BILL FARK

North County Times

David Kelso, who's presenting "All in the Timing" around San Diego County this month, said the title is most appropriate. "We were at the right place at the right time. We've been ready to perform for some time but had no venue. Now all at once we have four, with the chance of more in the future." Kelso's group, formed so recently that it doesn't yet have a name, will perform four of David Ives' short plays in readers theater style.

Kelso said the group hadn't planned to perform publicly. "We started out reading scenes. I invited several actors I know and have worked with to my house to share plays. There's a lot of new material available, but not all of it is suitable for the community theaters where we perform. But we like to keep current.

"Much to my surprise, the reading sessions turned into performances. We're all actors and fast studies, and after reading the scenes through once to familiarize ourselves with them, we started interpreting scenes.

"Even so, we might not have gone public if we hadn't discovered Ives. He's absolutely the most original playwright of our generation. Actors are tough audiences, but just reading the plays from the book had us cracking up. Everyone agreed that the show deserves a greater exposure than in my living room."

This reaction is pretty close to that of everyone else in the country who has encountered Ives' work. The New York critics used up their superlatives to review "All in the Timing" when it opened off-Broadway two years ago, and the story has been the same everywhere else.

"All in the Timing" is a mix-and-match collection of 14 pieces, usually presented on bills of four to six plays. (MiraCosta College is currently performing the play in a different configuration.) Ives takes his subjects from everyday life but gives them unusual twists. His plays deal with such wide topics as political assassination, an ordinary pickup in a snack bar, and existential discussions among steelworkers on girders high above the street.

"They work well as readers theater," Kelso said, "because the plays are mostly dialogue. Ives' strength is language, and his words are brilliant."

The actors who read with Kelso are familiar to local audiences from their work at various community theaters. The regular cast includes Jim Clevenger, Bruce Erricson, William Frederick, Blair Hambuechen, Dave Hibler, Paige McAllister, Jim Payton and Kat Vaughan, with a few other local performers filling in on supporting parts.

At PowPAC, "All in the Timing" plays following a performance of the company's current show, "Wait Until Dark." Proceeds from the performance go to the PowPAC Scholarship Fund. Following the single performance at PowPAC, Kelso and his peripatetic players move to OnStage Theatre in Chula Vista, then back to North County at Patio Playhouse in Escondido on April 6. The final show in this series is for Lamplighters Theatre in La Mesa.

AWARDS NIGHT 1997

OUR OWN C'DALE GROSS

If one loves theatre, then one volunteers!!!

PowPAC depends on volunteer

By Pat Kumpan

C'Dale Gross prefers not to be in the spotlight, but when friends need the perfect volunteer, they know who to ask.

Thespians at Poway Performing Arts Company have learned firsthand that Gross, a Sabre Springs resident, knows how to pitch in, direct award-winning shows, put the finishing touches on set designs and pour vitality into fundraising projects.

"She'll show up at a phone call," said PowPAC's Barbara Seagren.

"She puts things together simply - with no fuss. She makes it look easy."

When the group's New Year's Eve bash had limited funds for decorations, Gross transformed lots of cardboard into a New York skyline with a little paint and lots of imagination.

"Stars twinkled, the clock was set for midnight and the entire skyline was the perfect touch," Seagren said.

"I'm just a volunteer," said Gross, who feels that many others deserve recognition more than she does. PowPAC friends say otherwise.

Many have wondered about her name and few get it right.

"People think i'm dale, or that someone misspelled my name. Before. they meet me, they don't know if I'll be a man or woman. C'dale stands for Cozy Dale and was abbreviated when I was little," she said, smiling.

Friends say her easygoing temperament and creative spirit make "Cozy" a name that suits her.

When not working with PowPAC, Gross finds time for civic duties, such as the Sabre Springs Planning Group.

"I like to have a say in my community," she said, and when the Carmel Mountain Ranch and Sabre Springs Recreation Council formed a few years ago, Gross couldn't pass up the opportunity to get involved.

"At the time, Sabre Springs wasn't represented. I couldn't see that happen, so I stepped up," she said, adding that she never regretted the involvement.

Although the recreation center for her community and adjoining Carmel Mountain Ranch is not yet complete, C'dale says she's like a kid waiting for a new toy.

"I can't wait for it to open," she said.

With 20 years of dancing experience, a love for music and theater and a yearning to be part of her community, Gross is a woman who loves to give back, asking for very little in return.

Her next project, "How The West Was Fun" is a fund-raising project for PowPAC that will be set in a Western theme for Sept. 19 and 20, as tentative dates, in the PowPAC theater in the Lively Center on Poway Road.

A nominal fee will be asked for those who attend. Gross already sees a recreation of the American Gothic couple in an artistic, standup form as one of the focal points. Visitors can pop their faces through cut-outs and be photographed.

A barroom scene with dancing girls, local sheriff and fire department volunteers conversing over a friendly game of poker is part of the envisioned fun. A few community volunteers are needed, but Gross feels that in Poway it won't take long to fill the vacant roles.

For more about this project, call Barbara Seagren 748-2500.

THE BELLES OF RATTLESNAKE CREEK