Master of Ceremonies:    John Loewe          

Because of your support,
 The Birdcage Theatre Opens the curtains for the 28th season on September 9th
 

The Birdcage Theatre formally ended its 27^th Season on Saturday, August 20, with a great Oroville party.  The 19^thAnnual Birdie Awards and Dinner was held at Western Pacific Brewing and Dining. After a delicious buffet Master of Ceremonies John Loewe opened the show by presenting "Friends in the Arts awards"  to Ray Kyte for her outstanding work in all areas of the Birdcage’s productions and to Ted Ryan for his Herculean efforts to keep the building habitable.

Tribute was also paid to Roy Zehren who passed away last spring.  Roy was the founding father of the Birdcage.  In 1983, after moving to Paradise, Zehren’s passion for the theater led to his helping create the city’s first community theater.  He had been in the motion picture industry in Los Angeles.  Originally from New York, Zehren attended USC beginning in 1938 to get his master’s in theater and got involved in the famous Geller Workshop Theatre (now Theatre of Arts in Hollywood),  writing and presenting plays there.  From the workshops sprang opportunities in the movie industry.  In retirement,  Zehren hoped to stay involved in theater and went to the city government.  He and was told that people have tried that before and found nobody wanted a theater.  He gathered a group of twenty-five interested people and The Birdstreet Theatre Players were born.  The Mercury Register gave them a building and now Oroville is looking forward to its 28^th season of local theatre.