Background - Executive Director Lawrence V. Fitz founded the non-profit, 501 (c) 3, Celebration Entertainment Academy in the fall of 1999 with the debut of its flagship ensemble, Celebration!.  All participants are high school and college-aged performers from diverse communities in Southern California.  After a successful inaugural year, the Academy responded to increased interest and demand by adding an additional group, now called Fascination!, targeted specifically towards young women.  Having received numerous top awards for musicianship and visual design, these contemporary performance ensembles are offered as an excellent alternative to performers and stage technicians who would not otherwise receive this level of training, experience or exposure in their traditional school programs or community studios.

Curriculum - The Academy curriculum emphasizes three major facets of stage entertainment: vocal performance, dance technique and theatrical production.  Areas of the conservatory-style instruction include theatrical event production, solo/ensemble singing, choreographed movement, showmanship strategies, microphone technique, audition training, and costuming/make-up techniques for maximum entertainment value.  Event production/hosting, tours and competitive performances for a variety of audiences are essential elements of the entertainment program.  Under the Academy’s successful curricular design, featured Academy soloists have consistently placed in the top three in regional and national competition!  The Academy has recently expanded its regional and national reach by making available collegiate-level internships.  The Production Coordinator Internship is available to a Southern California college student who is interested in production and entertainment careers.  The Southern California Entertainment Arts Internship is appropriate for college students outside of the western United States who are motivated to gain exposure to industry-specific opportunities that may be otherwise unavailable to them geographically.

Consistent with the Academy’s belief that collaboration facilitates its ability to provide products and services of the highest quality; the Academy has fostered a successful instructional partnership with the East San Gabriel Valley Regional Occupational Program and Technical Center to assist with administrative functions and logistics, allowing the staff to focus on core competencies of performing arts and entertainment training.  Through this partnership, high school students who successfully complete the Academy curriculum are eligible to receive credit toward graduation at their respective school sites.  The instructional program also satisfies area “f” of the University of California (UC) performing arts admissions requirement. 

Accolades & Honors - Under Mr. Fitz’s direction, the Celebration! Show Choir has been recognized by the Music Center of Los Angeles County as one of the most outstanding performance ensembles in its vast region.  He will conduct this premier ensemble in a nationally televised performance at the Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration, broadcast live on Christmas Eve 2007 from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.  This group also performed, by invitation, to a capacity audience at the prestigious American Choral Director’s Association Western Regional Conference in Salt Lake City in 2006.  This honor is bestowed upon only the finest choral groups in the United States after a rigorous audition and selection process.  Out of entrants from 22 states, the Celebration Entertainment Academy of the East San Gabriel Valley ROP is the proud recipient of the 2005 state and national awards for Most Innovative Instructional Program by the Association of Career and Technical Education.

Partnerships – For most of its existence, the Academy has participated in collaborative relationships with the East San Gabriel Valley ROP, Whittier Union High School District Academy of Performing Arts, Monrovia’s Theater Arts for Youth, the Duarte Education Foundation, Marilyn Magness Productions, Rancho Cucamonga Theatre Arts, and MB Productions.  The Academy’s newest partnership is with Future-America for whom we provide performances and performance training to further their mission. As a member of the West Covina Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau, the Academy is able to further its reach to additional communities.

Events & Productions - The Academy’s summer and fall calendar includes its critically acclaimed 6^th Annual Summer Theatre Program in  and its annual “A Celebration Under the Stars!” dinner show and silent auction benefit fundraiser featuring sacred and secular choral selections as a kick off  to the holiday season.  The winter and spring calendar includes a performance at the L. A. County Holiday Celebration; the 9^th Annual Mid-Winter Dessert Theatre, presenting a variety of popular and theatrical styles of music; producing and hosting the hugely successful 16^th Annual Tournament of Champions Show Choir Invitational (TOC); the Academy’s ever-popular Solo Artist Showcase; presenting the 9^th Annual Spring Revue as a culmination of all material learned during the season; performing a Spring Outreach Tour, which takes Academy performers to area schools and community centers to share the joy of singing, dancing, and stage performance to audiences of all ages; and sponsoring the 2^nd Annual Show Choir Camps West, during which performers travel from all domestic regions to receive week-long performing arts training instructed by entertainment professionals from Hollywood and New York.

Of the six events on the Academy’s annual calendar, three are held at the Baldwin Park Performing Arts Center, where the Celebration Entertainment Academy has been a company-in-residence since its inception in 1999.


“This has been an amazing year for me.  I honestly think this has been the best year of my life, and it’s because of Celebration.”
-William Bowers, 2004



“We’ve proved that this program helps so many more people than anyone ever thought it would, and it’s just going to continue to help more and more.  This program is amazing…it’s life changing. Cherish these moments, and keep them safe forever.  Buy the videos; you will wish you had them later.  Don’t take this machine for granted.  Keep it running, in good repair, and well kept.”
-Matt Clear, 2004

“I remember going home just in pain from working so hard.  I have to say it felt good to put my all into something that turned out to be so much fun in the end.”
-Mariko Takahashi, 2004

“Thank you for putting your faith in me because it’s really helped me a lot.”
-Natasha Suzuki, 2004

“You have shown me the power of love and family.”
-Lynnette Mischke, 2004

“Thank you so much for all you’ve done.  I appreciate everyone’s hard work.  I met a lot of interesting people and enjoyed all the shows.  Once again, thank you for making my senior year very special.”
-Valerie Maese, 2005

 

“This group is full of amazing talent.  Each and every one of you has taught me something that I will keep with me for the rest of my life.  I’ll never forget you and the memories you have given me will forever be ingrained in my mind and heart.”
-Denise Giram, 2005
 

“I wasn’t here to see the beginning works of such a great program but I was here when it all paid off.  Thank you for those great moments of accomplishment and the pure exhilaration of taking home a trophy.  The passion we all have is a trait rarely found among teens.  It is passion of the soul, where all that you feel can be expressed in one single instance of a song or note that can tell a story.  We all carry that passion.”
-Josh Bauer, 2005

“It’s taken so much out of me to be in this group, yet, I have gained so much back.  I am so ecstatic to have been in this group.  To the founders, thank you so much for creating a program that has improved the lives of so many people.  You have inspired so many kids to do so many things.  I am one who will be grateful forever.”
-Alee Vides, 2005

“The directors of this Academy work so hard and they will not be overlooked.  I love you and thank you for all you’ve taught and shown me this year.  Thank you mom and dad for letting me do this.  I hope I made you proud.”
-Hannah Bazzell, 2005

“How can I say goodbye to my family?  This Academy has given me the professional training I needed and the confidence I always lacked as a young girl.  I am going to miss the competitions, the shows, the group warm ups, the pep talks, but most of all the people who have become my family.”
-Gina Arreola, 2005