Two Morongo Basin residents were named “Volunteers of the Year” Saturday night at the annual Theatre 29 Volunteer Appreciation dinner at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center. A packed house of over 120 showed their appreciation as the 2014 Board President Brian Tabeling named Judy Andreshak and Mike Lipsitz to the prestigious honor. Actors, actresses, dancers, directors, backstage hands, costumers, set builders, lighting and sound technicians, box office and snack bar workers, and production helpers who were involved in the non-profit theater’s 2014 season were all honored at the event. Video clips from all seven shows were highlighted by vocal performances by Char Childs and Cindy Daigneault. The many volunteers were all feted to dinner, certificates of appreciation and a gift of a Theatre 29 labeled all-purpose canvas work bag. Some 150 volunteers presented seven fully produced productions, including two Broadway musicals and a children’s program, and played to some 5,000 patrons last year, winning 16 Desert Theatre League nominations for the 2013-14 judging period. 2015 marks the community theatre’s 16th season and season tickets are available now at www.theatre29.org.
