Chandler couple bringing ''clean'' theater to Southeast Valley

Our friend Stevi Shearer is in this play:


by Srianthi Perera - Mar. 13, 2009 02:36 PM
The Arizona Republic

Kenny and Karen Jezek believe there's room for more theater in the East Valley - especially if it's not racy or risqué.

The Chandler couple has established Command Performers, a family- friendly community theater company, which debuts with "Little Women" on March 21 and 22 at Mesquite High School in Gilbert.

Command Performers aims to produce affordable theater that reflect Judeo-Christian values. They also plan to offer apprenticeships to those who would like to learn about theater.
"We're providing an environment both for the audience and casting members that's really wholesome," Kenny Jezek said.

"We're Christians, but we're not wanting to go out and produce Christian productions like a Bible story. I grew up loving musical theater. I love to do stories like that - clean and entertaining," he said.

"Little Women," considered a relatively easy starter show, features a 13-strong volunteer cast mostly from around the East Valley. The adaptation of the classic by Louisa May Alcott follows the lives of the March girls in Civil War New England as they grow, with the loving guidance of their father and mother, into virtuous young women.

Karen costumes the 22 scenes, with three to five changes for each person. Their daughter Shiloh, 13, plays Amy. Leroy Timblin designed the sets, while Isaac Lundgren wrote some original songs.

The couple decided on community theater after an entertainment career in Hollywood, Calif., where they lived for eight years prior to moving to Chandler in 1988.

Kenny Jezek, 47, played Lars Englund in NBC's "Days of Our Lives" from 1986-87 among other shows, and was a dancer in a touring company prior to that when he starred in "Cats" and "42nd Street."

Karen, an expert in Polynesian dance, has acted in two soap operas - as Brenda Clegg in CBS's "Capitol" and Noel Gallager in "Rituals."

"Hollywood became no fun any more; it became very tiresome," Kenny said.

Going into community theater locally is no chance experiment for the pair.

For Kenny it first meant a stint as a manger for a fast food company to learn the business side and running a martial arts school. His current "day job" is running his own pool service company.

"Coming out of Hollywood, we had to kind of grow up a bit," Kenny said. "Ee needed to learn how to deal with people."

On Tuesday , the couple is to release in local Christian bookstores a DVD of a spiritual film, "Come What May," which was filmed in Richmond, Va. by Advent Film Group and in which they play roles (comewhatmaythemovie.com).

As for Command Performers, they have plans for a full slate of shows in the future and are looking for sponsorships. Meanwhile, they have adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

"It would be a success if people said 'we enjoyed the show and we had a great time,' and we didn't lose our shirts," Kenny said.

"We're having a blast. It's bigger than I anticipated. If we're going to expend energy, why not do something we love to do?" asks Karen, 46. "I feel like it's what we were gifted with."