By DAVID NAHAN
Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – Before City Council unanimously approved a new lease for the Greater Ocean City Theatre Company last week, the company received a lot of love and support from young people who took part in its programs and from council members.
Council formally approved a new five-year lease, with two five-year renewal extensions, for the company’s home at 1501 West Ave.
The cost of the lease is $1 a year but the unanimous consensus at Thursday night’s meeting at the Ocean City Music Pier indicated the value of the theater company to Ocean City is incalculable.
Ocean City high School senior Mark Faverzani of Walnut Road said the theater company has had a bigger impact on him than anything else in his life. He has been involved with the OCTC since he was 6 years old and devoted his Eagle Scout project to creating outdoor rehearsal space for the company.
While urging continued support, he said he wasn’t asking for himself as he prepares to finish high school, but instead for the children in the primary and intermediate schools, “or who have never stood on the stage.”
Fellow OCHS senior Eric Wagner of Morningside Road said he has been performing with the OCTC for 10 years. He also thanked the mayor and council for backing the theater company. He said because of it, “students like us” have the ability to learn values of hard work, teamwork, collaboration, critical thinking “and the mastery of social confidence and pragmatics given to me in order to speak to you all tonight.”
Wagner said as a counselor at OCTC theater camp this fall, he could see the passion and energy young students have while performing. “It is something incomparable,” he said, to have the resources, and studio, which aren’t just beneficial but essential to creative practices of students in Ocean City and from outside communities.
Continuing the lease, Wagner said, would be for all the creative students of the future.
Emile Shavier of 403 Corinthian Ave. said the company has had a profound impact on his life. He knew no one when he moved to the resort four years ago and the theater company allowed him to get past his insecurities and shyness.
The OCTC, he said, teaches children and students the benefits of hard work, determination and perseverance and the power of cooperation. “There are no small parts,” he said. Everyone contributes.
“I have already graduated and am long gone. I’m here for the next generation. I want to make sure this is great for the next generation,” he said.
David Breeden, president of Fairness In Taxes, said he was speaking as an individual when he supported the lease for the OCTC.
He pointed out the company puts on plays on the very stage council was sitting on at the Music Pier and provides a “fantastic opportunity for youth in the performing arts.” He equated it to the city’s youth sports leagues and the company is part of what makes Ocean City special.
The public comments supporting the theatre company were passionate, but it became clear they weren’t needed to sway the City Council. Those members were already on board.
Council members Michael DeVlieger and Karen Bergman fully supported the new lease.
Fellow member Peter Madden said the “young men in the crowd hit the nail on the head about how valuable it is to the city.”
Keith Hartzell gave a shout out to OCTC founder and artistic director Michael Hartman.
Jody Levchuk said the theater company “is one of the things that makes (the resort) so great” and sets it apart from most other communities. He added it is a great opportunity for youngsters who aren’t into sports.
Council President Bob Barr said he thought is was “excellent” that council was approving what could amount to a 15-year lease with the renewal clauses.
“It gives the theater company a chance to do long-term planning without fear of losing the building,” Barr said, allowing it to reach out and grow programs. “This is exactly the type of thing local government should be doing.”