{"id":8016,"date":"2018-06-17T18:33:47","date_gmt":"2018-06-18T01:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/?p=8016"},"modified":"2025-12-18T18:34:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T02:34:28","slug":"paul-tomei-recipient-of-the-2018-normadene-carpenter-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/2018\/06\/17\/paul-tomei-recipient-of-the-2018-normadene-carpenter-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Tomei – Recipient of the 2018 Normadene Carpenter Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

El Dorado Arts Council]<\/em><\/p>\n

Every year, El Dorado Arts Council presents the Normadene Carpenter Award, celebrating significant contributions to the cultural life of the community. This year, in recognition of his passion and commitment as drama teacher at El Dorado High School, the Arts Council will honor educator Paul Tomei.<\/p>\n

Long before Paul Tomei was the beloved drama teacher and lauded director of El Dorado High School\u2019s Studio 81, he was a promising student in the same program. He entered El Dorado High School as a band student, but after taking a drama class, he underwent a \u201ctransformative experience.\u201d He had found his calling. After graduating, he continued to study theatre at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, and eventually embarked on a professional acting career in Los Angeles. Along the way, he worked a hodgepodge of odd jobs, ranging from delivering singing telegrams to building houses (which he credits for his set-building expertise). Throughout his time in LA, he only grew to appreciate his hometown more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI missed the grounded lifestyle of this area,\u201d he says, referring in part to the skiing, backpacking, and fishing that he was deprived of in LA.<\/p>\n

When the position of drama instructor at El Dorado High School opened up, Paul jumped at the opportunity, and the school jumped at the opportunity to have him. He returned to his hometown, but more importantly, he returned to Studio 81: \u201cStepping back into that room felt like being home again.\u201d<\/p>\n

He proceeded to build on the program that had first made him fall in love with theatre. Feeling a responsibility to uphold Studio 81\u2019s tradition of \u201cprofessionalism and respect for the craft,\u201d Paul threw himself into his work, \u201calmost to an unhealthy extent,\u201d he laughs. The hard work paid off: Paul Tomei has imprinted himself indelibly on Studio 81, El Dorado High School, and the area\u2019s artistic community as a whole by creating a new standard of excellence for high school theatre in El Dorado County. One of the most visible aspects of his legacy (and one of his proudest moments) was when the community came together to build Studio 81\u2019s amphitheater. Still, it\u2019s clear that he considers his real legacy to be his students. He speaks with obvious pride of his many former students who have found success in the performing arts. It appears that he succeeded at one of his major goals: \u201cinstilling in students a passion for being the best they can be; searching for excellence and not settling for anything less.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul has learned alongside his students. He continually tries new educational techniques, challenging himself and his students to \u201ctake risks.\u201d One of those risks was a project he is particularly proud of: a play called Tony n\u2019 Tina\u2019s Wedding, which was performed in downtown Placerville and involved extensive audience participation. \u201cIt brought in the whole downtown community,\u201d he says. He knows that his students can handle challenging, experimental projects. \u201cThey rise to the occasion.\u201d But he also recognizes that he has to provide as much assistance as he can. \u201cThere\u2019s a balance. Teaching is more than the subject matter. You\u2019re a counselor, a nutritionist, a shrink.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a teacher, Paul wants to help his students grow into good human beings, not just good artists. He believes that \u201ctheatre is a reflection of life,\u201d and that participation in theatre can be used to provide a holistic education to his students. He lets them \u201cfundamentally own their choices, and makes sure to let them experience real responsibility\u201d for something as large and important as a theatrical production. He wants to create a space for them to have \u201cmature, meaningful experiences.\u201d At the root of this approach is Paul\u2019s conviction that theatre can \u201cpose and answer important questions.\u201d He encourages his students to grapple with, and learn from, those questions. He knows that this is hard work, so he strives to give them a sense of community along the way. \u201cThe ensemble connection is important. It encourages a family unity.\u201d<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s something that Paul is as passionate about as his students, it\u2019s the larger Placerville community. \u201cIf I wasn\u2019t teaching, I would still be doing something for this community,\u201d he says. In particular, he wants to see Placerville grow into an inclusive, vibrant cultural hub. He envisions a future in which Placerville is \u201cthe place where all the crossroads converge.\u201d He feels that he can contribute as an educator and artist by expanding access to and involvement in the arts. \u201cSometimes it feels like culture is only offered to a certain class,\u201d he says. \u201cTheatre shouldn\u2019t be so removed. Theatre is for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul believes that art can unify communities and remedy social ills, and he already sees progress in Placerville. He\u2019s been especially impressed by those artists who have brought their passion and knowledge back to Placerville to employ it in service of the community. He wants to see it happen more. \u201cBring your thoughts and your ideals home. We have so much to offer right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Tomei once brought his passion and knowledge back home, and he has no regrets. In fact, he says that it\u2019s been the most rewarding experience of his life. \u201cI felt I had a lot to offer, but it was reciprocal. I felt like I was receiving therapy the whole time,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine doing anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

El Dorado Arts Council] Every year, El Dorado Arts Council presents the Normadene Carpenter Award, celebrating significant contributions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","darknews-slider-full":"","darknews-featured":"","darknews-medium":"","darknews-medium-square":""},"author_info":{"display_name":"News MoLo","author_link":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/author\/admin\/"},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8016"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8017,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8016\/revisions\/8017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newsmolo.com\/EDC\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}