Rocket scientists by day, stage actors by night

By Sandy Cohen
DAILY BREEZE, July 22, 2003

By day, he designs advanced satellite communication systems for the military.

By night, he dances on a makeshift stage, singing Broadway show tunes.

And he’s not alone.

Bob Minnichelli, who holds a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, is one of many rocket scientist-types who shed the buttoned-up image to perform with the Aerospace Players, a community theater group that’s staged annual musical productions for the past 15 years.

The group’s latest show — their 20th — is the 1950s musical “Guys and Dolls,” opening Friday at the James Armstrong Theater in Torrance.

This is no amateurish production. The 45-member cast is supported by a 25-piece orchestra. Cast members commit to nightly rehearsals for three months leading up to the summer show, plus devote time on the weekends to procure props and build sets.

It’s all volunteer. The payoff is the performance.

“A lot who get involved in theater just catch the bug of performances,” said Minnichelli, an electrical engineer who plays New York gambler Nicely-Nicely Johnson in “Guys and Dolls.”

“It can be very exciting and stimulating. It’s fun to take on someone else’s character and be that person for a while.”

That’s partly why the group was formed: to give a creative outlet to the super-scientific aerospace employees and military workers in El Segundo.

Aerospace Corp. funds extracurricular employee clubs, so a worker with a fondness for theater started the group in 1988, according to founding member Chuck Gustafson. Since the company shares space with the Los Angeles Air Force Base, employees from each would get together, have some fun and put on a yearly show.

“‘Grease’ was our first show,” Gustafson said. “It was low-budget to the extreme.”

They performed the play in the TRW cafeteria.

But the idea caught on. Electrical engineers and military personnel enjoyed cutting loose, singing and dancing. Turns out they also had some talent.

Minnichelli, for example, is a natural baritone, but he never sang before joining the Aerospace Players.

“I had been to two musicals in my life before then,” said the 41-year-old. “But it was a fun group. After the first show, it’s like I was reintroduced to musical theater.”

He was also introduced to the woman who would become his wife, a percussionist with the Aerospace Players orchestra. They met in 1994, he said, “But we didn’t start dating until ‘Fiddler on the Roof (in 1996).’ ”

The close-knit group has inspired a few marriages, said costumer Pam McNulty, “and several romances.”

McNulty, a secretary at Aerospace Corp., has been involved with the Players since the ensemble started in 1988. News about the new company club reminded her of high school days in the glee club and choir, so she auditioned.

“I’ve been hooked ever since,” she said. “I’ve been in most of the plays and I’ve been involved in the sewing end of it ever since the first show.”

McNulty, 54, creates most of the Players’ costumes, devoting about 500 sewing hours to each production.

“I’ve been in a lot of the shows too, so I not only go to practice after work, but then I’ll sew ’til 1 or 2 in the morning,” she said. “My husband thinks I’m nuts because it’s all voluntary time. But I get a lot of enjoyment out of it. It’s exciting to be able to create things and see the things I’ve made on stage.”

Group members handle every aspect of each production, from auditions and casting to designing programs, building sets, making costumes and handling publicity. They’re a nonprofit bunch that still receives annual funding from Aerospace Corp.

“Last year was our first show that actually made money,” Gustafson said with a laugh. “Some years, the shows cost more than we thought. Individual people take those losses.”

So what drives these professional people to spend their own money — and countless hours — to put on annual shows that just a few hundred South Bay residents get to see?

“It fulfills the other side of the brain,” said Gustafson, 44, an electrical engineer in charge of developing military communications systems. “My job is pretty demanding. I’m often here 10 hours and when I leave to do these artistic things, it’s almost revitalizing. It’s creative and emotional as opposed to analytical and objective.

“For me, it’s the sense of accomplishment. And when you get out on stage, it’s just a high.”Want to go?

The Aerospace Players perform “Guys and Dolls” at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, as well as 7 p.m. July 31 and 8 p.m. Aug. 1 and 2. All shows at the James Armstrong Theater, Torrance Cultural Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Drive. Tickets are $15, $12 for seniors and students. For information, call 310-781-7171.

Find out more:

Go to: www.aeaclubs.org/theater.

Publish Date:July 22, 2003