The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Conservatory to honor volunteer Chuck Lautz
TORRINGTON – Special recognition will be given to longtime Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory volunteer Chuck Lautz at Nutmeg’s final 2018 performance of “The Nutcracker” Sunday at the Warner Theatre.
Friends, family, Nutmeg students and their parents are invited backstage after the performance to celebrate Chuck’s more than 20 years of service. He will be honored with a gift of a nutcracker in celebration of his faithful care of the 22-year-old “Nutcracker” scenery, which will be retired after this season.
The set was designed by Campbell Baird and was first used in 1996. A new set designed by Roger LaVoie will be unveiled for the 2019 season.
Chuck was a driving force behind the renovation of the building at 58 Main Street that is now Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts. He was chair of the building committee and owner of New Milford Window Cleaning, which cleaned not only the windows, but polished the floors of the new space prior to its ribbon-cutting in June 2001.
Donna Mattiello, academic dean at Nutmeg Conservatory, said, “Chuck began hanging around the studios when his daughter, Stephanie, was a student in the late 80s and 90s.”
He began volunteering backstage at “Nutcracker” performances and even played a cameo role as the Grandfather in one performance. After his on-stage appearance, he returned to his backstage duties.
“Chuck has always been a mainstay at Nutmeg whether it had to do with
“Chuck has always been there, always helping, totally selfless, generous in everything that he has done for Nutmeg.”
Joan Kunsch, associate artistic director, Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory
the ‘Nutcracker’ set or any part of the performance,” said Joan Kunsch, associate artistic director. “Chuck has always been there, always helping, totally selfless, generous in everything that he has done for Nutmeg.”
Sharon Dante, Nutmeg founder and executive director, said, “We give him credit for this production, but more so, I give him credit for our building, because as chair of the building committee, he was with me and he was able to go and talk to the construction people many times in a way that I would not be able to do.”
Joe Fazzino, treasurer of Nutmeg’s board of directors, has volunteered with Chuck for many years. “You build up a relationship with people over the years as you load in the set and unload it at night,” he said. “You learn a lot about the people and you stay in touch throughout the year, not just ‘Nutcracker’ season. You bond over a shared work that you’re doing and have a lot of laughs.”
“He’s invulnerable,” said Tim Melady, principal ballet master and national audition tour co-director. Melady also stage manages “Nutcracker” performances. “Chuck knows every single part of this set in his head. He operates the crank that makes the Christmas tree grow. He has often been in charge of making the snow fall during performances. He always has the best snow bag technique. He makes the snow fall beautifully.” Except for one year, Fazzino said. “One year the snow bag was installed improperly, and Chuck was pulling down on the cord and it was very light. He pulled harder and emptied the entire snow bag.”
“It was a blizzard!” Chuck said in a phone interview. “One of the ropes broke and it just dropped all of the snow.”
Chuck said he got involved with volunteering when his daughter Stephanie was a Nutmeg student. He quickly took a keen interest in the inner workings of Nutmeg, which then occupied a small space on Water Street. He was one of a group of people who saw a need for a bigger studio. “I was on the building committee with Joe Fazzino and Kent Humphrey,” he said. “I was like the onhand supervisor, checking to make sure everything was all right. Clerk of the works, they called it. I did all the construction cleanup, which I’ve been doing for years with my New Milford Window Cleaning company.”
Looking back on more than 20 years of volunteering, Chuck said, “We have more fun and memories. We’ll see what happens next year. We’ll do some more.”
Final performances of this season’s “The Nutcracker” are Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Warner Theatre. For tickets, call 860-482-7180 or go online at warnertheatre.org.