.

For one, this “City of Angels” is actually worth paying the price of admission to see.

I’m still haunted by the money I lost to the movie theater in Oak Harbor to see that film shamelessly squander every bit of goodwill that came from its source, the actually quite splendid German film “Wings of Desire.”

But, let’s cut the chatter and get to the pitch.

Why do you, potential theater goer, want to slap some moola down at the ticket booth or on-line to see this “City of Angels?”

Cause you’re not a rube.

You’re a smart guy (or gal), one who will appreciate the intricate wordplay, catchy songs and fluid footwork of a play that stormed Broadway, but has a new flair of its own thanks to the talented trio of dames running things behind the scenes — director Elizabeth Herbert, musical director Sheila Weidendorf and choreographer Chelsea Randall.

The play itself is a fast-movin,’ quick-talkin’ piece that shifts effortlessly from color-drenched reality to film noir-tinted black-and-white as it spins a funny, bouncy tale of old school Hollywood meeting down and dirty private eye films.

Set in the late ’40s, it follows a writer as he tries to keep at least a small bit of his soul intact while battling with a studio boss over his screenplay.

The deeper down the rabbit hole he goes, the more the characters he’s writing — hard-boiled detectives, slinky seductresses, rough-and-tumble goons and swing-dancin’ hobos — come to life, stepping off of his just-typed pages and taking on a life of their own.

It’s got something for everyone.

You got torch songs. You got more people being slapped any place this side of a Seahawk-49ers game. You got nods to everything from “Sunset Boulevard” to Fred and Ginger.

Do you really want to be that person? The one who missed out on all the fun? The one who can’t hum the songs the next day?

No, no you don’t. Because, as we already established, you’re not a rube. At least that’s what I’ve been telling everyone.

Don’t prove me wrong.

Next, in Part Two of our series, meet The Crooner, Jim Castaneda, as he makes the jump from juggling a successful solo singing career and work with his popular band Woodrush to making his community theater debut. 

To buy tickets head over to: http://wicaonline.com/2013-2014/CITYOFANGELS.html

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