Lakeport >> As the Lake County Theatre Company’s (LCTC) Mr. Lake County Pageant approaches, 13 contestants are gearing up to leave it all on the stage next weekend. They’ve got a tough panel of judges to impress: the audience. Attendees will vote for their favorite man in each of four categories: swimwear, formal wear, talent and interview, along with an overall winner. And as if the crowd doesn’t have enough power, they’ll also be crafting the interview questions. It’s enough to quicken the heart of any contestant.
“Everyone’s nervous, I would hope. Every competition you should be somewhat nervous,” said Larry Richardson, a first time competitor.
Surprisingly, flitting around on stage in a swimsuit isn’t the aspect of the show that has contestants most on edge. “The one thing that sort of stresses me out is the talent,” said Roland Smith, another newbie to the world of male pageantry. “I do know what I would like to do, I just don’t know if I can pull it off … The worst part of it is I’m supposed to do a practice run on Friday. How do I practice a crash?”
And while the whole idea behind the show is to be as outrageous and silly as possible, some contestants worry they’re toeing the line between goofy and embarrassing. “[I’m] just trying to figure out what would be the fine line between inappropriate and funny,” explained Rod Rehe, who is trying for the title of Mr. Lake County for the second year. “It’s still entertainment but there are people I’m going to see the day after and I’d just as soon not be too embarrassed.”
Despite some nerves, the competition is much more about having fun than pulling off a spectacular performance. The competitors are instead focused on raising money for LCTC, organizer of the Mr. Lake County Pageant. The goal is to purchase a building and find a permanent home for the company. “I’ve been on stage a lot so for me this is another opportunity to do something on stage but it’s also an opportunity to help the theater company,” said Rehe, a member of LCTC. “I do want them to succeed in their profit making so they can some day build the theater that they want.”
LCTC rents four storage units to house their props and costumes and they rent every space they use, from rehearsals to performances. The costs of putting on a play often outweigh the profits brought in by ticket sales.
So Tim and Laura Barnes, president and secretary of LCTC respectively, put their heads together. “We were thinking, what’s something we could do that would make a lot of money in one day and we came up with the Mr. Lake County Pageant,” Laura Barnes explained.
The idea is goofy, yes, but that’s the point. “It’s fun, it’s something out of the box,” said Tim Barnes. “It’s a chance for people in our community to come out and have a good time.”
But there’s an underlying message among the skin barring, hip shaking antics: body positivity. “Not everybody in that room would be Mr. Universe,” said Tim Barnes. “It’s a bunch of guys out there really embodying what Lake County should be about: community and support and fun.”
The pageant is practically bursting with all three elements. The contestants are constantly helping one another with their dance moves and cheering on their talents. Rehearsals have been underway for six weeks, where the men have been running dance choreography repeatedly. For some, like Richardson, Rehe and Adam Newell, the dancing is almost as easy as walking. Others feel as though they have two left feet. “The ones that it comes easily to help out the ones that it doesn’t,” said Laura Barnes. “We’ll see those guys [Richardson, Rehe and Newell] broke off with the guys that don’t get it going step by step with them. You make really good friends coming out of this.”
Contestants agreed the pageant builds strong relationships between competitors, even if few had met one another before six weeks ago. “I think a lot of us have hung onto friendships we made last year despite the fact that those people aren’t necessarily competing again this year,” said Rehe.
Richardson bonded quickly with many of his competitors. “You get into it and you become really close to everyone,” he said. “You talk to everyone, you help them out because you want the pageant to look good.”
Few, if any, of the contestants are preoccupied with winning. “I think most of these guys are just looking to have fun,” said Richardson. “I really try not to concentrate on the winning part. You think about that, then you’ll really be messing up.”
Nobody knows this better than the reigning Mr. Lake County, Sheriff Brian Martin. “The best advice I have is go out and cut loose and have fun because if you’re having fun, the audience will have fun,” he said. “And remember, you’re not out there to win it, you’re out there because it’s a good cause for the organization with the theater company.”
Many of the contestants, both last year and this year, were recruited by Laura and Tim Barnes. The couple were met with a good deal of hesitation, but with enough persistence they were able to round up 13 men. “They tried to convince me last year but I didn’t know anybody yet,” Smith recalled. “I remember watching [the pageant] last year and I remember thinking, ‘ain’t no way I’m going to do this, this is insane.’”
One year later and Smith is read to dance his way across the stage. “What we’ve found both years is that nobody’s regretted participating, even if they felt like they came in kicking and screaming, as soon as they came in they felt welcomed,” Laura Barnes said. “Everybody’s been glad to be a part of it.”
Last year, Laura and Tim Barnes asked District Attorney Ed Borg nearly ten times if he would join the lineup. Though he declined then, this year he decided to compete. “He came to see it last year and he saw he didn’t have to strut around in a Speedo and it wasn’t the competitive contest that he thought it was going to be,” said Laura Barnes. “It was just really a lot of fun and celebrating lots of different types of talents people have.”
This year’s Mr. Lake County contestants are Larry Richardson, Mike Eagle, Richard Neils, Ed Borg, Will McAuley, Adam Newell, John Tomlinson, Rod Rehe, Cameron Beighle, Brad Laird, Roland Smith, Paul Kemp and Daniel Roberts.
The event will also see a silent and live auction, which include prizes like concert tickets, a $300 tattoo and Cheese’s Pizza twice a month for a year. A calendar, designed by Tim Barnes and featuring a different contestant every month, will be available at $10 each.
Mr. Lake County is next Saturday, July 18 at 7 p.m. at the Little Theatre at the Lake County Fairgrounds. Presale tickets are $25 for general seating, $30 for reserved. At the door, prices bump up to $30 for general and $40 for reserved seating. An official after party will follow the show at Robinson Rancheria.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
Cutline 1: Larry Richardson, left, and Rod Rehe, right, practice their dance choreography for the Mr. lake County Pageant.
Cutline 2: The contestants strike a pose.
Cutline 3: John Tomlinson practices his talent.
Cutline 4: With the help of choreographer Sarah Dutra, Brad Laird shows off his CPR talents.
